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Battle of Khe Sanh

The Battle of Khe Sanh was a battle of the Vietnam War during the Tet Offensive. It was fought from 21 January to 9 July 1968. Khe Sanh was an important target for the communist Vietnamese soldiers to attack because it was a city near the border between North Vietnam and South Vietnam, and there was an American-South Vietnamese military base nearby. The United States and the South Vietnamese Armies fought off communist soldiers in most of the battle zones for two months, but the Battle of Khe Sanh lasted much longer. It was one of the longest and deadliest battles in the entire war.

Battle of Khe Sanh
Part of the Vietnam War
Khe Sanh Bunkers and burning Fuel Dump.jpg
Battle of Khe Sanh, 1968
Date21 January – 9 July 1968[2][3][4]
Location
Khe Sanh, Quảng Trị Province, Republic of Vietnam[5]
Result

Both sides claim victory:[6]

  • Siege partially relieved in April
  • North Vietnamese Army gained control of the Khe Sanh region after the American withdrawal on 9 July[7]
  • Termination of the McNamara Line.[8] North Vietnamese lines of communication were extended farther into South Vietnam.[9]
Belligerents
 United States
 South Vietnam
Laos Kingdom of Laos
 Australia[1]		 FNL Flag.svg Viet Cong
 North Vietnam
Pathet Lao
Commanders and leaders
United States William Westmoreland
United States Rathvon M. Tompkins
United States David E. Lownds		 Flag of North Vietnam.svg Võ Nguyên Giáp
FNL Flag.svg Trần Quý Hai
FNL Flag.svg Lê Quang Đạo
Strength

~45,000 in total[10]
~6,000 Marines at the Combat Base of Khe Sanh[11]
Operation Pegasus: ~20,000 (1st Air Cavalry and Marine units)

Operation Arc Light and operation Niagara: U.S. Air Forces

~40,000 in total,[12] in which:

  • Siege at Khe Sanh: ~17,200 (304th and 308th Division)[13]
  • Defense at Route 9: ~16,900 (320th and 324th Division)[13]
    30 light tanks PT-76
Casualties and losses

United States U.S. losses:

At Khe Sanh
Operation Scotland I & Pegasus:
Operation Scotland II (April 1968 – July 1968):
USAF:
Operation Charlie for the final evacuation:


South Vietnam 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[15]
Laos Kingdom of Laos:
Unknown.[14]

Total (21 January – 9 July):

12,000+ casualties
(2,800–3,500 killed, 9,000+ wounded, 7 missing, 250+ captured)[14][Note 1]
North Vietnamese claim: ~11,900 killed or wounded (including about 9,000 American soldiers); 197 aircraft, 78 tanks, 46 cannons, 50 ammunition depots destroyed[17]

Unknown:
U.S. estimated:
* 1,602 bodies were counted, US official public estimated 10,000–15,000 KIA,[18]: Script error: The function "hyphen2dash" does not exist. [19]: Script error: The function "hyphen2dash" does not exist. 
* MACV's secret report estimated 5,550 killed as of 31 March 1968[20]

North Vietnamese figures:
1,436 wounded (before mid-March)[20]
2,469 KIA (from 20 January until 20 July 1968).[2]

Battle Of Khe Sanh Media

  • Map of northern Quảng Trị Province

  • Combat on Hill 875, the most intense of the battles around Dak To

  • Map of the Khe Sanh valley, c. 1968

  • US Marines in action during during the Battle of Khe Sanh.

  • Dispositions of opposing forces, January 1968

  • US Navy OP-2E Neptune of VO-67, a variant of a naval patrol bomber and antisubmarine warfare aircraft specifically developed for the Muscle Shoals mission

  • National Security Advisor Walt W. Rostow showing President Lyndon B. Johnson a model of the Khe Sanh area, 15 February 1968

  • KheSanhLangVeiSFCampMap

  • A C-130 delivering supplies with LAPES

Notes

  1. ↑ Not including ARVN Ranger, RF/PF, Forward Operation Base 3 – U.S. Army, Royal Laotian Army and SOG commandos losses. The low figure often cited for US casualties (205 killed in action, 443 wounded, 2 missing) does not take into account U.S. Army or Air Force casualties or those incurred during Operation Pegasus.[16]

References

  1. ↑ Siege of Khe Sanh.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Brush, Peter. Recounting the Casualties at Khe Sanh (2006)Jean and Alexander Heard Library, Vanderbilt University.
  3. ↑ The Battle of Khe Sanh 40th Anniversary: Casualties in May 1968. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  4. ↑ The Battle of Khe Sanh 40th Anniversary: Casualties in June 1968. Retrieved 3 October 2017.[dead link]
  5. ↑ Kelley, p. 5.
  6. ↑ Willbanks, p. 104.
  7. ↑ The Withdrawal from Khe Sanh (12 June 2006).
  8. ↑ The McNamara Line. US History. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  9. ↑ Rottman, p. 90.
  10. ↑ Staff (9 February 1968). "Khe Sanh: 6,000 Marines Dug In for Battle". Life (Time): 26–29. https://books.google.com/books?id=K0kEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA26. 
  11. ↑ Brush, Peter. The Withdrawal from Khe Sanh. HistoryNet (12 June 2006). Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  12. ↑ Gordan L Rottman, Osprey Campaign 150: The Khe Sanh 1967–68, p. 51
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Rottman, p. 51.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Rottman, pp. 90–92.
  15. ↑ Tucker 2010, p. 2450.
  16. ↑ Prados and Stubbe, p. 454.
  17. ↑ TĐBKQS / Trung tâm TĐBKQS – BQP – Hà Nội: QĐND, 2004.
  18. ↑ Shulimson
  19. ↑ Shore
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Prados, John. Khe Sanh: The Other Side Of The Hill. The VVA Veteran.
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