What was the effect of the Tet offinsive on Americans?

Answer 1

The US press (TV & Newspapers & Magazines...Time, Life, etc.) had been made aware of the fact that the communists had lost more men than the US/Allies had lost, and that they could not keep up the fight much longer. In addition, communist territorial losses had been greatly accelerated; resulting in a much lower enemy force(s) capability of engaging US/Allied forces for any foreseeable future.

Then came the TET offensive, on nation wide (world wide TV)!

For the citizens of the US, everything fed to them by the US government had been incorrect. How could a defeated foe, do this? Faith in the US Government, the war, and the military, went down from there.

Americans began to wonder if they could win the war

Answer 2

The Tet offensive was a major offensive launched by the NVA and the VC. It was a series of simultaneous attacks across South Vietnam during the Lunar New Year of Tet. The U.S. had signed a peace agreement for Tet and the North Vietnamese violated this agreement catching the U.S. off guard. Although the Tet Offensive failed on the North's part, it showed that they were very capable of composing strong attacks against their enemies.

Answer 3

On January 30, 1968, the North Vietnamese army and Viet Cong units attacked provincial headquarters, political and military targets throughout South Vietnam. The campaign was swiftly stopped everywhere except the old imperial capital of Hue (pronounced way). In this university town and birthplace of North Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh, fighting in the streets lasted three weeks.

Military leaders in both North and South Vietnam, as well as U.S. and allied leaders, viewed the coordinated effort as a failure, with the North Vietnamese Army seriously depleted of personnel and resources.

However, highly respected CBS newsman Walter Cronkite went to Vietnam, and late in February, 1968 reported from the streets of Hue telling America that the war in Vietnam was non 'win-able.' This assessment gave significant energy to the anti-war movement in the U.S., and put additional pressure on the U.S. Congress to withdrawal from Vietnam. In the wake of this shift, President Lyndon Johnson announced that he would not seek reelection to a second term. Demoralized in the arena of public opinion, the "Vietnam War" end began.

North Vietnamese leaders had hoped that a massive campaign in the south would turn the South Vietnamese people to rebel against their government and seek to reunify with the North. However, that uprising never materialized in South Vietnam, and the "TET Offensive" campaign was a military and political failure on the ground - but a success in U.S. public opinion against the war.