The North Vietnamese Tet Offensive came as a nasty surprise on at least two levels: first, it was believed – and formally agreed – that hostilities between North and South would be suspended for the Tet (lunar new year) holiday. Second, in the months before the attacks, a steady American pounding at North Vietnamese positions led to a common belief that the communists were hanging on by a thread. That assurance was deep enough to keep the American troops and the Army of the Republic of Veitnam (ARVN) to dismiss early warning signs of an impending attack.

On this day, January 30, and the first day of Vietnam’s most important holiday, Tet, in 1968, the organized North Vietnamese Army launched an all-front attack on the South. At the same time, irregular Viet Cong forces in support rose up to take military control of many major cities. All told, some 85,000 North Vietnamese were involved.

The NVA offensive was met with some initial success, getting far enough into South Vietnam’s capital, Saigon, to reach the American embassy. The far-superior American and ARVN forces soon regained most of the lost ground, but the damage was done: the Americans realized that the NVA was far from done, and any kind of decisive victory would need a lot larger infusion of troops. In the face of mounting anti-war sentiment, the Pentagon began reconsidering strategy.