The Tet Offensive began on January 30 and 31, 1968. It was the largest military campaign of the Vietnam War up to that time. Named for the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, the battle was a surprise attack of North Vietnamese forces against those of South Vietnam and the United States and their allies. The offensive's three phases lasted into the autumn. The North Vietnamese leadership perceived the offensive as a failure because it did not cause a great uprising among the South Vietnamese. However, the American public opinion began to turn against the conflict. Over 16,000 American soldiers were killed in 1968; meanwhile, the Selective Service called for a larger number of draftees. On February 1, 1968, in a public execution in Saigon, South Vietnamese General Nguyễn Ngọc Loan shot a Viet Cong officer in the head. We've all seen that distressing photograph, which won the Pulitzer Prize. The picture contributed to growing American alarm about the war.
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