Tet Offensive

The Tet Offensive was a military campaign during the Vietnam War that started on 30 January 1968. It was fought by the communist forces of the Viet Cong in South Vietnam, which were aided by North Vietnam, against the South Vietnamese government, aided by the United States and other allies.

Tet Offensive Tết Mậu Thân
Part of the Vietnam War
Some Communist targets during the Tet Offensive
Date Phase 1: January 30 – March 28, 1968 Phase 2: May 5 – June 15, 1968 Phase 3: August 17 – September 23, 1968 Location South Vietnam Result US and South Vietnamese tactical victory[1] North Vietnamese propaganda, political, and strategic[2] victory Depletion of Viet Cong leading to replacement by North Vietnamese
Belligerents
South Vietnam  United States  South Korea  Australia  New Zealand	Viet Cong North Vietnam
Commanders and leaders
William Westmoreland	Hoàng Văn Thái
Strength
~1,000,000[3]	~323,000 - 595,000[4]
Casualties and losses
In phase 1: South Vietnam: 4,954 killed 15,917 wounded 926 missing Others: 4,124 killed 19,295 wounded 604 missing Total casualties in Phases 1: Approximately 45,820 casualties (9,078 killed, 35,212 wounded, 1,530 missing)[5][6] Total 3 phases: unknown	In phase 1:: Est. 17,000 killed and 20,000 wounded To August: 75,000+ casualties[7] Total 3 phases: 111,179 casualties (45,267 killed, 61,267 wounded, 5,070 missing)[8]
Civilian: 14,000 killed, 24,000 wounded

Its purpose was to surprise the enemy with attacks against military and civilian commands and control centers in South Vietnam.

Eventually, the Americans and the South Vietnamese managed to fight off the communist forces for a military victory. However, the massive fighting during the Tet Offensive made most Americans go from supporting the fighting in Vietnam to opposing it. The military and the government had told the Americans that the their country was close to winning. After that was disproved by the offensive, the US was said to have won the battle but to have lost the war.^[9]