L2 History NCEA — Tet Offensive 1968

Introduction

**Neutral sentence:** The Tet Offensive was the fundamental turning point in the Vietnam war that drastically changed how the public felt about US involvement in Vietnam.

**Context sentence:** News coverage of the offensive shown to the American public revealed that American victory in the war was far from reach, resulting in decreasing support for the Vietnam war.

**Argument sentence:** The event resulted in several consequences in the short and long term, the most significant of which being the division of public opinion about the U.S involvement in the War in Vietnam. 

**Power sentence:** The Tet Offensive resulted in the significant decrease in support for the war by the American public and would eventually lead the Vietnam war to its end.

Event paragraph

* The Tet Offensive was the series of coordinated North Vietnamese surprise attacks on more than 100 South Vietnamese cities, along with the US embassy located in Saigon.
* The campaign aimed to incite rebellion amidst the South Vietnamese people, as well as forcing the reduction of US involvement within Vietnam.
* South Vietnamese and US forces held their own against the attacks—however, news coverage of the offensive greatly shocked the American public, resulting in waning amounts of support for the war.
* Despite suffering significant military losses, North Vietnam successfully infiltrated and launched effective attacks upon the US and South Vietnamese opposition, achieving strategic victory.
* The Tet Offensive marked a turning point in the Vietnam war as it evidently showed the impossibility of US victory in Vietnam, greatly diminishing the public’s support for the war effort.

Short term consequence

The Division of Public Opinion in the U.S.

The Division of Public Opinion in the U.S. statement + elaboration

**Statement:** A short-term consequence of the Tet Offensive is the division of public opinion about the U.S involvement in the War in Vietnam.

**Elaborate:** As the Vietnam war persisted, two perspectives developed regarding sentiments of the war, between the hawks (pro-war) and the doves (anti-war). It was ultimately media coverage of the event that influenced public opinion and shaped how the public responded to Vietnam through the nature of the footage and how it was framed. 

The Division of Public Opinion in the U.S. evidence

* What were the two main perspectives on the war?
* Pro war (hawks)—Halt in communist spread, protect way of life, needed to defend South Vietnam to prevent communist spreading
* Anti war (doves)—Unjust, immoral use of napalm + agent orange, unwinnable war, war means to increase wealth

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* What data demonstrates division of perspectives escalated after Tet?
* Prior Tet, doves were a minority of 28%, while the hawks were significantly higher in number with 47% of U.S adults. However, six weeks after the offensive, the doves outnumbered the hawks in the poll with 42%, with the hawks at 41%. This was the first time the doves outpolled the hawks. 

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* What kinds of protests did ‘Doves’ engage in?
* 30,000 draft evaders
* enrolled in college
* fleed to Canada
* Student protests—included Kent State, where several students injured and killed by firing police

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The Division of Public Opinion in the U.S. explanation

* What impact on soldiers?
* their withdrawal would be highly influenced by strong sentiments of whether US involvement was right or wrong. It also affected soldiers through the treatment they received when returning home, as rather than being celebrated with parades and ceremonies, were instead treaded as criminals, as those with strong anti-war beliefs greatly harassed soldiers who participated in Vietnam. 

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* Impact on those who opposed the war?
* as exposure to its media coverage would greatly strengthen their anti-war sentiments, encouraging much more numerous and and effective protests against US involvement. 

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* Impact on government?
* PM would feel great pressure regarding how to respond to the urgent sentiments of the two sides, as well as deciding how to continue with US involvement in Vietnam.

The Division of Public Opinion in the U.S. analysis of significance

This shows that the Tet Offensive is significant as it was a turning point in the way the American public felt about the War in Vietnam. The division of public opinion resulted from the Tet Offensive is significant because it leads ordinary people to take action which forced the change in government policies on the war.  

Long term consequence

Change in Tactics and Strategy

Change in Tactics and Strategy statement + elaborate

**Statement:** A long-term consequence of the Tet Offensive was the change in tactics and strategies made by the US government relating to the war.

**Elaborate:** The change in tactics and strategies responded to the increasing opposition to US involvement in the war. The change in presidency also lead to new tactics being utilised— tactics that would aid in fulfilling Nixon’s election promise.

Change in Tactics and Strategy evidence

* What new tactics + strategies did Nixon apply to war? What was their intent?
* Vietnamisation,’ which was the turning over of responsibility for the war from the US to South Vietnam. The US would train and arm the ARVN troops, while American forces would be slowly withdrawn from Vietnam.
* polarisation,’ wherein public opinion of war was attempted to be united by framing opposition of US involvement to be unpatriotic. It aimed to bring together all perspectives of US war involvement by showing those with both pro and antiwar sentiments all shared the same vision.

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* How did peace accords influence application of these tactics + strategies?
* Peace accords which arose out of negotiations in 1973 changes the focus of strategies again. As it sets a timeframe for US withdrawal from Vietnam, diplomacy and vietnamisation become the most important strategies moving forward.

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* How do we see the outcomes of these tactics and strategies in the Fall of Saigon?
* The fall of Saigon, as the US finalised its withdrawal in 1975, show that with the change of strategies, US was able to successfully exit conflict
* However fall of Saigon to communist forces make out questionable whether withdrawal was with ‘honour.’

Change in Tactics and Strategy explanation

* How did changes in tactics impact different groups of people at the time?
* South Vietnam troops—south vietnam had a lot more responsibility + direct involvement in conflict - although this was coupled with increased training
* Nature of the interactions in conflict—in addition to these changes, meant that conflict between South and North became more like a civil war as it was prior to US direct involvement
* Felt in US—Mixed responses, some tactics more popular with hawks while others with doves, however it was ultimately combination of these approaches that lead to US exiting conflict, which was a favourable outcome for both perspectives

Change in Tactics and Strategy analysis of significance

* What does consequence show about how Tet was significant event in the war?
* Shows that not only attitudes to the war change after the Tet Offensive, but also the cause of the war. This shows us Tet is significant turning point.
* How is consequence significant?
* This consequences is significant because plays important role in determining the timeframe and nature of the outcome of the war. It is because of these changed tat US withdrawal from the war occurs sooner, and it influences the fact that US prioritises ‘honourable’ exit from the conflict over containing communism. Therefore consequence id also significant in fall of Saigon to communist forces

Prioritisation paragraph

* **Statement:** The most significant consequence of the Vietnam war was the division of public opinion about the U.S involvement in the War in Vietnam.
* **Elaborate:** The significant division of perspectives towards the war impacted several lives during its time, such as protesters and veterans, and it was a significant factor that led to a change in tactic and strategies used in Vietnam.
* **Evidence:** It was ultimately the division of public opinion that lead to a change in policies and tactics used to approach the war, as these perspectives were significantly considered regarding the best way to interact with the war in relation to the desires of the public. With exposure to the war’s violent nature, a majority of the American public felt strongly that the war should end. Because of this, Nixon responded to this opposition with the election promise to honourably exit the war in Vietnam. This is especially significant as these tactics lead to American withdrawal from Vietnam, which was closely followed by the fall of Saigon to communist forces, resulting in the wars end.
* **Link:** Therefore, the impacts of the other consequence of the Tet Offensive are contingent on the increasing division of public opinion towards the Vietnam war.

Conclusion

**Restate argument:** The Tet Offensive is one of the most significant events occurring within the Vietnam war, with its most significant consequence being the division of public opinion about U.S involvement in Vietnam.

**How shown:** It was ultimately the division of public opinion that lead to a change in policies and tactics as it was a significant factor that led to the change in policies and tactics utilised toward as the war.

**Insight:** What is most significant about the Tet Offensive was how it changed the way war was seen and interacted with, not only during its time but for generations to come. It was ultimately the media coverage of the war that exposed its true violent nature, which then amplified its opposition and revealed what war truly entailed.  

**Power end:** The Tet Offensive was not only a turning point in the Vietnam war, but also a point of change in how the world would interact with war for generations to come.