Although primarily operating out of Phước Tuy, the 1 ATF was also available for deployment elsewhere in the III Corps Tactical Zone. As the province progressively came under control, 1968 saw the Australians spending a significant period of time conducting operations further afield. The communist Tet offensive began on 30 January 1968 with the aim of inciting a general uprising, simultaneously engulfing population centres across South Vietnam. In response, 1 ATF was deployed along likely infiltration routes to defend the vital Biên Hòa–Long Binh complex near Saigon, as part of Operation Coburg between January and March. Heavy fighting resulted in 17 Australians killed and 61 wounded, while communist casualties included at least 145 killed, 110 wounded and 5 captured, with many more removed from the battlefield. Meanwhile, Tet also affected Phước Tuy Province, and although stretched thin the remaining Australian forces there successfully repelled an attack on Ba Ria, as well as spoiling a harassing attack on Long Dien and conducting a sweep of Hỏa Lòng, killing 50 Viet Cong and wounding 25 for the loss of five Australians killed and 24 wounded. In late February the communist offensive collapsed, suffering more than 45,000 killed—against South Vietnamese and allied losses of only 6,000 men. Regardless, Tet proved to be a turning point in the war, and although it had been a tactical disaster for the communists it proved a strategic victory for Hanoi as confidence in the American military and political leadership collapsed, as did public support for the war in the United States.