Tet Offensive

While the U.S army and South Vietnam's army were still focusing on Khe Sanh, the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops surprisingly launched the Tet Offensive - one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War. On 30 January 1968 - the first day of Tet (Vietnamese Lunar New Year), the North Vietnam army launched a series of aggressive and coordinated surprise attacks over 100 towns and cities in South Vietnam.

The communists were swiftly routed despite their surprise and initial success, with the exception of Saigon, which took around two weeks, and Hue in particular, which took the PAVN almost a month to retake. The attacks continued till March 28.

The Tet Offensive was indeed a massive military defeat for North Vietnam. However, North Vietnam won a major "strategic" and "psychological" victory, to the point that this was often considered the turning point of the War, and the start of South Vietnam's defeat. These battles even had a huge impact on the US. Back in America, support for the war waned and calls to withdraw from Vietnam grew louder than ever. President Johnson made the decision to stop bombing North Vietnam and pursue peace talks instead.

• Date: January 30 - March 28, 1968.
• Location: South Vietnam.
• Result: Both sides claimed their victory.