ABSTRACT
Although the Tet offensive in Vietnam in January 1968 took most of the world by surprise, it was far from a surprise to the US forces in that country. By December 1967, the intelligence section of the top US headquarters, the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV), was predicting a major military attack by the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese forces to begin on or about Tet. Wes Gallagher of the Associated Press described a similar reaction at the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge in WWII. The Tet offensive was a big story. The media made it even bigger. One example is the coverage of the attack on the US Embassy. The Tet offensive was a major military victory for the United States and a most damaging defeat for the enemy. Tet turned out to be a turning point in the war. Public support took a downturn and never recovered.
