Tet Offensive

January 30 – September 23, 1968 · South Vietnam Theater

Phases

1. 1Phase 1 — Simultaneous AttacksJanuary 30–31, 1968
2. 2Phase 2 — US CounterattackFebruary 1–March 1968
3. 3Phase 3 — Strategic DefeatFebruary 27–March 1968

January 30–31, 1968

During the Tet lunar new year truce, 85,000 NVA and Viet Cong fighters simultaneously attack over 100 cities and towns. The US Embassy compound in Saigon is breached. Radio broadcasts of attack instructions are sent — using a nationwide Vietnamese radio network that the US had monitored but not blocked. Most of South Vietnam's population is awakened by gunfire.

• ●US Embassy Saigon — VC sappers breach the compound
• ●Hue — NVA seizes ancient imperial citadel
• ●Da Nang — airbase attacked
• ●Nha Trang — provincial capital attacked
• ●Qui Nhon — port city attacked
• ●Can Tho — Mekong Delta capital attacked