Learn about the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong's surprise attacks and occupation of Hue
On January 31, 1968, at the beginning of the traditional New Year festival of Tet, the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong launched an all-out offensive. From Vietnam Perspective (1985), a documentary by Encyclopædia Britannica Educational Corporation.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.In August 1964, in response to an alleged attack by North Vietnamese patrol boats on U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin, the U.S. Congress authorized Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson to take any action necessary to deal with threats against U.S. forces and allies in Southeast Asia. From Vietnam Perspective (1985), a documentary by Encyclopædia Britannica Educational Corporation.
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.In the spring of 1975 the North Vietnamese army conquered all of South Vietnam, and the following year North and South were formally united in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.During World War II the communist Viet Minh were the only effective Vietnamese force resisting the Japanese occupation of French Indochina. From Vietnam Perspective (1985), a documentary by Encyclopædia Britannica Educational Corporation.
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.With the defeat of the French at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, the United States became concerned about communist gains in Vietnam. From Vietnam Perspective (1985), a documentary by Encyclopædia Britannica Educational Corporation.
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Transcript
NARRATOR: On January 31, 1968, the beginning of TET, the Vietnamese lunar New Year holidays, the Viet Cong, under North Vietnamese direction, launched surprise attacks all across South Vietnam [gunfire]. In Saigon they attacked Tan Son Nhut Air Base, the presidential palace, General Westmoreland's headquarters, and the American Embassy. They occupied the city of Hue for twenty-four days and, while there, executed 2,800 civilians who supported the South Vietnamese government. And they laid siege to the U.S. Marines at Khe Sanh.
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