The Tet Offensive

by Willbanks, James H.

• ISBN13: 9780231128407
• ISBN10: 0231128401
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-12-15
• Publisher: Columbia Univ Pr

Summary

In the Tet Offensive of 1968, Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces launched a massive countrywide attack on South Vietnam. Though the Communists failed to achieve their tactical and operational objectives, James Willbanks claims Hanoi won a strategic victory. The offensive proved that America's progress was grossly overstated and caused many Americans and key presidential advisors to question the wisdom of prolonging combat.Willbanks also maintains that the Communists laid siege to a Marine combat base two weeks prior to the Tet Offensive-known as the Battle of Khe Sanh& -to distract the United States. It is his belief that these two events are intimately linked, and in his concise and compelling history, he presents an engaging portrait of the conflicts and singles out key problems of interpretation.Willbanks divides his study into six sections, beginning with a historical overview of the events leading up to the offensive, the attack itself, and the consequent battles of Saigon, Hue, and Khe Sahn. He continues with a critical assessment of the main themes and issues surrounding the offensive, and concludes with excerpts from American and Vietnamese documents, maps and chronologies, an annotated list of resources, and a short encyclopedia of key people, places, and events.An experienced military historian and scholar of the Vietnam War, Willbanks has written a unique critical reference and guide that enlarges the debate surrounding this important turning point in America's longest war.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	xiii
Introduction	xv
Maps	xix
Abbreviations	xxv
PART I Historical Overview	1	(86)
Prelude	3	(12)
American Public Opinion	5	(1)
Public Relations and Westmoreland's Optimism	6	(1)
Troop Disposition	7	(1)
The Communist Decision to Conduct the Offensive	8	(2)
The Plan	10	(3)
Preparing for the Offensive	13	(2)
Border Battles, Hill Fights, and Khe Sanh	15	(11)
Khe Sanh	17	(2)
The Hill Fights	19	(3)
Operation Niagara	22	(1)
The Siege of Khe Sanh Begins	23	(3)
The Tet Offensive	26	(17)
The Offensive Begins	30	(1)
The Battle for Saigon	31	(3)
The Battle at the U.S. Embassy	34	(3)
Attacks Around the City	37	(2)
The Battle of Cholon	39	(1)
Tet Countrywide	39	(4)
The Battle for Hue	43	(13)
The Battle Begins	46	(2)
The Marines Respond	48	(2)
Fighting in the New City	50	(2)
The Fight for the Citadel	52	(4)
The Siege of Khe Sanh	56	(10)
The Fall of Lang Vei	59	(2)
Resupplying the Marines	61	(1)
Tactical Air Support	61	(1)
A New Attack	62	(1)
Lifting the Siege	63	(3)
The Impact of the Tet Offensive	66	(13)
Political Fallout	68	(2)
The Request for Additional Troops	70	(4)
The New Hampshire Primary	74	(3)
The Presidential Election of 1968	77	(2)
Assessing the Tet Offensive	79	(8)
PART II Issues and Interpretations	87	(52)
Motivations and Objectives of the Tet Offensive	89	(4)
Military Intelligence and Surprise at Tet	93	(6)
What Happened at Hue?	99	(5)
Why Khe Sanh?	104	(6)
Tet and the Media	110	(8)
Tet and American Military Strategy	118	(21)
Notes	123	(16)
PART III Chronology, 1967--68	139	(22)
PART IV The Tet Offensive A to Z	161	(28)
PART V Documents	189	(34)
President Johnson's ``San Antonio Formula'' Speech of September 29, 1967	191	(2)
Directive on Forthcoming Offensive and Uprisings, Provincial Party Standing Committee, 1 November 1967	193	(3)
Capabilities of the Vietnamese Communists for Fighting in South Vietnam, November 13, 1967 (Extract)	196	(1)
Address by Commander of U.S. Forces in Vietnam, General William C. Westmoreland, November 21, 1967 (Extract)	197	(2)
``Saigon Under Fire,'' CBS News Special Report, January 31, 1968	199	(4)
Memorandum from Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Earle G. Wheeler for the President, February 12, 1968 (Extract)	203	(2)
Walter Cronkite's ``We Are Mired in Stalemate'' CBS News Broadcast, February 27, 1968	205	(1)
Report of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Earle G. Wheeler on the Situation in Vietnam and MACV Force Requirements, February 27, 1968 (Extract)	206	(5)
Summary of Notes from March 26, 1968, Meeting Between President Lyndon Johnson and the Wise Men	211	(2)
President Johnson's Address to the Nation Announcing His Decision Not to Seek Reelection, March 31, 1968	213	(10)
PART VI Resources	223	(32)
General Works	225	(1)
Encyclopedias, Bibliographies, Dictionaries, Guides, and Atlases	225	(2)
General Histories, Anthologies	227	(5)
Biographies	232	(1)
Memoirs	233	(1)
Vietnamese Perspectives	234	(2)
Oral Histories	236	(1)
Document Collections	237	(1)
Lyndon Johnson and the War	238	(1)
The Tet Offensive	239	(2)
The Battle of Hue	241	(2)
The Siege of Khe Sanh	243	(2)
The Hill Fights and Border Battles	245	(1)
President Lyndon B. Johnson and the Media	246	(2)
Military Intelligence and Tet	248	(2)
U.S. Strategy in Vietnam	250	(1)
Combat After-action Reports and Command Histories	250	(1)
Microfilm/Microfiche	251	(1)
Documentary Films	251	(1)
Electronic Resources	252	(1)
Web Sites	252	(1)
CD-ROMs	253	(1)
Archives and Libraries	253	(2)
Index	255