Why the US Lost the Tet Offensive Despite Beating the NVA (Vietnam War Documentary)

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After years of boots on the ground and bloody combat in Vietnam, US officials are publicly confident. The strategy of eliminating the Viet Cong is working. The North Vietnamese communist forces are on their last legs and victory is only a matter of time. Or so they say. But as 1968 and the traditional lunar new year festivities begin, US and South Vietnamese troops find themselves on the receiving end of a formidable North Vietnamese surprise attack: The Tet Offensive.
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David Garfinkle, Raymond Martin, Konstantin Bredyuk, Lisa Anderson, Brad Durbin, Jeremy K Jones, Murray Godfrey, John Ozment, Stephen Parker, Mavrides, Kristina Colburn, Stefan Jackowski, Cardboard, William Kincade, William Wallace, Daniel L Garza, Chris Daley, Malcolm Swan, Christoph Wolf, Simen Røste, Jim F Barlow, Taylor Allen, Adam Smith, James Giliberto, Albert B. Knapp MD, Tobias Wildenblanck, Richard L Benkin, Marco Kuhnert, Matt Barnes, Ramon Rijkhoek, Jan, Scott Deederly, gsporie, Kekoa, Bruce G. Hearns, Hans Broberg, Fogeltje
» SOURCES
Anderson, David L. The Vietnam War, (Basingstoke : Palgrave MacMillan, 2005)
Appy, Christian G. Working-Class War: American Combat Soldiers and Vietnam, (Chapel Hill, NC : University of North Carolina Press, 1993)
Appy, Christian G. Patriots: The Vietnam War Remembered From All Sides, (New York, NY : Viking, 2003)
Blasiot, Leonard A., Dawson, David A., Shulimson, Jack & Smith, Charles R., U.S. Marines in Vietnam: The Defining Year 1968, (Washington DC : History and Museums Division HQ, US Marine Corps, 1997)
Bluhm Jr. Raymond K. (ed), The Vietnam War: A Chronology of War, (New York, NY : Universe Publishing, 2010)
Caputo, Philip, A Rumor of War, (New York, NY : Ballantine Books, 1977)
Ehrhart, W.D. Vietnam-Perkasie: A Combat Marine Memoir, (Jefferson NC : McFarland, 1983)
Gettleman, Marvin E. (ed), Vietnam: History, Documents and Opinions on a Major World Crisis, (Harmondsworth : Penguin Books Ltd, 1967)
Langer, Howard J. The Vietnam War: An Encyclopedia of Quotations, (Westport, CT : Greenwood Press, 2005))
Lawrence, Mark Atwood, The Vietnam War: A Concise International History, (Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2008)
Longley, Kyle, Grunts: The American Combat Soldier in Vietnam, (Armonk N.Y. : M.E. Sharpe, 2008)
Moïse, Edwin E. Tonkin Gulf and the Escalation of the Vietnam War, (Annapolis, MD : Naval Institute Press, 2019)
Rotter, Andrew J. “Chronicle of a War Foretold: The United States and Vietnam, 1945-1954" in Lawrence, Mark Atwood & Logevall, Fredrik (eds), The First Vietnam War: Colonial Conflict and Cold War Crisis, (Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press, 2007)
Ruane, Kevin (ed.), The Vietnam Wars, (Manchester : Manchester University Press, 2000)
Thee, Marek, “The Indochina Wars: Great Power Involvement - Escalation and Disengagement”, Journal of Peace Research, Vol. 13, No. 2 (1976)
Tiu Bin, Following Ho Chi Minh: Memoir of a North Vietnamese Colonel, (Honolulu, HI : University of Hawaii Press, 2003)
Tovy, Tal, The Gulf of Tonkin: The United States and the Escalation in the Vietnam War, (New York, NY : Routledge, 2021)
»CREDITS
Presented by: Jesse Alexander
Written by: Jesse Alexander
Director: Toni Steller
Editing: Toni Steller
Motion Design: Philipp Appelt
Mixing, Mastering & Sound Design: above-zero.com
Research by: Mark Newton
Fact checking: Florian Wittig, Jesse Alexander
Executive Producer: Florian Wittig
Channel Design: Simon Buckmaster
Contains licensed material by getty images, AP and Reuters
Maps: MapTiler/OpenStreetMap Contributors & GEOlayers3
Music Library: Epidemic Sound
All rights reserved - Real Time History GmbH 2024

[@realtimehistory]

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[@MarkusBracey-cs5rm]

LETS BE HONEST AMERICA WASNT READY FOR TET. PERIOD. We UNDERESTIMATED THE ENEMY

[@andrewcamden]

The use of the term "NVA" to refer to the PAVN is literally propaganda. Given that you refer to the American-backed forces as "ARVN" despite the fact that the "Republic" of Vietnam was never anything other than a dictatorship, you greatly detract from the potential value of your analysis by adopting the propaganda lingo of ONE side in a war with TWO sides.

[@BensonCaisip]

Can you make an episode on the role of media on the Vietnam War?

[@hoanguc2038]

@@MarkusBracey-cs5rm and still win?

[@MrGouldilocks]

The Tet offensive is a perfect example of why tactical victories can be irrelevant within a strategic context. The offensive was an overwhelming tactical victory for US and South Vietnamese forces and simultaneously a crushing strategic defeat.

[@markgarrett3647]

Nah it's an example of why we should never trust the MSM.

[@jvb1232]

An operational victory for the US is more fitting. A tactical victory would apply more to the specific battles fought in this offensive.

[@_ArsNova]

It was a complete military victory for the US, tactically and strategically. The reason the US "lost" is was because of the dwindling political support at home. Tet was a complete failure militarily, but showed the people the people at home watching CBS that we weren't anywhere close to defeating the NVA/VC. Wars require political will, and it was running out back in the states.

[@buckshot6481]

We were defeated by a photo of a south Vietnamese officer putting a bullet in the brain of a VC agent in broad daylight in front of US cameramen. That d@m picture did us in.

[@_ArsNova]

​@@buckshot6481 He had just executed the entire family of a South Vietnamese Lt. General too. Disturbing how easily people can be manipulated by media, isn't it?

[@user-nv8xi7pj2j]

I lost my uncle on February 15 1968 during Tet KIA in Hue in the citidale . Rest in peace uncle SONNY I LOVE YOU ❤️

[@Kriegerdammerung]

Many lost their uncles that day, I think. Fighting on both sides )=

[@thegamersfaction6343]

Sonny is my name, rip

[@Boomboom1001]

Bull. U we’re not in Vietnam

[@misawaboy7154]

Semper fi RIP

[@davidjackson2690]

I lost my first cousin Sonny during Tet. His mother's name was Mary.

[@datsyhoehoe]

My late hubby was with 2nd Battalion, 34th armored, Dreadnaughts. He was a loader in an M48 during TET and his tanknwas hit with an rpg which blew his commander and driver completely out through the hatch( I assume they were killed, I didnt press for an answer) and my hubby was blown up and almost out but his heels snagged on the rim of the turret hatch. He was covered with schrapnel wounds and blew his ears out. He even schrapnel fragments behind his eyes and could never have his head in a cat scan in case the magnetic power dislodged the metal. He was awarded the purple heart and passed away June 30th 2021, from complications due to agent orange heart damage. He will always be my hero. Rest easy, Denny, till we meet again💜💜💜

[@Trump2024-jn2zh]

Fake news

[@rick5781]

Next time your visit his final resting place, thank him for his service, from the part of a country who think they all are hero's.

[@hellohello8556]

Sincere condolences. Denny thankyou for your service. Denny rest in peace mate. 🙏

[@Shanehutcheson841]

RIP my brother! #USARMY

[@user-vo4pq5io6i]

I read about a bury the hatchet meeting between officers in the 90's where a US major said to his counter part "we never lost to you in a proper conventional battle" to which the NVA officer said "that is true, but that's also irrelevant because here we are"

[@SandfordSmythe]

A British strategist during the Revolutionary War said that the Americans are being defeated in every battle, but they will win the war.

[@SuperOdyss]

@@SandfordSmythe The British decided that since France and Spain had committed their navies to the Americans they took colonies off of France and Spain around the world. The British drove the French out of India during the War of Austrian succession, which is the name the rest of the world uses for that war. AND close to 40% of British residents believed that America should be free, and a large movement in parliament wanted to give them freedom, BUT end slavery in the colonies first. The American revolution is so misrepresented by American history books.

[@charliesmith4072]

In 1965 I got my hands on an English translation of Vo Nguyen Giap's book, "People's War, People's Army". Reading it made it clear to me that the U.S. was fighting a war the U.S. military had made up in their heads, not the war that they would face on the ground. It was clear we would lose. The military academy at West Point made it mandatory reading in 1996, only thirty years too late.

[@frereanaktom99]

I was back in VN when General Giap died. The Vietnamese of my generation are not alll consumed with consumerism. The outpouring of grief was overwhelming - not because he had died [over 100 years] but respect for a great hero , sidelined by the vietnamese Stalin, Le Duan, who caused so much misery after the Americans ran away.

[@charliesmith4072]

@@frereanaktom99 In my humble and American opinion, General Giap was both a genius and an outstanding human being.

[@paulgaskins7713]

At 16:07- 16:09 you see a a marine with an AK-47 or a Chinese type 56 and not only is that awesome footage but it shows the intensity of the fight and situation because he’s either out of ammo or his issued rifle isn’t functioning.

[@realtimehistory]

thanks, we also found that very interesting that's why we included it.

[@kj_heichou]

More likely it's just a war trophy OR it's because that soldier has his prejudices against the M16 like many soldiers in Vietnam had

[@MrDubyadee1]

M16s jammed very easily. They couldn’t tolerate any dirt at all. At least the early ones like what I had. The M14 was much more reliable but it was heavy and had a helluva recoil.

[@aymankhan2670]

​@@realtimehistoryplease make a video series about the Italian wars of Independence & Giuseppe Garibaldi

[@sydmccreath4554]

@@aymankhan2670That would be awesome!!!

[@thelastminuteman7513]

My grandpa was KIA during the Tet Offensive. Glad to see you covered it so accurately.

[@harleylawdude]

So sorry to hear. I’m sure you’ve been to the Wall?

[@Spiritofaconure]

Wow

[@Spiritofaconure]

What do you know about his military life

[@itsblitz4437]

Well thank you for serving his country.

[@omg_wtf]

​@@itsblitz4437he died for nothing.

[@jimmbbo]

I was at Hue Phu Bai when the NVA launched the Tet offensive. Excellent video. Accurate and detailed.

[@xxcrazymanxx1001]

Thank you for your service

[@markcrume]

Thanks Jimbo...Respect! Peace.

[@memeshort7189]

I have to ask. What was it like during tear gas attacks? I'm not going to judge. I'm just curious as I've never heard a veteran describe that part.

[@indianajones4321]

A perfect example of “yes but actually no”

[@_ArsNova]

Complete military victory for the US. However it showed the US public that we weren't "on the verge" of crushing the NVA/VC like Westmoreland and Johnson were saying.

[@jerimyweeks8064]

exactly. by any conceivable metric the US/ARVN defeated the VC/NVA soundly in Tet - in fact, for the most part the Viet Cong were DONE as a n effective fighting force afterwards and NVA regulars pretty much took over the war effort from that point on.

[@nvelsen1975]

@@jerimyweeks8064 Just because the political bosses had overridden the military to launch Tet, doesn't mean that somehow magically the tactics that made Vietnam win would stop working in the future. Look at how it went historically: Moscow remains an opressive totalitarian dictatorship until today in 2024, China wouldn't get into its own untill roughly 2015 so even assuming the US acts more sensibly and gets friendly enough to China, them blocking Vietnam is out untill then. Vietnam is still sickeningly Moscow-loyal in 2024 and still doesn't care about lives. Nothing the US could've done would've defeated that.

[@ThisIsSparta300]

@@_ArsNovano it wasn’t lol. VC became independent and that’s what the US didn’t want. So they didn’t win, lol. KDA don’t matter when you withdraw pointlessly losing 70k service members (again, pointlessly)

[@frankpienkosky5688]

agree...no one likes to be lied to...@@_ArsNova

[@rsekatsuki1106]

I recommend that you guys did a video about 1972 easter offensive,because even tho the size of the fighting is larger the tet offensive it receive less attention from historian

[@miliba]

The Tet Offensive was a strategic blunder for the US but tactically every battle was won. The Vietcong ceased to exist as a proper fighting force and most military operations were carried out by the NVA from that point onwards

[@marysalerno467]

The US won the TET Offensive in spite of what the media reported.

[@_ArsNova]

It wasn't a strategic blunder, militarily, the US won in every conceivable way. The only victory for the North was a propaganda victory essentially, as US public opinion turned against the war. In terms of casualties, achieving its stated objectives, territory, etc. The VC/NVA failed on every level.

[@scallen3841]

​@@_ArsNovajust like public opinion is turning against our support in the middle east and Ukraine

[@user-zj2mg9oo6i]

Viet Cong main force units were made up of North Vietnamese soldiers who had infiltrated into the south at the beginning of the second Indochina War. Smaller weaker Viet Cong forces were created from South Vietnamese men and women who were against the South Vietnamese government.80 to 90 percent of the forces involved in Tet were North Vietnamese regulars fighting as NVA or as Vietcong. All major targets and towns were attacked by those forces. In 1969 the NVA units still in the south and the NVA/Vietcong units were reinforced with troops from the north in time to mount a second Tet offensive that failed.

[@reycesarcarino4653]

War is Political No Amount of Fire Stops A flood

[@KAISERSCHL8]

Always glad to see more cold war era content! A very in-depth report on the Tet Offensive, the footage in this video especially was amazing - thanks a lot for sharing!

[@gandydancer9710]

Huế is pronounced [hwě]/"way", not hoo-ay. The Wikipedia article on the city provides a sound clip.

[@Daniel_Lancelin]

I recall my uncle James retelling some of my grandfather's Vietnam stories to me (my granddad passed away before I was born - not KIA, thankfully. He died peacefully, surrounded by his family). He spoke of the Tet Offensive thusly: "American troops won the day, but our journalists lost the war. The enemy's leadership knew very well that the only weapon they could effectively defeat us with was a Nikon camera. Indeed, Ho Chi Minh's victory was achieved on US soil."

[@ibubezi7685]

Absolutely - it's for that reason 'journo's' are now embedded with troops - not longer travelling freely, doing the enemy's work. The US have not learned much from Vietnam, but that is one of the main lessons (obviously in politician's/Army's interest - I'm not that gullible).

[@denisberte778]

Finally, thank you for getting it right. And why did Walter Cronkite tout Tet as a victory for the VC over the radio out of a plush hotel room in Saigon? Sounds like treason to me, "e tu Brutus?" Regards, Denis Berte' USMC (Nam 70-71)

[@chadr7522]

That’s exactly why I don’t like when people say we lost the Vietnam war.

[@anthonydolan3740]

@@chadr7522 The Communist regime controls north and south. The Republic of Vietnam no longer exists. We lost the war.

[@frankcolumbo4481]

Why was the US in Vietnam in the first place? To make the world safe for democracy or some such bs? They had no business killing Vietnamese people. Stop killing people in poor countries, Afghanistan, Laos, Yemen etc.

[@user-wu7wc9vl6w]

Was there as a staff sergeant with the 101st Airborne we took heavy casualties but always prevailed we never lost a battle

[@youngc570]

You pretty much have to go back to the days of Alexander the Great to find an army that never lost - maybe Subotai? I would throw in Grant, but many would argue that. What a waste.

[@nice_toes_xx]

Does mowing down random farmers count as a battle?

[@user-wu7wc9vl6w]

@@nice_toes_xx When them farmers have AK-47s.

[@nice_toes_xx]

@@user-wu7wc9vl6w is that why the number of recovered weapons from during the vietnam war is a tiny fraction of the number of enemy “combatants” who died?

[@pilsudski36]

Thank you for your service Army brother.

[@markrunnalls7215]

Cheers that was interesting.. I enjoyed watching that..

[@charliesmith4072]

Two minor glitches--1) LBJ's last Secretary of Defense was Clarke Clifford, not Clifford Clarke; 2) China and the USSR did supply weapons, but in the South the U.S. supplied the guerillas with their weapons unintentionally through theft.

[@hughzapretti-boyden9187]

And the other glaring glitch is the US were kicked out of country by boys in pyjamas & sandals!😂

[@MichaelSSmith-hs5pw]

I was a Vietnam Veteran before it became popular. Iron Triangle 1969.

[@kenoliver8913]

You miss one of the key points about the Tet offensive. Its North Vietnamese planners EXPECTED it to ultimately fail militarily but it served two, not one, political purposes. Yes, it discredited the "light at the end of the tunnel" stuff in the US and led to US withdrawal - the first purpose - but it also destroyed the Viet Cong leadership, the dangerous and indpendent-minded internal political rival to North Vietnamese communism. They wanted Vietnamese unification on their terms.

[@Dayvit78]

These are the type of things historians miss if they don't utilize Vietnamese language sources.

[@kovesp1]

No they did not. The narrator made this very point about the NLF adding that there is no actual evidence for it. Why comment, if you didn't pay attention?

[@toangomo]

That's because you only have access to information from the West. In fact, after the Tet campaign, the North Vietnamese army also organized two more major attacks called the Tet campaign phase 2-3. lasted until the end of 1968. If the VC and the North Vietnamese army were really seriously damaged and nearly disintegrated by Tet, why were they able to launch two more attacks? Why must the US accept negotiations? Just like when the Tet campaign hadn't happened yet? The US government still claims that it has nearly destroyed all VC in South Vietnam. After the Tet campaign they announced that the VC was about to disband. Yet the Americans had to accept the withdrawal of troops from Vietnam. Everything that makes no sense can be explained if you have access to sources from the Vietnamese side. From a tactical and strategic perspective, they were calculated to attack the American war determination. There is no way such a large campaign is designed just to fight like brainless people.

[@dat_toonie]

Le Duan had always been a Southerner and he is the Party's Chief Secretary. What's the point of weakening your rank when you were already in the highest position and controlled dominant influence over the Politburo?

[@frereanaktom99]

@@dat_toonie my wife is vietnamese. she doesn't talk about it much but ended up in hong kong before the british sent them back. only le duan wanted le duan. he was vietnam's stalin and caused a lot of suffering. incidentally, he sidelined general giap - the real hero of vietnamese self-rule after bac ho.

[@ClassicFormulaOne1]

Great video thanks!

[@jongoneill]

Thanks!

[@fload46d]

We went through Hue on our way to in country training in 1970. It was most interesting in architecture. LBJ made big bucks on that war. If you go to war, you better intend to win it.

[@ahmedakhan1]

The US did not learn any lessons from Vietnam. They went to war in Afghanistan and Iraq and lost both. Now it looks like the US will lose its proxy war in Ukraine.

[@leejohnson1810]

Come across this channel after viewing a few Vietnam related vids. Great Channel and looks like plenty of great content! Thanks RTH

[@MrGvan27]

i never knew about this.. thank you.

[@douglasmcbride7295]

Westmoreland said " 90% of the area pacified there's light at the end of the tunnel" well the light is a train coming at him the Tet offensive..

[@randywise5241]

It was a tactical victory for the U.S. but a strategic victory for the Vietcong. The beginning of the end of that terrible conflict.

[@TheSlazzer]

The tactical layer is that within individual battles or even fire fights, such as the tactic of a flanking move or suppressive fire. You were meaning to say "This was an *operational* victory for the US but ..."

[@randywise5241]

That is what I said. However, some do not know the difference between tactics and strategy. So, thanks, I guess.

[@williampage622]

It was not any victory for the VC. The VC were destroyed after TET we fought almost no VC. The VC destruction required the NVA to conduct almost all combat operations.

[@_ArsNova]

Tactical and strategic military victory for the US. It was a complete defeat militarily for the North. The only front NV achieved any success on with Tet was the political one.

[@robertcottam8824]

It was a loss for ‘Murca. It got spanked - as it always does… 😢

[@Annalsworldhistorydocumentary]

that's great, thanks!

[@user-zj2mg9oo6i]

The US had transitioned from a European style Cold War Army to a counterinsurgency army. Although the US was not completely surprised it was caught off guard by a full scale conventional attack by North Vietnam. Towards the end of US involvement in the Vietnam war, the NVA had moved south, not as a guerilla army, but as a conventional army complete with main battle Tanks, amphibious Tanks, APC's. Helicopters, radar guided AAA , man portable Strellas and mobile SAM batteries.

[@daveforeman6931]

Thank you for doing this video. It is the most complete video of Tet I have ever seen. Simple to understand regarding a very complex subject.

[@realtimehistory]

Glad it was helpful!

[@ipdavid1043]

thank you thank you of my prior request...❤khesan also interesting

[@deanstuart8012]

The new SecDef in February 68 was Clark Clifford, not Clifford Clark.

[@genekelly8467]

And it didn't help that Westmoreland had 11,000 troops tied down at Khe sanh-he seemed to be reeating the Battle of Dien Bien Phu-or maybe he thought he was fighting in Noth africa in 1943? In any event, the CIA, Army Intelligence and the South Vietnamese Intelligence failed to notic the signs pointing to Tet.

[@frankbalistreri5171]

We lost Tet because the media told us we lost Tet.

[@gordonlandreth9550]

Books were written to completely back up this statement . The VC was mauled during Tet and Mini Tet in May of that year .

[@shaider1982]

I read in an old Reader's Digest article from 1968 titled "In Vietnam, the Enemy is Beaten", where they interviewed Admiral John Mcain Jr. He argued that the Vietcong was being pushed into defeat and basically said Tet was a victory for the US.

[@FromPovertyToProgress]

McCain was correct.

[@marysalerno467]

In spite of the report by Walter Cronkite that said the US lost the TET offensive...the most trusted man in the world?

[@ahmedakhan1]

@@FromPovertyToProgress Did the US win the Vietnam war? Whatever the casualties of the Viet Cong and NVA, they remained in the field as formidable organized forces. General Westmoreland's request for an additional 200,000 more troops in addition to the over 500,000 already in Vietnam, indicates that he did not think the enemy was beaten. Some of the major battles of the Vietnam war with US forces occurred after the Tet Offensive.

[@FromPovertyToProgress]

@@ahmedakhan1 I never said the US won the war. This video is about the Tet offensive, not the entire Vietnam War which ended 7 years later. The VC was devastated by Tet and lost much territory in the coming years. It was far from formidable after 1968. NVA, which was much less of a participant in Tet remained active, but they did not launch a major offensive until 1972. Yes, there were battles afterward, just like every other war. Most wars have multiple battles with differing outcomes. And General Westmoreland's request is not relevent. He was constantly asking for more troops.

[@ahmedakhan1]

@@FromPovertyToProgress Westmoreland was asking for more troops whenever he felt that the US was not achieving its objectives. His request for an additional 200,000 troops after Tet would suggest that he did not believe that VC/NVA were beaten as seems to have been the view of Admiral McCain. The important point is that the guerrilla wins simply by surviving.

[@mateusmargon8297]

your channel is really nice

[@richardmarts2432]

I'm a bit surprised there was no coverage of Khe Sanh, the longest running battle of the entire war and launched during Tet.

[@irmollaar]

I really appreciate how you include possible theories like at 22:40 while also mentioning that there is little real evidence of this

[@mugsnvicki]

I wonder how many of the commenters here are old enough to remember the Viet Nam War. I witnessed it from the outside, since I live in Canada. Nightly news, scoreboards in the newspapers on aircraft lost, casualties etc. Had I been American, I would have been draft age. Jesse, you did a great presentation.

[@jessealexander2695]

Thanks.

[@halburke9115]

Here is one commenter, combat Marine, who got medevaced out of country in Nov 67. Oohrah!!

[@mugsnvicki]

glad you made it out. I have a friend whose helo was downed in Laos, he was picked up and made it out...

[@halburke9115]

@@mugsnvickithank you, I’m glad your friend made it out.

[@youngimperialistmkii]

Thanks for this vid. Most history KZbinrs don't touch the Vietnam war.

[@kungfuchimp5788]

Is it weird that I get excited when I stumble upon the release of a new episode? Because KZbin NEVER let's me know, and I have all my settings appropriately activated. Oh well. Another excellent, detail driven, episode. THOROUGHLY enjoyed.👍

[@Kabutoes]

Can’t wait for Easter offensive video being just as long as this one

[@user-gl9iz1bp1r]

Wise men don’t go to war. Wise men enjoy the prosperity of peace.

[@frereanaktom99]

thomas cromwell advising henry111

[@michaelcavallacci2945]

Disrespectful to veterans. Many of us had no real choice. And your prosperity is a direct result of our sacrifices. Remember that.

[@carta8399]

@@michaelcavallacci2945 Prosperity us not the result of your sacrifice.

[@michaelcavallacci2945]

@@carta8399 Well of course yours isn’t. Because, after all, it’s you. You’re above all of that.

[@carta8399]

@@michaelcavallacci2945 No, it isn't because the Vietnam war didn't bring any prosperity. Your sacrifice was your government's fault, it made nobody richer nor safer, except maybe some very few people who were already rich.

[@SB-333D]

you have forgotten to honorably mention one of the key roles to the Tet Offensive strategic success, our greatest espionage, Mr. Pham Xuan An.

[@Quanvietdung1]

I hope, when mentioning Vietnam, people will think of a friendly peaceful country, not a war. Today, Vietnam has completely changed, the wounds of war are being healed, and the economy is growing more and more.

[@datsyhoehoe]

To be honest, everytine I hear "Vietnam" it makes me sick. We lost so much on that unholy ground and for what???😭

[@ibubezi7685]

When are the first free elections (no, not the communist mockery, with 99% wins)? How much poverty has been eradicated? Free expression? Stop placating Communism, after 100 million deaths.

[@klausrain111]

Uhhh yeah. Plus they have some of the foxiest women in the world there. 😊

[@philipheilman5413]

I was at Hue for the Tet offensive , 2 /5. From where I was we didn’t lose!

[@drstevenrey]

Lesson one: Never ever wage any war on the territory of somebody else.

[@colindunnigan8621]

Small nit: McNamara's successor was Clark Clifford, not Clifford Clark.

[@Dayvit78]

I hate people whose last name is also a first name lol.

[@jona.scholt4362]

Always a great day when Jesse and Co. upload a video! Doubly so when it's about the war in Vietnam!

[@philodonoghue3062]

Outstanding analysis of the Tet offensive which adds to the credibility of this channel

[@robzilla730]

Liked and SUBBED!

[@Chrisander90]

This channel consistently puts out some quality content. You guys are solid.

[@arthurvane3901]

Next episode could you do one that has both Cambodian incursion 1970 and Operation Lam Son 719 1971 before you do one of the Easter offensive in 1972 and last the fall of Saigon in 1975. Or maybe you could include the Vietnam’s invasion or liberation of Cambodia in 1978 and the Chinese smaller invasion in 1979 and the Vietnam controlled Cambodia fir 10 years till the US peace keeping election in 1992.

[@realtimehistory]

We have a lot of these topics on our list. Currently at least four more Vietnam videos planned.

[@philipdobbins2769]

Winning or losing was a matter of perception. It failed in the sense that Hanoi was hoping for a general uprising, which did not happen. It succeeded in the annihilation of the Viet Cong, which politically was a victory for the North. I fought at Hue and we knew it was only a matter of time before the NVA had to pull out once we brought the weight of our supporting arms to bear. Our leadership may not have admitted it, but the war was destined to be lost by the West. No country, including China has been able to conquer and hold it's advantage in Vietnam. I also fought at Khe Sahn and have nothing but respect and admiration for the NVA. Now, in my life, all I want is PEACE. HIP- F 2/3 1968 Semper Fidelis

[@toangomo]

The above information mostly comes from the US and its allies. Does not reflect the reality of the relationship between VC and North Vietnam. For the Government of North Vietnam: VC and the North Vietnamese regular army are both one and the same. While VC is the Viet Minh military force in the South and is still under the direct command of the Hanoi government. When Ngo Dinh Diem established the Saigon government, he realized that it was necessary to destroy the prestige of this force by calling the Viet Minh force by a new name: Viet Cong. This is for the purpose of propagandizing that the Viet Cong is a new political and military force, unrelated to the Viet Minh force fighting against the French. In fact, when the North Vietnamese army crossed the 17th parallel separating the two regions, they all became soldiers of "Viet Cong" units. Because to the Hanoi government, these are all Viet Minh forces. For example, when the 203rd Tank Brigade entered the Independence Palace on April 30, 1975, they held the flag of the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam, not the flag of North Vietnam. Even though they are a unit entirely established in the North. Most US intelligence and strategists considered the VC and NVA to be two separate forces, thereby failing to properly evaluate the solidarity and fighting determination of the Communist side, leading to the loss of the war. Or they deliberately assumed that to benefit anti-communist propaganda.

[@philipdobbins2769]

@@toangomoThe VC were not NVA. They were guerilla cadres and wanted more input into decision making. That is why the North used them to spearhead much of the Tet Offensive, especially in Saigon. After Tet they no longer posed a threat to Hanoi's tactical strategies. They were for the most part effectively eliminated.

[@philipdobbins2769]

To a true warrior there was a lot of respect between worthy opponents. I had a healthy respect for the NVA and I know they respect us Marines.I think the youngest of us on both sides figured out what a sham war really is. For the most part it is just a way to make big bucks for the fat cats.

[@ucnguyenanh9414]

​@@philipdobbins2769Nah, they are. Hanoi redesignated all NVA units presented South as NLF units, all PAVN troops in the South would refer themselves as NLF soldiers until the war is ended.

[@paogene1288]

@realtimehistory do you have a link for the Ho Chi Minh trail footage. I would like to see more footage of the ingenuity of the North Vietnamese when transporting cargo through the jungle.

[@Solo-JudgmentDay92]

i love chanel

[@adambane1719]

Love English more !

[@wilkinstokarev5705]

Me as a Russian the way I see the tet offensive it is a tactical American and South Vietnamese victory but a North Vietnamese and NLF or Vietcong Political and Strategic Victory.

[@FortuneZer0]

The US didnt loose the Tet Offensive though. It was a deciding victory of ARVN and allies over the VC that broke in the aftermath.

[@AleV69692]

Who are you arguing with? This is an Info-doc😂😂😂😂

[@baselbob8012]

1972 also saw a Tet Offensive. As an Air Force Intelligence officer at the Pentagon, our office was tasked with presenting morning briefings to the Head of Air Force Intelligence who would pass on what he thought the Chief of Staff of the Air Force would want to know (and he would pass it to the Joint Chiefs with eventually the President getting his briefing). 2-3 months before this second offensive, Air Force reconnaissance was showing massive movement of personnel and supplies down the Ho Chi Minh Trail (i.e., another Tet coming!) and we would present this in our briefings but the head of Air Force Intel would systematically remove this information. Basically, he didn't want the Air Force to look bad as we were constantly bombing the trail but to little or no effect. The filtering of information like this warns us that our presidents are not necessarily getting the real truth in their intel briefings.

[@rickjohnson9558]

Read Von Clausewitz. War is politics. The Vietnam War was lost in the living rooms of the United States, where people watched the carnage on TV and couldn't understand what it was all about.

[@rursus8354]

It was extremely expensive for Viet Cong, which essentially was to be replaced by regular North Vietnamese forces.

[@twiska1402]

A bit more expensive than expected, yeah, but the result was worth it.

[@kenoliver8913]

But that replacement by the NVA was very much a feature not a bug - the Hanoi Politburo wanted to get rid of the "bourgeois nationalist" VC leadership and be seen to be the "liberators" of the south. It was an expensive way of doing a purge. There is a reason Vietnam is ruled from Hanoi, not the larger Saigon or the traditional capital of Hue.

[@rursus8354]

@@kenoliver8913 Acknowledged. I just hadn't researched enough to put that in words, but that's absolutely true.

[@rursus8354]

@@twiska1402 It's not a spending game.

[@twiska1402]

@@rursus8354 all war is

[@user-hf9np4ov9g]

We did not lose the Tet Offensive. It destroyed Viet Cong as a military factor for the rest of the war.

[@blabberer8950]

But the media portrayal back in The USA killed all steam for the war. Seeing Viet Cong inside the embassy in Saigon was a big hit. So it was a Catch 22.

[@26michaeluk]

​@@blabberer8950they never even got in the actual embassy though. They'd breached the wall and got into a building that was NOT the embassy. They were all killed but the media couldn't resist reporting lies.

[@adambane1719]

"We"?? .... You didn't do Jack, bro !!!!

[@Josh93B93]

While the offensive did cause serious casualties to the Viet Minh, it did not destroy the groups by any means, prior to Tet, the Viet Minh didnt perform such large scale operations, and after the tactical failure they withdrew, regrouped and then went back to the guerrilla operations they were accustomed to and still accounted for the majority of communist forces in the south for a further 4 years.

[@FromPovertyToProgress]

@@Josh93B93 Not true. The VC reverted to small-scale operations and lost control of the countryside. They also defected en masse to RVN. NVA largely retreated to sanctuaries in Cambodia and Laos. Plus the VC were pretty much dominated by Northerners after 1968. To the VC were effectively finished as an organization.

[@bertilliozephyrsgate6196]

Two words: Hue Citadel. The capture of which was a shocker to the American public; and the brick-by-brick effort to retake it was a grind on our collective nerves.

[@zdenekoldrichmarek2867]

NVA Heldback until VC lost nearly all their troops.Hence the slow involvement by the NVA . The total VC prior must have been 60000 Approx? they lost over 50000 !in TET ! hanoi was way inefficient in TET

[@Grow5ft]

Excellent video. Very well done. 👏 👏 👏

[@Franky46Boy]

The Vietcong was almost destroyed during the Tet Offensive. Their role in the fighting was largely taken over by the NVA.

[@reycesarcarino4653]

Task Failed Successfully

[@2tothe253]

Nice video! One small detail: you didn't include the crucial distinction between the understanding of Tet by geographic proximity. Tet was an import from ancient China and thus traditionally it was based on the UTC+8 timezone (nearly 120 degree East). On August 8, 1967 Hanoi changed the calculation of Tet to use the UTC+7 timezone (105 degree East) instead. As a consequence, the new moon in the calculation of Tet 1968 fell on two different days (1968-01-29 23:39 (UTC+7) vs 1968-01-30 00:39 (UTC+8)) and thus Tet was the 29th for North Vietnam whereas for South Vietnam it was the 30th. The North Vietnamese army higher-ups knew that and so passed the instruction to attack on the "second day of Tet" (meaning 31st) to VC. However, they failed to take into account (or maybe deliberately?) elements of VC in central Vietnam with closer link to the North was aware of the North Vietnam Tet (or its change), and began the offensive prematurely on the 30th. So when the rest of VC and NVA began their attack on the 31st they didn't exactly has that much element of surprise.

[@EpicHistoryoftime]

Or maybe you could include the Vietnam’s invasion or liberation of Cambodia in 1978 and the Chinese smaller invasion in 1979 and the Vietnam controlled Cambodia

[@markhartman5029]

Attack Attack Attack

[@jeffransom2977]

No seriously thank for your service and sacrifice 🙏

[@soxbearshwks8988]

3rd Batt. 7th Marines ChuLai,RVN 10/65-11/66

[@jlvfr]

I've seen this offensive described as a US tactical victory and strategic defeat.

[@hughzapretti-boyden9187]

The US were kicked out of country by boys in pyjamas & sandals, it's called defeat! End of!

[@jamesgoodman8868]

Uncle Walter said so.

[@petergarbe2459]

JA Ja Ami tolle Leistung ihr seid die besten..... wie immer ....

[@tokencivilian8507]

Great episode as always. Glad you know what's going on, since I sure don't. 🙂

[@tonymaiullo2674]

the movie Full Metal Jacket Hue City , The Perfume River .

[@robertborglund5783]

Ho was a pastry chef in Boston, Yamamoto went to Harvard, crazy.

[@sedoff1948]

P.S. The summary execution of the that Viết Cong was not done by the Chief of Police but by an ARVN general. It was instigated by his learning that this VC executed his close friend, his wife and 6 children earlier in the day. There wasn’t the luxury of trial by jury in the streets that day. The AP photographer later regretted stigmatizing the general by the adverse public reaction to the photo.

[@TheCoppergoose]

No , it wasn't instigated by death of his friend, general never said that, in his first interview about killing he said it was about VC being in civilian clothes. You can check that in Wiki, even the writer who popularized version about murder of friend (Max Hastings I think ) , said other historians believe it's a myth

[@TheCoppergoose]

The 36-year-old Lém was accused of murdering South Vietnamese Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Tuân, his wife, six children, and 80-year-old mother.[7][8] He was allegedly captured near a mass grave of approximately thirty civilians.[9] Loan was reported to have said afterwards: "If you hesitate, if you didn't do your duty, the men won't follow you."[9] In 2018, author Max Hastings detailed the allegations against Lém, adding that American historian Edwin Moise "is convinced that the entire story of Lém murdering the Tuân family is a post-war invention." Hastings concluded that "the truth will never be known."[8] In interviews justifying the killing immediately after the event, Loan did not refer to the atrocity or Tuân, instead saying that he shot Lém out of anger for being out of uniform and for killing a policeman during capture.[10]

[@rdc327]

Excellent documentary.

[@wunderkind-7724]

The United states won militarily during the Tet offensive but we lost the publicity war

[@Handle1969]

Yup. Kissinger said you can’t defeat a guerrilla war. Sorta like you can’t defeat crime. Crime is always with us. The mistake of Tet was they decided to become an invading army. No wonder they got clobbered. Was the last time they tried that…until we had left.

[@reycesarcarino4653]

War is Political Soldiers are Supposed to deter the Enemy from Attacking if they can't do this it's a Lost. The Rice Farmers were not afraid of the Devil Dogs

[@FromPovertyToProgress]

@@Handle1969 When did Kissinger say that?

[@sushibar777]

The US forces did not lose the Tet Offensive. In fact, the Tet Offensive resulted in a major military defeat for North Vietnam and the Viet Cong. It did, however, lead to greatly weakened political support for the war in the US.

[@user-zj2mg9oo6i]

North Vietnam and the Viet Cong lost the bulk of their experienced forces but were still able to launch a second Tet Offensive in 1969 that failed.

[@reycesarcarino4653]

War is Political When it's all said and done Soldiers are a deterrent if they can't do that and the Enemy is Willing to Fight even When you have beaten them then you already lost cause you're not stopping them

[@ahmedakhan1]

@@user-zj2mg9oo6i Yet they were again able to launch another offensive in 1972, and finally the victorious offensive of 1975. What really matters is who won the war, and it was the Vietnamese who won and the US who lost in spite of their best efforts (short of use of nuclear weapons).

[@user-zj2mg9oo6i]

​@@ahmedakhan1 It really does not matter who won or who lost. Today Vietnam and the US are not only trading partners they are allies against China. Part of the reason for the US withdrawing was politicians and the American people started to see that the domino theory was wrong. That Vietnam was not going to come under China's control. In fact, Vietnam and China have been traditional enemies for centuries. The US left in 1973 and by 1979 China was invading Vietnam. The fact is North Vietnam lost in Tet68' and Tet'69 and was unable to launch another major offensive until 1972. Even though Tet 68 was a surprise, US and South Vietnamese forces shattered the NVA and Vietcong. Tet 69 was a worse defeat for North Vietnam. General Vo Nguyen Giap was planning on a general uprising in South Vietnam but that failed. Every offensive failed to achieve their objectives. The US pulled out not because we were losing but because there was a loss of interest. Unlike Russia loosing on the battlefields of Afghanistan, the US was not militarily defeated in Vietnam.

[@user-zj2mg9oo6i]

@@HungNguyen-hk4jn No comparison with the Vietnam war. Suez was an intervention that was stopped by the US before Arab nations could start a fight. Vietnam was a war that started in 1955 and ended in 1975. Suez lasted little mor than one week. Not enough time for [politics, diplomacy and public opinion to have an effect.

[@wgreenestar]

I was on guard duty with the 101 st.airborne when tet broke out.worst week in my life.

[@rcwagon]

Other than a few individual reporters in theater, the press had not shown any favoritism to the efforts of soldiers. The major media directly affected viewpoints within the USA. They haven't changed who they support.

[@ouitai4011]

To be frank, US and South VN regime already lost since the beginning of the offensive because with all the campaigns carried out to get rid of the Viet Cong before 1968, it was expected that the communist forces would not be able to organize such offensive

[@robertcottam8824]

Put simply: ‘Murca lost. Again.

[@_ArsNova]

@@robertcottam8824 By "lost" you mean "won every single military confrontation, but was forced to pull out because of US public opinion".

[@baneofbanes]

@@_ArsNovayes that’s a loss.

[@nhienleminhhue6605]

"Every confrontation" is a little bit stretch. Yes, the US won most named battle but 90% of combat were ambush, it started with VPA fired first, The US troops regrouped then called for artilery and air support then retreat with light cassualty.

[@JCO2002]

@@_ArsNova Well, you did manage to win in Grenada, but that's about it. It's understandable - the US isn't a real country, just a loose association of states on the verge of disassociating.

[@cohee100]

TET was as decisive a US victory as the Battle of the bulge.

[@jurgenblick5491]

It was Bold

[@zaberfang]

Probably because while the US is playing chess while NV are playing Go.

[@slugshell2901]

NV playing ‘sorry!’

[@zaberfang]

@@slugshell2901 NV playing to make Americans say sorry to them

[@canadianbakin1304]

i dont care what the politics someone might have you have to respect the North Vietnamese strategic and logistical genius of this offensive the time and preparation that went into it unnoticed will be looked at for decades to come

[@thisnameisok]

there is footage (i believe first aired jan 31 1968 on NBC) of a civilian dressed white shirted american fighting alongside the marines on the embassy grounds initially i see him with what looks like a .38 revolver as he pushes up to an embassy building with marines/MPs- so assume he was other agencies.. but later appears to be fighting (and shooting suppression into the embassy building) with a M3 sub machine gun beside a marine who now has revolver- so I presume he swapped for the marines M3... seems to me he was a fighter- does anyone know his story or who he was or what unit/agency he was attached to/who he was?

[@joelmclamore1898]

I'm guessing a CIA man.

[@QuinnJACKSON-zx1dx]

Tet Offensive = When the people who are not doing the actual fighting think they know best.

[@DisEnchantedPersons]

My Father came back from Tet all shot up. He spent almost 6 months in the hospital.

[@thornil2231]

One of the terrible mistakes was that Tet was at different dates in the South and the North. In any case, we won the Vietnam War on US campuses.

[@revolutionhamburger]

US campuses delivered up Pol Pot pie to the people. Three million people died in Cambodia and millions more fled the communists in Vietnam. The war did not end when US left, it got way worse.

[@jameshazen1679]

Our east central Illinois news paper this week has a big coverage of Tet as a very happy event. I'm of the Vietnam war age so I don't think of Tet as anything but bad news

[@HistoryHaty]

I love studying 20th century warfare, mostly World War II but also the Cold War. Real Time History makes great videos. I like your Vietnam War documentary.

[@bigsarge2085]

Incredible, I always learn!

[@adambane1719]

Well, thats not saying much for an American !

[@bigsarge2085]

@@adambane1719 Thank you! YOUR opinion about MY learning means so much to me. **sarcasm** 😄

[@user-qh9hq2fc9p]

Great work. Thanks.

[@harrydocwalkerharrydocwalk5998]

The nogs lost tet.

[@user-ge5vf5md7r]

I know this too many times.

[@grimeyodb2526]

At 18.57 into the vid there is something strapped to his helmet,can anyone tell me what that is? Looks like a damn octopus or something🤷‍♂️

[@Chad-nx7rs]

The vc were essentially finished after tet. The nva had plenty of resources, men, equipment etc. If the nva had not intervened the war would have been over soon.

[@markbostick8476]

Did you just create a new meaning of the word intervened? How did you get any likes? Do you think Abraham Lincoln and the union forces intervened in the u.s. civil war?

[@Chad-nx7rs]

@@markbostick8476 the north was a separate country and they had help with supplies from China

[@therockbat]

The North never viewed themselves as a separate nation intervening in another nation the way the U.S did (and does today), but only carried out a war/conflict/struggle...to unite the nation with their Southern comrades against U.S imperialism and their RVN lackeys.

[@reycesarcarino4653]

It's not over till it's Over War is Political

[@yukipaw1702]

And in what universe does the NVA not participate in the war and not unite the nation? it's like you want the NVA to not have the political and ideological motivation of the NVA. Your hypothesis makes no sense. This has been and always will be an unwinnable war for the U.S and its puppet state.

[@SaundersE5]

Cause Cronkite said we lost even though we won.

[@davidbuck9390]

Read General Giap's book. He stated three more days of bombing and they were willing to negotiate. Thank you Conkrite and politicos for the loss.

[@SandfordSmythe]

​@@davidbuck9390Sit for months negotiating?

[@observing8686]

And Cronkite was right.

[@davidbuck9390]

He was right when he admitted he was wrong before he died.