Page "Tet Offensive" Paragraph 40

On 28 January 11 Viet Cong cadres were captured in the city of Qui Nhon while in possession of two pre-recorded audio tapes whose message appealed to the populace in " already occupied Saigon, Hue, and Da Nang.

" The following afternoon, General Cao Van Vien, chief of the Vietnamese Joint General Staff, ordered his four corps commanders to place their troops on alert.

Yet, there was still a lack of a sense of urgency on the part of the allies.

If Westmoreland had a grasp of the potential for danger, he did not communicate it very well to others.

On the evening of 30 January, 200 U. S. officers — all of whom served on the MACV intelligence staff — attended a pool party at their quarters in Saigon.

According to James Meecham, an analyst at the Combined Intelligence Center who attended the party: " I had no conception Tet was coming, absolutely zero ... Of the 200-odd officers present, not one I talked to knew Tet was coming, without exception.