Significance Of The Tet Offensive

The Tet Offensive was one of the first real turning points in the war. It was North Vietnam’s most impactful and long lasting attacks. The north planned to invaded and attacked many large cities all over South Vietnam (Vietnam War, 615). The goal of the Tet Offensive was to cause a revolt and the direction of the South Vietnamese government. The Tet Offensive also aimed to force the U.S. out of Vietnam (Vietnam War, 615). Unlike other southern cities in the South Vietnamese capital, Saigon, the fighting lasted for over a month in the Offensive (Vietnam War, 615). The offensive was hoped to create a break in the stalemate between the north and south (Cosmas, 333). The Tet Offensive was not very successful, but it turned many americans against the war because of the severity and scale of the attack (Vietnam War, 615). When the Viet Cong was defeated and crippled in the Tet Offensive, The People’s Army of Vietnam took over most the fighting for the communist side (Hay, 2). This offensive was only the start of three massive attacks on the South Vietnam.
The North Vietnamese launched the Easter Offensive in spring 1972 with twelve divisions and massive amounts of tanks and artillery (Cosmas, 334). The offensive had sparked a slight revival of the Viet Cong (Cosmas, 334). President Nixon predicted that the North would attack on a massive scale so he prepared the south (Cosmas, 334). By the end of 1972 North Vietnam had lost about a hundred thousand soldiers and a sizable amount of equipment, but they had a better grip on the South than they did the year before (Cosmas, 334). As unsuccessful as the Tet Offensive and the Easter Offensive were at creating immediate change, they did however weaken South Vietnam so much so that the next one would be