The Vietnamese called it the "war against the Americans to save the nation." It was an attack by the North Vietnamese military and the guerilla fighters of the National Liberation Front. The North Vietnamese felt they HAD to defeat the Americans because of all the damage they did to the country, so this was an all out military attack on South Vietnam. Although it didn't go well for the North Vietnamese communists, they felt that they still won because it sent a message to the Americans saying they weren't going to give up and that the war was all but over. They attacked the US Embassy and the Presidential palace. In the end, about 1.4 million north and south Vietnamese civilians were killed along with about 2.1 million wounded.
http://www.marxist.com/tet-offensive-part-one.htm
I would have to agree that they made the Americans see that the war was far from being over and it is so sad that this kind of attitude came at the expense of so many civilian lives. I can see the pain and anger depicted in your photo, it also makes me see that the war had a long way to go. Even though I want to feel like he really doesn't kill him.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad to read about the lengths to which people will go to prove or make a point to others, especially when it involves harming people.
ReplyDeleteThis attack must have caused the Americans to fear the Vietnamese, in attempt to get back at how Americans wanted to enter in the first place
Deletethis is a very intense photo
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