kids encyclopedia robot

Tet Offensive facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Tet Offensive
Tết Mậu Thân
Part of the Vietnam War
Tet-Offensive-Map.jpg
Some Communist targets during the Tet Offensive
Date Phase 1: January 30 – March 28, 1968
Phase 2: May 5 – June 15, 1968
Phase 3: August 17 – September 23, 1968
Location
South Vietnam
Result US and South Vietnamese tactical victory
North Vietnamese propaganda, political, and strategic victory
Depletion of Viet Cong leading to replacement by North Vietnamese
Belligerents
 South Vietnam
 United States
 South Korea
 Australia
 New Zealand		 South Vietnam Viet Cong
Vietnam North Vietnam
Commanders and leaders
United States William Westmoreland South Vietnam Hoàng Văn Thái
Strength
~1,000,000 ~323,000 - 595,000
Casualties and losses

In phase 1: South Vietnam South Vietnam:
4,954 killed
15,917 wounded
926 missing
United States South Korea Australia New Zealand
Others:
4,124 killed
19,295 wounded
604 missing
Total casualties in Phases 1:
Approximately 45,820 casualties
(9,078 killed, 35,212 wounded, 1,530 missing)

Total 3 phases: unknown

In phase 1::
Est. 17,000 killed and 20,000 wounded

To August:
75,000+ casualties
Total 3 phases: 111,179 casualties (45,267 killed, 61,267 wounded, 5,070 missing)
Civilian: 14,000 killed, 24,000 wounded

The Tet Offensive was a military campaign during the Vietnam War. It was started on 30 January 1968 by communist forces of the Viet Cong and North Vietnam against South Vietnam, the United States and their allies.

The purpose of it was to surprise the enemy with attacks against military and civilian commands and control centers in South Vietnam.

Eventually, the US and South Vietnam fought off the communist forces and won a military victory. However, the Tet Offensive was when the majority of Americans went from supporting the US fighting in Vietnam to standing against it. This was because the US military and government told its own citizens that the US was close to winning, but the Tet Offensive disproved that. It was said that it was during the Tet Offensive where the US won the battle but lost the war.

Images for kids

  • Gen William C Westmoreland

    General William C. Westmoreland, COMUSMACV

  • T4 Vietcong Tet Offensive

    VC prior to departing for Saigon-Gia Định

  • Viet Cong Sworn In

    VC special forces are sworn into the forces before the Tet Offensive

  • Nlfmainforce

    Viet Cong troops pose with new AK-47 assault rifles and American field radios

  • Lieutenant General Frederick Weyand

    Lieutenant General Frederick Weyand, commander of II Field Force, Vietnam

  • South Vietnam Map

    South Vietnam, Corps Tactical Zones

  • Tet1968

    U.S. Marines with M14 rifles battle in Hamo village

  • ARVN Rangers defend Saigon, Tet Offensive

    ARVN Rangers defending Saigon in 1968 Battle of Saigon

  • TetMap3

    Huế and the Citadel

  • Marines Clear Buildings, 2 February 1968 (16428160745)

    U.S. Marines advance past an M48 Patton tank during the battle for Huế

  • DMZ1

    Northern Quảng Trị Province & DMZ

  • TetMap

    A number of South Vietnamese targets during the Tet Offensive

  • Arvn1

    South Vietnamese troops in action near Tan Son Nhut Air Base

  • Nguyen Van Thieu with map (cropped)

    Nguyễn Văn Thiệu was the president of South Vietnam

  • Cholon after Tet Offensive operations 1968

    Civilians sort through the ruins of their homes in Cholon, the heavily damaged Chinese section of Saigon

  • Arvn2

    ARVN Rangers moving through western Cholon, Saigon, 10 May 1968

  • Marines in DaiDo Vietnam during Tet Offensive 1968

    U.S. Marines move through the ruins of the hamlet of Dai Do after several days of intense fighting

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Ofensiva del Tet para niños

kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Tet Offensive Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.