[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. 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. Scotland was a 26th Marine Regiment operation, so only the deaths of Marines assigned to the regiment, and attached supporting units, were counted. The platoon withdrew following a three-hour battle that left six Marines dead, 24 missing, and one taken prisoner. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam Studies and Observations Group, microwave/tropospheric scatter technology, "The Battle of Khe Sanh 40th Anniversary: Casualties in May 1968", "The Battle of Khe Sanh 40th Anniversary: Casualties in June 1968", https://web.archive.org/web/20080215233328/http://www.historynet.com/wars_conflicts/vietnam_war/3029941.html?featured=y&c=y, https://www.historynet.com/recounting-the-casualties-at-the-deadly-battle-of-khe-sanh/, https://www.historynet.com/the-withdrawal-from-khe-sanh/?f, "Khe Sanh: 6,000 Marines Dug In for Battle", "The US's secret plan to nuke Vietnam, Laos", "Memorandum for the President, 19 February 1968", "Battlefields of Khe Sanh: Still One Casualty a Day", "The US Army Quartermaster Air Delivery Units and the Defense of Khe Sanh", "5 things you didn't know about Khe Sanh", "Operational Report Lessons Learned, Headquarters, 8th Battalion 4th Artillery, Period Ending 30 April 1971", "Narrative of Events of Company B, 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile) During LAM SON 719", United States Army Center of Military History, Bibliography: The Tet Offensive and the Battle of Khe Sanh, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Khe_Sanh&oldid=1142289112. 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. [44], On 14 August, Colonel David E. Lownds took over as commander of the 26th Marine Regiment. On 18 January, Westmoreland passed his request for Air Force control up the chain of command to CINCPAC in Honolulu. [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. The NVAs main command post was located in Laos, at Sar Lit. Major Battles Of The Vietnam War - WorldAtlas 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." 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 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. [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. The Marines at Khe Sanh Combat Base broke out of their perimeter and began attacking the North Vietnamese in the surrounding area. [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. wikipedia.en/Rathvon_M._Tompkins.md at main chinapedia/wikipedia.en The microwave/tropo site was located in an underground bunker next to the airstrip. By early 1967, the Marine position was reinforced to regimental strength. The site was first established near the village and later moved to the French fort. Key Battles | Vietnam War - Pritzker Military Museum & Library By the end of May, Marine forces were again drawn down from two battalions to one, the 1st Battalion, 26th Marines. According to the official Marine Corps history of the battle, total fatalities for Operation Scotland were 205 friendly KIA. The Marines recorded an actual body count of 1,602 NVA killed but estimated the total NVA dead at between 10,000 and 15,000. "[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. [157], Commencing in 1966, the US had attempted to establish a barrier system across the DMZ to prevent infiltration by North Vietnamese troops. [65] The fighting and shelling on 21 January resulted in 14 Marines killed and 43 wounded. Of the 24 Americans at the camp, 10 had been killed and 11 wounded. January 30 marked the first day of the Vietnamese lunar new year celebration, called Tet. 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. The village, 3km south of the base, was defended by 160 local Bru troops, plus 15 American advisers. [56], At positions west of Hill 881 South and north of Co Roc Ridge (163340N 1063755E / 16.561N 106.632E / 16.561; 106.632), across the border in Laos, the PAVN established artillery, rocket, and mortar positions from which to launch attacks by fire on the base and to support its ground operations. [39], On 24 April 1967, a patrol from Bravo Company became engaged with a PAVN force of an unknown size north of Hill 861. 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. Westmoreland echoed this judgment in his memoirs, and, using exactly the same figures, concluded that the North Vietnamese had suffered a most damaging and one-sided defeat. They attacked 36 of 44 provincial capitals, 64 district capitals, five of the six major cities, and more than two dozen airfields and bases. 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. In the 43-day . Background [ edit] Let me caution everyone not to be confused. Officer casualties of all branches were overwhelmingly white. Battle of Khe Sanh The attack finally came on January 21, 1968, when PAVN forces began a massive artillery bombardment of Khe Sanh, hitting the base's main store of ammunition and destroying. 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. Casualties were heavy among the attacking PAVN, who lost over 200 killed, while the defending Marines lost two men. The Marines found a solution to the problem in the "Super Gaggle" concept. [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. North Vietnamese Army gained control of the Khe Sanh region after the American withdrawal. Two days later, US troops detected PAVN trenches running due north to within 25 m of the base perimeter. See also Pisor, p. 108. The Marines claimed 115 PAVN killed, while their own casualties amounted to 10 dead, 100 wounded, and two missing. The heavy reliance on American airpower was an ominous sign for Vietnamization and . [102], The Lao troops were eventually flown back to their homeland, but not before the Laotian regional commander remarked that his army had to "consider the South Vietnamese as enemy because of their conduct. This is the battles end date from the North Vietnamese perspective. 528 of them include images. 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 Marines, fearing an ambush, did not attempt a relief, and after heavy fighting the camp was overrun. 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. The deaths of U.S. Air Force personnel, estimated between five and 20, are also omitted. For them, the battle started when the North Vietnamese attacks began in January. 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. A closer look at the Khe Sanh body count, however, reveals anything but a straightforward matter of numbers. He believed that was proved by the PAVN's actions during Tet. 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. 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,. History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. The official North Vietnamese history claimed that 400 South Vietnamese troops had been killed and 253 captured. 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. Aug 23, 2013. On the following night, a massive wave of PAVN/VC attacks swept throughout South Vietnam, everywhere except Khe Sanh. Gordan L Rottman, Osprey Campaign 150: The Khe Sanh 1967-68, p. 51. [57][58] They were assisted in their emplacement efforts by the continuing bad weather of the winter monsoon. The battalion was assaulted on the night of 23 January by three PAVN battalions supported by seven tanks. The United States and its South Vietnamese allies pulled many huge offensive . The site linked to another microwave/tropo site in Hu manned by the 513th Signal Detachment. [109], The resupply of the numerous, isolated hill outposts was fraught with the same difficulties and dangers. By late January 1967, the 1/3 returned to Japan and was relieved by Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines (1/9 Marines). Soon after, another shell hit a cache of tear gas, which saturated the entire area. In an unconventional war without conventional frontlines, statistics became the most critical measure of progress. The strike wounded two more Strike Force soldiers and damaged two bunkers. Indeed, had enemy forces not been at Khe Sanh, they could have joined the NVA and VC who occupied Hue, a much more important strategic target. Westmoreland believed that the latter was the case, and his belief was the basis for his desire to stage "Dien Bien Phu in reverse. 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. Marines stayed in the area, conducting operations to recover the bodies of Marines killed previously. The new anchor base was established at Ca Lu, a few miles down Route 9 to the east. Battle of Khe Sanh : American Casualties : Showing All Results [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. "[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. 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. Listen Now. Since late in 1967, Khe Sanh had depended on airlift for its survival. [55] They were supported logistically from the nearby Ho Chi Minh Trail. Even so, Westmoreland insisted for it not only to be occupied by the Marines but also for it to be reinforced. 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, . What was a major Battle in the Vietnam War? - 2023 [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. Marine Khe Sanh veteran Peter Brush is Vietnam Magazines book review editor. 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. Telfer, Rogers, and Fleming, pp. Ten more Marines and 89 NVA died during this period. Battle of Khe Sanh - Wikipedia 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. The base was officially closed on July 5. McNamara's thinking may have also been affected by his aide David Morrisroe, whose brother Michael Morrisroe was serving at the base. The official, public estimate of 10,000 to 15,000 North Vietnamese KIA stands in contrast to another estimate made by the American military. 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. On April 5, 1968, MACV prepared an Analysis of the Khe Sanh Battle for General Westmoreland. The Marines and their allies at Khe Sanh engaged tens of thousands, and killed thousands, of NVA over a period of many weeks. However, the PAVN committed three regiments to the fighting from the Khe Sanh sector. As a result, "B-52 Arc Light strikes originating in Guam, Okinawa, and Thailand bombed the jungles surrounding Khe Sanh into stubble fields" and Khe Sanh became the major news headline coming out of Vietnam in late March 1968. The Armys 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), with more than 400 helicopters under its control, conducted airmobile operations deeper into enemy-controlled areas. Taking place between March and July 1970, the Battle of Fire. 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. This article was written by Peter Brush and originally published in the June 2007 issue of Vietnam Magazine. 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. At 21:30, the attack came on, but it was stifled by the small arms of the Rangers, who were supported by thousands of artillery rounds and air strikes. 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. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. 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 Marine garrison was also reinforced, and on November 1, 1967, Operation Scotland began. A myth has grown up around this incident. It was the only time Americans abandoned a major combat base because of enemy pressure. Both sides suffered major casualties with both claiming victory of their own. Among the dead Marines was 18-year-old Pfc Curtis Bugger. [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.

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