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The Vietnam War: 11 Major Battles - warhistoryonline The Marines suffered 155 killed in action and 425 wounded. Reinforcements from the ARVN 256th Regional Force (RF) company were dispatched aboard nine UH-1 helicopters of the 282nd Assault Helicopter Company, but they were landed near the abandoned French fort/former FOB-3 which was occupied by the PAVN who killed many of the RF troops and 4 Americans, including Lieutenant colonel Joseph Seymoe the deputy adviser for Quang Tri Province and forcing the remaining helicopters to abandon the mission. [146] Useful equipment was withdrawn or destroyed, and personnel were evacuated. The enemy by my count suffered at least 15,000 dead in the area.. [23][Note 2], James Marino wrote that in 1964, General William Westmoreland, the US commander in Vietnam, had determined, "Khe Sanh could serve as a patrol base blocking enemy infiltration from Laos; a base for operations to harass the enemy in Laos; an airstrip for reconnaissance to survey the Ho Chi Minh Trail; a western anchor for the defenses south of the DMZ; and an eventual jumping-off point for ground operations to cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Free shipping for many products! [24], The plateau camp was permanently manned by the US Marines in 1967, when they established an outpost next to the airstrip. The official North Vietnamese history claimed that 400 South Vietnamese troops had been killed and 253 captured. 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. 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. The most controversial statistic in Vietnam was the number of killed in action (KIA) claimed by each side. The United States and its South Vietnamese allies pulled many huge offensive . By early 1967, the Marine position was reinforced to regimental strength. "[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. Ray Stubbe has published a translation of the North Vietnamese history of the siege at Khe Sanh. [145], Author Peter Brush details that an "additional 413 Marines were killed during Scotland II through the end of June 1968". Its main objectives were to inflict casualties on US troops and to isolate them in the remote border regions. [93], The situation changed radically during the early morning hours of 7 February. For seven weeks, American aircraft dropped from 35,000 to 40,000 tons of bombs in nearly 4,000 airstrikes. This range overmatch was used by the PAVN to avoid counter-battery fire. The 324th Division was located in the DMZ area 1015 miles (1624km) north of Khe Sanh while the 320th Division was within easy reinforcing distance to the northeast. 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. [171] When Hanoi made the decision to move in around the base, Khe Sanh was held by only one or two American battalions. 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. The figures of 5,500 NVA dead and 1,000 U.S. dead yield a ratio of 5.5:1. . 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. Marine Corps aviators had flown 7,098 missions and released 17,015tons. Ten more Marines and 89 NVA died during this period. How many white soldiers died in Vietnam? - 2023 As a result of this intelligence, KSCB was reinforced on 22 January 1968 by the 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment. 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. The Marines at KSCB credited 40% of intelligence available to their fire-support coordination center to the sensors. 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. After a ten-day battle, the attackers were pushed back into Cambodia. They produced a body count ratio in the range between 50:1 and 75:1. [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. A victory for the Americans and South Vietnamese, the Battle of Dak To cost 376 US killed, 1,441 US wounded, and 79 ARVN killed. Background [ edit] Thirty-three ARVN troops were also killed and 187 were wounded. Battlefield:Vietnam | Timeline - PBS Hundreds of mortar rounds and 122-mm rockets slammed into the base, levelling most of the above-ground structures. 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 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. 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. That was superseded by the smaller contingency plans. 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. TBKQS / Trung tm TBKQS - BQP - H Ni: QND, 2004. Not including ARVN Ranger, RF/PF, Forward Operation Base 3 U.S. Army, Royal Laotian Army and SOG commandos losses. American intelligence estimated that between 10,000 and 15,000 PAVN troops were killed during the operation, equating to up to 90% of the attacking 17,200-man PAVN force. On April 5, 1968, MACV prepared an Analysis of the Khe Sanh Battle for General Westmoreland. 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. Two days later, the PAVN 273rd Regiment attacked a Special Forces camp near the border town of Loc Ninh, in Bnh Long Province. New material will be added to that page through the end of 2018. Two Marines died. History is who we are and why we are the way we are.. [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 aircrew then had to contend with antiaircraft fire on the way out. [41], To prevent PAVN observation of the main base at the airfield and their possible use as firebases, the hills of the surrounding Khe Sanh Valley had to be continuously occupied and defended by separate Marine elements. The NVAs main command post was located in Laos, at Sar Lit. 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. The relief of Khe Sanh, called Operation Pegasus, began . [121] Casualties from the bombardment were 10 killed and 51 wounded. 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. He subsequently ordered the US military to hold Khe Sanh at all costs. On 18 January, Westmoreland passed his request for Air Force control up the chain of command to CINCPAC in Honolulu. It claimed, however, that only three American advisors were killed during the action. By comparison, according to another Army general, a 10:1 ratio was considered average and 25:1 was considered very good. [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. Let me caution everyone not to be confused. [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. [Note 5] This event prompted Cushman to reinforce Lownds with the rest of the 2nd Battalion, 26th Marines. [140] Total US casualties during the operation were 92 killed, 667 wounded, and five missing. Name State Date War Branch; 1: Steven Glenn Abbott . [35], American intelligence analysts were quite baffled by the series of enemy actions. That proved to be the last overland attempt at resupply for Khe Sanh until the following March. The Armys 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), with more than 400 helicopters under its control, conducted airmobile operations deeper into enemy-controlled areas. In an unconventional war without conventional frontlines, statistics became the most critical measure of progress. [34] The heaviest action took place near Dak To, in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum. At least 852 PAVN soldiers were killed during the action, as opposed to 50 American and South Vietnamese. The Khe Sanh battlefield was considerably more extensive from the North Vietnamese perspective than from that of the U.S. Marine Corps, both geographically and chronologically. Senior Marine Corps General Victor Krulak agreed, noting on May 13 that the Marines had defeated the North Vietnamese and won the battle of Khe Sanh. Over time, these KIA figures have been accepted by historians. 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. 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. "[73], Nevertheless, ultimately the nuclear option was discounted by military planners. Shortly after midnight on February 7, a large NVA force, reinforced with tanks, attacked the camp. The border battles, however, had two significant consequences, which were unappreciated at the time. Had the plane been shot down departing Khe Sanh, the casualties would have been counted. WALKI NA WZGRZU: PIERWSZA BITWA KHE SANH Edwarda F. Murphy'ego - twarda okadka w bardzo dobrym stanie | Books & Magazines, Books | eBay! Murphy 2003, pp. Taking a larger but more realistic view, the Khe Sanh campaign resulted in a death toll of American military personnel that approached 1,000. On June 19, 1968, another operation began at Khe Sanh, Operation Charlie, the final evacuation and destruction of the Khe Sanh Combat Base. He has published over 20 books including: How to Survive Anything, Anywhere. The Americans had forewarning of PAVN armor in the area from Laotian refugees from camp BV-33. The PAVN claimed that Khe Sanh was "a stinging defeat from both the military and political points of view." With Khe Sanh facing a full-scale. The official assessment of the North Vietnamese Army dead is just over 1,600 killed, with two . The Battle of Khe Sanh, January 21 - April 8, 1968 - The History Reader It was the only time Americans abandoned a major combat base because of enemy pressure. 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] In November 1964, the Special Forces moved their camp to the Xom Cham Plateau, the future site of Khe Sanh Combat Base. 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. The Marines fought long, hard and well at Khe Sanh, but they sacrificed in much greater numbers than has been acknowledged by official sources. [63] Hills 881 South, 861, and the main base itself would be simultaneously attacked that same evening. 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. Marine Khe Sanh veteran Peter Brush is Vietnam Magazines book review editor. [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]. Listen Now. Throughout the battle, Marine artillerymen fired 158,891 mixed rounds. That did not mean, however, that battle was over. 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). [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. When the weather later cleared in March, the amount was increased to 40 tons per day. Declassified documents show that in response, Westmoreland considered using nuclear weapons. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. [80] Westmoreland had already ordered the nascent Igloo White operation to assist in the Marine defense. The Marine garrison was also reinforced, and on November 1, 1967, Operation Scotland began. That action prematurely triggered a PAVN offensive aimed at taking Khe Sanh. Home > Features > Battle of Khe Sanh > View All. On that day, Tolson ordered his unit to immediately make preparations for Operation Delaware, an air assault into the A Shau Valley. 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. The battalion was assaulted on the night of 23 January by three PAVN battalions supported by seven tanks. [97] During a meeting at Da Nang at 07:00 the next morning, Westmoreland and Cushman accepted Lownds' decision. 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. 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. Since the official duration of the battle ends even earlier than the termination of the siege itself, a wider definition of the Khe Sanh battlefield to include Operations Scotland, Pegasus and Scotland II also seems reasonable. For a succinct overview of the creation of the CIDG program and its operations. 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. 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. It was a bad beginning to a long 77-day siege. 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. Vietnam 40 years later: 101st Airborne Division veteran recalls Ripcord Military History Institute of Vietnam, p. 222. [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. As journalist Robert Pisor pointed out in his 1982 book, The End of the Line: The Siege of Khe Sanh, no other battle of the entire war produced a better body count or kill ratio than that claimed by the Americans at Khe Sanh. Just days before, as the Army of the . What is the 25th Infantry known for? [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. 3% were Asian, 7 or . [115] This equates to roughly 1,300 tons of bombs dropped daily 5 tons for every one of the 20,000 PAVN soldiers initially estimated to have been committed to the fighting at Khe Sanh. Battle of Khe Sanh : American Casualties : Showing All Results [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. [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. [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. One of the first enemy shells set off an explosion in the main ammunition dump. The official statistics yield a KIA ratio of between 50:1 and 75:1 of North Vietnamese to U.S. military deaths. The Marine Corps casualty reporting system was based on named operations and not geographic location. [78], Thus began what was described by John Morocco as "the most concentrated application of aerial firepower in the history of warfare". A group of 12 A-4 Skyhawk fighter-bombers provided flak suppression for massed flights of 1216 helicopters, which would resupply the hills simultaneously. Taking place between March and July 1970, the Battle of Fire. These combined sources report a total of 354 KIA. [96], The Marines at Khe Sanh had a plan in place for providing a ground relief force in just such a contingency, but Lownds, fearing a PAVN ambush, refused to implement it. It is difficult to support the claim of an overwhelming American victory at Khe Sanh based solely on the ratios derived from the official casualty count. In the coming days, a campaign headquarters was established around Sap Lit. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. Time magazine, in an April 12, 1968, article titled Victory at Khe Sanh, reported General William Westmoreland, commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam, after flying into Khe Sanh by helicopter, declaring: We took 220 killed at Khe Sanh and about 800 wounded and evacuated. A historian, General Dave Palmer, accepted that rationale: "General Giap never had any intention of capturing Khe Sanh [it] was a feint, a diversionary effort. A platoon from Company D, 1/26 Marines was sent from the base but was withdrawn in the face of the superior PAVN forces.