20th Century Battlefields - 1968 VietnamJoin hosts Peter and Dan Snow for an unprecedented look at the decisive conflicts of the 20th century. This new landmark series reveals the intricacies of these crucial battles -- the strategies, the weapons, the tactics and their impact. Unique CGI brings to life the vast landscapes of modern warfare and an extraordinary overview of the major actions, while the dramatized testimony of ordinary soldiers brings the experience of combat into sharp relief.
Episode 1: 1968 Vietnam
The Vietnam War wasn't the United States' first war in the Far East, but it was its longest and bloodiest. Peter and Dan Snow tell the story of the turning point in the long struggle in the far-off corner of Southeast Asia: the Tet Offensive of 1968.
Peter and Dan go into the streets of Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, to explain how the capital of South Vietnam came under this shock attack. Dan squeezes his 6 foot 6 frame into the claustrophobic tunnel system in which the Viet Cong lived, stored their arms and planned the attack. Peter visits the grounds of the United States Embassy, symbol of American power in the country, where images of the fighting between Americans and Viet Cong proved particularly shocking to the audiences back home.
The hardest fighting of the Tet Offensive took place further north, in the imperial city of Hue, where intense close-combat actions dragged on for nearly a month. Here amongst the thick walls of the ancient Imperial Palace and the narrow streets of the old city, U.S. Marines had to flush out the Communist fighters building by building, room by room. Peter and Dan join the British Army on a urban clearance operation and experience just how painstaking and disorienting such an operation can be.
Another focus of the Communist attack was the American base at Khe Sanh. Peter and Dan return to this remote outpost near the former DMZ to retell the story of the North Vietnamese Army's furious attempt to drive off the U.S. Marines during a three-month siege.
