With a view to gain the eventual approval for an advance through Laos to interdict the Ho Chi Minh Trail, he determined that "it was absolutely essential to hold the base." The Siege of Khe Sanh. It is difficult to support the claim of an overwhelming American victory at Khe Sanh based solely on the ratios derived from the official casualty count. Construction on the line was ultimately abandoned and resources were later diverted towards implementing a more mobile strategy. This marked the first time that all three battalions of the 26th Marine Regiment had operated together in combat since the Battle of Iwo Jima during the Second World War. See also Pisor, p. 108. Battle of la Drang Valley (26 October - 27 . History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. A platoon from Company D, 1/26 Marines was sent from the base but was withdrawn in the face of the superior PAVN forces. Rod Andrew, Jr., a history professor at Clemson University and colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve, has written an easily read and thoroughly . The Battle of la Drang was considered essential because it sets up a change of tactics for both troops during the conflict. [117], Communications with military command outside of Khe Sanh was maintained by an U.S. Army Signal Corps team, the 544th Signal Detachment from the 337th Signal Company, 37th Signal Brigade in Danang. Westmoreland believed that the latter was the case, and his belief was the basis for his desire to stage "Dien Bien Phu in reverse. "[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. 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. [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. If only it had contaminated the stream, the airlift would not have provided enough water to the Marines. What was a major Battle in the Vietnam War? - 2023 [57][58] They were assisted in their emplacement efforts by the continuing bad weather of the winter monsoon. [167], Another theory is that the actions around Khe Sanh and the other battles at the border were simply feints ands ruse meant to focus American attention and forces on the border. Subscribe to our HistoryNet Now! "[28], As far as Westmoreland was concerned, however, all that he needed to know was that the PAVN had massed large numbers of troops for a set-piece battle. I suspect he is also trying to draw everyone's attention away from the greatest area of threat, the northern part of I Corps. [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. [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. 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). Marine Khe Sanh veteran Peter Brush is Vietnam Magazines book review editor. They too were left out of the official Khe Sanh casualty count. 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. Westmoreland planned on Khe Sanh being relieved and then used as the jump-off point for a "hot pursuit" of enemy forces into Laos. It was not sufficient to simply be an American military person killed in the fighting there during the winter and spring of 1967-68. What is the 25th Infantry known for? That action prematurely triggered a PAVN offensive aimed at taking Khe Sanh. Battle of Khe Sanh : American Casualties : Showing All Results Airpower at Khe Sanh | Air & Space Forces Magazine - Air Force Magazine The figures of 5,500 NVA dead and 1,000 U.S. dead yield a ratio of 5.5:1. It was a bad beginning to a long 77-day siege. 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. [26] From there, reconnaissance teams were launched into Laos to explore and gather intelligence on the PAVN logistical system known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail, also known as "Truong Son Strategic Supply Route" to the North Vietnamese soldiers. The aircrew then had to contend with antiaircraft fire on the way out. Khe Sanh Incident - force.com For seven weeks, American aircraft dropped from 35,000 to 40,000 tons of bombs in nearly 4,000 airstrikes. The fighting was heavy. Cushman was appalled by the "implication of a rescue or breaking of the siege by outside forces. Westmoreland had been forwarding operational plans for an invasion of Laos since 1966. While suffering less significant casualties (around 10,000 dead), ARVN units had only turned back the attacking PAVN forces with massive American air support. On April 20, Operation Prairie IV began, with heavy fighting between the Marines and NVA forces. This range overmatch was used by the PAVN to avoid counter-battery fire. [21], The fighting at Khe Sanh was so volatile that the Joint Chiefs and MACV commanders were uncertain that the base could be held by the Marines. As early as 1962, the U.S. Military CommandVietnam (MACV) established an Army Special Forces camp near the village. The battalion was assaulted on the night of 23 January by three PAVN battalions supported by seven tanks. The attacks hindered the advancement of the McNamara Line, and as the fighting around Khe Sanh intensified, vital equipment including sensors and other hardware had to be diverted from elsewhere to meet the needs of the US garrison at Khe Sanh. [77] When weather conditions precluded FAC-directed strikes, the bombers were directed to their targets by either a Marine AN/TPQ-10 radar installation at KSCB or by Air Force Combat Skyspot MSQ-77 stations. The Marines withdrew all salvageable material and destroyed everything else. Upon closer analysis, the official figure does not accurately portray even what it purports to represent. 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. During the course of the siege, the U.S. Air Force dropped five tons of bombs for each of the estimated 20,000 attacking NVA troops. The Battle of Khe Sanh began 50 years ago this week when roughly 20,000 North Vietnamese troops surrounded an isolated combat base . 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. [125] The 325C Divisional Headquarters was the first to leave, followed by the 95C and 101D Regiments, all of which relocated to the west. 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 strike wounded two more Strike Force soldiers and damaged two bunkers. Battle of Khe Sanh: American Casualties : Showing All Results. The microwave/tropo site was located in an underground bunker next to the airstrip. Battle of Hamburger Hill The 29 th North Vietnam Army had entrenched themselves on Hamburger Hill in South Vietnam; a joint US-South Vietnamese force was ordered to remove them. Operation Scotland II continued until the end of the year, resulting in the deaths of 72 more Marines. The relief of Khe Sanh, called Operation Pegasus, began . They fixed the attention of the American command on the border regions, and they drew American and ARVN forces away from the coastal lowlands and cities in preparation for the Tet Offensive. PAVN forces were driven out of the area around Khe Sanh after suffering 940 casualties. The Marine defense of Khe Sanh, Operation Scotland, officially ended on March 31. For a succinct overview of the creation of the CIDG program and its operations. The Marines pursued three enemy scouts, who led them into an ambush. In 1970, the Office of Air Force History published a then "top secret", but now declassified, 106-page report, titled The Air Force in Southeast Asia: Toward a Bombing Halt, 1968. The Americans wanted a military presence there to block the infiltration of enemy forces from Laos, to provide a base for launching patrols into Laos to monitor the Ho Chi Minh Trail, and to serve as a western anchor for defense along the DMZ. 20,000-30,000 men Battle of Khe Sanh Overview [21][68], To eliminate any threat to their flank, the PAVN attacked Laotian Battalion BV-33, located at Ban Houei Sane, on Route 9 in Laos. Battle of Khe Sanh : American Casualties - Honor States [112][113][114] In addition, over 100,000 tons of bombs were dropped until mid-April by aircraft of the USAF, US Navy and Marines onto the area surrounding Khe Sanh. The fighting around Khe Sanh began January 21, 1968, and concluded around April 8, 1968. Besieged, Khe Sanh could only be resupplied by air. "[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. "[105] There had been a history of distrust between the Special Forces personnel and the Marines, and General Rathvon M. Tompkins, commander of the 3rd Marine Division, described the Special Forces soldiers as "hopped up wretches [who] were a law unto themselves. Operation Pegasus casualties included 59 U.S. Army and 51 Marine Corps dead. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. At 04:15 on 8 February under cover of fog and a mortar barrage, the PAVN penetrated the perimeter, overrunning most of the position and pushing the remaining 30 defenders into the southwestern portion of the defenses. 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. Five Marines were killed on January 19 and 20, while on reconnaissance patrols. [141] Because of the close proximity of the enemy and their high concentration, the massive B-52 bombings, tactical airstrikes, and vast use of artillery, PAVN casualties were estimated by MACV as being between 10,000 and 15,000 men. [58] The USAF delivered 14,356 tons of supplies to Khe Sanh by air (8,120 tons by paradrop). Background [ edit] 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. At 0330 hours, soldiers of the NVA 6th Battalion, 2nd Regiment, 325C Division, attacked the Marines on Hill 861. [53] Two divisions, the 304th and the 325th, were assigned to the operation: the 325th was given responsibility for the area around the north, while the 304th was given responsibility for the southern sector. New material will be added to that page through the end of 2018. On April 5, 1968, MACV prepared an Analysis of the Khe Sanh Battle for General Westmoreland. The Marines fought long, hard and well at Khe Sanh, but they sacrificed in much greater numbers than has been acknowledged by official sources. McNamara's thinking may have also been affected by his aide David Morrisroe, whose brother Michael Morrisroe was serving at the base. [35], American intelligence analysts were quite baffled by the series of enemy actions. The Marines knew that their withdrawal from Khe Sanh would present a propaganda victory for Hanoi. [1], The evacuation of Khe Sanh began on 19 June 1968 as Operation Charlie. Marine Corps aviators had flown 7,098 missions and released 17,015tons. Mobile combat operations continued against the North Vietnamese. Marines remained around Hill 689, though, and fighting in the vicinity continued until 11 July until they were finally withdrawn, bringing the battle to a close. The attack was to have been supported by armor and artillery. 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. Khe Sanh had long been responsible for the defense of Lang Vei. The Battle of Khe Sanh (21 January 9 July 1968) was conducted in the Khe Sanh area of northwestern Qung Tr Province, Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), during the Vietnam War. In the US, the media following the battle drew comparisons with the 1954 Battle of Dien Bien Phu, which proved disastrous for the French. The tower at Khe Sanh instructed the pilot to take evasive action and go around for another approach. Since the official duration of the battle ends even earlier than the termination of the siege itself, a wider definition of the Khe Sanh battlefield to include Operations Scotland, Pegasus and Scotland II also seems reasonable.

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