1968 in the Vietnam war - wikipedia 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 Kingdom of Cambodia 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 : 549,500 South Vietnam : 820,000 South Korea : 50,000 Thailand : 6000 Australia : 7660 Philippines : 1580 New Zealand : 520 NVA / VC : 420,000 Casualties and losses US : 16,592 killed 87,388 wounded South Vietnam : 27,915 killed 172,512 wounded US estimates : 191,000 - 208,254 killed ) North Vietnamese Records : KIA : 44,824 Total KIA / WIA : 111,306 Killed and Wounded, show Military engagements during the Vietnam War Guerrilla phase Laos Chopper Sunrise Palace Bombing 1st Ap Bac Go Cong Hiep Hoa 34A Long Dinh Kien Long Quyet Thang 202 USNS Card Nam Dong An Lao Binh Gia Camp Holloway Qui Nhơn Sông Bé Ba Gia Dong Xoai American intervention 1965 Starlite Piranha An Ninh Plei Me Hump Gang Toi 1st Bau Bang Bushmaster II Ia Drang Harvest Moon 1966 Marauder Crimp Van Buren Masher / White Wing Bong Son Double Eagle Mastiff Suoi Bong Trang New York Harrison Cocoa Beach Utah Silver City A Sau Oregon Texas Lincoln Fillmore Jackstay Buddhist Uprising Xa Cam My Georgia Birmingham Davy Crockett Austin IV Paul Revere Crazy Horse El Paso Hardihood Wahiawa Hawthorne Hill 488 Nathan Hale Jay Macon Hastings Minh Thanh Road John Paul Jones Seward Colorado Duc Co Long Tan Amarillo Thayer, Irving and Thayer II Attleboro Deckhouse IV Tan Son Nhut airbase Lam Son II Byrd SS Baton Rouge Victory Sunset Beach Shenandoah Paul Revere IV Geronimo Fairfax 1967 Deckhouse V Cedar Falls Desoto Firebase Bird Sam Houston Enterprise Tra Binh Dong Gadsden Pershing Bribie Junction City ( 1st Prek Klok 2nd Prek Klok Ap Gu Suoi Tre 2nd Bàu Bàng ) Lejeune Francis Marion Manhattan Beaver Cage Union The Hill Fights Con Thien / DMZ Hickory Prairie Prairie II Prairie III Buffalo Kentucky Kingfisher Malheur I and Malheur II Union II Dragnet Akron Billings Concordia Hong Kil Dong Diamond Head Hood River Suoi Chau Pha Benton Swift Dragon Fire Wheeler / Wallowa Kunia Bolling Medina Shenandoah II Ong Thanh 1st Loc Ninh Osceola Lancaster Napoleon Operation Coronado II IV V IX XI Neosho Dak To Santa Fe Phoenix Kien Giang 9 - 1 Manchester Yellowstone Auburn Tet Offensive and aftermath New Year 's Day Battle of 1968 Khe Sanh Ban Houei Sane Lang Vei Phase One Offensive Saigon US Embassy Cholon and Phu Tho Racetrack Tan Son Nhut Air Base Joint General Staff Compound Bien Hoa and Long Binh Hue Quảng Trị Coburg Lo Giang Hop Tac I Patrick Truong Cong Dinh Lima Site 85 Quyet Thang My Lai Massacre Carentan Pegasus Toan Thang I Burlington Trail Scotland II Delaware Allen Brook May Offensive Landing Zone Center An Bao Kham Duc Coral -- Balmoral Mameluke Thrust Robin Thor Pocahontas Forest Somerset Plain Phase III Offensive Duc Lap Vinh Loc Maui Peak Meade River Hat Dich Speedy Express Vietnamization 1969 -- 71 Bold Mariner Dewey Canyon Taylor Common 2nd Tet Purple Martin Maine Crag Montana Mauler Oklahoma Hills Virginia Ridge Apache Snow Hamburger Hill Pipestone Canyon Binh Ba Utah Mesa Idaho Canyon LZ Kate Texas Star FSB Ripcord 1st Cambodia Kompong Speu Prey Veng 2nd Cambodia Pickens Forest Imperial Lake Tailwind Jefferson Glenn Snuol Lam Son 719 Son Tay Raid Cambodian Counteroffensive Chenla I Chenla II FSB Mary Ann Long Khánh Nui Le Easter Offensive 2nd Quang Trị 3rd Quang Trị 2nd Loc Ninh An Lộc Kontum Thunderhead Post-Paris Peace Accords ( 1973 -- 1974 ) Cửa Việt Sa Huỳnh Ap Da Bien Svay Rieng Iron Triangle Thượng Đức Spring ' 75 Phuoc Long Ban Me Thuot Hue -- Da Nang Phan Rang Xuân Lộc 2nd Saigon Air operations Farm Gate Chopper Ranch Hand Pierce Arrow Barrel Roll Pony Express Flaming Dart Iron Hand Rolling Thunder Steel Tiger Arc Light Tiger Hound Shed Light Thanh Hoa Bolo Popeye Yen Vien Niagara Igloo White Giant Lance Commando Hunt Menu Patio Freedom Deal Linebacker I Enhance Plus Linebacker II Homecoming Tan Son Nhut Air Base Babylift New Life Eagle Pull Frequent Wind Naval operations Yankee & Dixie stations Gulf of Tonkin Market Time Vung Ro Bay Game Warden Double Eagle PIRAZ Sea Dragon Deckhouse Five Bo De River, Nha Trang, Tha Cau River Sealords Đồng Hới Pocket Money Custom Tailor End Sweep Paracel Islands East Sea Mayaguez incident The year 1968 saw major developments in the Vietnam War. The military operations started with an attack on a US base by the Vietnam People 's Army ( NVA ) and the Viet Cong on January 1, ending a truce declared by the Pope and agreed upon by all sides. At the end of January, the North Vietnamese and the Vietcong launched the Tet Offensive. Hanoi erred monumentally in its certainty that the offensive would trigger a supportive uprising of the population. NVA and Viet Cong 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 ARVN and American troops killed close to 60,000 of the ill - supported enemy in less than a month. These reversals on the battlefield ( the Viet Cong would never again fight effectively as a cohesive force ) failed to register on the American home front, however, as shocking photos and television imagery, and statements such as Conkrite 's, fueled what would ultimately prove to be a propaganda victory for Hanoi. Peter Arnett quoting an unnamed US major as saying, `` It became necessary to destroy the town to save it. '' Eddie Adams ' iconic image of South Vietnamese General Nguyễn Ngọc Loan 's execution of a Vietcong operative was taken in 1968. The year also saw Walter Cronkite 's call to honourably exit Vietnam because he thought the war was lost. This negative impression forced the US into the Paris peace talks with North Vietnam. US troop numbers peaked in 1968 with President Johnson approving an increased maximum number of US 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 $ 544 billion in 2018 ) on the war. The year also became the deadliest of the Vietnam War for America and its allies with 27,915 South Vietnamese ( ARVN ) soldiers killed and the Americans suffering 16,592 killed compared to around two hundred thousand of the communist forces killed. The deadliest week of the Vietnam War for the USA was during the Tet Offensive specifically February 11 -- 17, 1968, during which period 543 Americans were killed in action, and 2547 were wounded. Contents 1 January 1.1 Tet Offensive 2 February 3 March 4 April 5 May 6 October 7 November 8 December 9 Year in numbers 10 Annotations 11 Bibliography January Oliver Stone was an American soldier in 1968 January 1 The People 's Army of Vietnam ( PAVN ) violated a New Year 's truce. At the New Year 's Day Battle of 1968 among the Americans were future writer Larry Heinemann and future film director Oliver Stone. In Newsweek magazine Robert Komer touted the early success of the Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support ( CORDS ) pacification program he led. He said that `` only one South Vietnamese in six now lives under VC ( Viet Cong ) control. '' 19 January In the first two weeks of 1968, communist forces shelled 49 district and provincial capitals in South Vietnam and temporarily occupied two of them. The Commander of the Military Assistance Command Vietnam ( MACV ) General William Westmoreland described to Time the fighting `` as the most intense of the entire war. '' MACV claimed that 5,000 communist forces had been killed. 21 January The long and bloody Battle of Khe Sanh began with an assault by the PAVN on a hill held by U.S. Marines. Khe Sanh is in northwestern Quảng Trị Province, near the Demilitarized Zone. The combatants were elements of the U.S. III Marine Amphibious Force ( III MAF ) and Army of the Republic of Vietnam ( ARVN ) against two to three PAVN division - size elements. NVA General Vo Nguyen Giap later explained that his objective was to create a diversion to draw U.S. forces away from the populated areas of South Vietnam. Khe Sanh diverted 30,000 US troops away from the cities that would be the main targets of the Tet Offensive. January 23 -- 24, 1968 Battle of Ban Houei Sane began on the night of 23 January 1968, when the 24th Regiment of the PAVN 304th Division overran the small Laotian Army outpost at Ban Houei Sane. January 24 − March 1 Operation Coburg was an Australian military action that saw heavy fighting between the 1st Australian Task Force ( 1ATF ) and PAVN and Viet Cong forces during the wider fighting around Long Binh and Biên Hòa. 26 January In Time Magazine, General Westmoreland said, `` the Communists seem to have run temporarily out of steam. '' 28 January General Westmoreland in his annual report said `` In many areas the enemy has been driven away from the population centers ; in others he has been compelled to disperse and evade contact thus nullifying much of his potential. The year ended with the enemy increasingly resorting to desperation tactics in attempting to achieve military / psychological victory ; and he has experienced only failure in those attempts. '' Tet Offensive Dead Vietcong soldier killed during the First Battle of Saigon January 29 At half - past midnight on Wednesday morning the North Vietnamese launch the Tet Offensive at Nha Trang. At 2 : 45 that morning the US Embassy in Saigon is attacked. January 31 -- March 7 The Battle of Saigon was the coordinated attack by communist forces, including both the PAVN and the Viet Cong, against Saigon. January 30 -- March 3 The Battle of Huế was one of the bloodiest and longest battles. With massive air support the ARVN and three understrength U.S. Marine battalions attacked and defeated more than 10,000 entrenched PAVN and Viet Cong. February 1, 1968 One notable ARVN unit, the 3d Armored Cavalry Squadron, fought a pitched battle with the Viet Cong 's H - 15 Local Force Battalion near Pleiku. They were later awarded the United States Presidential Unit Citation for extraordinary heroism against hostile forces during the Tet Offensive, making them one of only a few non-U.S. military units to receive the highest U.S. military honor awarded at the unit level. February February 1 During South Vietnamese action following the first day of the Tet Offensive General Nguyễn Ngọc Loan is captured on film executing a Viet Cong prisoner by American photographer Eddie Adams. The Pulitzer Prize - winning photograph becomes yet another rallying point for anti-war protesters. February 6 - February 7 The Battle of Lang Vei was fought on the night of 6 February 1968, between elements of the PAVN, supported by PT - 76 light tanks and the United States - led Detachment A-101, 5th Special Forces Group. This twelve - year - old ARVN Airborne trooper with M - 79 grenade launcher accompanied the Airborne Task Force Unit. The young soldier has been `` adopted '' by the Airborne Division. February 7 International reporters arrive at the embattled city of Bến Tre in South Vietnam. Peter Arnett, then of the Associated Press, writes a dispatch quoting an unnamed US major as saying, `` It became necessary to destroy the town to save it. '' February 18 During the week of February 11 -- 17, 1968 the record for the highest US casualty toll during one week was set. The record coming off after the Tet Offensive was 543 Americans killed in action, and 2547 wounded. February 27 Walter Cronkite, reporting after his recent trip to Vietnam for his television special `` Who, What, When, Where, Why ? '' gives a highly critical editorial and urges America to leave Vietnam ``... not as victors, but as an honorable people who lived up to their pledge to defend democracy, and did the best they could. '' March March 10 -- March 11 Battle of Lima Site 85 was a battle for control of a secret radar site at Phou Pha Thi, Laos. March 15 In Quảng Trị Province, just of the DMZ, the 3rd Marine Division begins Operation Scotland II to drive the North Vietnamese out of the province 's western third, which takes it 10 months. March 16 US ground troops from Charlie Company of 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Brigade, 23rd Infantry Division ( the Americal Division ) carry of the My Lai Massacre killing more than 500 Vietnamese civilians from infants to the elderly. The event would remain buried for more than a year. March 31 President Lyndon Johnson addresses the nation, announcing steps to limit the war in Vietnam and reporting his decision not to seek reelection. The speech announces the first in a series of limitations on US bombing, promising to halt these activities above the 20th parallel. United States Secretary of Defense Clark Clifford gets the President to authorize 24,500 more troops on an emergency basis, raising authorized strength to the Vietnam War 's peak of 549,500, a figure never reached. April April 8 - May 31 Operation Toan Thang I was a US and ARVN operation conducted between 8 April 1968 and 31 May 1968. Toan Thang, or `` Complete Victory '', was part of a reaction to the Tet Offensive by forces allied with the Republic of Vietnam designed to put pressure on Vietcong and PAVN ) ) forces. April 19 - May 17 Operation Delaware was a military operation in the A Shau Valley. The A Shau Valley was an important corridor for moving supplies into South Vietnam and used as staging area for attacks. American and South Vietnamese had not been present in the area since the Battle of A Shau, when a Special Forces camp located there was overrun. May May 5 May Offensive was launched in the early morning hours of 4 May, in which communist units initiated PHASE II of the Tet Offensive of 1968 ( also known as the May Offensive, `` Little Tet '', and `` Mini-Tet '' ) by striking 119 targets throughout South Vietnam, including Saigon. May 10 -- 12, 1968 The Battle of Kham Duc was the struggle for the United States Army Special Forces camp located in Quảng Tín Province, South Vietnam. The camp was occupied by the 1st Special Forces detachment consisting of U.S. and South Vietnamese special forces, as well as Montagnard irregulars. The final plane evacuating men after the Battle of Kham Duc May 12 -- June 6 The Battle of Coral -- Balmoral was a series of actions fought between the 1st Australian Task Force ( 1 ATF ) and communist forces, north - east of Saigon. May 13 The first US and North Vietnamese delegations meet at the Paris peace talks to discuss American withdrawal. October October 8 Operation Sealords was launched on October 8, 1968, and was intended to disrupt North Vietnamese supply lines in and around the Mekong Delta. As a two - year operation, by 1971 all aspects of Sealords had been turned over to the South Vietnam Navy. October 31 President Johnson announces a total halt to US bombing in North Vietnam. November Gun camera photo shows a North Vietnamese MiG - 17 - fighter November 1 After three - and - a-half years, Operation Rolling Thunder comes to an end. In total, the campaign had cost more than 900 American aircraft. Eight hundred and eighteen pilots are dead or missing, and hundreds are in captivity. Nearly 120 Vietnam People 's Air Force planes have been destroyed in air combat, accidents, or by friendly fire. According to U.S. estimates, 182,000 North Vietnamese civilians have been killed. Twenty thousand Chinese support personnel also have been casualties of the bombing. November 5 Richard Nixon wins the 1968 presidential election in America. The results of the popular vote are 31,770,000 for Nixon, 43.4 percent of the total ; 31,270,000 or 42.7 percent for Humphrey ; 9,906,000 or 13.5 percent for Wallace ; and 0.4 percent for other candidates. December December 1968 to May 11, 1969 Operation Speedy Express was a controversial United States military operation conducted in the Mekong Delta provinces Kien Hoa and Vĩnh Bình. The operation was launched to prevent Viet Cong units from interfering with pacification efforts and to interdict lines of Viet Cong communication and deny them the use of base areas. December 12, 1968 -- March 9, 1969 Operation Taylor Common was a search and destroy operation conducted by Task Force Yankee, a task organized force of the 1st Marine Division. The objective was to clear the An Hoa Basin, neutralize the PAVN 's Base Area 112 and develop Fire Support Bases ( FSBs ) to interdict Communist infiltration routes leading from the Laotian border. Year in numbers Armed Force Strength KIA Reference Military costs - 1968 Military costs in 2018 US $ Reference South Vietnam ARVN 820,000 27,915 United States 549,500 16,592 US $77,350,000,000 US $ 544,336,750,000 South Korea 50,000 Thailand 6000 Australia 7660 Philippines 1580 New Zealand 520 North Vietnam ( NVA / VC ) 420,000 North Vietnamese Source : 44,824 191,000 - 208,254 ( US estimates ) Annotations Jump up ^ Numbers are US casualty figure estimates. North Vietnamese records do not record yearly totals although estimates are that during the Tet Offensive alone communist forces lost through deserters, killed cadres, and defectors anywhere between 30,000 - 90,000. Bibliography Notes ^ Jump up to : United States Department of Defense 2010 ^ Jump up to : `` Facts about the Vietnam Veterans memorial collection ''. NPS.gov. 2010. Archived from the original on 28 May 2010. Retrieved April 26, 2010. ^ Jump up to : Leepson & Hannaford 1999, p. 209 ^ Jump up to : War Remnants Museum Data hide Armed Force 1910 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 South Vietnam ARVN 514,000 643,000 735,900 798,800 820,000 897,000 968,000 1,046,250 1,048,000 United States 23,310 180,000 385,300 485,600 549,500 549,500 335,790 158,120 24,000 South Korea 200 20,620 25,570 47,830 50,000 48,870 48,540 45,700 36,790 Australia 200 1560 4530 6820 7660 7670 6800 2000 130 Thailand 0 20 240 2220 6000 11,570 11,570 6000 40 Philippines 20 70 2060 2020 1580 190 70 50 50 New Zealand 30 120 160 530 520 550 440 100 50 ^ Jump up to : Smith 2010 ^ Jump up to : United States 2010 ^ Jump up to : http://www.rjsmith.com/kia_tbl.html ^ Jump up to : Smedberg 2008, p. 196 ^ Jump up to : Asprey 2002, p. 914 Jump up ^ Joes 2001, p. 99 Jump up ^ http://www.nhandan.com.vn/chinhtri/item/7976502-.html ^ Jump up to : Gaijinass ( February 27, 2010 ). `` Platoon : The story of Oliver Stone in Vietnam ''. gaijinass. Archived from the original on 2010 - 06 - 20. Retrieved March 3, 2010. Jump up ^ Bates 1996, p. 106 Jump up ^ Asprey, Robert B. ( 1994 ), War in the Shadows : The Guerrilla in History, New YorK : William Morrow and Company, p. 871 Jump up ^ Asprey, Robert P. ( 1994 ), War in the Shadows : The Guerrilla in History, New York : William Morrow and Company, p. 896 Jump up ^ Clarke, Bruce B.G. ( 2007 ), Expendable warriors : the Battle of Khe Sanh and the Vietnam War, Greenwood Publishing Group, p. 69 Jump up ^ Page, Tim and Pimlott, John Pimlott ( 1990 ), Nam -- The Vietnam Experience, 1965 - 75, London : Hamlyn, p. 324 ^ Jump up to : Cash 1985, p. 111 Jump up ^ McNeill & Ekins 2003, p. 290 Jump up ^ Asprey, p. 896 Jump up ^ Asprey, p. 872 Jump up ^ Will banks 2008, pp. 34 -- 36 Jump up ^ Watson & Oberholtzer 2010, p. 1 Jump up ^ Stanton 2003, p. 11 Jump up ^ `` ARVN 3rd Cavalry Squadron fought a pitched battle ''. Archived from the original on 2010 - 12 - 01. Retrieved 2010 - 06 - 11. Jump up ^ `` 3d Armored Cavalry Squadron ( ARVN ) earned Presidential Unit Citation ( United States ) for extraordinary heroism '' ( PDF ). Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 2011 - 07 - 16. Retrieved 2010 - 06 - 11. Jump up ^ Lucas 2010 Jump up ^ New York Times 1968, p. 14 Jump up ^ AP 1968, p. 3 Jump up ^ Arnold 1990, p. 88 Jump up ^ Kelly 1996, p. 191 Jump up ^ Olson & Roberts 1998, p. 162 Jump up ^ Hamilton - Merritt 1993, p. 187 ^ Jump up to : Stanton 2003, p. 12 Jump up ^ Nolan 2006, p. 21 Jump up ^ Davies & McKay 2005, p. 122 Jump up ^ Davies 2008, p. 169 Jump up ^ McAulay 1989, p. 777 Jump up ^ Hixson 2000, p. 274 Jump up ^ History.com 2010 Jump up ^ Hixson 2000, p. 280 Jump up ^ PBS ( 2010 ). `` Battlefield Timeline ''. Public Broadcast Service. Archived from the original on 20 June 2010. Retrieved June 5, 2010. Jump up ^ Boyer et al., p. 696 Jump up ^ Brune & Burns 2003, p. 775 Jump up ^ Johnson 2004, p. 56 Jump up ^ `` Tết Mậu Thân 1968 qua những số liệu ''. Tết Mậu Thân 1968 qua những số liệu ( in Vietnamese ). Retrieved 2018 - 05 - 30. References AP ( Feb 21, 1968 ). `` U.S. war toll sets record ''. Toledo Blade. Retrieved March 7, 2010. Arnold, James R. ( 1990 ). Tet Offensive 1968 : turning point in Vietnam ( 1990 ed. ). Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978 - 0 - 85045 - 960 - 9. - Total pages : 96 Asprey, Robert B. ( 2002 ). War in the Shadows : The Guerrilla in History, Volume 2 ( 2002 ed. ). iUniverse. ISBN 978 - 0 - 595 - 22594 - 1. - Total pages : 1281 Bates, Milton J. ( 1996 ). The wars we took to Vietnam : cultural conflict and storytelling ( 1996 ed. ). University of California Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 520 - 20433 - 1. - Total pages : 328 Boyer, Paul S. ; Clark, Clifford ; Hawley, Sandra ; Kett, Joseph F. ; Rieser, Andrew ( 2009 ). The Enduring Vision : A History of the American People, Volume 2 : From 1865, Concise Volume 2 of The Enduring Vision ( 2009 ed. ). Cengage Learning. ISBN 978 - 0 - 547 - 22278 - 3. - Total pages : 496 Brune, Lester H. ; Burns, Richard Dean ( 2003 ). Chronological History of U.S. Foreign Relations : 1932 - 1988 ( 2003 ed. ). Routledge. ISBN 978 - 0 - 415 - 93916 - 4. - Total pages : 1549 Cash, John A. ( 1985 ). Seven Firefights in Vietnam ( 1985 ed. ). DIANE Publishing. ISBN 978 - 1 - 56806 - 563 - 2. - Total pages : 159 Clarke, Bruce B.G. ( 2007 ). Expendable warriors : the Battle of Khe Sanh and the Vietnam War ( 2007 ed. ). Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978 - 0 - 275 - 99480 - 8. - Total pages : 167 Davies, Bruce ( 2008 ). The Battle at Ngok Tavak : a bloody defeat in South Vietnam, 1968 ( 2008 ed. ). Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978 - 1 - 74175 - 064 - 5. - Total pages : 250 Davies, Bruce ; McKay, Gary ( 2005 ). The men who persevered : the AATTV, the most highly decorated Australian unit of the Viet Nam War ( 2005 ed. ). Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978 - 1 - 74114 - 425 - 3. - Total pages : 418 Hamilton - Merritt, Jane ( 1993 ). Tragic mountains : the Hmong, the Americans, and the secret wars for Laos, 1942 - 1992 ( 1993 ed. ). Indiana University Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 253 - 20756 - 2. - Total pages : 580 History.com ( 2010 ). `` U.S. and South Vietnamese navies commence Operation Sealords ''. History.com. Archived from the original on 8 March 2010. Retrieved March 8, 2010. Hixson, Walter L. ( 2000 ). Leadership and diplomacy in the Vietnam War ( 2000 ed. ). Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8153 - 3533 - 7. - Total pages : 354 Joes, Anthony James ( 2001 ). The war for South Viet Nam, 1954 - 1975 ( 2001 ed. ). Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978 - 0 - 275 - 96807 - 6. - Total pages : 199 Johnson, Chalmers A. ( 2004 ). The sorrows of empire : militarism, secrecy and the end of the republic ( 2004 ed. ). Verso. ISBN 978 - 1 - 85984 - 578 - 3. - Total pages : 389 Kelly, Orr ( 1996 ). From a dark sky : the story of U.S. Air Force Special Operations ( 1996 ed. ). Presidio. ISBN 978 - 0 - 89141 - 520 - 6. - Total pages : 340 Leepson, Marc ; Hannaford, Helen ( 1999 ). Webster 's new world dictionary of the Vietnam War ( 1999 ed. ). Macmillan. ISBN 978 - 0 - 02 - 862746 - 5. - Total pages : 598 Lucas, Dean ( 2010 ). `` Vietnam Execution ''. Famous Pictures Magazine. Archived from the original on 4 February 2010. Retrieved March 5, 2010. McAulay, Lex ( 1989 ). The Battle of Coral : Vietnam fire support bases Coral and Balmoral, May 1968 ( 1989 ed. ). Arrow Australia. ISBN 978 - 0 - 09 - 169721 - 1. - Total pages : 361 McNeill, Ian ; Ekins, Ashley ( 2003 ). On the offensive : the Australian Army in the Vietnam War, January 1967 - June 1968 ( 2003 ed. ). Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978 - 1 - 86373 - 304 - 5. - Total pages : 650 Nolan, Keith W. ( 2006 ). House to House : Playing the Enemy 's Game in Saigon, May 1968 ( 2006 ed. ). Zenith Imprint. ISBN 978 - 0 - 7603 - 2330 - 4. - Total pages : 368 Olson, James Stuart ; Roberts, Randy ( 1998 ). My Lai : a brief history with documents ( 1998 ed. ). Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978 - 0 - 312 - 17767 - 6. - Total pages : 222 Smedberg, Marco ( 2008 ). Vietnamkrigen : 1880 -- 1980 ( 2008 ed. ). Historiska media. ISBN 978 - 91 - 85507 - 88 - 7. - Total pages : 361 Stanton, Shelby L. ( 2003 ). Vietnam order of battle ( 2003 ed. ). Stackpole Books. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8117 - 0071 - 9. - Total pages : 396 `` Major Describes Move ''. The New York Times. February 8, 1968. Retrieved March 5, 2010. Smith, Ray ( 2010 ). `` Casualties - US vs NVA / VC ''. rjsmith.com. Archived from the original on 15 April 2010. Retrieved March 22, 2010. Willbanks, James H. ( 2008 ). The Tet Offensive : A Concise History ( 2008 ed. ). Columbia University Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 231 - 12841 - 4. - Total pages : 264 United States, Government ( 2010 ). `` Statistical information about casualties of the Vietnam War ''. National Archives and Records Administration. Archived from the original on 26 January 2010. Retrieved March 6, 2010. United States Department of Defense ( 2010 ). `` Clark M. Clifford ''. United States Department of Defense. Archived from the original on 28 February 2010. Retrieved March 8, 2010. Watson, Andy, Historian, U.S. Army Military Police School ; Oberholtzer, William A. ( 2010 ). `` Looking Back in History : The Battle of Saigon Forty Years Ago '' ( PDF ). United States Army : Fort Leonard Wood. Retrieved March 8, 2010. show Vietnam War timeline ↓ Battle of Saigon ↓ ARVN Formed ↓ Hòa Hảo defeated ↓ HCM trail established ↓ Laos Invasion ↓ NLF Formed ↓ 1960 Coup Attempt ↓ US Role Expanded ↓ Palace Bombing ↓ Buddhist Crisis ↓ 1963 Coup ↓ Gulf of Tonkin Incident ↓ Laos Bombing Begin ↓ US Forces Deployed ↓ Buddhist Uprising ↓ Sihanouk Trail Created ↓ Tet Offensive ↓ US Begins Withdrawal ↓ PRG Formed ↓ Cambodian Campaign ↓ Lam Son 719 ↓ Easter Offensive ↓ Paris Accords ↓ Spring Offensive ↓ Fall of Saigon ↓ Cambodian War Widens ↓ Christmas Bombings U.S President : Dwight D. Eisenhower John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson Richard Nixon G. Ford RVN Presidents : Ngô Đình Diệm Instability Nguyễn Văn Thiệu Trần Văn Hương DRV General Secretary : Lê Duẩn / President : Ho Chi Minh General Secretary : Lê Duẩn / President : Tôn Đức Thắng NLF Chairman : Nguyễn Hữu Thọ PRG President : Nguyễn Hữu Thọ │ 1955 │ 1956 │ 1957 │ 1958 │ 1959 │ 1960 │ 1961 │ 1962 │ 1963 │ 1964 │ 1965 │ 1966 │ 1967 │ 1968 │ 1969 │ 1970 │ 1971 │ 1972 │ 1973 │ │ Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1968_in_the_Vietnam_War&oldid=856921055 '' Categories : Years in the Vietnam War 1968 in Vietnam Conflicts in 1968 Hidden categories : CS1 Vietnamese - language sources ( vi ) Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 28 August 2018, at 11 : 40 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. 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Question: what was the highest number of u.s. soldiers in south vietnam at one time
Answer: 549,500