Archive 1: Retrospective NSA Study of the Tet Offensive
In this snippet of the NSA Study of the Tet Offensive, it gives a brief overview and result of what the objectives of the enemy were and their purpose.
“One of the primary objectives was a decisive tactical victory over the U.S. and South Vietnamese military forces. To achieve this end, the enemy made an all-out effort and committed a large part of its combat forces to the Tet attacks. However, despite the intensity and coordination of the nationwide offensive, U.S. and South Vietnamese forces were able to turn back the wave of enemy attacks… and inflict extremely heavy casualties on the attacking forces. … the NV and Viet Cong suffered a major military defeat.”
Archive 2: History of JCS and the War in Vietnam
In this section of The History of The Joint Chiefs of Staff and the War in Vietnam (Part III), it also gives an overview, or as it displays an “Aftermath” of the Tet Offensive. This gives insight on the body count of the enemy as well as american soldiers. nearly 34,000 enemy forces were killed between January and February of 1968 as compared to the 670 U.S. dead that were reported. Thus, telling more of the military failure narrative of the enemy forces.
Archive 3: Interview with Veteran Charles Sudholt
In this interview from Charles Sudholt, we get a personal recall of some of the events happening during the Tet Offensive. Sudholt refers to the combined action companies and how the pressure of the Tet Offensive would make the popular forces turn on the marines working with them. Sudholt says these instances “doesn’t leave a very good taste in ones mouth when you’re their trying to help the people in their country. Sudholts story gives insight as to why morale among the U.S. forces were continuing to drop. The support they have been giving was leading up to points where their friendly PF forces were siding with the enemy out of fear.
Analysis
The Tet Offensive will stand in military mind as a colossal failure for the North Vietnamese and a major victory for the U.S. and South Vietnamese forces. However, the strategy of the North Vietnamese’s attempt to instigate rebellion among the South Vietnamese and to scale back U.S. involvement did not come without their small victories. The United States held a strong belief in their chances of winning the Vietnam War, but were surprised at the relentlessness of the Viet Cong attacks of Tet. Their offensive did bring pressure among the South Vietnamese forces as to some even abandoning their stand and going with their enemy, as Sudholt describes. The JCS archive shows the vast difference in body count that each side had suffered during Tet. Nearly 50 to 1 in favor of the U.S. Yet the damage the Viet Cong had done to the morale of the South and U.S. had been enough to show even a major military victory in a conflict like Tet can show such little progression into achieving total victory throughout the rest of the war.
Archive Project 