244 e lusive v ictories
American commanders. As a further distraction, NVA forces placed
the U.S. Marine base at Khe Sanh, on a major infi ltration route from
Laos into the northern part of South Vietnam, under siege in January
- American military and political leaders suspected the communists
were trying to replicate their success against the French at Dien Bien
Phu and resolved to reinforce and hold the base.
Whether the NVA actually intended to assault Khe Sanh has never
been certain, but as a diversion the siege worked: from Westmoreland
to the White House, where Johnson began to wake up early to request
updates on the battle, American eyes fi xed on the obscure outpost.
Westmoreland became convinced that the main enemy eff ort would
come in the north. By late January 1968 the MACV commander had
concentrated more than half of his maneuver battalions in the I Corps
area of operations below the DMZ (the region including Khe Sanh).
Th at month, American intelligence detected ominous signs of enemy
buildups elsewhere across South Vietnam. Despite requests from
American offi cials, however, South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van
Thieu declined to cancel holiday leaves for his troops and only
reversed himself at the last moment when premature enemy attacks
confi rmed the accuracy of the intelligence reports. Due to his hesi-
tation, nearly half of the ARVN was absent at the beginning of the
Tet celebration.
Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces launched well-coordinated
assaults on January 31, 1968, that initially caught U.S. and ARVN forces
off -guard. Communist troops struck thirty-nine of forty-four provincial
capitals and numerous district capitals, as well as other prominent
targets. Th e most visible was the U.S. Embassy in Saigon: VC soldiers
failed to penetrate the embassy itself, but a number were killed in and
near the neighboring residence for embassy personnel. Although many
of the communist attacks achieved temporary local success, the expected
popular uprising did not materialize. Heavy American fi repower soon
wore down the enemy, though the urban battlegrounds also meant a
terrible toll among civilians. Only in a few places did the communists
make a protracted stand, though eventually U.S. forces recaptured all
urban centers. Th e fi ghting in Hue, the ancient Vietnamese capital, was
especially bloody. U.S. Marines fought to clear the city house by house,
and before the communists fi nally quit they massacred thousands of