Introduction : the problem -- Escalating the Vietnam War, 1964-1967 -- The order of battle -- The special national intelligence estimate -- The optimism campaign -- Preparing for the offensive -- The Tet Offensive, 1968 -- The myths of Tet -- The mythical myth : supposed media portrayals of Tet -- The war continues -- Aftermath, lessons, and questions.
Summary:
"Most of those who study and write about the Vietnam War now agree that the Tet Offensive was militarily a defeat for the Communist forces, since those forces failed to take the cities but suffered very heavy casualties in the attempt. Yet it was a victory for them politically, because it undermined support for the war in the United States. So stated, the conventional wisdom is well founded. Edwin Moise takes the controversies surrounding Tet head on, exposing the errors and misrepresentations in some of the Tet accounts and demonstrating that much of the conventional wisdom is astonishingly inaccurate."--Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.