1968 Tet Offensive Remembered
By Armchair General

Published Thursday, January 24, 2008  |  Comments  | Print  | E-mail

In recognition of the 40th anniversary of the 1968 Tet Offensive, publisher ABC-CLIO is featuring essays on this watershed event during the Vietnam War in its History and the Headlines website. The Tet overview essay is written by Dr. James Willbanks (see “The Vietnam War in Retrospect,” November 2007 ACG magazine).

ACG Editor in Chief and Vietnam vet, Col. ret. Jerry Morelock, wrote one of the website’s ‘Dilemma’ essays on “The Tet Offensive and the Media.” To read all the essays, follow this link.

Images of the Tet Offensive are presented below, click on the thumbnails for larger images.

Image Credit: NATIONAL ARCHIVES
January 31, 1968. U.S. troops fire on Viet Cong sappers attacking bachelor officers quarters in Saigon during the Tet Offensive..

Image Credit: NATIONAL ARCHIVES
February 1968. Marines scale a mound of rubble as they fight their way into the NVA stronghold in the Citadel – the ancient Imperial capital’s fortress – during the battle for Hue.

Image Credit: NATIONAL ARCHIVES
February 2, 1968. An M-60 machine-gunner fires in support of advancing members of the 2d Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment during street fighting in Hue City.

Image Credit: NATIONAL ARCHIVES
February 5, 1968. Marines scramble for cover as their truck convoy comes under heavy fire near Hue City.

Image Credit: NATIONAL ARCHIVES
Walter Cronkite and a CBS news crew use a jeep for a camera dolly during an interview with the commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment in the Battle for Hue City.

Image Credit: NATIONAL ARCHIVES
February 14, 1968. A Marine artillery crew fires a 105 mm howitzer at enemy targets in the hills surrounding their base at Khe Sanh.

Image Credit: NATIONAL ARCHIVES
February 24, 1968. Members of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment move through a secured part of Hue as the battle for the city winds down.

Image Credit: NATIONAL ARCHIVES
February 6, 1968. Gas mask-clad members of the 2d Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment rush a series of buildings during the battle for Hue. The Marines used tear gas to flush the enemy out of fortified positions, a tactic that proved very effective throughout the fight.

Image Credit: NATIONAL ARCHIVES
February 18, 1968. Members of the 2d Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment fire at the strongpoint of NVA resistance in the citadel during the struggle for Hue.

Image Credit: NATIONAL ARCHIVES
February 6, 1968. A Navy corpsman treats a member of the 2d Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment during the battle for Hue. The Marines suffered nearly 1,000 casualties (killed and wounded) in the encounter.