Battle of Khe Sanh begins - HISTORY [20] These figures do not include casualties among Special Forces troops at Lang Vei, aircrews killed or missing in the area, or Marine replacements killed or wounded while entering or exiting the base aboard aircraft. The NVAs main command post was located in Laos, at Sar Lit. Journalist Richard Ehrlich writes that according to the report, "in late January, General Westmoreland had warned that if the situation near the DMZ and at Khe Sanh worsened drastically, nuclear or chemical weapons might have to be used." Major Battles Of The Vietnam War - WorldAtlas Free shipping for many products! [Note 5] This event prompted Cushman to reinforce Lownds with the rest of the 2nd Battalion, 26th Marines. Battle of Khe Sanh (21 January - 9 April 1968) Max Hastings wrote a bestseller on Vietnam, and Dan met him to discuss Domino theory, whether it was possible for the US to win the war and the effect the war had on those who fought in it. Sporadic actions were taken in the vicinity during the late summer and early fall, the most serious of which was the ambush of a supply convoy on Route 9. It was the only time Americans abandoned a major combat base because of enemy pressure. In his memoirs, he listed the reasons for a continued effort: Khe Sanh could serve as a patrol base for blocking enemy infiltration from Laos along Route 9; as a base for SOG operations to harass the enemy in Laos; as an airstrip for reconnaissance planes surveying the Ho Chi Minh Trail; as the western anchor for defenses south of the DMZ; and as an eventual jump-off point for ground operations to cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail. A decision then had to be made by the American high command to commit more of the limited manpower in I Corps to the defense of Khe Sanh or to abandon the base. Both sides have published official histories of the battle, and while these histories agree the fighting took place at Khe Sanh, they disagree on virtually every other aspect of it. A Look at the Damage from the Secret War in Laos, How Operation Homecoming Was Sprung into Action to Repatriate American POWs, The Viet Cong Were Shooting Down Americans From a Cave Until This GI Stopped Them, https://www.historynet.com/recounting-the-casualties-at-the-deadly-battle-of-khe-sanh/, Jerrie Mock: Record-Breaking American Female Pilot, When 21 Sikh Soldiers Fought the Odds Against 10,000 Pashtun Warriors, Few Red Tails Remain: Tuskegee Airman Dies at 96. Early in the war US forces had established a garrison at Khe Sanh in Quang Tri province, in the . [138] At 08:00 on 15 April, Operation Pegasus was officially terminated. [158] The question, known among American historians as the "riddle of Khe Sanh," has been summed up by John Prados and Ray Stubbe: "Either the Tet Offensive was a diversion intended to facilitate PAVN/VC preparations for a war-winning battle at Khe Sanh, or Khe Sanh was a diversion to mesmerize Westmoreland in the days before Tet. Of the 24 Americans at the camp, 10 had been killed and 11 wounded. [163] Other theories argued that the forces around Khe Sanh were simply a localized defensive measure in the DMZ area or that they were serving as a reserve in case of an offensive American end run in the mode of the American invasion at Inchon during the Korean War. Airpower at Khe Sanh | Air & Space Forces Magazine - Air Force Magazine Cushman, the new III MAF commander, supported Westmoreland perhaps because he wanted to mend Army/Marine relations after the departure of Walt. A victory for the Americans and South Vietnamese, the Battle of Dak To cost 376 US killed, 1,441 US wounded, and 79 ARVN killed. Soon after, another shell hit a cache of tear gas, which saturated the entire area. Of the 500 CIDG troops at Lang Vei, 200 had been killed or were missing and 75 more were wounded. Once the aircraft touched down, it became the target of any number of PAVN artillery or mortar crews. The attack on Khe Sanh, however, proved to be a diversionary tactic for the larger Tet Offensive. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, then began planning for incursion into Laos, and in October, the construction of an airfield at Khe Sanh was completed. The Marine defense of Khe Sanh, Operation Scotland, officially ended on March 31. At dawn on 21 January, it was attacked by a roughly 300-strong PAVN battalion. See also Pisor, p. 108. As the relief force made progress, the Marines at Khe Sanh moved out from their positions and began patrolling at greater distances from the base. ~45,000 in total[11]~6,000 Marines at the Combat Base of Khe Sanh[12] Unlike the official figures, Stubbes database of Khe Sanh casualties includes verifiable names and dates of death. 50 Years Ago, US Troops Fought the Battle of Khe Sanh - Business Insider He has published over 20 books including: How to Survive Anything, Anywhere. Marines stayed in the area, conducting operations to recover the bodies of Marines killed previously. The Pegasus force consisted of the Army 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) plus the 1st Marine Regiment. On January 21 at Khe Sanh, 30,000 North Vietnamese troops attacked an air base held by just 6,000 United States Marines. [55] They were supported logistically from the nearby Ho Chi Minh Trail. 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. How Many Were Really Killed at Khe Sanh? | RealClearHistory [28], In early December 1967, the PAVN appointed Major General Tran Quy Hai as the local commander for the actions around Khe Sanh, with Le Quang Do as his political commissar. Operation Pegasus, begun the day after Scotland ended, lasted until April 15. server. Battlefield boundaries extended from eastern Laos eastward along both sides of Route 9 in Quang Tri province, Vietnam, to the coast. Due to the nature of these activities, and the threat that they posed to KSCB, Westmoreland ordered Operation Niagara I, an intense intelligence collection effort on PAVN activities in the vicinity of the Khe Sanh Valley. The Battle of Khe Sanh began 50 years ago this week when roughly 20,000 North Vietnamese troops surrounded an isolated combat base . [44], On 14 August, Colonel David E. Lownds took over as commander of the 26th Marine Regiment. The Laotians were overrun, and many fled to the Special Forces camp at Lang Vei. Military History Institute of Vietnam, pp. 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. The latest microwave/tropospheric scatter technology enabled them to maintain communications at all times. [100][Note 6], Lownds infuriated the Special Forces personnel even further when the indigenous survivors of Lang Vei, their families, civilian refugees from the area, and Laotian survivors from the camp at Ban Houei Sane arrived at the gate of KSCB. "[103] The Bru were excluded from evacuation from the highlands by an order from the ARVN I Corps commander, who ruled that no Bru be allowed to move into the lowlands. PAVN forces were driven out of the area around Khe Sanh after suffering 940 casualties. [12] Further fighting followed, resulting in the loss of another 11 Marines and 89 PAVN soldiers, before the Marines finally withdrew from the area on 11 July. The monumental Battle of Khe Sanh had begun, but the January 21 starting date is essentially arbitrary in terms of casualty reporting. The Tet Offensive was about to begin. [37] He was vociferously opposed by General Lewis W. Walt, the Marine commander of I Corps, who argued heatedly that the real target of the American effort should be the pacification and protection of the population, not chasing the PAVN/VC in the hinterlands. They attacked 36 of 44 provincial capitals, 64 district capitals, five of the six major cities, and more than two dozen airfields and bases. [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. "[162] Those who agree with Westmoreland reason that no other explanation exists for Hanoi to commit so many forces to the area instead of deploying them for the Tet Offensive. 3% were Asian, 7 or . Let me caution everyone not to be confused. The heavy reliance on American airpower was an ominous sign for Vietnamization and . The Battle of Khe Sanh's initial action cost the Marines 12 killed, 17 wounded and two missing. 528 of them include images. Over 100,000 tons of bombs were dropped by US aircraft and over 158,000 artillery rounds were fired in defense of the base. [98] The Marines continued to oppose the operation until Westmoreland actually had to issue an order to Cushman to allow the rescue operation to proceed. 239240. Five Marines were killed on January 19 and 20, while on reconnaissance patrols. The Marines found a solution to the problem in the "Super Gaggle" concept. Week of February 19, 2023 | Vietnam War Commemoration [75] On 22 January, the first sensor drops took place, and by the end of the month, 316 acoustic and seismic sensors had been dropped in 44 strings. Route 9, the only practical overland route from the east, was impassable due to its poor state of repair and the presence of PAVN troops. [27][28] The Marines' defensive system stretched below the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) from the coast, along Route 9, to Khe Sanh. Operation Pegasus: ~20,000 (1st Air Cavalry and Marine units), U.S. losses:At Khe Sanh: 274 killed2,541 wounded (not including ARVN Ranger, RF/PF, Forward Operation Base 3 US Army and Royal Laotian Army losses)[15]Operation Scotland I and Operation Pegasus: 730 killed2,642 wounded,7 missing[15]Operation Scotland II (15 April 1968 July 1968):485 killed2,396 wounded[1]USAF:5 ~ 20 killed, wounded unknown[1]Operation Charlie for the final evacuation:At least 11 marines killed, wounded unknown[1] Then, on the morning of 6 February, the PAVN fired mortars into the Lang Vei compound, wounding eight Camp Strike Force soldiers. A smaller slice of the action saw Americans on the receiving end, defending some firebase or outpost. On April 6, a front-page story in The New York Times declared that the siege of Khe Sanh had been lifted. Battle of Khe Sanh - Wikipedia The PAVN would try to take Khe Sanh, but if could not, it would occupy the attention of as many American and South Vietnamese forces in I Corps as it could, which would facilitate the Tet Offensive. The battle of Khe Sanh: A history of the Vietnam War - Washington Post By the middle of January 1968, some 6,000 Marines and Army troops occupied the Khe Sanh Combat Base and its surrounding positions. The Soviet-built PT-76 amphibious tanks of the 203rd Armored Regiment churned over the defenses, backed up by an infantry assault by the 7th Battalion, 66th Regiment and the 4th Battalion of the 24th Regiment, both elements of the 304th Division. On Easter Sunday, April 14, the 3rd Battalion, 26th Marines (3/26), assaulted Hill 881 North in order to clear the enemy firing positions. The Battle of Khe Sanh: The Vietnam War - WorldAtlas The Marines suffered 155 killed in action and 425 wounded. . The withdrawal of the last Marines under the cover of darkness was hampered by the shelling of a bridge along Route 9, which had to be repaired before the withdrawal could be completed. [125], By mid-March, Marine intelligence began to note an exodus of PAVN units from the Khe Sanh sector. Known as the McNamara Line, it was initially codenamed "Project Nine". The PAVN claim that during the entire battle they "eliminated" 17,000 enemy troops, including 13,000 Americans and destroyed 480 aircraft. The official statistics yield a KIA ratio of between 50:1 and 75:1 of North Vietnamese to U.S. military deaths. Westmoreland believed that the latter was the case, and his belief was the basis for his desire to stage "Dien Bien Phu in reverse. [148], Regardless, the PAVN had gained control of a strategically important area, and its lines of communication extended further into South Vietnam. The figures of 5,500 NVA dead and 1,000 U.S. dead yield a ratio of 5.5:1. Five more attacks against their sector were launched during March. [1] According to Brush, it was "the only occasion in which Americans abandoned a major combat base due to enemy pressure" and in the aftermath, the North Vietnamese began a strong propaganda campaign, seeking to exploit the US withdrawal and to promote the message that the withdrawal had not been by choice. SOG Reconnaissance teams also reported finding tank tracks in the area surrounding Co Roc mountain. On April 5, 1968, MACV prepared an Analysis of the Khe Sanh Battle for General Westmoreland. "[24] In November 1964, the Special Forces moved their camp to the Xom Cham Plateau, the future site of Khe Sanh Combat Base. It was a bad beginning to a long 77-day siege. [75], Niagara I was completed during the third week of January, and the next phase, Niagara II, was launched on the 21st,[76] the day of the first PAVN artillery barrage. The Khe Sanh battlefield was considerably more extensive from the North Vietnamese perspective than from that of the U.S. Marine Corps, both geographically and chronologically. [1] He goes on to state that a further 72 were killed as part Operation Scotland II throughout the remainder of the year, but that these deaths are not included in the official US casualty lists for the Battle of Khe Sanh. Setting out from Ca Lu, 10 miles east of Khe Sanh, Pegasus opened the highway, linked up with the Marines at Khe Sanh, and engaged NVA in the surrounding area. The American military presence at Khe Sanh consisted not only of the Marine Corps Khe Sanh Combat Base, but also Forward Operating Base 3, U.S. Army (FOB-3). Siege at Khe Sanh: ~17,200 (304th and 308th Division), Defense at Route 9: ~16,900 (320th and 324th Division), This page was last edited on 1 March 2023, at 15:52. The NVA surrounded Khe Sanh in an attempt to force the Marines to break out of their fighting positions, which would make it easier to engage and destroy them. If only it had contaminated the stream, the airlift would not have provided enough water to the Marines. Ho Chi Minhs oft-quoted admonition to the French applied equally to the Americans: You can kill ten of my men for every one I kill of yours, but even at those odds, you will lose and I will win. The calculation by Stubbe that approximately 1,000 Americans died on the Khe Sanh battlefield is especially compelling, given that Stubbes numbers are accompanied by names and dates of death. 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. Both sides suffered major casualties with both claiming victory of their own. "[136], Regardless, on 1 April, Operation Pegasus began. [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. According to Gordon Rottman, even the North Vietnamese official history, Victory in Vietnam, is largely silent on the issue. [128] Also, Marine Lieutenant General Victor Krulak seconded the notion that there was never a serious intention to take the base by arguing that neither the water supply nor the telephone land lines were ever cut by the PAVN. Name State Date War Branch; 1: Steven Glenn Abbott . Air Power in the Siege of Khe Sanh - HistoryNet With Khe Sanh facing a full-scale. [58] The USAF delivered 14,356 tons of supplies to Khe Sanh by air (8,120 tons by paradrop). Marine Khe Sanh veteran Peter Brush is Vietnam Magazines book review editor. The battle of Khe Sanh is one of the most well-known battles of the Vietnam War. 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. This article was written by Peter Brush and originally published in the June 2007 issue of Vietnam Magazine. What did the 25th Infantry do in Vietnam? - 2023 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. American intelligence estimated that between 10,000 and 15,000 PAVN troops were killed during the operation, equating to up to 90% of the attacking 17,200-man PAVN force. [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. MACV therefore initiated an operation to open Route 9 to vehicle traffic. North Vietnamese Army gained control of the Khe Sanh region after the American withdrawal. [1], The evacuation of Khe Sanh began on 19 June 1968 as Operation Charlie. The assault began on 10 May 1969 w ith the 101st Airborne Division and troops of the 9th M arine Regiment, the 5 th Cavalry Regiment, and the 3 rd ARVN Regiment. [122], In late February, ground sensors detected the 66th Regiment, 304th Division preparing to mount an attack on the positions of the 37th ARVN Ranger Battalion on the eastern perimeter. That proved to be the last overland attempt at resupply for Khe Sanh until the following March. The attack was to have been supported by armor and artillery. Two days later, US troops detected PAVN trenches running due north to within 25 m of the base perimeter. Construction on the line was ultimately abandoned and resources were later diverted towards implementing a more mobile strategy. [164] He cited the fact that it would have taken longer to dislodge the North Vietnamese at Hue if the PAVN had committed the three divisions at Khe Sanh to the battle there instead of dividing its forces. No logic was apparent to them behind the sustained PAVN/VC offensives other than to inflict casualties on the allied forces. The Battle of Khe Sanh and Its Retellings - The Atlantic Only those killed in action during Operation Scotland, which began on November 1, 1967, and ended on March 31, 1968, were included in the official casualty count. [107] The greatest impediments to the delivery of supplies to the base were the closure of Route 9 and the winter monsoon weather. The enemy by my count suffered at least 15,000 dead in the area.. A press release prepared on the following day (but never issued), at the height of Tet, showed that he was not about to be distracted. Lownds also rejected a proposal to launch a helicopter extraction of the survivors. The site was first established near the village and later moved to the French fort. 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. While I was in training, my motivation was to get these wings and I wear them today proudly, the airman recalled in 2015. [48][Note 4], Not all leading Marine officers, however, had the same opinion. [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. [70] Regardless, the SOG reconnaissance teams kept patrolling, providing the only human intelligence available in the battle area. After its adoption, Marine helicopters flew in 465 tons of supplies during February. Although the camp's main defenses were overrun in only 13 minutes, the fighting lasted for several hours, during which the Special Forces men and Bru CIDGs managed to knock out at least five of the tanks. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. The microwave/tropo site was located in an underground bunker next to the airstrip. He gave the order for US Marines to take up positions around Khe Sanh. On January 14, Marines from Company B, 3rd Recon Battalion, were moving up the north slope of Hill 881 North, a few miles northwest of Khe Sanh Combat Base. At least 852 PAVN soldiers were killed during the action, as opposed to 50 American and South Vietnamese. [31] Mortar rounds, artillery shells, and 122mm rockets fell randomly but incessantly upon the base. The United States Marines gave the actual body count of the NVA troops killed to be 1,602, but estimates show that the total number of NVA troops . At least 852 PAVN soldiers were killed during the action, as opposed to 50 American and South Vietnamese. About two hours later, an NVA artillery barrage scored a hit on the main ammunition dump at Khe Sanh Combat Base, killing Lance Corp. Jerry Stenberg and other Marines. 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. The badly-deteriorated Route 9 ran from the coastal region through the western highlands and crossed the border into Laos. The official, public estimate of 10,000 to 15,000 North Vietnamese KIA stands in contrast to another estimate made by the American military. The Marine Corps casualty reporting system was based on named operations and not geographic location. WALKI NA WZGRZU: PIERWSZA BITWA KHE SANH Edwarda F. Murphy'ego 6,000 men North Vietnamese Vo Nguyen Giap Tran Quy Hai Approx. 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. "[160] That has led other observers to conclude that the siege served a wider PAVN strategy by diverting 30,000 US troops away from the cities that were the main targets of the Tet Offensive. Telfer, Rogers, and Fleming, pp. Since late in 1967, Khe Sanh had depended on airlift for its survival. Had the plane been shot down departing Khe Sanh, the casualties would have been counted. As early as 1962, the U.S. Military CommandVietnam (MACV) established an Army Special Forces camp near the village. For a succinct overview of the creation of the CIDG program and its operations. [165], Another interpretation was that the North Vietnamese were planning to work both ends against the middle, a strategy that has come to be known as the Option Play. [137] Opposition from the North Vietnamese was light and the primary problem that hampered the advance was continual heavy morning cloud cover that slowed the pace of helicopter operations. The Battle of Ban Houei Sane, not the attack three weeks later at Lang Vei, marked the first time that the PAVN had committed an armored unit to battle. The 26th Marine Regiment (26th Marines) is an inactivated infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps. 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. [67], At the same time as the artillery bombardment at KSCB, an attack was launched against Khe Sanh village, seat of Hng Ha District. He believed that was proved by the PAVN's actions during Tet. First had been Operation Full Cry, the original three-division invasion plan. U.S. Marines and their allies killed thousands of NVA, but to solve the riddle of Khe Sanh, you have to recount the numbers. However, even if Westmoreland believed his statement, his argument never moved on to the next logical level. But only by checking my service record while writing this article did it become evident that I had participated in all three operations. Minor attacks continued before the base was officially closed on 5 July. Where were the major battles of the Vietnam War? The village, 3km south of the base, was defended by 160 local Bru troops, plus 15 American advisers. A single company replaced an entire battalion. [41], To prevent PAVN observation of the main base at the airfield and their possible use as firebases, the hills of the surrounding Khe Sanh Valley had to be continuously occupied and defended by separate Marine elements. The Operation Scotland tactical area of responsibility (TAOR) was limited to the area around Khe Sanh along Route 9 in western Quang Tri province. Beginning in October 1967, the Communists greatly increased their forces in the Khe Sanh area to total two infantry divisions, two artillery regiments and an armored regiment. The most controversial statistic in Vietnam was the number of killed in action (KIA) claimed by each side. To support the Marine base, a massive aerial bombardment campaign (Operation Niagara) was launched by the USAF. 216217. Battle of la Drang Valley (26 October - 27 . [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. On that day, Tolson ordered his unit to immediately make preparations for Operation Delaware, an air assault into the A Shau Valley. How many American soldiers died in the Battle of Ia Drang? Taking a larger but more realistic view, the Khe Sanh campaign resulted in a death toll of American military personnel that approached 1,000. [140] Total US casualties during the operation were 92 killed, 667 wounded, and five missing. At about 0640 hours the NVA 7th Battalion, 66th Regiment, 304th Division, attacked the Huong Hoa District headquarters in Khe Sanh village. They produced a body count ratio in the range between 50:1 and 75:1. Battle of Khe Sanh "What had been a combat base looked like rubble." A US Marine carries an American flag on his rifle during a recovery operation 6 miles south of Khe Sanh, Vietnam, June 17 . [39], On 24 April 1967, a patrol from Bravo Company became engaged with a PAVN force of an unknown size north of Hill 861. Reinforcements from the ARVN 256th Regional Force (RF) company were dispatched aboard nine UH-1 helicopters of the 282nd Assault Helicopter Company, but they were landed near the abandoned French fort/former FOB-3 which was occupied by the PAVN who killed many of the RF troops and 4 Americans, including Lieutenant colonel Joseph Seymoe the deputy adviser for Quang Tri Province and forcing the remaining helicopters to abandon the mission. What is the 25th Infantry known for? The fighting was heavy. [64], The main base was then subjected to an intense mortar and rocket barrage. The Twenty-fifth United States Infantry Regiment was one of the racially segregated units of the United States Army known as Buffalo Soldiers.The 25th served from 1866 to 1957, seeing action in the American Indian Wars, Spanish-American War, Philippine-American War and World War II. The platoon withdrew following a three-hour battle that left six Marines dead, 24 missing, and one taken prisoner. "[168][Note 7], Marine General Rathvon M. Tompkins, the commander of the 3rd Marine Division, pointed out that had the PAVN actually intended to take Khe Sanh, PAVN troops could have cut the base's sole source of water, a stream 500 m outside the perimeter of the base.