• Episode 7: Tet Offensive

    Americans lose faith in the potential for victory after wide-ranging Communist attacks

    Color image of soldiers in Vietnam

  • It seems now more certain than ever, that the bloody experience of Vietnam is to end in a stalemate. - Walter Cronkite, anchorman, 1968

    On January 31, 1968, the South Vietnamese were looking forward to Tet, a celebration of the lunar new year. They were caught off guard when 70,000 Communist troops struck more than 100 towns and cities with swift and stunning ferocity.

    Most of the fighting was over in a few days, but a second wave came in late April and a third in August. Although the enemy suffered devastating casualties and their attempt to spark a general uprising completely failed, many Americans concluded the U.S. and its allies had suffered a massive defeat. When a Defense Department report regarding the need for 205,000 more American troops was leaked to the New York Times, Americans concluded the war was stalemated and the Johnson administration had lied to them.

  • Special Assistant for National Security Affairs Walt Rostow notified President Johnson of the breach of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon during the Tet Offensive.

    Typewritten memorandum document with handwritten notations

    Memorandum from Walt W. Rostow to President Johnson, January 30, 1968. Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library and Museum

  • President Johnson brought the commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam, General William Westmoreland, stateside to project optimism about the war at the end of 1967.

    Typed document with red and black handwritten markups

    Reading copy of Westmoreland’s Press Club address, 1967. Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library and Museum

  • Color image of soldiers in Vietnam

    “Navy Hospital Corpsman D. R. Howe treats the wounds of Private First Class D A. Crum, ‘H’ Company 2nd Battalion, Fifth Marine Regiment during Operation Hue Ci...Read more

    “Navy Hospital Corpsman D. R. Howe treats the wounds of Private First Class D A. Crum, ‘H’ Company 2nd Battalion, Fifth Marine Regiment during Operation Hue City, February 6, 1968.” Records of the United States Marine Corps

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    View in the National Archives Catalog

  • Key Dates

    • January 21, 1968: Battle of Khe Sanh begins
    • February 27, 1968: Anchorman Walter Cronkite concludes the United States “is mired in a stalemate”
    • March 16, 1968: My Lai Massacre
    • March 31, 1968: Johnson announces he will not seek reelection
    • April 4, 1968: Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated
    • May 10, 1968: Paris Peace Talks begin
    • June 6, 1968: Robert Kennedy is assassinated
    • October 31, 1968: Johnson orders halt to bombing on North Vietnam
  • Color image of soldiers in Vietnam
    • Typewritten memorandum document with handwritten notations
    Typed document with red and black handwritten markups
    Color image of soldiers in Vietnam
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