1 / 16

Tet! The Turning Point of the Vietnam War Dr Donna Jackson

Dept of History & Archaeology. Tet! The Turning Point of the Vietnam War Dr Donna Jackson. Vietnam…. It divided our families and generations, roiled our campuses, ended careers, broke long friendships, sent marchers into our streets and brought down a president.”.

isolde
Download Presentation

Tet! The Turning Point of the Vietnam War Dr Donna Jackson

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Dept of History & Archaeology Tet! The Turning Point of the Vietnam War Dr Donna Jackson

  2. Vietnam…. It divided our families and generations, roiled our campuses, ended careers, broke long friendships, sent marchers into our streets and brought down a president.” The Wounded Generation: America After Vietnam (A D Horne)

  3. NV Motivations for Tet • Concern over losses • Belief that South Vietnamese would support revolution • Negotiate from strength • Election year in US

  4. The Strategy • A series of diversionary attacks in remote areas. • Co-ordinated VC assaults on major towns/cities • Agreement to negotiations – but on VC terms

  5. Phase 1 • Attacks at Con Thien, Loc Ninh, Song Be • Khe Sanh • Preparations for further attacks • Agreement to negotiate

  6. January 30, 1968 • VC struck 36 of 44 provincial capitals, 5 of 6 major cities; 50 hamlets • Saigon: occupied grounds of US Embassy; attacked Tan Son Nhut Airport, presidential palace, HQ of South Vietnam's general staff. • Hue: 7,500 VC/DRV troops took Citadel (seat of the Emperors of the Kingdom of Annam)

  7. Military Results • North Vietnam • A military defeat • A political and psychological victory • South Vietnam • A costly victory

  8. Impact on the Media • Walter Cronkite, “What the hell is going on? I thought we were winning the war!” • David Douglas Duncan, Hue: “The mind reels at the carnage, cost and ruthlessness of it all.” • Of the liberation of Ben Tre: “we had to destroy the city to save it.”

  9. Impact on Public Opinion • Approval of Johnson's conduct of war dropped: • 1967: 40% • During Tet: 26% • Protest movement energised

  10. Avoiding the Draft • James Fallows, “What Did You Do in the Class War, Daddy”, Washingon Monthly, 1975 • Starved himself to 8 stone 8 lbs • Claimed to have been suicidal • “I was overcome with a wave of relief” • “We now knew who would be killed”

  11. Group Acts of Protest • October 21, 1967: Washington, c.100,000 • October 15, 1969: Vietnam moratorium, over 2 million • November 15, 1969: Student Mobilisation: • San Francisco, 150,000 • Washington, up to 500,000

  12. Protests from Veterans • Vietnam Veterans Against the War • Mutiny and insubordination • ‘Fragging’

  13. Impact on Politics • Increasing Congressional oversight • Johnson challenged for Democratic nomination

  14. The Impact on the President March 31: LBJ televised address: • Limits on bombing • Calls for peace talks • Averell Harriman named as LBJ’s rep at talks • Refuses re-election

  15. Peace with Honour?: The Nixon Years • Combat deaths • US: 27,000 • South Vietnam: 107,000 • North Vietnam: at least 500,000 • Unknown civilian deaths • Devastating bombing raids • Inflation/unrest in US • Poisoned political atmosphere • US international credibity damaged

  16. The New York Times, May, 1973 • "We lost the war in the Mississippi valley, not the Mekong valley. Successive American governments were never able to muster\the necessary mass support at home.”

More Related