jan 30, 1968 - The Tet Offensive

Description:

The first day of the Vietnamese New Year. They call it Tet. On this date, Communist forces launched a surprise attack on civilian and military targets in South Vietnam. Within 24 hours the communist controlled more than 100 south Vietnamese cities and U.S. military base. Even the U.S. embassy in Saigon(the capital). The Tet offensive would last for 3 weeks. Westmoreland claimed the tet offensive as a victory because we pushed them back. Military it was a victory but politically it was a huge defeat. It was considered the turning point of the war because it showed no place was safe from attack and it shattered our confidence.