, ironically these towns were already driven off by the Viet Cong a couple of months before. This tipped off the Americans that the anticipated great offensive was about to begin. Also, American leaders were aware of their plans ahead of time, but just did not know where or when, but soon. Initially there had been physical movement to suggest that something big was going to happen. The enemy prisoners held captive by the ARVN kept on talking about the upcoming "final victory" and an increase in NVA troops and Vietcong were building up along the Ho Chi Minh Trail and the demilitarized zone (DMZ). Documentation was also discovered by fleeing enemy soldiers. One called for a concentrated offensive effort in coordination with other units in various battle areas throughout South Vietnam. Another stated that Central Headquarters [Hanoi] concluded that the time for a revolution has come and that the opportunity for a "general offensive and general uprising" was within reach. The information was passed on to Johnson and his war administration. The war department predicted that the attack would commence on the eve of the Vietnamese Lunar New Year. Incredibly, the allied forces predicted a nearly exact date of the offensive; yet soldiers and ARVN troops were caught off guard when the Têt offensive began at about three in the morning of January 31.
             The NVA and Viet Cong forces lost their strategic surprise but they achieved tactical surprise because they attacked on Têt, a holiday so meaningful to the Vietnamese that very few believed that even the communists would violate it. (
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