The War: Assessing the Attack

As rocket and mortar fire continued to pound up and down South Viet Nam and the Communists' post-Tet offensive of 1969 ended its third week, it bore some superficial resemblances to its predecessor at Tet last year. There was scarcely a major city or military center in the country that had not suffered some enemy fire. The numbers of provincial capitals that came under attack this year and last were identical: 29. "If you plotted the action by throwing up darts at a board," said one U.S. officer, "they'd look about the same." Outwardly the most distressing comparison turned...

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