[12], General Creighton Abrams also suggested that the North Vietnamese may have been planning to emulate Dien Bien Phu. [66] Hours after the bombardment ceased, the base was still in danger. During one 8-hour period, the base was rocked by 1,307 rounds, most of which came from 130-mm (used for the first time on the battlefield) and 152-mm artillery pieces located in Laos. 1st Marine Aircraft Wing records claim that the unit delivered 4,661 tons of cargo into KSCB. Five Marines were killed on January 19 and 20, while on reconnaissance patrols. American commanders considered the defense of Khe Sanh a success, but shortly after the siege was lifted, the decision was made to dismantle the base rather than risk similar battles in the future. In the course of the fighting, Allied forces fired 151,000 artillery rounds, flew 2,096 tactical air sorties, and conducted 257 B-52 Stratofortress strikes. [33], On 27 October, a PAVN regiment attacked an Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) battalion at Song Be, capital of Phc Long Province. Operation Pegasus, begun the day after Scotland ended, lasted until April 15. The Marine defense of Khe Sanh, Operation Scotland, officially ended on March 31. By early January, the defenders could count on fire support from 46 artillery pieces of various calibers, five tanks armed with 90-mm guns, and 92 single or Ontos-mounted 106-mm recoilless rifles. In an unconventional war without conventional frontlines, statistics became the most critical measure of progress. [115] This equates to roughly 1,300 tons of bombs dropped daily 5 tons for every one of the 20,000 PAVN soldiers initially estimated to have been committed to the fighting at Khe Sanh. The Marines, whose aircraft and doctrine were integral to their operations, were under no such centralized control. The exact number of casualties suffered by both sides during the Khe Sanh battle is very difficult to ascertain, given that in many cases the two warring factions provided their own disparate counts. today! by John Prados. Things heated up for the air cavalrymen on 6 April, when the 3rd Brigade encountered a PAVN blocking force and fought a day-long engagement. [Note 5] This event prompted Cushman to reinforce Lownds with the rest of the 2nd Battalion, 26th Marines. The ground troops had been specially equipped for the attack with satchel charges, tear gas, and flame throwers. The battalion was assaulted on the night of 23 January by three PAVN battalions supported by seven tanks. "[106] At the end of January, Tompkins had ordered that no Marine patrols proceed more than 500 meters from the Combat Base. [79] On an average day, 350 tactical fighter-bombers, 60 B-52s, and 30 light observation or reconnaissance aircraft operated in the skies near the base. Two Marines died. The PAVN, however, were not through with the ARVN troops. [99] The relief effort was not launched until 15:00, and it was successful. According to the official PAVN history, by December 1967 the North Vietnamese had in place, or within supporting distance: the 304th, 320th, 324th and 325th Infantry Divisions, the independent 270th infantry Regiment; five artillery regiments (the 16th, 45th, 84th, 204th, and 675th); three AAA regiments (the 208th, 214th, and 228th); four tank companies; one engineer regiment plus one independent engineer battalion; one signal battalion; and a number of local force units. Vietnam War - Tet Offensive & American public reaction [170][140], One argument that was then leveled by Westmoreland and has since often quoted by historians of the battle is that only two Marine regiments were tied down at Khe Sanh, compared with the several PAVN divisions. On April 20, Operation Prairie IV began, with heavy fighting between the Marines and NVA forces. [93] At 18:10 hours, the PAVN followed up their morning mortar attack with an artillery strike from 152mm howitzers, firing 60 rounds into the camp. The next operations were named Crockett and Ardmore. Two further attacks later in the morning were halted before the PAVN finally withdrew. Enemy artillery rounds slammed into the runway. Additionally, Shore argued that the "weather was another critical factor because the poor visibility and low overcasts attendant to the monsoon season made such operations hazardous. [36], Things remained quiet in the Khe Sanh area through 1966. MN: 05-12-1968: Vietnam: Army: 2: GitHub export from English Wikipedia. This time period does not particularly coincide with the fighting; rather, it dates from before the siege began and terminates before the siege (and the fighting) ended. [54] In attempting to determine PAVN intentions Marine intelligence confirmed that, within a period of just over a week, the 325th Division had moved into the vicinity of the base and two more divisions were within supporting distance. Tolson was not happy with the assignment, since he believed that the best course of action, after Tet, was to use his division in an attack into the A Shau Valley. Hernandez was killed. As journalist Robert Pisor pointed out in his 1982 book, The End of the Line: The Siege of Khe Sanh, no other battle of the entire war produced a better body count or kill ratio than that claimed by the Americans at Khe Sanh. [71][72], Nine days before the Tet Offensive broke out, the PAVN opened the battle of Khe Sanh and attacked the US forces just south of the DMZ. Stubbe examined the command chronologies of the 1st and 2nd battalions, 26th Marines, plus the after-action reports of the 3rd Battalion, 26th Marines; 1st Battalion, 9th Marines; 1st Battalion, 13th Marines; and more than one dozen other units, all present at Khe Sanh under 26th Marine operational control. The Siege of Khe Sanh | The American Legion The latest microwave/tropospheric scatter technology enabled them to maintain communications at all times. [1], The PAVN claim that they began attacking the withdrawing Americans on 26 June 1968 prolonging the withdrawal, killing 1,300 Americans and shooting down 34 aircraft before "liberating" Khe Sanh on 15 July. On 22 March, over 1,000 North Vietnamese rounds fell on the base, and once again, the ammunition dump was detonated. Early in the war US forces had established a garrison at Khe Sanh in Quang Tri province, in the . Week of February 19, 2023 | Vietnam War Commemoration The 26th Marines were activated in 1944 and fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II and were activated again on 1 March 1966, and fought in the Battle of Khe Sanh during the Vietnam War . The Marines claimed 115 PAVN killed, while their own casualties amounted to 10 dead, 100 wounded, and two missing. [118], On the night of the fall of Lang Vei, three companies of the PAVN 101D Regiment moved into jump-off positions to attack Alpha-1, an outpost west of the Combat Base held by 66 men of Company A, 1st Platoon, 1/9 Marines. Operational control of the Khe Sanh area was handed over to the US Army's 1st Air Cavalry Division for the duration of Operation Pegasus. [166] This view was supported by a captured North Vietnamese study of the battle in 1974 that stated that the PAVN would have taken Khe Sanh if it could have done so, but there was a limit to the price that it would pay. [94] Although the PAVN was known to possess two armored regiments, it had not yet fielded an armored unit in South Vietnam, and besides, the Americans considered it impossible for them to get one down to Khe Sanh without it being spotted by aerial reconnaissance. During the 1968 Tet Offensive, as many as 30,000 Communist Vietnamese forces surrounded roughly 6,000 U.S. marines defending a combat base on .. Week of February 21 Indeed, had enemy forces not been at Khe Sanh, they could have joined the NVA and VC who occupied Hue, a much more important strategic target. The Hill Fights: The First Battle of Khe Sanh by Murphy, Edward F [25], In the winter of 1964, Khe Sanh became the location of a launch site for the highly-classified Military Assistance Command, Vietnam Studies and Observations Group. Senior Marine Corps General Victor Krulak agreed, noting on May 13 that the Marines had defeated the North Vietnamese and won the battle of Khe Sanh. Over time, these KIA figures have been accepted by historians. At around 10:00, the fire ignited a large quantity of explosives, rocking the base with another series of detonations. The presence of the PAVN 1st Division prompted a 22-day battle there and had some of the most intense close-quarters fighting of the entire conflict. . The tower at Khe Sanh instructed the pilot to take evasive action and go around for another approach. In 1966 the Marines built a base adjacent to the Army position, and organized their combat activities around named operations. [85] Westmoreland had given his deputy commander for air operations, Air Force General William W. Momyer, the responsibility for coordinating all air assets during the operation to support KSCB. North Vietnamese Army gained control of the Khe Sanh region after the American withdrawal. [45] In December and early January, numerous sightings of PAVN troops and activities were made in the Khe Sanh area, but the sector remained relatively quiet.[46]. Aug 23, 2013. The Vietnam War: 11 Major Battles - warhistoryonline On April 15, Operation Pegasus ended and Operation Scotland II began. [171] When Hanoi made the decision to move in around the base, Khe Sanh was held by only one or two American battalions. [127] At 08:00 the following day, Operation Scotland was officially terminated. For most of the battle, low-lying clouds and fog enclosed the area from early morning until around noon, and poor visibility severely hampered aerial resupply. Seven miles west of Khe Sanh on Route 9, and about halfway to the Laotian border, sat the U.S. Army Special Forces camp at Lang Vei. On Easter Sunday, April 14, the 3rd Battalion, 26th Marines (3/26), assaulted Hill 881 North in order to clear the enemy firing positions. Battlefield:Vietnam | History [88] Westmoreland was so obsessed with the tactical situation that he threatened to resign if his wishes were not obeyed. PAVN forces were driven out of the area around Khe Sanh after suffering 940 casualties. [131], Planning for the overland relief of Khe Sanh had begun as early as 25 January 1968, when Westmoreland ordered General John J. Tolson, commander, First Cavalry Division, to prepare a contingency plan. Khe Sanh was situated on Route 9, the major east-west highway. The legendary siege at Khe Sanh occurred in 1968, but during the spring of 1967, the United States Marines fought in northwestern Quang Tri Province in what became the first stage of the Khe Sanh battles. The PAVN 130mm and 152mm artillery pieces, and 122mm rockets, had a longer range than the Marine artillery support which consisted of 105mm and 155mm howitzers. [61] To cover a defilade near the Rao Quan River, four companies from 2/26 were immediately sent out to occupy Hill 558, with another manning Hill 861A. The heavy reliance on American airpower was an ominous sign for Vietnamization and . [126], On 30 March, Bravo Company, 26th Marines, launched an attack toward the location of the ambush that had claimed so many of their comrades on 25 February. Major Battles Of The Vietnam War - WorldAtlas [33], The heaviest action took place near Dak To, in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum. However, the PAVN committed three regiments to the fighting from the Khe Sanh sector. Vietnam 40 years later: 101st Airborne Division veteran recalls Ripcord The village of Khe Sanh was the seat of government of Hng Hoa district, an area of Bru Montagnard villages and coffee plantations about 7 miles (11km) from the Laotian frontier on Route 9, the northernmost transverse road in South Vietnam. In the aftermath, the North Vietnamese proclaimed a victory at Khe Sanh, while US forces claimed that they had withdrawn, as the base was no longer required. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. Operation Pegasus forces, however, were highly mobile and did not attack en masse down Route 9 far enough west of Khe Sanh for the NVA, by then dispersed, to implement their plan. Taking place between March and July 1970, the Battle of Fire. [40] The 2nd and 3rd battalions of the 3rd Marine Regiment, under the command of Colonel John P. Lanigan, reinforced KSCB and were given the task of pushing the PAVN off of Hills 861, 881 North, and 881 South. While climbing, the C-123 was struck by several bursts of heavy machine gun and recoilless rifle fire. Subscribe to our HistoryNet Now! Few areas of the world have been as hotly contested as the India-Pakistan border. Name State Date War Branch; 1: Steven Glenn Abbott . [82], By the end of the battle, USAF assets had flown 9,691 tactical sorties and dropped 14,223tons of bombs on targets within the Khe Sanh area. On July 10, Pfc Robert Hernandez of Company A, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, was manning an M-60 machine gun position when it took a direct hit from NVA mortars. Let me caution everyone not to be confused. There are still debates about the true number of casualties, but estimates range that 1,000 to 3,500 US soldiers died, and a secret report from the US Military Assistance Command, Vietnam,. Then, on the morning of 6 February, the PAVN fired mortars into the Lang Vei compound, wounding eight Camp Strike Force soldiers. The 324th Division was located in the DMZ area 1015 miles (1624km) north of Khe Sanh while the 320th Division was within easy reinforcing distance to the northeast. If firepower determined the outcome of the fight, it was airlift that allowed the defenders to hold their positions. "[91][92], Not much activity (with the exception of patrolling) had occurred thus far during the battle for the Special Forces Detachment A-101 and their four companies of Bru CIDGs stationed at Lang Vei. Battle of Khe Sanh begins - HISTORY [65] The fighting and shelling on 21 January resulted in 14 Marines killed and 43 wounded. Battle of Khe Sanh: American Casualties : Showing All Results. The PAVN infantry, though bracketed by artillery fire, still managed to penetrate the perimeter of the defenses and were only driven back after severe close-quarters combat. [69] The Marine Direct Air Support Center (DASC), located at KSCB, was responsible for the coordination of air strikes with artillery fire. That was accomplished, but the casualties absorbed by the North Vietnamese seemed to negate any direct gains they might have obtained. They were not included in the official Khe Sanh counts. [150] On 31 December 1968, the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion was landed west of Khe Sanh to commence Operation Dawson River West, on 2 January 1969 the 9th Marines and 2nd ARVN Regiment were also deployed on the plateau supported by the newly established Fire Support Bases Geiger and Smith; the 3-week operation found no significant PAVN forces or supplies in the Khe Sanh area. The Armys 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), with more than 400 helicopters under its control, conducted airmobile operations deeper into enemy-controlled areas. [147] The official closure of the base came on 5 July after fighting, which had killed five more Marines. He believed that was proved by the PAVN's actions during Tet. No logic was apparent to them behind the sustained PAVN/VC offensives other than to inflict casualties on the allied forces. . All of the attacks were conducted by regimental-size PAVN/VC units, but unlike most of the previous usual hit-and-run tactics, they were sustained and bloody affairs. Army deaths at FOB-3, however, were not included in the official statistics either. The link-up between the relief force and the Marines at KSCB took place at 08:00 on 8 April, when the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment entered the camp. The enemy by my count suffered at least 15,000 dead in the area.. Many of the artillery and mortar rounds stored in the dump were thrown into the air and detonated on impact within the base. Military History Institute of Vietnam, p. 222. New material will be added to that page through the end of 2018. The battle of Khe Sanh is one of the most well-known battles of the Vietnam War. [156] Correspondent Michael Herr reported on the battle, and his account would inspire the surreal "Do Long Bridge" scene in the film Apocalypse Now, which emphasized the anarchy of the war. The Battle of Khe Sanh: The Vietnam War - WorldAtlas "[155], According to military historian Ronald Spector, to reasonably record the fighting at Khe Sanh as an American victory is impossible. The PAVN claim that during the entire battle they "eliminated" 17,000 enemy troops, including 13,000 Americans and destroyed 480 aircraft. Unlike the Marines killed in the same place in January, since Operation Scotland had ended, the four Lima Company Marines who died in this attack on Hill 881 North were excluded from the official statistics. [143][144], On 15 April, the 3rd Marine Division resumed responsibility for KSCB, Operation Pegasus ended, and Operation Scotland II began with the Marines seeking out the PAVN in the surrounding area. Among the dead Marines was 18-year-old Pfc Curtis Bugger. He subsequently ordered the US military to hold Khe Sanh at all costs. [161], Whether the PAVN actually planned to capture Khe Sanh or the battle was an attempt to replicate the Vit Minh triumph against the French at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu has long been a point of contention. [109], The resupply of the numerous, isolated hill outposts was fraught with the same difficulties and dangers. [9], The precise nature of Hanoi's strategic goal at Khe Sanh is regarded as one of the most intriguing unanswered questions of the Vietnam War. [135] The Marines had constantly argued that technically, Khe Sanh had never been under siege, since it had never truly been isolated from resupply or reinforcement. In March 1968, an overland relief expedition (Operation Pegasus) was launched by a combined MarineArmy/ARVN task force that eventually broke through to the Marines at Khe Sanh. [58] These tactics were reminiscent of those employed against the French at Dien Bien Phu in 1954, particularly in relation to entrenching tactics and artillery placement, and the realization assisted US planners in their targeting decisions. It was not sufficient to simply be an American military person killed in the fighting there during the winter and spring of 1967-68. The Hill Fights (also known as the First Battle of Khe Sanh) was a battle during the Vietnam War between the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) 325C Division and United States Marines on several hill masses north of the Khe Sanh Combat Base in northwest Qung Tr Province . [129][130] Nevertheless, according to Tom Johnson, President Johnson was "determined that Khe Sanh [would not] be an 'American Dien Bien Phu'". Besieged, Khe Sanh could only be resupplied by air. [32], Westmoreland responded by launching Operation Neutralize, an aerial and naval bombardment campaign designed to break the siege. [105], Lownds estimated that the logistical requirements of KSCB were 60 tons per day in mid-January and rose to 185 tons per day when all five battalions were in place. Site will be misbehaving during our migration to new (better!) Battle of Khe Sanh : American Casualties We have 535 casualty profiles listed in our archive. History is who we are and why we are the way we are.. Since late in 1967, Khe Sanh had depended on airlift for its survival. Operation Scotland II continued until the end of the year, resulting in the deaths of 72 more Marines. He gave the order for US Marines to take up positions around Khe Sanh. The origin of the combat base lay in the construction by US Army Special Forces of an airfield in August 1962 outside the village at an old French fort. Had the plane been shot down departing Khe Sanh, the casualties would have been counted. Nevertheless, the US commander during the battle, General William Westmoreland, maintained that the true intention of Tet was to distract forces from Khe Sanh. McNamara wrote: "because of terrain and other conditions peculiar to our operations in South Vietnam, it is inconceivable that the use of nuclear weapons would be recommended there against either Viet Cong or North Vietnamese forces". The NVA used Hill 881 North to launch 122mm rockets at the Marines during the siege. The opportunity to engage and destroy a formerly elusive enemy that was moving toward a fixed position promised a victory of unprecedented proportions. On April 5, 1968, MACV prepared an Analysis of the Khe Sanh Battle for General Westmoreland. The most controversial statistic in Vietnam was the number of killed in action (KIA) claimed by each side. This is the battles end date from the North Vietnamese perspective. This, however, did not prevent the Marine tanks within the perimeter from training their guns on the SOG camp. 20,000-30,000 men Battle of Khe Sanh Overview The Battle of Khe Sanh began on January 21, 1968, when forces from the People's Army of North Vietnam (PAVN) carried out a massive artillery bombardment on the U.S. Marine garrison at Khe Sanh, located in South Vietnam near the border with Laos. The monumental Battle of Khe Sanh had begun, but the January 21 starting date is essentially arbitrary in terms of casualty reporting. On March 6, two U.S. Air Force C-123 cargo airplanes departed Da Nang Air Base en route to Khe Sanh. MACV therefore initiated an operation to open Route 9 to vehicle traffic. Westmoreland echoed this judgment in his memoirs, and, using exactly the same figures, concluded that the North Vietnamese had suffered a most damaging and one-sided defeat. This fighting was heavy, involving South Vietnamese militia as well as U.S. Army MACV advisers and Marines attached to a Combined Action Company platoon. Once the base came under siege, a series of actions were fought over a period of five months. [29], During the second half of 1967, the North Vietnamese instigated a series of actions in the border regions of South Vietnam. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. [31] Mortar rounds, artillery shells, and 122mm rockets fell randomly but incessantly upon the base. Armies and Commanders Allies General William Westmoreland Colonel David Lownds Approx. [70] Regardless, the SOG reconnaissance teams kept patrolling, providing the only human intelligence available in the battle area. The combat losses in February and March 1967 were a prelude to the "First Battle of Khe Sanh," one of the Vietnam War's hardest-fought battles, . [97] During a meeting at Da Nang at 07:00 the next morning, Westmoreland and Cushman accepted Lownds' decision. Mobile combat operations continued against the North Vietnamese. Air Power in the Siege of Khe Sanh - HistoryNet