The Vietnam War

You weren't there man!

In this post we will be exploring why 1968 was a turning point in the Vietnam War? The answer is the Tet Offensive, so let's dive in. 

The US being imperialists, no never

The Tet Offensive 

·     January 31^st1968, the Tet Offensive on Saigon began

·     Beginning of a nationwide communist assault 

·     Turning point for Saigon and the whole of Vietnam

·     The war would last for more than a decade 

·     It would cause America to suffer its greatest set back of the 20^thcentury 

·     The American who had one of the best equipped armies in the world would have to adapt to Guerrilla fighting

·     Troops had to get used to new combat in a new country 

·     The Tet Offensive was the decisive battle that change the situation into full blown war

 But before we get into more about the Tet Offensive lets look at the build up to the intense nationwide assault

The beginning of the war:

On tour in Vietnam right now!

·     Since 1965 the Americans had been fighting the communist regime in North Vietnam 

·     The West feared communism

·     The American believed a decisive move was needed in Vietnam to prevent the Domino Theory coming true

·     By 1967, many America troops were in Vietnam and stationed in remote locations 

·     One area was called the ‘meat grinder’ as the fighting was so fierce 

·     The war began and the North and South was divided by the demilitarised zone 

·     South Vietnam was a fragile republic that needed America’s support, Capital: Saigon

·     North Vietnam was backed by USSR and China led by Ho Chi Minh, Capital: Hanoi 

·     Ho Chi Minh had 500,000 North Vietnamese soldiers 

·     He had driven the French out in 1954 

·     He wanted to reunited Vietnam under communism 

·     The Americans were led by general William Westmoreland, with 500,000 Americans and 800,000 South Vietnamese soldiers

·     The Americans had to also face communist guerrillas in South Vietnam

The trail was a bit like this but instead of treats
it was weapons, troops and communism.

The Ho Chi Minh trail:

·     The National Liberation Front, Viet Cong, were a huge problem. They hid in plain sight with no uniforms

·      Half the time the Americans were fighting an enemy that they couldn’t identify

·     The Viet Cong were supplied by Ho Chi Minh through the Ho Chi Minh trail, sending fighters, arms and equipment

·     The trail was unpaved and hid within the jungle 

·     The Ho Chi Minh trail was vital to the war effort 

·     The US tried to use its air power to destroy it 

·     Some of the bombing targets were strategic places in North Vietnam; roads, bridges and factories 

·     Another target was the Ho Chi Minh trail

·     The B-52 could drop over 100 bombs and destroy an area over 1 mile long 

·     In South Vietnam the bombers would act on intelligence and use Napalm 

·     Much of the countryside was laid to waste, the bombs hit the targets but it caused civilian casualties and loss of support 

Here is the actual trail as I appreciate a picture of a
dog isn't all that useful when studying the Vietnam war

·     Didn’t route out the communists, only ground troops would do that 

·     The Americans spent days in the countryside trying to find the Viet Cong

·     The patrols were hard as they didn’t know where the targets were, the sun was scorching and the equipment was heavy 

·     The Viet Cong was very well camouflaged and quiet 

·     The Americans began to adapt but too late

·     During 1967 Ho Chi Minh decided to undergo an offensive move as they were suffering losses and he was becoming impatient 

·     The plan was for the troops to come out into the open and fight in larger numbers than ever before 

·     They wanted to smash the south Vietnamese government and the American to withdraw 

·     December 1967 there was intelligence saying that there was significant movement on the Ho Chi Minh trail

·     There was a significant build up near the American base of Kay San, south of the border

Khe Sanh:

·     The base was isolated in a hilly corner of Vietnam 

·     Couple of miles from Laos 

·     January 1968 the base was home to thousands of troops 

·     It was the western most strong hold near the demilitarised zone that was built to stop enemies and disrupt the Ho Chi Minh trail

Get the Luton look

·     6,000 troops in one heavily fortified combat base, with an air strip surrounding the base was hills fortified with bug out, tunnels and gun emplacements

·     By mid-January 20,000 North Vietnamese men were in the hills surrounding Khe Sanh 

·     In the early hours of January 21^st1968, the North Vietnamese men attacked the American held hill north of the base 

·     A few hours later they launched an attack on the heart of the base  

·     The marines fought back but they were surrounded and the North Vietnamese had cut them off from the road 

·     They had to escape by air 

·     Westmoreland direct more than 24,000 air strikes against the attackers, Operation Niagara 

·     They dropped almost 100,000 tonnes of bombs, costing $1 million 

·     The Marines were seized with around 300 tonnes of artillery hitting the base a day 

·     Johnson worried, he saw Khe Sanh as a symbol and could afford to let it fall

·     Special units and half of the reserves were moved up north 

·     Johnson threw more airpower into the fight, he was set on winning at Khe Sanh

·     Little did he know that Khe Sanh wasn’t Ho Chi Minh’s main target 

" I am sneaky and cleaver and I look like Dumbledore"

The real plan:

·     Ho Chi Minh’s high command had a bigger plan then Khe Sanh 

·     While the Americans focused on Khe Sanh the leaders of the North Vietnamese army and Viet Cong meet in bunker to prepare for the upcoming unprecedented move 

·     They planned to take the war into the towns and cities of South Vietnam 

·     They wanted to attack hundreds of political and military targets in the cities and encourage a popular uprising across the country 

·     Communist fighters, weapons and supplies secretly slipped into towns and cities across South Vietnam 

·     To sneak into the cities the Viet Cong had created an intricate series of tunnels, they were tiny and well hidden

·     Over 200 miles long in total 

·     So well hidden that an American base was built on top unknowing

·     They had beds, hospitals ect.

·     It was a fighting community capable of taking on Saigon 

·     It was secret 

·     The tunnels were where the preparations for city attacks took place 

Tet is cool

The Tet Offensive:

·     Many of the South Vietnamese saw Tet as a day of truce and many soldiers were given leave to go home to see their families 

·     January 31^st1968, under the cover of Tet celebrations a group of Viet Cong were driving towards down town Saigon 

·     Their aim was to use the government radio to call for an uprising 

·     3:00 the convoy arrived at the radio building 

·     They shot the radio station guard and the Tet Offensive began 

·     News crews used the offensive nationwide 

·     There were attacks from across the city 

·     General Westmoreland’s headquarters was attacked, the airport was attacked and they seized the race track to prevent it being as an airbase 

·     The presidential palace came under attack 

·     Another objective was undertaken by Viet Cong C10, the attack was on the US embassy 

·     The C10 squad place a 3ft hole in the wall

·     The squad killed the guards and entered the grounds 

·     But the C10 leaders had been killed and the rest of the squad lost moral and didn’t charge into the heart of the embassy they took up position outside and took pot shots at the building 

·     News of the attack hit the screens and papers 

·     Journalist saw that the C10 had seized part of the embassy 

·     The news went viral all around the world 

·     The C10 didn’t get into the building but they did make epic news 

·     The pictures of the Viet Cong on embassy soil was great for America as it shocked the public 

·     The Tet offensive was over and forces had been crushed, any fighting was just mopping up

·     But the fighting wasn’t over 

·     Within minutes of each cities across the country were hit 

·     84,000 troops had hit the towns 

·     The American and South Vietnamese had been able to restore order quickly in most place, but not it Wey 

·     A battle was in place 

*Checks flights to whey*

Whey:

·     Previously untouched by war

·     Huge symbolic importance 

·     Cultural city

·     In 2 hrs on the 31^stJanuary communist forces captured and gained control of the city 

·     They were determined to destroy the south Vietnamese elite 

·     They rounded up all those considered a threat and up to 5,000 people disappeared

·     Moreland had to recapture Whey otherwise It would be a major propaganda win for Ho Chi Minh 

·     Wey is really two cities either side of a perfume river 

·     The North was an old imperialist city 

·     The South was a new city 

·     5,000 Viet Cong stormed the north city through the north west wall

·     They had taken control of most of the antient citadel 

·     They had also seized the new city south of the river 

·     Only 2 places held out against the communists; a south Vietnamese compound in the north east corner of the citadel and an American compound on the south side of the river near the bridge 

·     The Americans didn’t yet know how strong the communist occupying force was

Wow another boring old document,
what an interesting blog

The American compound:

·     4:10 31^stJanuary 1968 160 marines moved off toward the wingwang bridge with orders to reach the south Vietnamese compound

·     As the marines reached the middle of the bridge a machine gun opened up in front of them

·     10 marines killed or wounded 

·     The rest hit the deck to take cover

·     The commander had doubts about leading his mean forward but he felt that he had to follow his orders

·     The marines pushed on and reached the Tong To gate 

·     The marines were shot at from on top of the gate and city wall, the marines sitting ducks

·     5 men were killed and 44 were wounded in 1 hr

·     The commander gave the order to retreat 

·     The American now knew the scale of the offensive

·     They were now determined to take control of the new city on the south side

·     They started to move west in two parallel columns with tanks at the front 

·     Their objective was to reach the local government building which now had a Viet Cong flag flying on its roof 

·     800m from the compound, it should have taken hours at most 

·     The marines were about to face some of the hardest fighting of the whole war

Taking back the new city:

What's the story in Balamory

·     Most of the marines had spent the last few months fighting in the countryside and many had little or no experience in fighting in the city
·     The US high commander banned the use of heavy artillery and airstrikes in Whey

·     The historic city wasn’t to be destroyed, the marines were on their own

·     Progress was painfully slow 

·     It took the marines half a day to cross a single street

·     The NVA were dug in everywhere, they were unable to go through any open space

·     The marines were finding that it is a lot harder to retake a city than it is to defend it given that each house had been turned into a fortress

·     They had to clear every room of the buildings as the Viet Cong could be anywhere 

·     Urban fighting eats up resources and fight power

·     February 3^rdthe ban on supporting air attacks in the new city was lifted 

·     With the air support and tanks the marines progress began to speed up

·     February 6^ththe marines secured the local government building and took down the NV flag and flew the US flag

·     It took 100 yards of movement a day

·     It had cost many wounded and lives 

·     The North Vietnamese resistance on the south side of the city was now broken 

Needs a good clean

Taking back the old city:

·     The fighting had reached a stalemate 

·     The North Vietnamese army had the South Vietnamese troops boxed in 

·     February 12^thSouth Vietnamese sent the American a call for help

·     But the bridge connecting the new city with the imperial city had been destroyed by the Communists 

·     They had to get to the North city by river 

·     5:30 on Feb 12^thone battle wary company of marines embarked on fast boats and sped off down the perfume river 

·     They came under fire from the north side, where the Viet Cong were hidden along the bank

·     They had to get into the old city 

·     The troops were dropped on the North East side of the citadel where the North Vietnamese compound was

·     Men and supplies were offloaded near one of the gates and rushed inside to reinforce the South Vietnamese

·     The North Vietnamese now had to fight in the more densely packed area of the citadel against and enemy protected by bunkers and battlements on the city walls 

·     The NVA were scattered throughout the city and heavily entrenched on the Eastern side and on the walls of the imperial palace itself 

·     The South Vietnamese had tried and failed to push back the enemy 

·     It was down to the marines 

·     They planned to push south down the narrow streets down to the Tong To gate where they were ambushed 2 weeks before 

·     The marines were involved in another unfamiliar setting, a giant fort surrounded by large walls and defensive mottes the citadel was such a unique landmark that they were unable to use bombs

·     In some places the walls were up to 100ft thick

·     the marines could either stay in the tricky streets or try and take the walls which had greater mobility but would be more exposed 

·     the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong were beginning to suffer the General Gaip's men knew that for every day the communist flag flew in the sacred city there would be powerful propaganda to America and the South Vietnamese people

I am the map, I am the map, I am the map,
I am the map, I am the map

·     a week later (19^thFeb) the communists were still holding out 

·     The imperial palace was a problem for the marines

·     they were forbidden from levelling the walls so as a result they were losing men fast

·     The US air support were able to cut off their supply line into the old city

·     The South Vietnamese also gave approval for the use of air strikes on the city

·     The Americans prepared for their final push 

·     The marines forced their way towards the South East corner of the citadel 

·     Two A-4 jets dropped Napalm to clear one area, which had devastating effects 

·     The marines put all they had into breaking the hold of the NVA on the imperial palace 

·     150 marine reinforcements stormed to retake the Tong To gate 

·     After nearly a month of fighting the imperial palace was retaken and the city was back under South Vietnamese control

·     The battle for Whey was over 

Reviewing the Tet Offensive:

·     In terms of gaining control in South Vietnam it had failed 

·     It failed to prompt a general uprising from the people of South Vietnam

·     Failed to defeat the Americans and South Vietnamese in battle

·     Failed to hold on to any of the 100 cities they attacked

·     The Viet Cong was effectively wiped out as an effective fighting force 

·     Wey however was a huge turning point 

·     At first glance Westmoreland had triumphed, but had he?

·     The pictures of conflicted flooded daily into American homes 

·     The public saw a far uglier version of the war then they were expecting 

·     An execution of a prisoner by a South Vietnamese general was broadcast on the evening news 

It just wasn't good

·     All of images and videos made people think that all this is not what people should be fighting for 

·     TV and news suggested that Johnson and general Westmoreland had got it wrong

·     The Tet Offensive appeared to show that the communists were a lot stronger that the American people had been told and the end of the war seemed further off than ever

·     America’s most respected TV news anchor, Walter Cronkite, had just returned from a tour of Tet battlefields 

·     He filled a pessimistic report that struck a chord with millions 

·     “it seems now more than ever that the bloody experience in Vietnam is to end in a stalemate. But it is increasingly clear to this reporter that the only rational way out then will be to negotiate. Not as victors but as an honourable people who lived up to their pledge to defend democracy and did the best they could. This is Walter Cronkite, goodnight” 

·     Something had to change 

·     Johnson went live on TV to announce a reduction in the bombing 

·     But he decided it wasn’t enough to just change policy, they had to change president 

·     His own party were openly campaigning against him, so he suppressed even his closest colleagues when he announced that he wouldn’t be running for re-election  

·     The battle that the military claimed as a victory had turned into a political disaster with Johnson sacrificing himself 

·     The Tet Offensive led to a huge shift in public opinion against the war

"Hey, Hey, LBJ how many kids have you killed today?"

The new policy:

·     It caused a change in government policy toward strengthening and re-equipping the South Vietnamese army which would allow American troops to withdraw and South Vietnam to survive on its own 

·     By 1973 all American ground troops had left

·     The strategy failed 

·     The South Vietnamese wasn’t strong enough to hold back the communists 

·     April 1975 the North Vietnamese took Saigon and the war was over 

·     Vietnam was reunited under communist rule 

·     Over 1 million Vietnamese people died 

·     The trauma didn’t end in 1975

·     When the communists took control, many South Vietnamese people fled fearing the new regime

·     The country that they left behind had been destroyed by the war  

·     Most American entered the war believing that they were fighting a just cause but by the wars end 58,000 American’s were dead and the country was divided in bitterness and disenchantment 

·     American still argue whether or not the price of war had any effect on the global advance on communism 

·     In spite of America’s failure in Vietnam, communism suffered on reverse after another 

·     But Tet was set in America history and mind, it made it so that in the future they would be very wary to become involved in any other foreign wars for fear of another Vietnam