1968 in the Vietnam War

1968 in the Vietnam War
← 1967 1969 →
	; Cholon after Tet Offensive operations 1968
Location	Vietnam
Result	The American war effort in Vietnam peaks in 1968 as the American public support takes a huge hit after the Tet Offensive
Belligerents
Anti-Communist forces: South Vietnam; United States; South Korea; Australia; Philippines; New Zealand; Thailand; Kingdom of Laos; Republic of China	Communist forces: North Vietnam; Viet Cong; Khmer Rouge; Pathet Lao; People's Republic of China; Soviet Union; North Korea
Strength
US: 536,100 ; South Vietnam: 820,000; South Korea: 50,003; Thailand: 6,005; Australia: 7,661; Philippines: 1,576; New Zealand: 516	PAVN/VC: 420,000
Casualties and losses
US: 16,899 killed ; 87,388 wounded; South Vietnam: 27,915 killed ; 172,512 wounded	U.S estimates: 191,000 – 181,149 killed ); North Vietnamese Records:; KIA: 44,842; Total casualties: 111,306 killed and wounded

The year 1968 saw major developments in the Vietnam War. The military operations started with an attack on a US base by the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and the Viet Cong (VC) on January 1, ending a truce declared by the Pope and agreed upon by all sides. At the end of January, the PAVN and VC launched the Tet Offensive.

Hanoi erred monumentally in its certainty that the offensive would trigger a supportive uprising of the population. PAVN/VC troops throughout the South, from Hue to the Mekong Delta, attacked in force for the first time in the war, but to devastating cost as the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and American troops killed close to 37,000 of the ill-supported enemy in less than a month for losses of 3,700 and 7,600 respectively. These reversals on the battlefield (the VC would never again fight effectively as a cohesive force) failed to register on the American home front, however and fueled what would ultimately prove to be a propaganda victory for Hanoi.

U.S. troop numbers peaked in 1968 with President Johnson approving an increased maximum number of U.S. troops in Vietnam at 549,500. The year was the most expensive in the Vietnam War with the American spending US$77.4 billion (US$ 678 billion in 2024) on the war. The year also became the deadliest of the Vietnam War for America and its allies with 27,915 ARVN soldiers killed and the Americans suffering 16,592 killed compared to around two hundred thousand PAVN/VC killed. The deadliest day of the Vietnam War for the U.S. was 31 January at the start of the Tet Offensive when 246 Americans were killed in action.

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