Tet, Vietnamisation and American withdrawal

H2 History - syllabus 9174, 2027

What this lesson teaches

  • I can judge how the Cold War played out in Korea, Vietnam and Cuba, and how each conflict changed the Cold War.

    Syllabus 9174, Paper 1, Theme I, Learning Outcomes. evaluate the manifestation of the Cold War conflict across different contexts over time, and its impact on the Cold War

Make a guess

The 1968 Tet Offensive cost the communists heavy losses. What do you think it did to US policy?

  1. It made the USA leave Vietnam within weeks.
  2. It convinced Johnson to send another million troops to Vietnam.
  3. It turned opinion against the war, and Johnson stepped back.
Show the answer

It turned opinion against the war, and Johnson stepped back.

Johnson halted most bombing and did not seek re-election. Nixon then withdrew troops through Vietnamisation.

Tet turned American opinion against the war; Nixon withdrew troops while using diplomacy with Moscow and Beijing.

In January 1968, communist forces launched the Tet Offensive, attacking towns across the South. They suffered heavy losses and did not spark a general uprising. But the scale of the attack shocked Americans, who had been told the war was being won.

Johnson halted most bombing and announced he would not seek re-election. Richard Nixon became president in 1969 promising "peace with honour".

Nixon's Vietnamisation policy handed fighting to South Vietnamese forces while withdrawing American troops. He also widened the war into Cambodia and Laos and bombed the North heavily. In 1972 he visited Beijing and Moscow, using triangular diplomacy to isolate Hanoi.

The Paris Peace Accords of January 1973 led to the withdrawal of the remaining US troops. Fighting between the Vietnamese continued. In April 1975, North Vietnamese forces captured Saigon and Vietnam was reunified under communist rule.

Tet Offensive
January 1968.
Paris Peace Accords
January 1973.
Fall of Saigon
30 April 1975.

Real examples to use

US embassy attacked, 31 January 1968

Communist fighters broke into the embassy grounds in Saigon. The images clashed with official claims of progress.

Cronkite, 27 February 1968

The CBS news anchor told viewers the war was a stalemate, a sign that mainstream opinion was turning.

Johnson steps back, 31 March 1968

He limited the bombing, offered talks and said he would not seek re-election.

Nixon Doctrine, July 1969

At Guam Nixon said Asian allies must supply their own troops, the idea behind Vietnamisation.

Worked example: Was Tet a communist victory?

A classic evaluation question.

  1. Military: a defeat; heavy losses and no uprising.
  2. Political: a victory; it destroyed confidence in Johnson's strategy.
  3. Consequence: it began the US move towards withdrawal.
  4. Judgement: its significance lay in its political impact.

Watch out for this

The USA was defeated militarily in 1968 and fled Vietnam at once.

Tet was a military setback for the communists but a political turning point. US troops withdrew gradually until 1973.

Check your understanding

What was Vietnamisation?

  1. A plan to reunify Vietnam under Ho Chi Minh by elections
  2. Handing the fighting to South Vietnamese forces as US troops left
  3. Sending more US troops to win the war quickly
Show the answer

Handing the fighting to South Vietnamese forces as US troops left

Right. It was Nixon's exit strategy.

Sources and context

Background reading for this chapter.

  • Johnson explains why Americans are in Vietnam

    Paraphrase of President Lyndon Johnson's address at Johns Hopkins University, 7 April 1965.

  • McNamara recommends more troops

    Paraphrase of a memorandum from Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara to President Johnson, 20 July 1965.

  • The Geneva final declaration

    Paraphrase of paragraph 7 of the final declaration of the Geneva Conference on Indochina, 20 July 1954, as cabled by the US delegation.

  • Nixon appeals to the silent majority

    Paraphrase of President Richard Nixon's televised address to the nation on the war in Vietnam, 3 November 1969.

  • Eisenhower explains the stakes, 1954

    Extract from President Dwight Eisenhower's news conference of 7 April 1954, answering a question on the strategic importance of Indochina, a month before the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu. A US government record in the public domain; text from the American Presidency Project.

  • a Defense official ranks American aims, March 1965

    Extract from "Action for South Vietnam", a paper prepared by John McNaughton, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, Washington, 10 March 1965, two days after the first US Marines landed at Da Nang. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, volume II, document 193. A US government document in the public domain.

  • the Secretary of State on American commitments, July 1965

    Extract from a paper by Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Washington, 1 July 1965, written for the President's meeting on whether to send large numbers of combat troops. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, volume III, document 39. A US government document in the public domain.

  • the Under Secretary of State dissents, July 1965

    Extract from "A Compromise Solution for South Viet-Nam", a paper by Under Secretary of State George Ball for the same meeting, Washington, undated (circulated 1 July 1965). The President's security adviser predicted that Johnson would "listen hard to George Ball and then reject his proposal". Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, volume III, document 40. A US government document in the public domain.

  • the Secretary of Defense explains the strategy, November 1965

    Extract from a draft memorandum from Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara to President Johnson, "Courses of Action in Vietnam", Washington, 3 November 1965. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, volume III, document 189. A US government document in the public domain.

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