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The Tet Offensive in 4 Minutes
A pivotal moment in world history explained
On January 31st, 1968, waves of mass surprise attacks swept through South Vietnam during the height of the Vietnam War. Provincial capitals were targeted up and down the coast and the national capital at Saigon was subjected to heavy fighting. The scope and ferocity of the attack stunned the United States military command and her allies in the region.
This mass assault would go down in history as the Tet Offensive. The Tet Offensive was one of the most important phases of the Vietnam War and it changed the course of world history. Many people have heard of the Tet Offensive but few people know its details and why it was so important.
Happy Tet!
Tet is a national holiday in Vietnam and marks the celebration of their Lunar New Year. The Tet Offensive is named such because it was launched on the eve of the popular holiday — which is part of the reason it was so surprising to those on the ground. It would be akin to a major assault being launched on Christmas Eve in the West.
The focus of the North Vietnamese troops on dense population centers surprised almost everyone. It was not simply the size of the attacks, which targeted dozens of cities across the country including numerous provincial capitals, but also the…
