[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. How many American soldiers died in the Battle of Ia Drang? Had the plane been shot down departing Khe Sanh, the casualties would have been counted. Marine Khe Sanh veteran Peter Brush is Vietnam Magazines book review editor. Enemy artillery rounds slammed into the runway. [107] The greatest impediments to the delivery of supplies to the base were the closure of Route 9 and the winter monsoon weather. These combined sources report a total of 354 KIA. 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. Where were the major battles of the Vietnam War? In an unconventional war without conventional frontlines, statistics became the most critical measure of progress. [138], On the following day, the 2nd Brigade captured the old French fort near Khe Sanh village after a three-day battle. Free shipping for many products! The Tet Offensive was about to begin. HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. Amid heavy shelling, the Marines attempted to salvage what they could before destroying what remained as they were evacuated. The Marines were extremely reluctant to relinquish authority over their aircraft to an Air Force general. [69] Due to the arrival of the 304th Division, KSCB was further reinforced by the 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment on 22 January. [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. 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. Minor attacks continued before the base was officially closed on 5 July. Westmoreland had been forwarding operational plans for an invasion of Laos since 1966. [55] They were supported logistically from the nearby Ho Chi Minh Trail. The lossesindicating that the enemy suffered a major defeatwere estimated at 3,550 KIA inflicted by delivered fires (i.e., aerial and artillery bombardment) and 2,000 KIA from ground action, for a total of 5,550 estimated North Vietnamese killed in action as of March 31. 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, . [12], General Creighton Abrams also suggested that the North Vietnamese may have been planning to emulate Dien Bien Phu. That was superseded by the smaller contingency plans. "[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. 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. [145], Author Peter Brush details that an "additional 413 Marines were killed during Scotland II through the end of June 1968". The base was officially closed on July 5. On the following night, a massive wave of PAVN/VC attacks swept throughout South Vietnam, everywhere except Khe Sanh. [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 April 15, Operation Pegasus ended and Operation Scotland II began. 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. Additionally, the logistical effort required to support the base once it was isolated demanded the implementation of other tactical innovations to keep the Marines supplied. From the Hu site the communication signal was sent to Danang headquarters where it could be sent anywhere in the world. [58] The USAF delivered 14,356 tons of supplies to Khe Sanh by air (8,120 tons by paradrop). During the darkness of January 20-21, the NVA launched a series of coordinated attacks against American positions. [65] The fighting and shelling on 21 January resulted in 14 Marines killed and 43 wounded. For some unknown reason, the PAVN troops did not press their advantage and eliminate the pocket, instead throwing a steady stream of grenades at the Marines. Scotland was a 26th Marine Regiment operation, so only the deaths of Marines assigned to the regiment, and attached supporting units, were counted. 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. today! The pallet slid to a halt on the airstrip while the aircraft never had to actually land. [70] Regardless, the SOG reconnaissance teams kept patrolling, providing the only human intelligence available in the battle area. . Because of washed-out bridges and heavy enemy activity, however, the only way for Americans to get to Khe Sanh was by helicopter or airplane. [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. With Khe Sanh facing a full-scale. The North Vietnamese lost as many as 15,000 casualties during the siege of Khe Sanh. [29], During the second half of 1967, the North Vietnamese instigated a series of actions in the border regions of South Vietnam. The Battle of Khe Sanh took place between January 21 and July 9, 1968; however, most of the official statistics provided pertain only to Operation Scotland, which ended on March 31, or to the 77-day period beginning what is classified as the Siege of Khe Sanh, where the 26th Marines were pinned down until Operations Niagara, and Pegasus freed [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. [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]. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, then began planning for incursion into Laos, and in October, the construction of an airfield at Khe Sanh was completed. That afternoon, as a rescue force was dispatched to the village, Army Lt. Col. Joseph Seymoe and other soldiers died when their helicopter was attacked. [80] Westmoreland insisted for several months that the entire Tet Offensive was a diversion, including, famously, attacks on downtown Saigon and obsessively affirming that the true objective of the North Vietnamese was Khe Sanh. On January 21 at Khe Sanh, 30,000 North Vietnamese troops attacked an air base held by just 6,000 United States Marines. That was accomplished, but the casualties absorbed by the North Vietnamese seemed to negate any direct gains they might have obtained. It was later renamed "Dye Marker" by MACV in September 1967, just as the PAVN began the first phase of their offensive by launching attacks against Marine-held positions across the DMZ. Let me caution everyone not to be confused. 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. 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 Marines at KSCB credited 40% of intelligence available to their fire-support coordination center to the sensors. As a result of this intelligence, KSCB was reinforced on 22 January 1968 by the 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment. That action prematurely triggered a PAVN offensive aimed at taking Khe Sanh. In response, US forces were built up before the PAVN isolated the Marine base. [138] At 08:00 on 15 April, Operation Pegasus was officially terminated. Two further attacks later in the morning were halted before the PAVN finally withdrew. 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. 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. Johnson backed the Marine position due to his concern over protecting the Army's air assets from Air Force co-option. [62], On 20 January, La Thanh Ton, a PAVN lieutenant from the 325th Division, defected and laid out the plans for an entire series of PAVN attacks. Construction on the line was ultimately abandoned and resources were later diverted towards implementing a more mobile strategy. . 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. For them, the battle started when the North Vietnamese attacks began in January. The Battle of Khe Sanh began 50 years ago this week when roughly 20,000 North Vietnamese troops surrounded an isolated combat base . 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. [109], The resupply of the numerous, isolated hill outposts was fraught with the same difficulties and dangers. 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. 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 Battle of Khe Sanh's initial action cost the Marines 12 killed, 17 wounded and two missing. [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. The advance would be supported by 102 pieces of artillery. 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. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. The Marines knew that their withdrawal from Khe Sanh would present a propaganda victory for Hanoi. [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. A group of 12 A-4 Skyhawk fighter-bombers provided flak suppression for massed flights of 1216 helicopters, which would resupply the hills simultaneously. At about 0640 hours the NVA 7th Battalion, 66th Regiment, 304th Division, attacked the Huong Hoa District headquarters in Khe Sanh village. When the weather later cleared in March, the amount was increased to 40 tons per day. On April 20, Operation Prairie IV began, with heavy fighting between the Marines and NVA forces. In the 43-day . At dawn on 21 January, it was attacked by a roughly 300-strong PAVN battalion. As far as PAVN casualties were concerned, 1,602 bodies were counted, seven prisoners were taken, and two soldiers defected to allied forces during the operation. Those 10 deaths were also left out of the official statistics. During aerial resupply:1 KC-130, 3 C-123 ARVN losses: 229 killed, 436 wounded (not including CIDG, RF/PF and SOG losses)CIDG losses: 1,000 1,500 killed or missing, at least 250 captured (in Lang Vei), wounded unknown[16] Kingdom of Laos: Unknown. newsletter for the best of the past, delivered every Monday and Thursday. The enemy by my count suffered at least 15,000 dead in the area.. For example, I served with a Marine heavy mortar battery at Khe Sanh during the siege. [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. Fighting around Khe Sanh was continuous. Then, on the morning of 6 February, the PAVN fired mortars into the Lang Vei compound, wounding eight Camp Strike Force soldiers. Khe Sanh is a village located near the Laotian border and just south of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that separated North and South Vietnam. [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. [88] Westmoreland was so obsessed with the tactical situation that he threatened to resign if his wishes were not obeyed. [148], Regardless, the PAVN had gained control of a strategically important area, and its lines of communication extended further into South Vietnam. Murphy 2003, pp. [108] The most dramatic supply delivery system used at Khe Sanh was the Low Altitude Parachute Extraction System, in which palletized supplies were pulled out of the cargo bay of a low-flying transport aircraft by means of an attached parachute. Five Marines were killed on January 19 and 20, while on reconnaissance patrols. At least 852 PAVN soldiers were killed during the action, as opposed to 50 American and South Vietnamese. The NVA used Hill 881 North to launch 122mm rockets at the Marines during the siege. [120], On 23 February, KSCB received its worst bombardment of the entire battle. The next operations were named Crockett and Ardmore. [117], Cumulative friendly casualties for Operation Scotland, which began on 1 November 1967, were: 205 killed in action, 1,668 wounded, and 25 missing and presumed dead. "[73], Nevertheless, ultimately the nuclear option was discounted by military planners. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. The Marines at Khe Sanh Combat Base broke out of their perimeter and began attacking the North Vietnamese in the surrounding 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. The microwave/tropo site was located in an underground bunker next to the airstrip. The Americans had forewarning of PAVN armor in the area from Laotian refugees from camp BV-33. The adoption of this concept at the end of February was the turning point in the resupply effort. That proved to be the last overland attempt at resupply for Khe Sanh until the following March. [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. They too were left out of the official Khe Sanh casualty count. [66] Hours after the bombardment ceased, the base was still in danger. 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. A myth has grown up around this incident. [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. 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. The Marine defense of Khe Sanh, Operation Scotland, officially ended on March 31. [32], Westmoreland responded by launching Operation Neutralize, an aerial and naval bombardment campaign designed to break the siege. According to Gordon Rottman, even the North Vietnamese official history, Victory in Vietnam, is largely silent on the issue. 528 of them include images. [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. While climbing, the C-123 was struck by several bursts of heavy machine gun and recoilless rifle fire. The ground troops had been specially equipped for the attack with satchel charges, tear gas, and flame throwers.
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