ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the untold story of the general offensive and the general uprising. As General Tran Van Tra said of the Tet attack on Saigon, it was completely unrealistic for us to set the goal of the General Offensive-General Uprising in terms of taking complete power into the hands of the people, which our cadres and combatants would interpret as dealing the enemy a knock-out blow. The shock of Tet, and the habituation of the US public and officials to the massive destructiveness of the post-Tet counteroffensive and destroying to save, cleared the way for a new method of operations. The most significant immediate impact of the Tet Offensive was the virtual abandonment of the already inadequate restraints on the use of massive firepower in populated areas. The conclusion that Tam Phuong drew from the experience would resonate with many mid-level Vietnam commanders in the US Armed Forces.
