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The assault included air attacks as well, with North Vietnamese MiG-17s hitting American bases with bombs and rockets.  Despite having the advantage of surprise, the attacks did little damage, and eight MiGs were lost to American defenses.<ref>''MiG-17 Units of the Vietnam War'', by Istvan Toperczer, Osprey Publishing, 2000</ref>

The assault included air attacks as well, with North Vietnamese MiG-17s hitting American bases with bombs and rockets.  Despite having the advantage of surprise, the attacks did little damage, and eight MiGs were lost to American defenses.<ref>''MiG-17 Units of the Vietnam War'', by Istvan Toperczer, Osprey Publishing, 2000</ref>

The operation was a military failure for North. The Vietcong lost half their army and had to pull out of the battle, leaving only the North Vietnamese army. Yet, thanks in large part to willful misreporting by [[Walter Cronkite]] (see [[Liberal bias in media]]), it was a public relations victory. Despite the North's enormous, overwhelming losses, the result was that the American public became convinced that the North was unbeatable.<ref>[The] Tet Offensive was launched, and despite attacks on some 155 cities, villages and hamlets across South Vietnam, the communists got hammered. It is generally accepted, based on admissions from the North Vietnamese communists since the end of the war, that more than half of all communist forces were killed in action in this period, not including the numbers wounded or captured.[http://mavericknewsnetwork.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/05/index.html]</ref>

The operation was a military failure for North. The Vietcong lost half their army and had to pull out of the battle, leaving only the North Vietnamese army. Yet, thanks in large part to willful misreporting by [[Walter Cronkite]] (see [[Liberal bias#Liberal bias in media|Liberal bias in media]]), it was a public relations victory. Despite the North's enormous, overwhelming losses, the result was that the American public became convinced that the North was unbeatable.<ref>[The] Tet Offensive was launched, and despite attacks on some 155 cities, villages and hamlets across South Vietnam, the communists got hammered. It is generally accepted, based on admissions from the North Vietnamese communists since the end of the war, that more than half of all communist forces were killed in action in this period, not including the numbers wounded or captured.[http://mavericknewsnetwork.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/05/index.html]</ref>

In ''Crossroads of Modern Warfare,'' Drew Middleton writes, “The North Vietnamese regulars and the Viet Cong guerrillas were defeated utterly on the battlefield. Granted the American superiority at that time, there is at least the probability that North Vietnam forces could have been destroyed.”

In ''Crossroads of Modern Warfare,'' Drew Middleton writes, “The North Vietnamese regulars and the Viet Cong guerrillas were defeated utterly on the battlefield. Granted the American superiority at that time, there is at least the probability that North Vietnam forces could have been destroyed.”