0:00:13 > 0:00:16On January the 31st, 1968,
0:00:16 > 0:00:19the people of Saigon in South Vietnam
0:00:19 > 0:00:23were celebrating their New Year festival called Tet.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28Suddenly, savage fighting broke out.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31It was the beginning of a nationwide Communist assault
0:00:31 > 0:00:36that would change the course of the long-running Vietnam War.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40The Tet Offensive was to be a turning point
0:00:40 > 0:00:44in a war that would eventually see this city and the whole of Vietnam
0:00:44 > 0:00:46united under Communist rule,
0:00:46 > 0:00:49a war that would rage for more than a decade
0:00:49 > 0:00:53and would in the end see America, one of the world's superpowers,
0:00:53 > 0:00:57suffer perhaps its greatest setback of the 20th century.
0:00:59 > 0:01:03I'll be explaining how the best equipped army in the world
0:01:03 > 0:01:07had to adapt its strategy to face a largely guerrilla fighting force.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10The American troops had to get used
0:01:10 > 0:01:15to this new kind of combat in a strange country far away from home.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18I'll be experiencing a little of what it was like for them...
0:01:18 > 0:01:20Room clear! Room clear!
0:01:20 > 0:01:25..as they fought their way through the towns and cities of South Vietnam.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28I'll also be telling the story of the Communist fighters
0:01:28 > 0:01:32who staged this bold attack on the world's mightiest military power.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38In the whole of this long war,
0:01:38 > 0:01:42it was the Tet Offensive of 1968 that was the pivotal moment.
0:01:42 > 0:01:47Fought here in the streets of Vietnam, it struck right at the very core of the American psyche.
0:01:47 > 0:01:52The Tet Offensive was one of the most decisive battles of the 20th century.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13Since 1965,
0:02:13 > 0:02:17the Americans had been fighting the Communist regime in North Vietnam.
0:02:18 > 0:02:24The West was gripped by a fear of Communism devouring country after country.
0:02:25 > 0:02:30The Americans believed that if they didn't make a decisive stand in Vietnam,
0:02:30 > 0:02:32the whole of Southeast Asia would fall.
0:02:36 > 0:02:42By 1967, hundreds of thousands of American troops had poured into South Vietnam.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46Many were stationed in remote areas like this hillside called Con Thien.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57Con Thien was at the sharp end of the war in Vietnam.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00The fight against the Communists had become so fierce
0:03:00 > 0:03:03that the marines based here called it the Meat Grinder.
0:03:08 > 0:03:14During the war, there would have been artillery here, both in this bunker and dug in on the hillside.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17Most of it would have pointed that way,
0:03:17 > 0:03:21because just over there, there was a border that cut Vietnam in two.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25On this side, the Republic of South Vietnam which the Americans were here to protect
0:03:25 > 0:03:28and on the far side, the Communist North.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38The fire base here at Con Thien
0:03:38 > 0:03:41was in the front line of America's war against Communism,
0:03:41 > 0:03:45to prevent the Communist North taking over the South.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49Con Thien was one of a chain of US artillery bases
0:03:49 > 0:03:52just south of the border.
0:03:52 > 0:03:53Here's the base right here.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56And here's the border
0:03:56 > 0:03:59with a kind of no-man's-land either side of it
0:03:59 > 0:04:01called the demilitarised zone.
0:04:02 > 0:04:06The demilitarised zone literally cut Vietnam in half.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10Down here was South Vietnam,
0:04:10 > 0:04:13a fragile Republic governed by a military elite
0:04:13 > 0:04:18whose army need America's help. Their capital was Saigon.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22The whole of Vietnam, north and south,
0:04:22 > 0:04:25is 1,000 miles from bottom to top.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28Up here, Communist North Vietnam,
0:04:28 > 0:04:31backed by the Soviet Union and China,
0:04:31 > 0:04:34and leading it, in its capital Hanoi,
0:04:34 > 0:04:39a lifelong Communist and ardent Nationalist, Ho Chi Minh.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43Known as Uncle Ho to his followers,
0:04:43 > 0:04:49Ho Chi Minh had trained and equipped an army of 500,000 North Vietnamese soldiers.
0:04:49 > 0:04:55Ho had successfully driven out the French colonial government in 1954
0:04:55 > 0:04:59and now he was resolved to push out the Americans
0:04:59 > 0:05:01and reunite Vietnam under Communism.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06The Americans were led by General William Westmoreland.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10With a clutch of medals from World War Two and Korea,
0:05:10 > 0:05:15Westmoreland now led an American force of half a million troops
0:05:15 > 0:05:19in support of some 800,000 South Vietnamese soldiers.
0:05:21 > 0:05:26But the challenge faced by General Westmoreland and his men was all the greater,
0:05:26 > 0:05:30because they didn't just have one enemy - they had two.
0:05:30 > 0:05:35As well as the threat from the North, the Americans and their South Vietnamese allies
0:05:35 > 0:05:38had to face thousands of local Communist guerrillas
0:05:38 > 0:05:42here inside South Vietnam itself.
0:05:47 > 0:05:52The Southern Communist rebels called themselves the National Liberation Front,
0:05:52 > 0:05:57but history remembers them by the name the Americans used - the Viet Cong, or VC.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03They were a huge problem for the US troops.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07With no uniforms to distinguish them from the other villagers in South Vietnam,
0:06:07 > 0:06:11it was very difficult to tell who was friend and who was foe.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14Are you VC?
0:06:14 > 0:06:17Yeah, you Viet Cong, huh?
0:06:17 > 0:06:18You Viet Cong?
0:06:19 > 0:06:21You Viet Cong? You Viet Cong?
0:06:25 > 0:06:29Half the time, the Americans were fighting an enemy they just couldn't pin down.
0:06:33 > 0:06:37But the Viet Cong's ability to blend in was not their only advantage.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39They were also supplied
0:06:39 > 0:06:44by their powerful ally and effective controller in the North, Ho Chi Minh.
0:06:48 > 0:06:53The lifeline he set up to supply the Viet Cong was an incredible logistical feat.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58He sent North Vietnamese fighters, arms and equipment
0:06:58 > 0:07:01down the so-called Ho Chi Minh trail,
0:07:01 > 0:07:05a network of unpaved roads and paths
0:07:05 > 0:07:09stretching hundreds of miles down the length of Vietnam.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12It was largely concealed in the jungle, just across the border
0:07:12 > 0:07:15in supposedly neutral countries next door.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21I travelled south down the Ho Chi Minh trail twice.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24We literally had to hack or crawl our way through the jungle.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29Some people would carry up to 80 kilos on their shoulders.
0:07:29 > 0:07:34There were even some hill tribes people who would carry up to 90 kilos
0:07:34 > 0:07:37which for the women was more than their own bodyweight.
0:07:46 > 0:07:51The Ho Chi Minh trail was vital for the Communist war effort
0:07:51 > 0:07:54and the weapon the United States deployed against it
0:07:54 > 0:07:56was the might of its air power.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25Some of the bombing targets were strategic points in North Vietnam,
0:08:25 > 0:08:28railways, bridges, factories and so on.
0:08:30 > 0:08:32Another target for the bombers,
0:08:32 > 0:08:36including giant B-52s, was the Ho Chi Minh trail.
0:08:36 > 0:08:41The Americans hoped their bombing would cut off the lifeblood of the rebels in the south.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45Just one of these B-52s could drop over a 100 bombs
0:08:45 > 0:08:49and devastate an area a mile long by quarter-of-a-mile wide.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54In South Vietnam, the bombers would act on intelligence reports
0:08:54 > 0:08:57and try to hit Viet Cong strongholds.
0:08:57 > 0:09:03High explosive bombs and napalm, an extremely flammable liquid, caused terrible destruction...
0:09:07 > 0:09:12..and much of the countryside on which so many depended was laid to waste.
0:09:20 > 0:09:22These bombs may have been hitting their targets,
0:09:22 > 0:09:27but they weren't doing much to win over the hearts and minds of the South Vietnamese people.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30Often the targets were in or near populated villages,
0:09:30 > 0:09:34so, inevitably, civilians were killed.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36MASSIVE EXPLOSION
0:09:36 > 0:09:40It also wasn't really a very good way of routing out the Communists.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44To do that, there was really no alternative but to go in on foot.
0:09:48 > 0:09:53The South Vietnamese Army and the Americans spent days patrolling the countryside,
0:09:53 > 0:09:56trying to hunt down the Viet Cong,
0:09:56 > 0:10:00looking for telltale signs that might indicate a Viet Cong presence.
0:10:02 > 0:10:06But they weren't just fighting an enemy that was scarcely visible.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08They were fighting the conditions too.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18The patrols were not made any easier by the scorching temperatures
0:10:18 > 0:10:23and the weight of the kit the American troops often had to carry with them.
0:10:26 > 0:10:31I've been walking for a while now and the first thing you notice obviously is the heat.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35It's about high 30s centigrade, probably just a bit over 100 degrees Fahrenheit,
0:10:35 > 0:10:38and the guys, the Americans, who arrived in Vietnam,
0:10:38 > 0:10:40probably my age, probably a bit less,
0:10:40 > 0:10:44and most of them have probably never seen a country like this, never seen a climate like this.
0:10:44 > 0:10:48That would've taken a lot of getting used to - it's difficult for me -
0:10:48 > 0:10:52but the main thing I don't have to worry about is that they were on patrol,
0:10:52 > 0:10:55carrying this kit, and there were people trying to kill them.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07They wouldn't be getting any support,
0:11:07 > 0:11:12so they would have to eat, drink, apply medicines and fight
0:11:12 > 0:11:14with just what they were carrying.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17Of course, this wasn't really the case for the Viet Cong.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21They could travel a lot lighter because they had supply dumps in friendly villages.
0:11:21 > 0:11:26Often they were just carrying their weapon, the AK-47,
0:11:26 > 0:11:29a bag of rice and maybe a mosquito net or a tarp.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32- AMERICAN SOLDIER: - Their camouflage was excellent.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35I can remember on instants looking out
0:11:35 > 0:11:39and I saw the side of a hill move!
0:11:39 > 0:11:41That's because it was them.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43They didn't make a lot of noise.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46We were noisy, but we had a lot of firepower.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50You could hear a marine company coming from a mile away.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57These patrols could be fatal
0:11:57 > 0:12:00and many of the troops thought them pointless, anyway.
0:12:00 > 0:12:02The enemy was just too slippery, too elusive.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05He wouldn't come out and fight the kind of set-piece battle
0:12:05 > 0:12:09the Americans had been trained and equipped for.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12The Americans did adapt to this new way of fighting,
0:12:12 > 0:12:16but just as they were beginning to make some headway in this war, everything changed.
0:12:25 > 0:12:30During 1967, Ho Chi Minh had become increasingly concerned.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34His North Vietnamese Army, the NVA,
0:12:34 > 0:12:37had suffered heavy losses and victory still wasn't in sight,
0:12:37 > 0:12:42so he turned to his defence minister, General Vo Nguyen Giap,
0:12:42 > 0:12:43for a solution.
0:12:43 > 0:12:48The plan Giap came up with was a huge gamble.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51The North Vietnamese Army and their Viet Cong allies
0:12:51 > 0:12:56would come out in the open and fight in larger numbers than ever before.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00The aim - to smash the South Vietnamese government
0:13:00 > 0:13:03and drive the Americans out once and for all.
0:13:07 > 0:13:13By December 1967, American intelligence knew that something big was brewing.
0:13:13 > 0:13:19They'd received reports of significant activity on the Ho Chi Minh trail,
0:13:19 > 0:13:23and then of a striking build-up of North Vietnamese troops
0:13:23 > 0:13:28near the American base of Khe Sanh, just south of the border.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31The Communist enemy had suddenly become very visible.
0:13:33 > 0:13:34Over in Washington,
0:13:34 > 0:13:40the American President, Lyndon Johnson, and his advisers listened to the news with great interest.
0:13:40 > 0:13:47It seemed that at long last President Johnson was to get the pitched battle he'd been waiting for
0:13:47 > 0:13:50and the battlefield was to be Khe Sanh.
0:14:02 > 0:14:04The American base of Khe Sanh
0:14:04 > 0:14:08was situated in an isolated, hilly corner of South Vietnam,
0:14:08 > 0:14:11just a few miles from the border with Laos.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17There's nothing left of the base today,
0:14:17 > 0:14:23but in January 1968, this base was home to thousands of American and South Vietnamese troops.
0:14:27 > 0:14:33Khe Sanh is the westernmost American stronghold near the demilitarised zone.
0:14:33 > 0:14:37It had been built to stop enemy infiltration from the north
0:14:37 > 0:14:40and disrupt supplies on the Ho Chi Minh trail along here.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44Here is Khe Sanh and this is how it was laid out.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50Over 6,000 marines and South Vietnamese troops were housed
0:14:50 > 0:14:54in one heavily fortified combat base, built around an airstrip.
0:14:56 > 0:15:01Surrounding the combat base were hills fortified with bunkers,
0:15:01 > 0:15:03dug-outs and gun emplacements.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07By mid-January 1968,
0:15:07 > 0:15:12two whole North Vietnamese divisions, supported by elements of another division,
0:15:12 > 0:15:14some 20,000 men in all,
0:15:14 > 0:15:18had gathered in the hills around Khe Sanh.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34In the early hours of January 21st,
0:15:34 > 0:15:38North Vietnamese troops attacked an American-held hill just northwest of the base.
0:15:38 > 0:15:40Then, a few hours later,
0:15:40 > 0:15:45they launched a major attack on the very heart of the Khe Sanh combat base itself, right here.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47GUNFIRE AND EXPLOSIONS
0:16:16 > 0:16:21As the NVA consolidated their positions around the base, the marines fought back ferociously.
0:16:21 > 0:16:26But they were surrounded. The NVA had managed to cut off their road link to the outside world.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30Now, the only way in and out of Khe Sanh was by air.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48While the marines fought hard to stop the North Vietnamese
0:16:48 > 0:16:51overrunning the vital high ground near the base,
0:16:51 > 0:16:58General Westmoreland directed more than 24,000 air strikes against the attackers.
0:16:58 > 0:17:00He called it Operation Niagara.
0:17:03 > 0:17:09American aircraft dropped almost 100,000 tons of bombs during the siege.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13It was an operation that cost 1 billion.
0:17:38 > 0:17:42Life for the besieged marines quickly became a horrific ordeal.
0:17:42 > 0:17:44The base was shelled constantly.
0:17:44 > 0:17:49On average, 360 North Vietnamese rounds landed inside the perimeter each day.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53On the heaviest day of bombardment, 1,300 shells hit US positions.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56There was wreckage thrown everywhere.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58Vehicles were smashed,
0:17:58 > 0:18:02windshields shattered, blown tyres,
0:18:02 > 0:18:04tents were shredded,
0:18:04 > 0:18:07pieces of gear and torn sandbags were everywhere.
0:18:09 > 0:18:11What had been a combat base looked like rubble.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26Back in Washington, President Johnson was deeply worried.
0:18:26 > 0:18:31To him, Khe Sanh had become the symbol of America's determination
0:18:31 > 0:18:35to hold the line in Southeast Asia against Communism.
0:18:35 > 0:18:37He could not afford to let it fall.
0:18:41 > 0:18:47America's best units and one half of the US Army's mobile reserve in Vietnam
0:18:47 > 0:18:49were moved up north into the area.
0:18:51 > 0:18:57As the battle ground on, Johnson threw even more airpower into the fight.
0:19:01 > 0:19:05At Khe Sanh, the Americans dropped around five tons of bombs
0:19:05 > 0:19:09for every one North Vietnamese soldier.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11Johnson was determined to win.
0:19:11 > 0:19:17He was convinced that defeat at Khe Sanh would be an unacceptable blow to American prestige.
0:19:18 > 0:19:23But what the Americans and South Vietnamese were about to discover
0:19:23 > 0:19:28was that when General Giap and Ho Chi Minh came up with their plan,
0:19:28 > 0:19:31Khe Sanh was not their main target.
0:19:35 > 0:19:39Ho Chi Minh's high command had a far bigger plan
0:19:39 > 0:19:42than the attack on Khe Sanh.
0:19:44 > 0:19:48While all American eyes were focused on the struggle for Khe Sanh,
0:19:48 > 0:19:53the leaders of the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong met in bunkers like this
0:19:53 > 0:19:57to make final preparations for a far bigger assault.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01So far, the war had been largely confined to the countryside,
0:20:01 > 0:20:05but now, in an unprecedented move,
0:20:05 > 0:20:11Ho Chi Minh was to take the battle right into the heart of the towns and cities of South Vietnam.
0:20:11 > 0:20:17His strategy - to attack hundreds of political and military targets in those cities.
0:20:17 > 0:20:22And one of his essential aims - to provoke a popular uprising
0:20:22 > 0:20:24right across the country.
0:20:29 > 0:20:36Communist fighters, weapons and supplies had been slipping into towns and cities across South Vietnam.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39They came in vegetable carts and even in funeral processions,
0:20:39 > 0:20:44all under the noses of the Americans and their South Vietnamese allies.
0:20:44 > 0:20:48But how was it that such a huge reservoir of men and supplies
0:20:48 > 0:20:53had been gathered so close to the cities, largely unnoticed by the Americans?
0:20:53 > 0:20:56One of the answers lay right beneath their feet.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05Throughout the countryside of South Vietnam,
0:21:05 > 0:21:10the Viet Cong guerrilla fighters had constructed an intricate network of tunnels
0:21:10 > 0:21:12and the entrances were always well-hidden.
0:21:14 > 0:21:16Ah, here we go.
0:21:16 > 0:21:21Now, this may look narrow, but believe me, it's actually been widened for Western tourists,
0:21:21 > 0:21:24so I should actually be able to fit in it no problem.
0:21:26 > 0:21:31Oh, just put some leaves to obscure the entrance when I've gone through.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48This labyrinth of tunnels at Cu Chi near Saigon
0:21:48 > 0:21:50was over 200 miles long in total.
0:21:53 > 0:21:58This complex was so well-hidden that an American base was unwittingly built right on top of it.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05They had everything they needed down here.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09They had water, sleeping accommodation,
0:22:09 > 0:22:13storerooms, hospital facilities.
0:22:13 > 0:22:17What the Viet Cong had done in these dark and cramped tunnels
0:22:17 > 0:22:21was create a hidden fighting community,
0:22:21 > 0:22:25capable of taking the battle into the heart of Saigon and the surrounding area.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31We were working day and night.
0:22:31 > 0:22:36It was a time of very secret and intensive activity.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39That's why Cu Chi was important.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42The tunnels were where preparations were made.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50By the end of January 1968, these tunnels were busier than ever.
0:22:50 > 0:22:54The weapons stockpiled here were smuggled into the cities.
0:22:54 > 0:23:00All this was in preparation for the largest Communist onslaught of the Vietnam War.
0:23:11 > 0:23:13As January drew to a close,
0:23:13 > 0:23:18most Vietnamese were preoccupied with preparations of a very different kind.
0:23:18 > 0:23:23The Tet lunar New Year was approaching, a very important holiday in the Vietnamese year,
0:23:23 > 0:23:27rather like Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter all rolled up into one.
0:23:27 > 0:23:33And many South Vietnamese soldiers, believing that a traditional truce was in effect, had been given leave
0:23:33 > 0:23:37to go off and visit their families in the country.
0:23:37 > 0:23:43But as festivities got going that evening in late January, there was a lot more happening than met the eye.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01It was January 31st,
0:24:01 > 0:24:07and under cover of the Tet celebrations, a group of Viet Cong were driving towards downtown Saigon.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11Their mission - to take control of the government radio station
0:24:11 > 0:24:17and broadcast a call to arms for the people to rise up and overthrow the government of South Vietnam.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20Just before 3am,
0:24:20 > 0:24:23the convoy of Viet Cong fighters pulled up outside the building.
0:24:25 > 0:24:30One of the Viet Cong leapt out the lead Jeep and shot dead the confused radio-station guard.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33The war had come to the heart of Saigon.
0:24:33 > 0:24:35The Tet Offensive had begun.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39EXPLOSION
0:24:40 > 0:24:43With the capital of South Vietnam under attack,
0:24:43 > 0:24:46news crews in the city relayed eyewitness reports
0:24:46 > 0:24:48into homes across the world.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53Well, here we are, we're right in the centre of Saigon,
0:24:53 > 0:24:56just opposite the Presidential Palace
0:24:56 > 0:25:00and I am in the driveway of the Republic...
0:25:00 > 0:25:02FIRING INTENSIFIES
0:25:02 > 0:25:05..the Republic of South Korean Embassy.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08This gunfire that you can hear is...is pretty close.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11It's coming in above our heads.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13It seems like...
0:25:13 > 0:25:14EXPLOSION
0:25:14 > 0:25:17..a major firefight is starting at this moment.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19As the night wore on,
0:25:19 > 0:25:22news of attacks poured in from all over the city.
0:25:22 > 0:25:28General Westmoreland's own headquarters was attacked and the nearby airport of Tan Son Nhut.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32The Viet Cong even seized the race track at Phu Tho.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35It was the perfect rallying point for their fighters.
0:25:35 > 0:25:41They also wanted to hold it to prevent the Americans from using it as a helicopter landing zone.
0:25:41 > 0:25:47In the city centre, they attacked the naval dockyard and the radio station they stormed was nearby.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51Even the Presidential Palace came under attack.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55But there was another objective that night,
0:25:55 > 0:25:57just a block away from the palace.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01It may have been less imposing,
0:26:01 > 0:26:04but it was to prove a much more rewarding target.
0:26:07 > 0:26:11Earlier, a group of Viet Cong fighters had gathered in a garage
0:26:11 > 0:26:14to make final preparations for this attack.
0:26:14 > 0:26:20Now, everybody present at this meeting were members of the Viet Cong C10 battalion.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23They may have been few in number and they may have had limited fire power,
0:26:23 > 0:26:26but the results of that night's C10 mission
0:26:26 > 0:26:29would reverberate around the world.
0:26:35 > 0:26:40Here at the US Embassy, the symbol of American power and presence in Vietnam,
0:26:40 > 0:26:44that C10 squad of Viet Cong fighters from the garage
0:26:44 > 0:26:47blew a three-foot hole in the bottom of this perimeter wall.
0:26:47 > 0:26:51Their two leaders rushed in, but were shot and killed by the American guards.
0:26:51 > 0:26:55Those guards then radioed for help, but it was the last message they'd ever send,
0:26:55 > 0:26:59because then they too were gunned down in a hail of VC fire.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01GUNFIRE
0:27:01 > 0:27:04After killing the guards,
0:27:04 > 0:27:08the remaining Viet Cong poured through the hole in the wall and into the compound itself.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11But their leaders were dead and the momentum petered out.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14Instead of charging forward into the heart of the embassy,
0:27:14 > 0:27:18they took up position around here and simply fired pot shots at the building.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22A few blocks away from the American Embassy,
0:27:22 > 0:27:27news of the chaos had reached newspaper and television reporters staying nearby.
0:27:27 > 0:27:31They rushed to the scene to find that reinforcements sent
0:27:31 > 0:27:34by American commanders were still milling around
0:27:34 > 0:27:38outside the embassy compound, with the Viet Cong inside.
0:27:38 > 0:27:40Laying flat in the gutter,
0:27:40 > 0:27:43I didn't know where the VC attackers were holed up
0:27:43 > 0:27:47or where the fire was coming from. But we knew it was the big story.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52The journalists couldn't believe what was happening.
0:27:52 > 0:27:53From what they could see,
0:27:53 > 0:27:59it seemed that the VC had stormed and captured part of the US Embassy right here in the heart of Saigon.
0:27:59 > 0:28:03Realising the huge symbolic implications of this,
0:28:03 > 0:28:06they sent back reports within hours of the attack
0:28:06 > 0:28:10from the beleaguered embassy to news desks right around the world.
0:28:10 > 0:28:15Now CIA men and MPs have gone into the embassy
0:28:15 > 0:28:17and are trying to get the snipers out...
0:28:19 > 0:28:21..by themselves.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23GUNFIRE
0:28:34 > 0:28:39Military Police got back into the compound of the 2.5 million embassy complex at dawn.
0:28:39 > 0:28:43Before that, a platoon of Viet Cong were in control.
0:28:43 > 0:28:46The raiders never got into the main chancery building.
0:28:46 > 0:28:51A handful of marines had it locked and kept them out, but the raiders were everywhere else.
0:28:53 > 0:28:57By the time people back home were watching the shocking news reports
0:28:57 > 0:29:01from the embassy, the Americans had regained the upper hand.
0:29:01 > 0:29:06What one US Commander described a "piddling platoon action" was all over within six hours.
0:29:06 > 0:29:11But what may have seemed militarily insignificant was crucial
0:29:11 > 0:29:13to the battle for the minds of the American public.
0:29:13 > 0:29:20The pictures on television of the Viet Cong on American soil here inside their own embassy compound
0:29:20 > 0:29:24sent shockwaves across the United States.
0:29:24 > 0:29:29In spite of this, the reality in Saigon was that the embassy attack had been crushed
0:29:29 > 0:29:32and the threat to the capital had been contained.
0:29:32 > 0:29:34Any fighting now was just mopping up.
0:29:34 > 0:29:38But the Tet Offensive was far from over.
0:29:38 > 0:29:39Within minutes of each other,
0:29:39 > 0:29:44scores of bases, towns and cities had been attacked all over the country.
0:29:44 > 0:29:50One US General said his map was lighting up with news of assaults like a pinball machine.
0:29:52 > 0:29:56An estimated 84,000 troops, North Vietnamese and Viet Cong,
0:29:56 > 0:29:59had hurled themselves at the centres of power.
0:30:00 > 0:30:05The Americans and South Vietnamese managed to restore control very quickly,
0:30:05 > 0:30:09everywhere, that is, except in one of the most important cities in the country.
0:30:09 > 0:30:15What happened there was to be one of the bloodiest battles in the Vietnam War.
0:30:24 > 0:30:29Previously untouched by war, the ancient city of Hue
0:30:29 > 0:30:32was one of the most revered places in the country.
0:30:32 > 0:30:35A centre of learning, religion and culture,
0:30:35 > 0:30:42this Imperial City had huge symbolic importance for both North and South Vietnam.
0:30:46 > 0:30:51But now, Hue would have a unique claim to fame for very different reasons.
0:30:51 > 0:30:55In just two hours, on the 31st of January,
0:30:55 > 0:30:59Communist forces captured and gained control of the city.
0:31:00 > 0:31:05The occupying force was determined to destroy the South Vietnamese elite in Hue.
0:31:10 > 0:31:14They immediately rounded up everyone they thought was a threat.
0:31:14 > 0:31:18As many as 5,000 people disappeared.
0:31:18 > 0:31:21The American high command and its South Vietnamese allies
0:31:21 > 0:31:24could not allow Hue to remain in Communist hands
0:31:24 > 0:31:26under any circumstances.
0:31:26 > 0:31:30If this venerated city wasn't recaptured soon,
0:31:30 > 0:31:34it would be a spectacular propaganda victory for Ho Chi Minh.
0:31:40 > 0:31:44Hue is really two cities on either side of the Perfume River.
0:31:44 > 0:31:49To the north, the old Vietnamese Imperial City,
0:31:49 > 0:31:52a gigantic 200-year-old citadel.
0:31:52 > 0:31:56On the south bank of the river, the new city.
0:31:56 > 0:32:00Some 5,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong had stormed
0:32:00 > 0:32:04the northwest wall of the old city and had taken control
0:32:04 > 0:32:07of much of the ancient citadel.
0:32:07 > 0:32:10They'd also seized the new city to the south of the river.
0:32:11 > 0:32:16Only two places in Hue held out against the Communists -
0:32:16 > 0:32:20a South Vietnamese compound in the northeast corner of the citadel,
0:32:20 > 0:32:24and an American compound on the south side of the river
0:32:24 > 0:32:28near the bridge. What the Americans didn't yet know
0:32:28 > 0:32:32was just how strong the Communist occupying force was.
0:32:32 > 0:32:34They were soon to find out.
0:32:37 > 0:32:41At 4.10 on the afternoon of the 31st of January,
0:32:41 > 0:32:46160 marines moved off towards the Nguyen Hoang bridge
0:32:46 > 0:32:51with orders to reach the South Vietnamese army compound inside the citadel.
0:33:03 > 0:33:06Just as the marines reached the middle of the bridge here,
0:33:06 > 0:33:09a machine gun opened up on the far bank right in front of them.
0:33:09 > 0:33:13SOUND EFFECT: BULLETS RICOCHET
0:33:13 > 0:33:19Ten marines were killed or wounded and the rest, taking cover, hit the deck.
0:33:24 > 0:33:27One of my recollections was the bullets
0:33:27 > 0:33:29flying off the bridge of steel girders.
0:33:29 > 0:33:31They have a distinctive sound.
0:33:31 > 0:33:33SUSTAINED GUNFIRE
0:33:38 > 0:33:41The commander had serious doubts about leading his men forward,
0:33:41 > 0:33:46but he felt he had to obey his orders to cross the bridge and continue his mission.
0:33:46 > 0:33:48GUNFIRE
0:33:52 > 0:33:54SHELL EXPLODES
0:33:54 > 0:34:01The marines pushed on. They walked up this street here from the bridge and turned right towards the citadel.
0:34:01 > 0:34:04Ahead of them was the imposing Thuong Tu gate.
0:34:10 > 0:34:14I'd just turned the corner and got to about the first tree
0:34:14 > 0:34:17on the right, and suddenly, all hell broke loose
0:34:17 > 0:34:22and a hail of bullets rained down on us from the gate up the street in front.
0:34:22 > 0:34:28I looked up and all I could see were the muzzle flashes of NVA machine guns.
0:34:28 > 0:34:32NVA soldiers were dug in on top of the gate in the citadel wall.
0:34:32 > 0:34:34We were like sitting ducks.
0:34:34 > 0:34:36GUNFIRE
0:34:43 > 0:34:47With five men killed and 44 wounded in just one hour,
0:34:47 > 0:34:50the commander realised it would be crazy to proceed.
0:34:50 > 0:34:52He gave the order to retreat.
0:34:58 > 0:35:02The marines made their way back over the bridge to their base in the new city.
0:35:05 > 0:35:08So, at the end of day one of the Tet Offensive in Hue,
0:35:08 > 0:35:12the Americans had a better idea of the mammoth task they were facing.
0:35:12 > 0:35:16Rather than risk more casualties venturing across the bridge again,
0:35:16 > 0:35:20they determined to clear the new city on the southern side of the river.
0:35:21 > 0:35:25From the safety of their compound, they started to move out westwards
0:35:25 > 0:35:30in two parallel columns with a tank leading each one.
0:35:30 > 0:35:34Their objective - to reach Hue's local government building
0:35:34 > 0:35:38that now had a Viet Cong flag flying on its rooftop.
0:35:38 > 0:35:44This was just 800 metres, about 850 yards, down the street.
0:35:44 > 0:35:46It should take hours at most.
0:35:47 > 0:35:49They were in for a rude shock.
0:35:49 > 0:35:53The marines were about to face some of the hardest fighting
0:35:53 > 0:35:55of the entire Vietnam War.
0:36:30 > 0:36:32SHELL EXPLODES
0:36:55 > 0:36:59Most of the marines had spent the last few months fighting in the countryside.
0:36:59 > 0:37:03Many had little or no experience of combat in urban areas.
0:37:03 > 0:37:06To make matters worse, the US High Commander banned the use
0:37:06 > 0:37:09of heavy artillery and air strikes in Hue.
0:37:09 > 0:37:13This historic city was not to be destroyed.
0:37:13 > 0:37:15The marines were on their own.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21SOLDIER SHOUTS FRANTICALLY
0:37:23 > 0:37:28Without this support, and in the face of fierce opposition, progress was painfully slow.
0:37:28 > 0:37:31It took the marines half a day just to get from here to there.
0:37:38 > 0:37:41We'd been trained to fight out in jungles and rice paddies.
0:37:41 > 0:37:44That's what we'd been doing until Hue.
0:37:44 > 0:37:47In Hue, the NVA were properly dug in everywhere.
0:37:47 > 0:37:50We couldn't go through any open space.
0:37:50 > 0:37:53We had to find a completely new way of fighting.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00As the marines in Hue were quickly discovering,
0:38:00 > 0:38:05it's a lot harder to retake a city than it is to defend it,
0:38:05 > 0:38:09especially if each house has been turned into a fortress.
0:38:13 > 0:38:15'To find out more about urban clearing,
0:38:15 > 0:38:19'Dan and I joined the 1st Battalion of the British Parachute Regiment
0:38:19 > 0:38:22'on a training exercise.'
0:38:22 > 0:38:24- So, lads all ready?- Yeah, think so.
0:38:24 > 0:38:26'I hung back with the commanding officer...'
0:38:26 > 0:38:29- Just waiting for each unit. - Sure, sure.
0:38:29 > 0:38:33'..while Dan, in full combat gear, was poised for action.'
0:38:34 > 0:38:37The brief was to clear four houses
0:38:37 > 0:38:40of an enemy who had infiltrated the village.
0:38:41 > 0:38:45An urban environment is extremely difficult to secure
0:38:45 > 0:38:49because it provides so many opportunities for effective defence.
0:38:49 > 0:38:53In Hue, the marines had to deal with troops who could be anywhere
0:38:53 > 0:38:56in the buildings, from the rooftops to the cellars.
0:38:58 > 0:38:59'Rapid fire in ten!'
0:38:59 > 0:39:02GUNFIRE AND SHOUTING
0:39:05 > 0:39:08So you've got to be all the time on the lookout,
0:39:08 > 0:39:11all the way around you, up, down, behind you...
0:39:11 > 0:39:14Yeah, a 360-degree battlefield.
0:39:14 > 0:39:17SHOUTING
0:39:24 > 0:39:29With a special camera mounted on my helmet, I recorded all the action as we moved towards the first building.
0:39:29 > 0:39:33That's 8th Platoon assaulting now, so that's the break-in,
0:39:33 > 0:39:37- our main effort to get that first building.- In goes Dan.
0:39:38 > 0:39:44'The first thing is to get a grenade in there quickly and then pour in rifle fire.'
0:39:45 > 0:39:47HEAVY GUNFIRE
0:39:47 > 0:39:49That's it! Got it!
0:39:50 > 0:39:52Move! Get moving!
0:39:53 > 0:39:56'Urban fighting eats up resources and manpower.'
0:39:56 > 0:39:57Go!
0:39:57 > 0:40:02'Once you're actually in the first room, you then have to search out every part of it.
0:40:02 > 0:40:05'It is dark and you have no idea what you're up against.
0:40:05 > 0:40:10'You have to keep communicating with one another, but very quickly it gets totally chaotic.'
0:40:10 > 0:40:12Get out of the way of the grenade!
0:40:12 > 0:40:16'The American marines had only four blocks to clear in Hue,
0:40:16 > 0:40:19'but it's easy to see how tough a job that was.'
0:40:19 > 0:40:23It's amazing how many people it takes to clear a house.
0:40:23 > 0:40:25Yeah, it'll take up to a company of a 100 men
0:40:25 > 0:40:30to clear these four houses, so, a platoon in each, and that's stretching us.
0:40:31 > 0:40:35You've got to clear every single room one at a time and in each room,
0:40:35 > 0:40:40there could be booby traps, trip wires, trap doors and hidden entrances.
0:40:40 > 0:40:44Around every corner, there could be someone about to kill you.
0:40:44 > 0:40:46Get in! Go!
0:40:46 > 0:40:48Right, move!
0:40:48 > 0:40:50GUNFIRE
0:40:52 > 0:40:54Against the wall!
0:40:54 > 0:40:56You got three windows, one door.
0:40:56 > 0:40:59Top left entry point, OK? You all happy with that one?
0:40:59 > 0:41:02- Has he got the ladder on it? - That's the ladder there.
0:41:05 > 0:41:07Let's go!
0:41:09 > 0:41:11Hurry up, hurry up!
0:41:16 > 0:41:18Move, move, move!
0:41:18 > 0:41:19Go! Go!
0:41:22 > 0:41:24Move back!
0:41:28 > 0:41:31One enemy dead! One friendly casualty!
0:41:31 > 0:41:34INDISTINCT SHOUTING
0:41:34 > 0:41:36Come on, mate, get up!
0:41:36 > 0:41:38Two enemy dead.
0:41:42 > 0:41:44Three dead now!
0:41:44 > 0:41:46OK.
0:41:46 > 0:41:49The exercise was over and the buildings retaken.
0:41:50 > 0:41:53Alec, tell us what you made of the operation.
0:41:53 > 0:41:58I mean, that was a typical para operation, clearing houses. How successful was it?
0:41:58 > 0:42:00It went according to plan and about the same timescale.
0:42:00 > 0:42:03It took us about two hours to take the four buildings.
0:42:03 > 0:42:08And the overwhelmingly striking thing about it all has been the number of people required
0:42:08 > 0:42:12to clear just a few buildings here. It's extraordinary, isn't it?
0:42:12 > 0:42:17Yeah, there's no... You can't deploy your fantastic technology
0:42:17 > 0:42:22and your strike aircraft or your artillery because it's a matter of cleaning out every single room
0:42:22 > 0:42:24and there's no other way than the good old-fashioned
0:42:24 > 0:42:26"Send in the infantry" and clean out room by room
0:42:26 > 0:42:31and the idea of doing that day after day, like those guys in Hue, is unimaginable.
0:42:45 > 0:42:48On February 3rd, four days into the Tet Offensive,
0:42:48 > 0:42:52the ban on supporting air attacks in the new city was finally lifted.
0:42:52 > 0:42:57With this air support and with their tanks, the marines' progress started to speed up.
0:42:57 > 0:43:00SHELL FIRE
0:43:18 > 0:43:21We tried our best to avoid malicious damage.
0:43:21 > 0:43:25As a result of their being so entrenched, it required for us
0:43:25 > 0:43:29to bring maximum firepower at our disposal to eliminate them.
0:43:29 > 0:43:32But we were fortunate we did have the weapons that were capable
0:43:32 > 0:43:35of routing the NVA and Viet Cong out of their positions.
0:43:47 > 0:43:49Three days later,
0:43:49 > 0:43:52the marines finally secured the local government building.
0:43:58 > 0:44:01SOLDIER SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY
0:44:01 > 0:44:04Are you finished? We want to get the hell out!
0:44:06 > 0:44:10It had taken a week to advance just 800 metres,
0:44:10 > 0:44:14little more than a 100 metres - that's about a 100 yards - a day.
0:44:14 > 0:44:20Retaking these few blocks had cost many wounded and many lives on both sides.
0:44:20 > 0:44:26The North Vietnamese Army's resistance on the south side of the city was now broken,
0:44:26 > 0:44:30but in the citadel, over on the north side of the river,
0:44:30 > 0:44:33fighting had reached stalemate, and the North Vietnamese Army
0:44:33 > 0:44:36had the South Vietnamese troops boxed in.
0:44:43 > 0:44:48On February 12th, the South Vietnamese sent the American marines a call for help.
0:44:48 > 0:44:51The trouble was that the bridge connecting the new city
0:44:51 > 0:44:54with the Imperial citadel had been blown up by the Communists.
0:44:54 > 0:44:58The only way of getting over there was by river.
0:45:11 > 0:45:16At 5.30 that afternoon, one battle-weary company of marines embarked on fast boats
0:45:16 > 0:45:18and sped off down the Perfume River.
0:45:18 > 0:45:22They sat precariously balanced on ammunition crates and they came under
0:45:22 > 0:45:26heavy fire from North Vietnamese guns hidden along this bank just here.
0:45:29 > 0:45:31HEAVY GUNFIRE
0:45:38 > 0:45:40It was a nerve-wracking journey.
0:45:40 > 0:45:44But the only way to help the South Vietnamese and win the battle for Hue
0:45:44 > 0:45:47was for the marines to get into the old city.
0:45:47 > 0:45:50This is where the boats picked up the marines,
0:45:50 > 0:45:52here it is on the map case,
0:45:52 > 0:45:55just here on the south side of the Perfume River.
0:45:55 > 0:46:00They were ferried up the river round here to the northeast corner
0:46:00 > 0:46:04of the citadel, where the South Vietnamese forces were trapped.
0:46:05 > 0:46:09Men and supplies were offloaded near one of the gates
0:46:09 > 0:46:13and rushed in to reinforce the South Vietnamese inside.
0:46:14 > 0:46:16The marines now had to fight,
0:46:16 > 0:46:19not just in the more densely-packed streets of the citadel,
0:46:19 > 0:46:23but against an enemy protected by bunkers and battlements
0:46:23 > 0:46:25on walls several metres thick.
0:46:25 > 0:46:29The North Vietnamese were scattered throughout the city
0:46:29 > 0:46:33and heavily entrenched on the eastern side of the citadel
0:46:33 > 0:46:36and on the walls of the Imperial Palace itself.
0:46:36 > 0:46:41The South Vietnamese had tried but failed to push back their enemy.
0:46:41 > 0:46:43It was now up to the marines.
0:46:45 > 0:46:49Their plan was to push south, down the narrow streets
0:46:49 > 0:46:53held by the North Vietnamese Army towards the Thuong Tu Gate,
0:46:53 > 0:46:57where they had been ambushed two long weeks before.
0:47:02 > 0:47:06Now the marines found themselves in another unfamiliar battlefield -
0:47:06 > 0:47:12a gigantic fortress surrounded by high battlements and defensive moats.
0:47:12 > 0:47:16In fact, this citadel was such a unique landmark that, unlike in the new city,
0:47:16 > 0:47:20the South Vietnamese still wouldn't allow the Americans to bomb it.
0:47:24 > 0:47:28In some places, these historic walls were up to a 100ft thick.
0:47:28 > 0:47:33This new environment presented the marines with some difficult choices.
0:47:36 > 0:47:40They could stay down in that tight warren of streets, fighting house to house,
0:47:40 > 0:47:42or they could come up here onto the walls
0:47:42 > 0:47:47where there was far greater mobility, but they would be totally exposed.
0:47:52 > 0:47:55How long do you think it'll take you to get through this city?
0:47:55 > 0:47:59We'll be here a few weeks, cleaning out. It'll take a while to get us out of here.
0:47:59 > 0:48:01Have you lost any friends?
0:48:01 > 0:48:04Quite a few, we lost one the other day, a good buddy of mine.
0:48:04 > 0:48:06The whole thing stinks, really.
0:48:07 > 0:48:09Fire!
0:48:12 > 0:48:16By now, the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong
0:48:16 > 0:48:18were beginning to suffer,
0:48:18 > 0:48:24but General Giap's men knew that for every day the Communist flag flew over this sacred city,
0:48:24 > 0:48:28it sent out powerful propaganda messages to the Vietnamese people
0:48:28 > 0:48:31and, even more significantly, to America.
0:48:42 > 0:48:46A week later, the Communists were still holding out.
0:48:46 > 0:48:51This Imperial Palace was the source of intense frustration for the marines.
0:48:51 > 0:48:56They were still forbidden from simply levelling the walls and as a result, they were losing men fast.
0:49:14 > 0:49:18You had this utter devastation all around you.
0:49:18 > 0:49:21You had this horrible smell.
0:49:21 > 0:49:24I mean, you just cannot describe the smell of death,
0:49:24 > 0:49:28especially when you're looking at it a couple of weeks along.
0:49:36 > 0:49:39Then the marines got some welcome news.
0:49:39 > 0:49:43The US Airborne Cavalry had managed to cut off their enemy's supply line
0:49:43 > 0:49:45into the old city here.
0:49:45 > 0:49:49And, on top of this, the South Vietnamese had given permission for air strikes
0:49:49 > 0:49:52on the citadel. The noose was tightening round the Communists.
0:49:52 > 0:49:57They were fighting for survival and the Americans prepared for their final push.
0:50:13 > 0:50:16As the marines forced their way
0:50:16 > 0:50:18towards the southeast corner of the citadel,
0:50:18 > 0:50:25two A-4 jets dropped napalm to clear one area with devastating effect.
0:50:31 > 0:50:34Now able to use every weapon in their armoury,
0:50:34 > 0:50:38the marines in the citadel put all they had into breaking the hold
0:50:38 > 0:50:41of the North Vietnamese Army on the Imperial Palace.
0:51:33 > 0:51:37Finally, to the south, around 150 marine reinforcements
0:51:37 > 0:51:41stormed their way through to retake the Thuong Tu Gate,
0:51:41 > 0:51:44the gate that their comrades had been beaten back from
0:51:44 > 0:51:45three weeks earlier.
0:51:49 > 0:51:52After nearly a month of heavy fighting,
0:51:52 > 0:51:54the Imperial Palace was retaken
0:51:54 > 0:51:58and the city was back under South Vietnamese control.
0:51:58 > 0:52:02The battle for Hue was effectively over.
0:52:06 > 0:52:11Ho Chi Minh and General Giap's Tet Offensive had failed.
0:52:11 > 0:52:14They'd failed to prompt a general uprising
0:52:14 > 0:52:16of the people of South Vietnam.
0:52:16 > 0:52:21They'd failed to defeat the American and South Vietnamese in battle.
0:52:21 > 0:52:27Of all the 100 or so towns and cities they'd attacked, they hadn't held onto even one.
0:52:27 > 0:52:33And now the Viet Cong was effectively wiped out as a viable fighting force.
0:52:33 > 0:52:36It was a devastating loss for the enemy.
0:52:36 > 0:52:39We thought we had done a wonderful job.
0:52:39 > 0:52:42In the big picture, Hue was a huge turning point.
0:52:45 > 0:52:48Westmoreland had triumphed...
0:52:48 > 0:52:50or so he thought.
0:52:59 > 0:53:02Throughout the weeks the Tet fighting had raged,
0:53:02 > 0:53:06the pictures of conflict flooded daily into American homes.
0:53:08 > 0:53:10And what the American public saw
0:53:10 > 0:53:14was a far uglier version of the war than they were expecting.
0:53:16 > 0:53:19- REPORTER:- Round the edge of the courtyard, someone noticed small holes camouflaged.
0:53:19 > 0:53:22In almost every one, there's an enemy soldier.
0:53:22 > 0:53:26Shocking images like these and the summary execution of a prisoner
0:53:26 > 0:53:30by a South Vietnamese General were broadcast on the evening news.
0:53:33 > 0:53:38All this was not what many Americans believed they should be fighting for.
0:53:45 > 0:53:50But perhaps the final blow was that the television and newspaper images
0:53:50 > 0:53:55suggested that President Johnson and General Westmoreland had got it wrong.
0:53:55 > 0:53:57The Tet Offensive appeared to show
0:53:57 > 0:54:00the Communists were a lot stronger
0:54:00 > 0:54:03than the American people had been told.
0:54:03 > 0:54:06The end of the war seemed even further off than ever.
0:54:12 > 0:54:16America's most respected television news anchorman, Walter Cronkite,
0:54:16 > 0:54:21was just back from a whirlwind tour of battlefields ravaged by Tet.
0:54:21 > 0:54:26He filed a pessimistic report that would strike a chord with millions.
0:54:26 > 0:54:29- VOICE OF WALTER CRONKITE:- For it seems now more certain than ever
0:54:29 > 0:54:33that the bloody experience of Vietnam is to end in a stalemate.
0:54:33 > 0:54:36But it is increasingly clear to this reporter
0:54:36 > 0:54:39that the only rational way out then
0:54:39 > 0:54:40will be to negotiate,
0:54:40 > 0:54:45not as victors, but as an honourable people who lived up to their pledge
0:54:45 > 0:54:50to defend democracy and did the best they could.
0:54:50 > 0:54:52This is Walter Cronkite. Good night.
0:54:52 > 0:54:57Something had to change. Johnson went live on television
0:54:57 > 0:55:00to announce a reduction in the bombing,
0:55:00 > 0:55:04but he decided it wasn't enough just to change policy.
0:55:04 > 0:55:07He faced re-election as President later that year,
0:55:07 > 0:55:12and people in his own party were now openly campaigning against him on a peace ticket.
0:55:12 > 0:55:16To the surprise even of his closest colleagues,
0:55:16 > 0:55:21he ended his broadcast on a note of high political drama.
0:55:21 > 0:55:23I shall not seek...
0:55:25 > 0:55:27..and I will not accept...
0:55:27 > 0:55:32the nomination of my party for another term as your President.
0:55:35 > 0:55:38With Johnson's ultimate act of political self-sacrifice,
0:55:38 > 0:55:43the Tet Offensive had taken its most high-profile victim.
0:55:43 > 0:55:49The battle America's military claimed as a victory had turned into a political disaster.
0:55:49 > 0:55:53The Tet Offensive led to a huge shift in public opinion
0:55:53 > 0:55:57against the war and a change in government policy.
0:55:57 > 0:56:02The plan now was to strengthen and re-equip the South Vietnamese Army
0:56:02 > 0:56:08in order to allow American troops to withdraw and South Vietnam to survive on its own.
0:56:08 > 0:56:12By 1973, all American ground troops had left,
0:56:12 > 0:56:15but the strategy was to fail.
0:56:15 > 0:56:18The South Vietnamese couldn't hold back the Communists
0:56:18 > 0:56:23and in April 1975, the North Vietnamese took Saigon.
0:56:23 > 0:56:25The war was over.
0:56:25 > 0:56:31The country reunited, the Communists in power.
0:56:42 > 0:56:47Over a million Vietnamese people died during the Vietnam War,
0:56:47 > 0:56:50but the trauma did not end in 1975.
0:56:51 > 0:56:57When the Communists took control, huge numbers of South Vietnamese fled, fearing the new regime.
0:56:59 > 0:57:06The country that they left behind had been virtually destroyed by one of the 20th century's longest wars.
0:57:16 > 0:57:22Most Americans had entered the war believing they were fighting a just cause.
0:57:22 > 0:57:26By the war's end, 58,000 Americans were dead
0:57:26 > 0:57:31and the country was divided, embittered and disenchanted.
0:57:33 > 0:57:37Americans still argue long and hard
0:57:37 > 0:57:40as to whether the terrible price they paid for this war
0:57:40 > 0:57:44had any real effect on the global advance of Communism.
0:57:44 > 0:57:48What is true is that, in spite of America's failure in Vietnam,
0:57:48 > 0:57:53Communism, far from taking over the world, suffered one reverse after another,
0:57:53 > 0:57:56but the trauma that followed Tet
0:57:56 > 0:58:01was to burn deep into America's soul, and for years to come,
0:58:01 > 0:58:05Americans would be very wary about becoming embroiled
0:58:05 > 0:58:09in other foreign wars for fear of another Vietnam.
0:58:14 > 0:58:17Next time, the story of the 20th century's biggest conflict
0:58:17 > 0:58:20between Arabs and Israelis.
0:58:20 > 0:58:24In October 1973, Egypt and Syria stunned Israel
0:58:24 > 0:58:26with a surprise attack.
0:58:26 > 0:58:30For three weeks, the conflict swung violently from side to side.
0:58:30 > 0:58:35I'll be finding out how the Arabs used new weapons against the Israelis
0:58:35 > 0:58:37with devastating consequences.
0:58:37 > 0:58:39And I'll be revealing how Arab and Israeli commanders
0:58:39 > 0:58:42astonished each other with the boldness of their strategies.
0:58:42 > 0:58:45Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd