A single company replaced an entire battalion. The aircrew then had to contend with antiaircraft fire on the way out. 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. newsletter for the best of the past, delivered every Monday and Thursday. [42], In the wake of the hill fights, a lull in PAVN activity occurred around Khe Sanh. Of the 24 Americans at the camp, 10 had been killed and 11 wounded. The Marine defense of Khe Sanh, Operation Scotland, officially ended on March 31. [63] Hills 881 South, 861, and the main base itself would be simultaneously attacked that same evening. It was a bad beginning to a long 77-day siege. North Vietnamese Army gained control of the Khe Sanh region after the American withdrawal. [58] The USAF delivered 14,356 tons of supplies to Khe Sanh by air (8,120 tons by paradrop). 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. [121] Casualties from the bombardment were 10 killed and 51 wounded. No logic was apparent to them behind the sustained PAVN/VC offensives other than to inflict casualties on the allied forces. Upon closer analysis, the official figure does not accurately portray even what it purports to represent. "[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. [75] On 22 January, the first sensor drops took place, and by the end of the month, 316 acoustic and seismic sensors had been dropped in 44 strings. Battle of Khe Sanh begins - HISTORY The presence of the PAVN 1st Division prompted a 22-day battle there and had some of the most intense close-quarters fighting of the entire conflict. Free shipping for many products! 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. [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 Marines knew that their withdrawal from Khe Sanh would present a propaganda victory for Hanoi. [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. [57][58] They were assisted in their emplacement efforts by the continuing bad weather of the winter monsoon. At least 852 PAVN soldiers were killed during the action, as opposed to 50 American and South Vietnamese. You could lose it and you really haven't lost a damn thing. "[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. "[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. The official North Vietnamese history claimed that 400 South Vietnamese troops had been killed and 253 captured. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for The Hill Fights: The First Battle of Khe Sanh by Murphy, Edward F. (mass_market) at the best online prices at eBay! wikipedia.en/Rathvon_M._Tompkins.md at main chinapedia/wikipedia.en On 8 February 1971, the leading ARVN units marched along Route 9 into southern Laos while the US ground forces and advisers were prohibited from entering Laos. [99] The relief effort was not launched until 15:00, and it was successful. [158] The question, known among American historians as the "riddle of Khe Sanh," has been summed up by John Prados and Ray Stubbe: "Either the Tet Offensive was a diversion intended to facilitate PAVN/VC preparations for a war-winning battle at Khe Sanh, or Khe Sanh was a diversion to mesmerize Westmoreland in the days before Tet. In the coming days, a campaign headquarters was established around Sap Lit. 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. The First Battle of Khe Sahn - HistoryNet by John Prados. "[168][Note 7], Marine General Rathvon M. Tompkins, the commander of the 3rd Marine Division, pointed out that had the PAVN actually intended to take Khe Sanh, PAVN troops could have cut the base's sole source of water, a stream 500 m outside the perimeter of the base. Ten American soldiers were killed; the rest managed to escape down Route 9 to Khe Sanh. Five Marines were killed on January 19 and 20, while on reconnaissance patrols. [31] Mortar rounds, artillery shells, and 122mm rockets fell randomly but incessantly upon the base. 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. [132], On 2 March, Tolson laid out what became known as Operation Pegasus, the operational plan for what was to become the largest operation launched by III MAF thus far in the conflict. Many of the artillery and mortar rounds stored in the dump were thrown into the air and detonated on impact within the base. Westmoreland had been forwarding operational plans for an invasion of Laos since 1966. The new anchor base was established at Ca Lu, a few miles down Route 9 to the east. [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. 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. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. 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 Marines and their allies at Khe Sanh engaged tens of thousands, and killed thousands, of NVA over a period of many weeks. On 22 March, over 1,000 North Vietnamese rounds fell on the base, and once again, the ammunition dump was detonated. These Are Some of the Most Iconic Battles the US Marines Ever Fought And it had accomplished its purpose magnificently. [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. Both sides suffered major casualties with both claiming victory of their own. The Battle of Khe Sanh's initial action cost the Marines 12 killed, 17 wounded and two missing. January 30 marked the first day of the Vietnamese lunar new year celebration, called Tet. On 19 June 1968, the evacuation and destruction of KSCB began. "[28], As far as Westmoreland was concerned, however, all that he needed to know was that the PAVN had massed large numbers of troops for a set-piece battle. The opportunity to engage and destroy a formerly elusive enemy that was moving toward a fixed position promised a victory of unprecedented proportions. Two further attacks later in the morning were halted before the PAVN finally withdrew. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. Johnson backed the Marine position due to his concern over protecting the Army's air assets from Air Force co-option. Operation Pegasus: ~20,000 (1st Air Cavalry and Marine units), U.S. losses:At Khe Sanh: 274 killed2,541 wounded (not including ARVN Ranger, RF/PF, Forward Operation Base 3 US Army and Royal Laotian Army losses)[15]Operation Scotland I and Operation Pegasus: 730 killed2,642 wounded,7 missing[15]Operation Scotland II (15 April 1968 July 1968):485 killed2,396 wounded[1]USAF:5 ~ 20 killed, wounded unknown[1]Operation Charlie for the final evacuation:At least 11 marines killed, wounded unknown[1] [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. The fighting was heavy. [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. 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. [24], The plateau camp was permanently manned by the US Marines in 1967, when they established an outpost next to the airstrip. MACV therefore initiated an operation to open Route 9 to vehicle traffic. "[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. Army deaths at FOB-3, however, were not included in the official statistics either. 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. How many American soldiers died in the Battle of Ia Drang? By late January 1967, the 1/3 returned to Japan and was relieved by Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines (1/9 Marines). [10] Once the news of the closure of KSCB was announced, the American media immediately raised questions about the reasoning behind its abandonment. [44], On 14 August, Colonel David E. Lownds took over as commander of the 26th Marine Regiment. 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). Historian Ronald Spector, in the book After Tet: The Bloodiest Year in Vietnam, noted that American casualties in the 10 weeks after the start of Operation Pegasus were more than twice those officially reported during the siege. When the weather later cleared in March, the amount was increased to 40 tons per day. [133] The Marines would be accompanied by their 11th Engineer Battalion, which would repair the road as the advance moved forward. Since late in 1967, Khe Sanh had depended on airlift for its survival. The Marines found a solution to the problem in the "Super Gaggle" concept. [140] Operation Scotland II would continue until 28 February 1969 resulting in 435 Marines and 3304 PAVN killed. Background [ edit] [29], During the second half of 1967, the North Vietnamese instigated a series of actions in the border regions of South Vietnam. [55] They were supported logistically from the nearby Ho Chi Minh Trail. The Vietnam War: 11 Major Battles - warhistoryonline HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. About two hours later, an NVA artillery barrage scored a hit on the main ammunition dump at Khe Sanh Combat Base, killing Lance Corp. Jerry Stenberg and other Marines. A myth has grown up around this incident. The pallet slid to a halt on the airstrip while the aircraft never had to actually land. 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. [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. Two days later, the PAVN 273rd Regiment attacked a Special Forces camp near the border town of Loc Ninh, in Bnh Long Province. The withdrawal of the last Marines under the cover of darkness was hampered by the shelling of a bridge along Route 9, which had to be repaired before the withdrawal could be completed. 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". 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. According to Ray Stubbe, a U.S. Navy chaplain during the siege and since then the most significant Khe Sanh historian, the 205 figure is taken only from the records of the 26th Marine Regiment. Home > Features > Battle of Khe Sanh > View All. The latest microwave/tropospheric scatter technology enabled them to maintain communications at all times. Only nine US battalions were available from Hue/Phu Bai northward. First had been Operation Full Cry, the original three-division invasion plan. 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. [94] Although the PAVN was known to possess two armored regiments, it had not yet fielded an armored unit in South Vietnam, and besides, the Americans considered it impossible for them to get one down to Khe Sanh without it being spotted by aerial reconnaissance. 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. 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. 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. 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. Ray Stubbe has published a translation of the North Vietnamese history of the siege at Khe Sanh.