50 years ago, Vietnamese forces launched the Tet Offensive and changed how America saw the Vietnam War by Ben Brimelow on Jan 30, 2018, 4:41 PM Advertisement
 Just before the end of January 1968, South Vietnam's communist guerilla force, the Viet Cong (VC), launched an unprecedented offensive in coordination with the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) that would change the course of the Vietnam War. The Tet Offensive saw the VC and the NVA attack all of South Vietnam's largest towns and cities — bringing a war that had been mostly confined to the countryside into the streets of metropolitan cities. With a combined force of 85,000 soldiers and guerrillas, the objective was to take over the cities, destroy political and military targets, and provoke a popular uprising all over South Vietnam. The offensive would be a battlefield failure for the communists; the general uprising they had hoped to provoke didn't happen, they didn't hold on to a single town or city that was seized, and the Viet Cong was effectively wiped out as an independent fighting force. But it would prove to be a political and propaganda victory. American and international news crews had broadcasted the shocking images and scenes from the war right into the living rooms of the US. They were a stark contrast to what they had been told; that the Communists were losing, and the war could be over soon. Public opinion began to change, and attitudes towards the war became negative. Here's what happened during the Tet Offensive: SEE ALSO: 50 years ago, US troops bunkered down for the Vietnam War's most infamous siege — here's how the Battle of Khe Sanh unfolded Before January of 1968, the war was mostly confined to the countryside. The Communists would take the war right into Vietnam's major towns and cities.  The NVA and Viet Cong took advantage of the Tet Lunar New Year, a major holiday in Vietnam that had always had a traditional truce and suspension of hostilities. As a result, the South Vietnamese military (ARVN) were not prepared for such a huge onslaught. The attacks gave the impression that the communists were far stronger than the American public had been told.
Equipment from the Ho Chi Minh Trail was stored in underground tunnels and bunkers like this one, before being smuggled into South Vietnam's cities.  The NVA and VC had moved hundreds of tons of weapons, ammunition, and supplies through the Ho Chi Minh Trail into South Vietnam. The trail started in North Vietnam, went through Laos and Cambodia, and had numerous entrances all along South Vietnam's border with Cambodia.
One of the first targets the VC and NVA attacked was Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam.  An attack on the capital city of Saigon was an extremely bold move that proved the VC and NVA were not "losing" the war. The VC and NVA attacked General William Westmoreland's headquarters, the Presidential Palace, and the American Embassy.
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