 The communist effort to regain control of the countryside was somewhat more successful . According to the U.S. State Department the Viet Cong " made pacification virtually inoperative . In the Mekong Delta the Viet Cong was stronger now than ever and in other regions the countryside belongs to the VC . " General Wheeler reported that the offensive had brought counterinsurgency programs to a halt and " that to a large extent , the V.C. now controlled the countryside . " Unfortunately for the Viet Cong , this state of affairs did not last . Heavy casualties and the backlash of the South Vietnamese and Americans resulted in more territorial losses and heavy casualties . 
