Tet offensive attack on US Embassy

The Tet offensive attack on the US Embassy took place on the early morning of 31 January 1968 when a 19-man Vietcong (VC) sapper team attempted to seize the US Embassy in Saigon at the start of the VC's Tet offensive. While the VC successfully penetrated the embassy compound, they were unable to enter the chancery building and were pinned down by security forces, with the lone survivor eventually surrendering to US forces. Notwithstanding the attack's failure it had a profound political and psychological impact in the United States.

Attack on the US Embassy in Saigon
Part of Tet offensive of the Vietnam War

The embassy after the attack
Date31 January 1968
Location
Embassy of the United States, Saigon, South Vietnam
10.7833°N 106.7004°E / 10.7833; 106.7004
Result US military victory
Viet Cong propaganda victory
Belligerents
 United States Viet Cong
Commanders and leaders
Lt Col. Gordon D. Rowe
Captain Robert J. O'Brien		 Bay Tuyen †
Ut Nho †
Units involved
716th Military Police Battalion
Marine Security Guard Battalion		 C-10 Sapper Battalion
Strength
Initially 3 Marine security guards
2 MPs		 19 sappers
Casualties and losses
5 killed 18 killed
1 captured
Part of a series on the
History of Ho Chi Minh City
Before 1955
1782 Saigon massacre (1782)
Gia Định province
Siege of Saigon (18 February 1859 – 25 February 1861)
Battle of Ky Hoa (February 1861)
Treaty of Saigon (1862)
Treaty of Saigon (1874)
Battle of Saigon (1955)
Vietnam War
1960 South Vietnamese coup attempt (11 November 1960)
Operation Chopper (Vietnam) (12 January 1962)
1962 South Vietnamese Independence Palace bombing (27 February 1962)
Self-immolation of Thích Quảng Đức (11 June 1963)
Double Seven Day scuffle (7 July 1963)
Xá Lợi Pagoda raids (21 August 1963)
1963 South Vietnamese coup d'état (1–2 November 1963)
Arrest and assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem (2 November 1963)
Attack on USNS Card (2 May 1964)
1964 Brinks Hotel bombing (24 December 1964)
1965 United States embassy bombing (30 March 1965)
1965 Saigon bombing (25 June 1965)
Operation Jackstay (26 March – 6 April 1966)
Operation Fairfax (November 1966 - 15 December 1967)
Viet Cong attack on Tan Son Nhut Air Base (4–5 December 1966)
Tet offensive battle of Cholon and Phu Tho Racetrack (31 January-11 February 1968)
Tet offensive attack on Joint General Staff Compound (31 January-1 February 1968)
Tet offensive attack on Tan Son Nhut Air Base (31 January 1968)
Tet offensive attack on US Embassy (31 January 1968)
Battle of West Saigon (5–12 May 1968)
Battle of South Saigon (7–12 May 1968)
Hijacking of Pan Am Flight 841 (2 July 1972)
Bombing of Tan Son Nhut Air Base (28 April 1975)
Operation Frequent Wind (29–30 April 1975)
Fall of Saigon (30 April 1975)
After 1975
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1999 Badminton Asia Cup (10–14 November 1999)
Ho Chi Minh City ITC fire (29 October 2002)
2005 AFC Futsal Championship (22 May – 4 June 2005)
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