Australian news report on the Tet Offensive (1968)

A press report from the Australian newspaper the Sunday Times, dated February 4th 1968, on the Tet Offensive in South Vietnam:

Viet Cong could do it again, say US leaders in Saigon

Saturday: In a series of bitterly contested battles American and South Vietnamese troops today began to regain control of the country after the Viet Cong’s massive offensive against 35 cities and towns in South Vietnam.

In the capital of Saigon, the Viet Cong appeared to be withdrawing, though their forces still held strong points near the airbase and in the Chinese district of Cholon. Despite this, and despite President Johnson’s claim that the Viet Cong had failed to attain their objectives, a high-ranking Embassy official in Saigon said that the Communist forces still had the power to launch a second wave of attacks, especially in Saigon.

“They have shown they are still capable of presenting a real military challenge,” he added. “They certainly gave dramatic evidence of this ability to terrorise and disrupt.”

The enemy threw 36,000 troops into the offensive, and these included North Vietnamese regulars as well as Viet Cong guerrillas. About a third of these are reported to have been killed.

“I don’t mean to imply that the Viet Cong are on the verge of collapse because of their losses,” the official said. “But even though the challenge is considerable and the fighting will be severe and bitter, I think we will be able to handle it.”

The United States Command’s Director of Combat Operations, Brigadier General John Chasson, confirmed the Embassy’s assessment of the continuing Viet Cong threat. “I must confess the VC surprised us with their attack,” he said. “It was surprisingly well co-ordinated, surprisingly impressive and launched with a surprising amount of audacity.”

Asked if the US had enough forces, General Chasson said: “From the operation side I would take all I can get. I don’t have a surplus but around the major populated areas we have enough forces.”

He described the enemy offensive as very successful. When asked if the US might have to abandon the countryside to protect the cities and towns, he said the Americans might have to “redisposition” their forces.

The first detailed picture of the Viet Cong’s handling of the assault in Saigon was given by another US military spokesman. He said reports from prisoners and other sources showed that the Viet Cong’s command post for their Saigon task force had been set up in a Buddhist pagoda. A brigadier-general conducted the operations from the pagoda through a command structure known as the 214th Hanoi unit. When Vietnamese Marines stormed into the pagoda they seized enough military equipment to run a major command.

At the Saigon race track on the Western outskirts of the city guerrillas put up a stiff fight for the grandstand, the spokesman said “We found out why when we took it. They had set up an aid station there with medical supplies and were determined to hold it.”

The Viet Cong succeeded in infiltrating 12 to 15 battalions — some 4,500 men — into Saigon for the offensive. As the attack broke, the Government rushed in 7,000 Marines, paratroopers and Rangers, and about 4,000 infantrymen from divisions in the field. Prisoners said they had walked about 30 miles to get to Saigon, then began moving into the city on Monday night and were led to various points where they were issued with weapons, ammunition and food for one and a half days.

The spokesman added ‘They were told to hold out for 48 hours and then they would be relieved.”