{UAH} History Lesson For The Week: The Tet Offensive: the turning point in the Vietnam War

For those interested in history and in 20th century struggles for national liberation and  self-determination, here in is a gem of an article which analyses probably one of the greatest battles in history of warfare. The Tet Offensive defined 20th century warfare,  pitting a small country  with an army and militia of  poorly  armed peasant combatants, against a nuclear power with vastly superior arms, materiel and personnel. The Tet Offensive is significant in many respects, not least because it demonstrates the truth that a people's indomitable will, determination and self-sacrifice will often defeat even the most powerful force on earth. The Vietnamese communists "lost" the Tet offensive, but won the war. This is a lesson for the long-suffering people of Uganda.

Bobby

 

The Tet Offensive: the turning point in the Vietnam War

               

                  

Alan Woods

Vietnam

         

In the early hours of 31^st January 1968, 70,000 North Vietnamese soldiers, together with guerrilla fighters of the NLF, launched one of the most daring military campaigns in history. The Tet Offensive was the real turning point in the Vietnam War. On its 40^th anniversary, Alan Woods analyses the events that led to the Vietnam War and the significance of the Tet Offensive in bringing about the defeat of US imperialism, and draws some parallels with Iraq.

The Vietnamese call it "Chien Tranh Chong My Curu Nuoc" or "The War against the Americans to save the nation." In the course of this war, some 58,000 US soldiers were killed in action, as well as 304,000 wounded. But these figures pale in insignificance beside the horrific casualties suffered by the Vietnamese. Almost 1,400,000 North and South Vietnamese were killed in action.

To this we must add 2,100,000 wounded. It was one of the bloodiest wars in history, and one that took a particularly high toll of civilian lives. The total number of Vietnamese people killed in this conflict will never be known but was probably not fewer than three million, and the total number of casualties not fewer than 8 million.

The number of American soldiers in Vietnam rose from 23,300 in 1963 to 184,000 in 1966. In January 1969 the total number of U.S. soldiers in Vietnam reached its peak - 542,000. Despite this the U.S. Army was unable to subdue Vietnam. This was the first time in history that the USA has been defeated in a war (Korea was a draw).

In August 1963 the new President, Lyndon B. Johnson, ordered the first bombing of North Vietnam, operation "Rolling Thunder". The purpose was to break the Vietnamese will to struggle through "shock and awe". The number of bombs dropped over Vietnam in this campaign alone was greater than the total dropped during the entire Second World War: the equivalent of roughly 15 kilograms of bombs for every man, woman and child in Vietnam. Chemical weapons defoliated 10 percent of the country's surface.

But the numbers of dead and wounded do not tell the whole story. The country was devastated by years of carpet-bombing. Thousands of square miles were laid waste. Billions of dollars were wasted. Thousands of acres of forest were destroyed by the dropping of poisonous chemicals by the US air force ("defoliants"). This, in plain English, is known as chemical warfare. Many US soldiers developed serious illnesses through contact with these chemical agents. But for a huge number of Vietnamese it meant generations of deformed babies, miscarriages, cancers and all manner of hideous illnesses.

Read the full article below

The Tet Offensive: the turning point in the Vietnam War | Vietnam | Asia

www.marxist.com/tet-offensive-part-one.htm

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2. Similar

30 Jan 2008 - The Tet Offensive was the real turning point in the Vietnam War. On its 40^th anniversary, Alan Woods analyses the events that led to the ...

War Documentary - The Tet Offensive - YouTube

▶ 41:57

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7Or1FE6Pok

20 Aug 2015 - Uploaded by USA Network News

W a r Documentary HD _ Historic battle took the fight from Vietnam's jungles and rice paddies to its streets.

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