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. Major Battles Of The Vietnam War - WorldAtlas 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. First had been Operation Full Cry, the original three-division invasion plan. I suspect he is also trying to draw everyone's attention away from the greatest area of threat, the northern part of I Corps. 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. today! By comparison, according to another Army general, a 10:1 ratio was considered average and 25:1 was considered very good. At about 0640 hours the NVA 7th Battalion, 66th Regiment, 304th Division, attacked the Huong Hoa District headquarters in Khe Sanh village. In an unconventional war without conventional frontlines, statistics became the most critical measure of progress. The Battle of Khe Sanh began Jan. 21, 1968, with inconclusive ground activity by US and North Vietnamese patrols. [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. These were pitted against two to three divisional-size elements of the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN). This time period does not particularly coincide with the fighting; rather, it dates from before the siege began and terminates before the siege (and the fighting) ended. Army deaths at FOB-3, however, were not included in the official statistics either. That did not mean, however, that battle was over. 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 ground troops had been specially equipped for the attack with satchel charges, tear gas, and flame throwers. Ray Stubbe has published a translation of the North Vietnamese history of the siege at Khe Sanh. Due to the nature of these activities, and the threat that they posed to KSCB, Westmoreland ordered Operation Niagara I, an intense intelligence collection effort on PAVN activities in the vicinity of the Khe Sanh Valley. The battalion was assaulted on the night of 23 January by three PAVN battalions supported by seven tanks. Two further attacks later in the morning were halted before the PAVN finally withdrew. Military History Institute of Vietnam, p. 222. [147] The official closure of the base came on 5 July after fighting, which had killed five more Marines. Known as the McNamara Line, it was initially codenamed "Project Nine". Hundreds of mortar rounds and 122-mm rockets slammed into the base, levelling most of the above-ground structures. 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. 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. 6,000 men North Vietnamese Vo Nguyen Giap Tran Quy Hai Approx. WALKI NA WZGRZU: PIERWSZA BITWA KHE SANH Edwarda F. Murphy'ego - twarda okadka w bardzo dobrym stanie | Books & Magazines, Books | eBay! [78], Thus began what was described by John Morocco as "the most concentrated application of aerial firepower in the history of warfare". The figures of 5,500 NVA dead and 1,000 U.S. dead yield a ratio of 5.5:1. 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. wikipedia.en/Rathvon_M._Tompkins.md at main chinapedia/wikipedia.en [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. [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, the PAVN committed three regiments to the fighting from the Khe Sanh sector. The microwave/tropo site was located in an underground bunker next to the airstrip. 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. [12] With the abandonment of the base, according to Thomas Ricks, "Khe Sanh became etched in the minds of many Americans as a symbol of the pointless sacrifice and muddled tactics that permeated a doomed U.S. war effort in Vietnam". 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. 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. On April 5, 1968, MACV prepared an Analysis of the Khe Sanh Battle for General Westmoreland. Taking a larger but more realistic view, the Khe Sanh campaign resulted in a death toll of American military personnel that approached 1,000. [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. 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. "[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. Over 100,000 tons of bombs were dropped by US aircraft and over 158,000 artillery rounds were fired in defense of the base. 5 Major Battles of the Vietnam War | History Hit Khe Sanh had long been responsible for the defense of Lang Vei. The Vietnam War: 11 Major Battles - warhistoryonline A closer look at the Khe Sanh body count, however, reveals anything but a straightforward matter of numbers. 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. Five more attacks against their sector were launched during March. According to this history, originally classified as secret, the battle deaths for all major NVA units participating in the entire Highway 9Khe Sanh Front from January 20 until July 20, 1968, totaled 2,469. What was a major Battle in the Vietnam War? - 2023 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. Marine Khe Sanh veteran Peter Brush is Vietnam Magazines book review editor. Operation Pegasus casualties included 59 U.S. Army and 51 Marine Corps dead. Only nine US battalions were available from Hue/Phu Bai northward. [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. You could lose it and you really haven't lost a damn thing. Had the plane been shot down departing Khe Sanh, the casualties would have been counted. The pallet slid to a halt on the airstrip while the aircraft never had to actually land. The exact number of casualties suffered by both sides during the Khe Sanh battle is very difficult to ascertain, given that in many cases the two warring factions provided their own disparate counts. The Siege of Khe Sanh | The American Legion [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. In the US, the media following the battle drew comparisons with the 1954 Battle of Dien Bien Phu, which proved disastrous for the French. [142], Lownds and the 26th Marines departed Khe Sanh, leaving the defense of the base to the 1st Marine Regiment. 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. The base was officially closed on July 5. Armies and Commanders Allies General William Westmoreland Colonel David Lownds Approx. That proved to be the last overland attempt at resupply for Khe Sanh until the following March. The Battle of Khe Sanh began 50 years ago this week when roughly 20,000 North Vietnamese troops surrounded an isolated combat base . WALKI NA WZGRZU: PIERWSZA BITWA KHE SANH Edwarda F. Murphy'ego American logistical, aerial, and artillery support was provided to the operation. But only by checking my service record while writing this article did it become evident that I had participated in all three operations. At 00:30 on 21 January, Hill 861 was attacked by about 300 PAVN troops, the Marines, however, were prepared. The plane, piloted by Lt. Col. Frederick J. Hampton, crashed in a huge fireball a few miles east of Khe Sanh, killing all aboard. These combined sources report a total of 354 KIA. 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. The PAVN forces were in the process of gaining elevated terrain before it launched the main attack. 216217. [27][28] The Marines' defensive system stretched below the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) from the coast, along Route 9, to Khe Sanh. A group of 12 A-4 Skyhawk fighter-bombers provided flak suppression for massed flights of 1216 helicopters, which would resupply the hills simultaneously. Five Marines were killed on January 19 and 20, while on reconnaissance patrols. Rod Andrew, Jr., a history professor at Clemson University and colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve, has written an easily read and thoroughly . See also Pisor, p. 108. 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. Fighting around Khe Sanh was continuous. Naval aircrews, many of whom were redirected from Operation Rolling Thunder strikes against North Vietnam, flew 5,337 sorties and dropped 7,941 tons of ordnance in the area. 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.
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