Synopsis
This Time We Win: Revisiting the Tet Offensive by James S. Robbins offers a reassessment of one of the most significant moments in the Vietnam War, the Tet Offensive, which has often been portrayed as a turning point in the conflict. Robbins argues against the common narrative that Tet marked a strategic victory for the North Vietnamese and a psychological defeat for the United States. He asserts that, in reality, the Tet Offensive was a military disaster for the communists, with the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and the Viet Cong suffering devastating losses. According to Robbins, U.S. and South Vietnamese forces effectively repelled the offensive and achieved a significant military victory.
The book delves into how media coverage at the time, particularly in the U.S., distorted the true outcome of the offensive. Robbins critiques prominent journalists and media outlets, arguing that their focus on the surprise nature of the attacks and early setbacks overshadowed the eventual American and South Vietnamese success on the battlefield. The media's portrayal, he contends, shaped public perception, fostering a sense of defeat and fueling the anti-war movement in the United States. Robbins further explores how this skewed narrative influenced U.S. policy, contributing to the withdrawal of American forces and ultimately the fall of South Vietnam.
Robbins does more than just criticize the media; he also takes issue with the historiography surrounding the Tet Offensive. He contends that many historians have perpetuated a myth of American failure, ignoring the broader context of the war and the actual outcomes of Tet. The book argues for a reevaluation of the Vietnam War as a whole, suggesting that U.S. military strategy was more successful than is commonly acknowledged and that the ultimate failure was political, not military. Through a mix of historical analysis and critique of contemporary sources, This Time We Win aims to correct what Robbins sees as a long-standing misrepresentation of the Tet Offensive in both popular and scholarly accounts.