ABSTRACT
The initial phase of the Tet Offensive ended with the battle for Hue, but despite the severe cost in casualties the North Vietnamese pressed on with subsequent phases of the offensive in May and later in the summer of 1968. PAVN replacements filled out or replaced shattered PLAF units and on May 5 struck 119 targets that included attacks in Saigon. Unlike the January 31 offensive, the May 5 round of attacks was anticipated. American and ARVN units were ready and in many cases preemptively attacked PAVN forces before they could launch their assaults. Hue was spared another massive battle, but the Cholon district in Saigon was again the scene of heavy fighting from May 5 through May 13 and again in late May and early June, and Saigon received enemy rocket attacks almost daily throughout June. Despite being prepared and quickly repelling the so-called Mini-Tet assaults in May, American forces paid a dear price. Over 550 American troops died in the fighting during the week of May 4 through May 11, contributing to the loss of almost two thousand dead for the month of May, the costliest month for the United States during the entire war. PLAF attacks in the Mekong River Delta in August and PAVN attacks near Saigon in September were both repelled at great cost to Viet Cong and PAVN forces. Afterwards, North Vietnamese commanders terminated the offensive and ordered remaining main-force units to withdraw to sanctuaries, most of which were located in nearby Cambodia and Laos.
