For a succinct overview of the creation of the CIDG program and its operations. In the US, the media following the battle drew comparisons with the 1954 Battle of Dien Bien Phu, which proved disastrous for the French. [58] The USAF delivered 14,356 tons of supplies to Khe Sanh by air (8,120 tons by paradrop). The new anchor base was established at Ca Lu, a few miles down Route 9 to the east. How many white soldiers died in Vietnam? - 2023 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. The NVA 304th Divisions history notes that on 9 July 1968, the liberation flag was waving from the flag pole at Ta Con [Khe Sanh] airfield. On July 13, 1968, Ho Chi Minh sent a message to the soldiers of the Route 9Khe Sanh Front affirming our victory at Khe Sanh.. . [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. today! U.S. reconnaissance forces continued to monitor the Ho Chi Minh Trail. 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 NVAs main command post was located in Laos, at Sar Lit. Five Marines were killed on January 19 and 20, while on reconnaissance patrols. [42], In the wake of the hill fights, a lull in PAVN activity occurred around Khe Sanh. Its mission was to destroy the Special Forces and their Vietnamese allies and to ambush any reinforcements coming from Khe Sanh. Five Marines were killed on January 19 and 20, while on reconnaissance patrols. 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. The Marines suffered 155 killed in action and 425 wounded. A myth has grown up around this incident. First had been Operation Full Cry, the original three-division invasion plan. As a result of this intelligence, KSCB was reinforced on 22 January 1968 by the 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment. [138] At 08:00 on 15 April, Operation Pegasus was officially terminated. Then, on the morning of 6 February, the PAVN fired mortars into the Lang Vei compound, wounding eight Camp Strike Force soldiers. Background [ edit] The Siege of Khe Sanh | The American Legion [64], The main base was then subjected to an intense mortar and rocket barrage. The NVA continued shelling the base, and on July 1 launched a company-sized infantry attack against its perimeter. 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. "[97], Ladd and the commander of the SOG compound (whose men and camp had been incorporated into the defenses of KSCB) proposed that, if the Marines would provide the helicopters, the SOG reconnaissance men would go in themselves to pick up any survivors. A 77 day battle, Khe Sanh had been the biggest single battle of the Vietnam War to that point. [39], On 24 April 1967, a patrol from Bravo Company became engaged with a PAVN force of an unknown size north of Hill 861. That action prematurely triggered a PAVN offensive aimed at taking Khe Sanh. The Marines claimed 115 PAVN killed, while their own casualties amounted to 10 dead, 100 wounded, and two missing. On April 5, 1968, MACV prepared an Analysis of the Khe Sanh Battle for General Westmoreland. In 1966, the regular Special Forces troops had moved off the plateau and built a smaller camp down Route 9 at Lang Vei, about half the distance to the Laotian border. [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. [15], Unknown (1,602 bodies were counted, US official public estimated 10,00015,000 KIA,[19][20] but MACV's secret report estimated 5,550 killed as of 31 March 1968)[1]. The Battle of Khe Sanh and Its Retellings - The Atlantic He believed that was proved by the PAVN's actions during Tet. 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. The figures of 5,500 NVA dead and 1,000 U.S. dead yield a ratio of 5.5:1. "[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. "[84], Meanwhile, an interservice political struggle took place in the headquarters at Phu Bai Combat Base, Saigon, and the Pentagon over who should control aviation assets supporting the entire American effort in Southeast Asia. Marine Corps aviators had flown 7,098 missions and released 17,015tons. [59], Making matters worse for the defenders, any aircraft that braved the weather and attempted to land was subject to PAVN antiaircraft fire on its way in for a landing. [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. How many American soldiers died in the Battle of Ia Drang? Khe Sanh - Location, Vietnam War & Who Won - HISTORY "[149], While KSCB was abandoned, the Marines continued to patrol the Khe Sanh plateau, including reoccupying the area with ARVN forces from 519 October 1968 with minimal opposition. However, the PAVN committed three regiments to the fighting from the Khe Sanh sector. In fact, neither side won a resounding victory. 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 Marine Corps casualty reporting system was based on named operations and not geographic location. [34] The heaviest action took place near Dak To, in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum. [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. 528 of them include images. In response, US forces were built up before the PAVN isolated the Marine base. If firepower determined the outcome of the fight, it was airlift that allowed the defenders to hold their positions. [47][Note 3] Westmoreland regarded the choice as quite simple. 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. Soon after, another shell hit a cache of tear gas, which saturated the entire area. For seven weeks, American aircraft dropped from 35,000 to 40,000 tons of bombs in nearly 4,000 airstrikes. At 0330 hours, soldiers of the NVA 6th Battalion, 2nd Regiment, 325C Division, attacked the Marines on Hill 861. The Marines knew that their withdrawal from Khe Sanh would present a propaganda victory for Hanoi. The Battle of Khe Sanh began 50 years ago this week when roughly 20,000 North Vietnamese troops surrounded an isolated combat base . The battalion was assaulted on the night of 23 January by three PAVN battalions supported by seven tanks. That did not mean, however, that battle was over. At least 852 PAVN soldiers were killed during the action, as opposed to 50 American and South Vietnamese. [21], PAVN artillery fell on the main base for the first time on 21 January. 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. [89] As a result, on 7 March, for the first time during the Vietnam War, air operations were placed under the control of a single manager. Those 10 deaths were also left out of the official statistics. Listen Now. This base was to serve as the western anchor of Marine Corps forces, which had tactical responsibility for the five northernmost provinces of South Vietnam known as I Corps. Of the 4953 Navy and Air Force casualties, both officer and enlisted, 4, 736 or 96% were white. newsletter for the best of the past, delivered every Monday and Thursday. On January 31, while approximately 50,000 U.S. and South Vietnamese troops were occupied in defending or supporting Khe Sanh and other DMZ bases, the communists launched an offensive throughout South Vietnam. How Many Were Really Killed at Khe Sanh? | RealClearHistory The Battle of Khe Sanh, January 21 - April 8, 1968 - The History Reader "[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. [22] The camp then became a Special Forces outpost of the Civilian Irregular Defense Groups, which were to keep watch on PAVN infiltration along the border and to protect the local population. 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. After a ten-day battle, the attackers were pushed back into Cambodia. [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. A single company replaced an entire battalion. [121] Casualties from the bombardment were 10 killed and 51 wounded. 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, . [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. On June 28, a Communist spokesman claimed the Americans had been forced to retreat and that Khe Sanh was the gravest tactical and strategic defeat for the U.S. in the war. 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. Key Battles | Vietnam War - Pritzker Military Museum & Library "[73], Nevertheless, ultimately the nuclear option was discounted by military planners. 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." Marine Khe Sanh veteran Peter Brush is Vietnam Magazines book review editor. 20,000-30,000 men Battle of Khe Sanh Overview [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. Five more attacks against their sector were launched during March. The Tet Offensive was about to begin. The site linked to another microwave/tropo site in Hu manned by the 513th Signal Detachment. 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. 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. 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". [95], It still came as a shock to the Special Forces troopers at Lang Vei when 12 tanks attacked their camp. The official figure of 205 KIA only represents Marine deaths in the Operation Scotland TAORthat is, Marines killed in proximity to the Khe Sanh Combat Base during the period from November 1, 1967, to March 31, 1968. The distinctions between Operations Scotland, Pegasus and Scotland II, while important from the command perspective, were not necessarily apparent to individual Marines. "[106] At the end of January, Tompkins had ordered that no Marine patrols proceed more than 500 meters from the Combat Base. Unlike the official figures, Stubbes database of Khe Sanh casualties includes verifiable names and dates of death. By early 1967, the Marine position was reinforced to regimental strength. MACV therefore initiated an operation to open Route 9 to vehicle traffic. The monumental Battle of Khe Sanh had begun, but the January 21 starting date is essentially arbitrary in terms of casualty reporting. NVA casualties were more than 200. [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. Military History Institute of Vietnam, pp. Not including ARVN Ranger, RF/PF, Forward Operation Base 3 U.S. Army, Royal Laotian Army and SOG commandos losses. The deaths of U.S. Air Force personnel, estimated between five and 20, are also omitted. 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. [44], On 14 August, Colonel David E. Lownds took over as commander of the 26th Marine Regiment. [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. [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. [171] When Hanoi made the decision to move in around the base, Khe Sanh was held by only one or two American battalions. [146] Useful equipment was withdrawn or destroyed, and personnel were evacuated. The Marine garrison was also reinforced, and on November 1, 1967, Operation Scotland began. Even so, Westmoreland insisted for it not only to be occupied by the Marines but also for it to be reinforced. In an unconventional war without conventional frontlines, statistics became the most critical measure of progress. The report, originally classified as secret, noted that intelligence from many sources indicated conclusively that the North Vietnamese had planned a massive ground attack against the base. 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. 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. [90], The Tet Offensive was launched prematurely in some areas on 30 January. [122] The majority of these were around the southern and southeastern corners of the perimeter, and formed part of a system that would be developed throughout the end of February and into March until they were ready to be used to launch an attack, providing cover for troops to advance to jumping-off points close to the perimeter. One headquarters would allocate and coordinate all air assets, distributing them wherever they were considered most necessary, and then transferring them as the situation required. This range overmatch was used by the PAVN to avoid counter-battery fire. Two days later, the PAVN 273rd Regiment attacked a Special Forces camp near the border town of Loc Ninh, in Bnh Long Province. The Marines at Khe Sanh Combat Base broke out of their perimeter and began attacking the North Vietnamese in the surrounding area. [93], The situation changed radically during the early morning hours of 7 February. The Operation Scotland tactical area of responsibility (TAOR) was limited to the area around Khe Sanh along Route 9 in western Quang Tri province. [12], General Creighton Abrams also suggested that the North Vietnamese may have been planning to emulate Dien Bien Phu. Mobile combat operations continued against the North Vietnamese. According to Gordon Rottman, even the North Vietnamese official history, Victory in Vietnam, is largely silent on the issue. [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. The badly-deteriorated Route 9 ran from the coastal region through the western highlands and crossed the border into Laos. The relief of Khe Sanh, called Operation Pegasus, began . Twenty-five USAF personnel who were killed are also not included. Ray Stubbe has published a translation of the North Vietnamese history of the siege at Khe Sanh. The US command in Saigon initially believed that combat operations around KSCB during 1967 were part of a series of minor PAVN offensives in the border regions. The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. An additional 413 Marines were killed during Scotland II as of the end of June 1968. TBKQS / Trung tm TBKQS - BQP - H Ni: QND, 2004. Battle of Khe Sanh : American Casualties - Honor States The fire of PAVN antiaircraft units took its toll of helicopters that made the attempt. These combined sources report a total of 354 KIA. [65] The fighting and shelling on 21 January resulted in 14 Marines killed and 43 wounded. Battle of Khe Sanh begins - HISTORY The Marines, whose aircraft and doctrine were integral to their operations, were under no such centralized control. The battle of Khe Sanh: A history of the Vietnam War - Washington Post If that failed, and it did, they hoped to attack American reinforcements along Route 9 between Khe Sanh and Laos. That was superseded by the smaller contingency plans. Dien Bien Phu would loom large for the rest of the war, especially during the Battle of Khe Sanh. The official statistics yield a KIA ratio of between 50:1 and 75:1 of North Vietnamese to U.S. military deaths. [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. [70] Regardless, the SOG reconnaissance teams kept patrolling, providing the only human intelligence available in the battle area. At the same time, the 304th Division withdrew to the southwest. [148], Regardless, the PAVN had gained control of a strategically important area, and its lines of communication extended further into South Vietnam. [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. In 1964 an Ohio woman took up the challenge that had led to Amelia Earharts disappearance. For additional reading, see: Valley of Decision: The Siege of Khe Sanh, by John Prados and Ray W. Stubbe; and the official Marine Corps history, The Battle for Khe Sanh, by Moyers S. Shore II. 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,. [74], During January, the recently installed electronic sensors of Operation Muscle Shoals (later renamed "Igloo White"), which were undergoing test and evaluation in southeastern Laos, were alerted by a flurry of PAVN activity along the Ho Chi Minh Trail opposite the northwestern corner of South Vietnam. 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. Battlefield:Vietnam | Timeline - PBS [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. For them, the battle started when the North Vietnamese attacks began in January. 239240. Cushman was appalled by the "implication of a rescue or breaking of the siege by outside forces. [1], The evacuation of Khe Sanh began on 19 June 1968 as Operation Charlie. None of the deaths associated with Scotland II are included in the official count. [120], On 23 February, KSCB received its worst bombardment of the entire battle. "[52], Brigadier General Lowell English (assistant commander 3rd Marine Division) complained that the defense of the isolated outpost was ludicrous: "When you're at Khe Sanh, you're not really anywhere. In the coming days, a campaign headquarters was established around Sap Lit. Military History Institute of Vietnam, p. 222. The Marines fought long, hard and well at Khe Sanh, but they sacrificed in much greater numbers than has been acknowledged by official sources. [125] On the night of 28 February, the combat base unleashed artillery and airstrikes on possible PAVN staging areas and routes of advance. The launching of the largest enemy offensive thus far in the conflict did not shift Westmoreland's focus away from Khe Sanh. January 30 marked the first day of the Vietnamese lunar new year celebration, called Tet. On the first day of battle, a big Communist rocket scored a direct hit on the main Marine ammunition dump, destroying 1,500 tons of high explosives, 98 percent of available ammunition. 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. They too were left out of the official Khe Sanh casualty count. 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 . Marines stayed in the area, conducting operations to recover the bodies of Marines killed previously. 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. [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. Since late in 1967, Khe Sanh had depended on airlift for its survival. By the end of January 1968, he had moved half of all US combat troops, nearly 50 maneuver battalions, to I Corps. From the Hu site the communication signal was sent to Danang headquarters where it could be sent anywhere in the world. [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. On June 19, 1968, another operation began at Khe Sanh, Operation Charlie, the final evacuation and destruction of the Khe Sanh Combat Base. During the 66-day siege, U.S. planes, dropping 5,000 bombs daily, exploded the equivalent of five Hiroshima-sized atomic bombs in the area. Battlefield:Vietnam | History [145], Author Peter Brush details that an "additional 413 Marines were killed during Scotland II through the end of June 1968". 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 . Less likely to be mentioned is the final high-casualty engagement between units of the U.S. infantry and the North Vietnamese Army. "[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. [138], On the following day, the 2nd Brigade captured the old French fort near Khe Sanh village after a three-day battle. Two Marines died. During this time, KSCB and the hilltop outposts around it were subjected to constant PAVN artillery, mortar, and rocket attacks, and several infantry assaults. 1st Marine Aircraft Wing records claim that the unit delivered 4,661 tons of cargo into KSCB. [55] They were supported logistically from the nearby Ho Chi Minh Trail. At about 0640 hours the NVA 7th Battalion, 66th Regiment, 304th Division, attacked the Huong Hoa District headquarters in Khe Sanh village. 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. [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." [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. [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.