Turning Points
The Tet Offensive was a massive surprise attacked launched by the Viet Kong on US and South Vietnam forces in January 1968. The attack is quite devastating and a huge blow to American morale. Back home Americans are growing increasingly against the war. Technically, the Americans won as the Viet Kong ultimately did not achieve there military objectives. Still, a lot of Americans were killed and citizens back home were certainly displeased about that. There was an attack on the US embassy in Saigon in which the Viet Kong breached into it, but were stopped when US forces destroyed the embassy.
|
This war was already not going well and the Tet Offensive delivered a hard blow at American morale. The military leaders were shocked that the communists had such means to carry out an attack on such a large scale. To add to this, this war had more media coverage than any before it. Now the American people could see much more clearly the horrors the war. President Johnson found the country in a even more difficult position and he saw no way out.
|