[59], During the rainy night of 2 January 1968, six men dressed in black uniforms were seen outside the defensive wire of the main base by members of a listening post. Of the 24 Americans at the camp, 10 had been killed and 11 wounded. 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 opportunity to engage and destroy a formerly elusive enemy that was moving toward a fixed position promised a victory of unprecedented proportions. Khe Sanh had long been responsible for the defense of Lang Vei. [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. [140] Operation Scotland II would continue until 28 February 1969 resulting in 435 Marines and 3304 PAVN killed. [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. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. . [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. 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. "[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. 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. Marines remained around Hill 689, though, and fighting in the vicinity continued until 11 July until they were finally withdrawn, bringing the battle to a close.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 figures of 5,500 NVA dead and 1,000 U.S. dead yield a ratio of 5.5:1. After a ten-day battle, the attackers were pushed back into Cambodia. [33], The heaviest action took place near Dak To, in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum. With Khe Sanh facing a full-scale. The September bombardments ranged from 100 to 150 rounds per day, with a maximum on 25 September of 1,190 rounds. 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. [51] Other concerns raised included the assertion that the real danger to I Corps was from a direct threat to Qung Tr City and other urban areas, a defense would be pointless as a threat to infiltration since PAVN troops could easily bypass Khe Sanh, the base was too isolated, and the Marines "had neither the helicopter resources, the troops, nor the logistical bases for such operations." [95], It still came as a shock to the Special Forces troopers at Lang Vei when 12 tanks attacked their camp. [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. Casualties were heavy among the attacking PAVN, who lost over 200 killed, while the defending Marines lost two men. The platoon withdrew following a three-hour battle that left six Marines dead, 24 missing, and one taken prisoner. [33] The PAVN fought for several days, took casualties, and fell back. [69] Due to the arrival of the 304th Division, KSCB was further reinforced by the 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment on 22 January. The Laotians were overrun, and many fled to the Special Forces camp at Lang Vei. [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. That appraisal was later altered when the PAVN was found to be moving major forces into the area. Let me caution everyone not to be confused. MN: 05-12-1968: Vietnam: Army: 2: One of the first enemy shells set off an explosion in the main ammunition dump. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, then began planning for incursion into Laos, and in October, the construction of an airfield at Khe Sanh was completed. It claimed, however, that only three American advisors were killed during the action. U.S. battles of the war in Vietnam had young GIs or Marines humping into the boonies in search of the enemy. Operation Pegasus casualties included 59 U.S. Army and 51 Marine Corps dead. 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. [119] By 11:00, the battle was over, Company A had lost 24 dead and 27 wounded, while 150 PAVN bodies were found around the position, which was then abandoned. Upon closer analysis, the official figure does not accurately portray even what it purports to represent. 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. 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, . [1], The evacuation of Khe Sanh began on 19 June 1968 as Operation Charlie. 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. That action prematurely triggered a PAVN offensive aimed at taking Khe Sanh. "[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. It was a two-part battle which took place from November 14 to 18, 1965 at the la Drang Valley, South Vietnam. Battle of Khe Sanh: American Casualties : Showing All Results. Major Battles Of The Vietnam War - WorldAtlas Of the 7877 officer casualties, 7595 or 96.4% were white, 147 or 1.8% were black; 24 or . 3% were Asian, 7 or . To support the Marine base, a massive aerial bombardment campaign (Operation Niagara) was launched by the USAF. [63] Hills 881 South, 861, and the main base itself would be simultaneously attacked that same evening. But only by checking my service record while writing this article did it become evident that I had participated in all three operations. On the morning of 22 January Lownds decided to evacuate the remaining forces in the village with most of the Americans evacuated by helicopter while two advisers led the surviving local forces overland to the combat base. Five days later, the final reinforcements arrived in the form of the 37th ARVN Ranger Battalion, which was deployed more for political than tactical reasons. Unlike the official figures, Stubbes database of Khe Sanh casualties includes verifiable names and dates of death. [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. [81] The sensors were implanted by a special naval squadron, Observation Squadron Sixty-Seven (VO-67). Few areas of the world have been as hotly contested as the India-Pakistan border. Ray Stubbe has published a translation of the North Vietnamese history of the siege at Khe Sanh. They attacked 36 of 44 provincial capitals, 64 district capitals, five of the six major cities, and more than two dozen airfields and bases. Those 10 deaths were also left out of the official statistics. Following a rolling barrage fired by nine artillery batteries, the Marine attack advanced through two PAVN trenchlines, but the Marines failed to locate the remains of the men of the ambushed patrol. [23][Note 2], James Marino wrote that in 1964, General William Westmoreland, the US commander in Vietnam, had determined, "Khe Sanh could serve as a patrol base blocking enemy infiltration from Laos; a base for operations to harass the enemy in Laos; an airstrip for reconnaissance to survey the Ho Chi Minh Trail; a western anchor for the defenses south of the DMZ; and an eventual jumping-off point for ground operations to cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Free shipping for many products! The Vietnam War: 11 Major Battles - warhistoryonline While suffering less significant casualties (around 10,000 dead), ARVN units had only turned back the attacking PAVN forces with massive American air support. The next operations were named Crockett and Ardmore. [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. 239240. In the US, the media following the battle drew comparisons with the 1954 Battle of Dien Bien Phu, which proved disastrous for the French. On March 6, two U.S. Air Force C-123 cargo airplanes departed Da Nang Air Base en route to Khe Sanh. [134], Westmoreland's planned relief effort infuriated the Marines, who had not wanted to hold Khe Sanh in the first place and who had been roundly criticized for not defending it well. Listen Now. 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. Many American casualties were caused by the 10,908 rounds of rockets, artillery and mortars the North Vietnamese fired into the base and hill positions. Airpower at Khe Sanh | Air & Space Forces Magazine - Air Force Magazine Ten American soldiers were killed; the rest managed to escape down Route 9 to Khe Sanh. Battle of Khe Sanh begins - HISTORY 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. The most controversial statistic in Vietnam was the number of killed in action (KIA) claimed by each side. In fact, neither side won a resounding victory. [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. 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. 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. [83] Westmoreland later wrote, "Washington so feared that some word of it might reach the press that I was told to desist, ironically answering what those consequences could be: a political disaster. However, even if Westmoreland believed his statement, his argument never moved on to the next logical level. This article was written by Peter Brush and originally published in the June 2007 issue of Vietnam Magazine. The launching of the largest enemy offensive thus far in the conflict did not shift Westmoreland's focus away from Khe Sanh. [104] Ladd, back on the scene, reported that the Marines stated, "they couldn't trust any gooks in their damn camp. [34] US intelligence estimated between 1,200 and 1,600 PAVN troops were killed, and 362 members of the US 4th Infantry Division, the 173rd Airborne Brigade, and ARVN Airborne elements were killed in action, but three of the four battalions of the 4th Infantry and the entire 173rd were rendered combat-ineffective during the battle. A limited attack was made by a PAVN company on 1 July, falling on a company from the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines, who were holding a position 3km to the southeast of the base. 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). None of the deaths associated with Scotland II are included in the official count. 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. The Americans had forewarning of PAVN armor in the area from Laotian refugees from camp BV-33. This is also the position taken in the official PAVN history but offers no further explanation of the strategy. They too were left out of the official Khe Sanh casualty count. [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. 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. [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. On 19 June 1968, the evacuation and destruction of KSCB began. On June 19, 1968, another operation began at Khe Sanh, Operation Charlie, the final evacuation and destruction of the Khe Sanh Combat Base. 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. Only nine US battalions were available from Hue/Phu Bai northward. [105] At 07:40, a relief force from Company A, 2nd Platoon set out from the main base and attacked through the PAVN, pushing them into supporting tank and artillery fire. Two days later, US troops detected PAVN trenches running due north to within 25 m of the base perimeter. Taking place between March and July 1970, the Battle of Fire. [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. This caused problems for the Marine command, which possessed its own aviation squadrons that operated under their own close air support doctrine. American logistical, aerial, and artillery support was provided to the operation. On July 11, the Marines finally left Khe Sanh. From the Hu site the communication signal was sent to Danang headquarters where it could be sent anywhere in the world. [172], On 30 January 1971, the ARVN and US forces launched Operation Dewey Canyon II, which involved the reopening of Route 9, securing the Khe Sanh area and reoccupying of KSCB as a forward supply base for Operation Lam Son 719. Battle of Khe Sanh : American Casualties We have 535 casualty profiles listed in our archive. Less likely to be mentioned is the final high-casualty engagement between units of the U.S. infantry and the North Vietnamese Army. [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. The fact that the North Vietnamese committed only about half of their available forces to the offensive (6070,000), most of whom were Viet Cong, is cited in favor of Westmoreland's argument. [69] The Marine Direct Air Support Center (DASC), located at KSCB, was responsible for the coordination of air strikes with artillery fire. [109], The resupply of the numerous, isolated hill outposts was fraught with the same difficulties and dangers. The Hill Fights: The First Battle of Khe Sanh by Murphy, Edward F The deaths of U.S. Air Force personnel, estimated between five and 20, are also omitted. [31] Mortar rounds, artillery shells, and 122mm rockets fell randomly but incessantly upon the base. How many white soldiers died in Vietnam? - 2023 It reveals that the nuclear option was discounted because of terrain considerations that were unique to South Vietnam, which would have reduced the effectiveness of tactical nuclear weapons. 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. [90], The Tet Offensive was launched prematurely in some areas on 30 January. At around 10:00, the fire ignited a large quantity of explosives, rocking the base with another series of detonations. [36], Things remained quiet in the Khe Sanh area through 1966. The attack on Khe Sanh, however, proved to be a diversionary tactic for the larger Tet Offensive. [120], On 23 February, KSCB received its worst bombardment of the entire battle. The Marine defense of Khe Sanh, Operation Scotland, officially ended on March 31. The attack was to have been supported by armor and artillery. [24], The plateau camp was permanently manned by the US Marines in 1967, when they established an outpost next to the airstrip. The North Vietnamese lost as many as 15,000 casualties during the siege of Khe Sanh. Since late in 1967, Khe Sanh had depended on airlift for its survival. 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. [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. What was a major Battle in the Vietnam War? - 2023 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. server. The dead men have been described as wearing Marine uniforms; that they were a regimental commander and his staff on a reconnaissance; and that they were all identified, by name, by American intelligence. On Easter Sunday, April 14, the 3rd Battalion, 26th Marines (3/26), assaulted Hill 881 North in order to clear the enemy firing positions. Khe Sanh was one of the most remote outposts in Vietnam, but by January 1968, even President Lyndon Johnson had taken a personal interest in the base. Battle of la Drang Valley (26 October - 27 . First had been Operation Full Cry, the original three-division invasion plan. Consequently, and unknown at the time, Operation Scotland became the starting point of the Battle of Khe Sanh in terms of Marine casualty reporting. Just days before, as the Army of the . [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. Battlefield:Vietnam | History Week of February 19, 2023 | Vietnam War Commemoration 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 Marines found a solution to the problem in the "Super Gaggle" concept. Sunday marked the 50th anniversary of the start of the war's most famous siege, a 77-day struggle for a rain-swept plateau in central Vietnam that riveted the U.S. in 1968, and opened a year of . The Battle of la Drang was considered essential because it sets up a change of tactics for both troops during the conflict. At dawn on 21 January, it was attacked by a roughly 300-strong PAVN battalion. Its mission was to destroy the Special Forces and their Vietnamese allies and to ambush any reinforcements coming from Khe Sanh. [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. Click to View Online Archive The Battle of Khe Sanh was conducted northwestern Quaag Tri Province, South Vietnam, between January 21 and July 9, 1968 during the Vietnam War. [42], In the wake of the hill fights, a lull in PAVN activity occurred around Khe Sanh. 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. [12], Following the closure of the base, a small force of Marines remained around Hill 689 carrying out mopping-up operations. [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. [32], Westmoreland responded by launching Operation Neutralize, an aerial and naval bombardment campaign designed to break the siege. 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. 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. The Battle of Khe Sanh's initial action cost the Marines 12 killed, 17 wounded and two missing. The advance would be supported by 102 pieces of artillery. The Marines, whose aircraft and doctrine were integral to their operations, were under no such centralized control. After its adoption, Marine helicopters flew in 465 tons of supplies during February. "[159] In assessing North Vietnamese intentions, Peter Brush cites the claim of Vietnamese theater commander, V Nguyn Gip, "that Khe Sanh itself was not of importance, but only a diversion to draw U.S. forces away from the populated areas of South Vietnam.
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