The Tết Truce was an empty ceasefire that occurred in 1968 between North Vietnam

North Vietnam

The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...

 and South Vietnam

South Vietnam

South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...

.

North Vietnam had announced in October that it would observe a seven-day ceasefire from January 27 to February 3, 1968, in honor of the Tết

Tet

Tet can mean:*Tết or Tết Nguyên Đán, the Vietnamese new year**Tet Offensive, a military campaign that began in 1968*Têt in Roussillon, France*Equal temperament, abbreviated as 12-TET, 19-TET and so on...

 holiday. However, on January 30, 1968, North Vietnam launched the Tet Offensive. Because over half of the ARVN forces were on leave for the holiday, the Offensive caught many on guard and unprepared to fight.