Tết Offensive

South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and... later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon. The terms "South Vietnam" and "North Vietnam" became common usage in 1954 at the time of the Geneva Conference, which partitioned Vietnam into communist and non-communist zones at the 17th parallel. South Vietnam was a ally of the United States during the Vietnam War. South Vietnam's origins can be traced to the French colony of Cochinchina, a subdivision of French Indochina, which consisted of the southern third of Vietnam. After World War II, the Vietminh, led by Ho Chi Minh, proclaimed Vietnamese independence in Hanoi. In 1949, non-communist Vietnamese politicians formed a rival government in Saigon led by former emperor Bao Dai. Bao Dai was deposed by Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem in 1955, who proclaimed himself president after a fraudulent referendum. After Diem was deposed in a military coup in 1963, there was a series of short-lived military governments. General Nguyen Van Thieu led the country from 1967 until 1975.
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The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30... April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of South Vietnam, supported by the United States and other anti-communist nations. The Viet Cong , a lightly armed South Vietnamese communist-controlled common front, largely fought a guerrilla war against anti-communist forces in the region. The Vietnam People's Army engaged in a more conventional war, at times committing large units into battle. U.S. and South Vietnamese forces relied on air superiority and overwhelming firepower to conduct search and destroy operations, involving ground forces, artillery, and airstrikes. The U.S. government viewed involvement in the war as a way to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam as part of their wider strategy of containment. The North Vietnamese government and Viet Cong viewed the conflict as a colonial war, fought initially against France, backed by the U.S.
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The Battle of Huế during 1968, was one of the bloodiest and longest battles of the Vietnam War . The Army of the Republic of Vietnam and three... understrength U.S. Marine Corps battalions attacked and defeated more than 10,000 entrenched People's Army of Vietnam and National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam guerrilla forces. With the beginning of the Tet Offensive on January 30, 1968, the Vietnamese lunar New Year, large conventional American forces had been committed to combat upon Vietnamese soil for almost three years. Highway One passed through Hué and over the Perfume River creating an important supply line from the coastal city of Da Nang to the DMZ for the Allied forces. Hué was also a base for United States Navy supply boats. The city, considering its value and its distance from the DMZ , should have been well-defended, fortified, and prepared for any communist attack. However, the city had few fortifications and was poorly defended. The South Vietnamese Army and U.S.
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