battle of khe sanh casualties battle of khe sanh casualties

[36], Things remained quiet in the Khe Sanh area through 1966. That afternoon, as a rescue force was dispatched to the village, Army Lt. Col. Joseph Seymoe and other soldiers died when their helicopter was attacked. [42], In the wake of the hill fights, a lull in PAVN activity occurred around Khe Sanh. [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. They produced a body count ratio in the range between 50:1 and 75:1. The aircrew then had to contend with antiaircraft fire on the way out. It was a bad beginning to a long 77-day siege. On 22 March, over 1,000 North Vietnamese rounds fell on the base, and once again, the ammunition dump was detonated. [57][58] They were assisted in their emplacement efforts by the continuing bad weather of the winter monsoon. 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. 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. Of the 7877 officer casualties, 7595 or 96.4% were white, 147 or 1.8% were black; 24 or . Known as the McNamara Line, it was initially codenamed "Project Nine". Westmoreland believed that the latter was the case, and his belief was the basis for his desire to stage "Dien Bien Phu in reverse. After a ten-day battle, the attackers were pushed back into Cambodia. 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. [24], The plateau camp was permanently manned by the US Marines in 1967, when they established an outpost next to the airstrip. The figures of 5,500 NVA dead and 1,000 U.S. dead yield a ratio of 5.5:1. "[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. Since late in 1967, Khe Sanh had depended on airlift for its survival. Hernandez was killed. 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. 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. 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. Over 100,000 tons of bombs were dropped by US aircraft and over 158,000 artillery rounds were fired in defense of the base. Military History Institute of Vietnam, pp. Many of the artillery and mortar rounds stored in the dump were thrown into the air and detonated on impact within the base. [67], At the same time as the artillery bombardment at KSCB, an attack was launched against Khe Sanh village, seat of Hng Ha District. Home > Features > Battle of Khe Sanh > View All. Cushman, the new III MAF commander, supported Westmoreland perhaps because he wanted to mend Army/Marine relations after the departure of Walt. Both sides suffered major casualties with both claiming victory of their own. 528 of them include images. by John Prados. [25], Marino stated that "by 1966, Westmoreland had begun to consider Khe Sanh as part of a larger strategy." The Marines suffered 155 killed in action and 425 wounded. [111] The base could also depend on fire support from US Army 175-mm guns located at Camp Carroll, east of Khe Sanh. "[73], Nevertheless, ultimately the nuclear option was discounted by military planners. Two further attacks later in the morning were halted before the PAVN finally withdrew. 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. "[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. 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. Westmoreland planned on Khe Sanh being relieved and then used as the jump-off point for a "hot pursuit" of enemy forces into Laos. . The next operations were named Crockett and Ardmore. See also Pisor, p. 108. But Pisor also pointed out that 205 is a completely false number. One had to meet certain criteria before being officially considered KIA at Khe Sanh. U.S. battles of the war in Vietnam had young GIs or Marines humping into the boonies in search of the enemy. The battle of Khe Sanh is one of the most well-known battles of the Vietnam War. The official assessment of the North Vietnamese Army dead is just over 1,600 killed, with two . The attack was to have been supported by armor and artillery. A Look at the Damage from the Secret War in Laos, How Operation Homecoming Was Sprung into Action to Repatriate American POWs, The Viet Cong Were Shooting Down Americans From a Cave Until This GI Stopped Them, https://www.historynet.com/recounting-the-casualties-at-the-deadly-battle-of-khe-sanh/, Jerrie Mock: Record-Breaking American Female Pilot, When 21 Sikh Soldiers Fought the Odds Against 10,000 Pashtun Warriors, Few Red Tails Remain: Tuskegee Airman Dies at 96. Site will be misbehaving during our migration to new (better!) 6,000 men North Vietnamese Vo Nguyen Giap Tran Quy Hai Approx. Free shipping for many products! [80] Westmoreland had already ordered the nascent Igloo White operation to assist in the Marine defense. 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. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, then began planning for incursion into Laos, and in October, the construction of an airfield at Khe Sanh was completed. On the following night, a massive wave of PAVN/VC attacks swept throughout South Vietnam, everywhere except Khe Sanh. [117], Cumulative friendly casualties for Operation Scotland, which began on 1 November 1967, were: 205 killed in action, 1,668 wounded, and 25 missing and presumed dead. "[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. You could lose it and you really haven't lost a damn thing. The Marines, fearing an ambush, did not attempt a relief, and after heavy fighting the camp was overrun. 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. [33] Troops of the US 1st Infantry Division were able to respond quickly. Marines stayed in the area, conducting operations to recover the bodies of Marines killed previously. Johnson backed the Marine position due to his concern over protecting the Army's air assets from Air Force co-option. Amid heavy shelling, the Marines attempted to salvage what they could before destroying what remained as they were evacuated. The origin of the combat base lay in the construction by US Army Special Forces of an airfield in August 1962 outside the village at an old French fort. The Operation Scotland tactical area of responsibility (TAOR) was limited to the area around Khe Sanh along Route 9 in western Quang Tri province. [65] The fighting and shelling on 21 January resulted in 14 Marines killed and 43 wounded. In the aftermath, the North Vietnamese proclaimed a victory at Khe Sanh, while US forces claimed that they had withdrawn, as the base was no longer required. The adoption of this concept at the end of February was the turning point in the resupply effort. Few areas of the world have been as hotly contested as the India-Pakistan border. [93] At 18:10 hours, the PAVN followed up their morning mortar attack with an artillery strike from 152mm howitzers, firing 60 rounds into the camp. Twenty-five USAF personnel who were killed are also not included. Shortly after midnight on February 7, a large NVA force, reinforced with tanks, attacked the camp. The heavy reliance on American airpower was an ominous sign for Vietnamization and . When an enemy rocket-propelled grenade killed 2nd Lt. Randall Yeary and Corporal Richard John, although these Marines died before the beginning of the siege, their deaths were included in the official statistics. The September bombardments ranged from 100 to 150 rounds per day, with a maximum on 25 September of 1,190 rounds. 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. To support the Marine base, a massive aerial bombardment campaign (Operation Niagara) was launched by the USAF. 239240. [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. [140] Operation Scotland II would continue until 28 February 1969 resulting in 435 Marines and 3304 PAVN killed. 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. 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. These forces, including support troops, totaled 20,000 to 30,000. 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. Less likely to be mentioned is the final high-casualty engagement between units of the U.S. infantry and the North Vietnamese Army. [1], The evacuation of Khe Sanh began on 19 June 1968 as Operation Charlie. [63] Hills 881 South, 861, and the main base itself would be simultaneously attacked that same evening. The Marines found a solution to the problem in the "Super Gaggle" concept. The launching of the largest enemy offensive thus far in the conflict did not shift Westmoreland's focus away from Khe Sanh. 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. At 00:30 on 21 January, Hill 861 was attacked by about 300 PAVN troops, the Marines, however, were prepared. [20] These figures do not include casualties among Special Forces troops at Lang Vei, aircrews killed or missing in the area, or Marine replacements killed or wounded while entering or exiting the base aboard aircraft. From the Hu site the communication signal was sent to Danang headquarters where it could be sent anywhere in the world. 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. "[106] At the end of January, Tompkins had ordered that no Marine patrols proceed more than 500 meters from the Combat Base. Ten American soldiers were killed; the rest managed to escape down Route 9 to Khe Sanh. That was superseded by the smaller contingency plans. In the 43-day . By the middle of January 1968, some 6,000 Marines and Army troops occupied the Khe Sanh Combat Base and its surrounding positions. "[24] In November 1964, the Special Forces moved their camp to the Xom Cham Plateau, the future site of Khe Sanh Combat Base. That action prematurely triggered a PAVN offensive aimed at taking Khe Sanh. [97] During a meeting at Da Nang at 07:00 the next morning, Westmoreland and Cushman accepted Lownds' decision. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. An airborne battlefield command and control center aboard a C-130 aircraft, directed incoming strike aircraft to forward air control (FAC) spotter planes, which, in turn directed them to targets either located by themselves or radioed in by ground units. The official North Vietnamese history claimed that 400 South Vietnamese troops had been killed and 253 captured. The Marines were extremely reluctant to relinquish authority over their aircraft to an Air Force general. The village, 3km south of the base, was defended by 160 local Bru troops, plus 15 American advisers. 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. The Marine garrison was also reinforced, and on November 1, 1967, Operation Scotland began. The official statistics yield a KIA ratio of between 50:1 and 75:1 of North Vietnamese to U.S. military deaths. Declassified documents show that in response, Westmoreland considered using nuclear weapons. These were pitted against two to three divisional-size elements of the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN). The PAVN, however, were not through with the ARVN troops. The dead men have been described as wearing Marine uniforms; that they were a regimental commander and his staff on a reconnaissance; and that they were all identified, by name, by American intelligence. When the weather later cleared in March, the amount was increased to 40 tons per day. 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. This is also the position taken in the official PAVN history but offers no further explanation of the strategy. [43] Lieutenant General Robert E. Cushman Jr. relieved Walt as commander of III MAF in June. 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. The Battle of Khe Sanh began Jan. 21, 1968, with inconclusive ground activity by US and North Vietnamese patrols. The NVA used Hill 881 North to launch 122mm rockets at the Marines during the siege. 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. [172], On 30 January 1971, the ARVN and US forces launched Operation Dewey Canyon II, which involved the reopening of Route 9, securing the Khe Sanh area and reoccupying of KSCB as a forward supply base for Operation Lam Son 719. U.S. reconnaissance forces continued to monitor the Ho Chi Minh Trail. "[149], While KSCB was abandoned, the Marines continued to patrol the Khe Sanh plateau, including reoccupying the area with ARVN forces from 519 October 1968 with minimal opposition. 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 main US forces defending Khe Sanh Combat Base (KSCB) were two regiments of the United States Marine Corps supported by elements from the United States Army and the United States Air Force (USAF), as well as a small number of Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) troops. He made his final appearance in the story of Khe Sanh on 23 May, when his regimental sergeant major and he stood before President Johnson and were presented with a Presidential Unit Citation on behalf of the 26th Marines. Just days before, as the Army of the . However, North Vietnamese sources claim that the Americans did not win a victory at Khe Sanh but were forced to retreat to avoid destruction. 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." The 26th Marine Regiment (26th Marines) is an inactivated infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps. [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. Armies and Commanders Allies General William Westmoreland Colonel David Lownds Approx. 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. [33] The PAVN fought for several days, took casualties, and fell back. [35], American intelligence analysts were quite baffled by the series of enemy actions. [173][174], After the ARVN defeat in Laos, the newly-reopened KSCB came under attack by PAVN sappers and artillery and the base was abandoned once again on 6 April 1971.[175][176]. On the afternoon of 29 January, however, the 3rd Marine Division notified Khe Sanh that the truce had been cancelled. One of the first enemy shells set off an explosion in the main ammunition dump. [85] Westmoreland had given his deputy commander for air operations, Air Force General William W. Momyer, the responsibility for coordinating all air assets during the operation to support KSCB. On Easter Sunday, April 14, the 3rd Battalion, 26th Marines (3/26), assaulted Hill 881 North in order to clear the enemy firing positions. [119] By 11:00, the battle was over, Company A had lost 24 dead and 27 wounded, while 150 PAVN bodies were found around the position, which was then abandoned. It was later renamed "Dye Marker" by MACV in September 1967, just as the PAVN began the first phase of their offensive by launching attacks against Marine-held positions across the DMZ. Minor attacks continued before the base was officially closed on 5 July. 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. [10] Once the news of the closure of KSCB was announced, the American media immediately raised questions about the reasoning behind its abandonment. The Marines at KSCB credited 40% of intelligence available to their fire-support coordination center to the sensors. "[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. But only by checking my service record while writing this article did it become evident that I had participated in all three operations. The Marine defense of Khe Sanh, Operation Scotland, officially ended on March 31. It was not sufficient to simply be an American military person killed in the fighting there during the winter and spring of 1967-68. Scotland was a 26th Marine Regiment operation, so only the deaths of Marines assigned to the regiment, and attached supporting units, were counted. Later, the 1/1 Marines and 3rd ARVN Airborne Task Force (the 3rd, 6th, and 8th Airborne Battalions) would join the operation. Aug 23, 2013. [61] To cover a defilade near the Rao Quan River, four companies from 2/26 were immediately sent out to occupy Hill 558, with another manning Hill 861A. Unlike the official figures, Stubbes database of Khe Sanh casualties includes verifiable names and dates of death. [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. Even so, Westmoreland insisted for it not only to be occupied by the Marines but also for it to be reinforced. By comparison, according to another Army general, a 10:1 ratio was considered average and 25:1 was considered very good. [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. They attacked 36 of 44 provincial capitals, 64 district capitals, five of the six major cities, and more than two dozen airfields and bases. Beginning in October 1967, the Communists greatly increased their forces in the Khe Sanh area to total two infantry divisions, two artillery regiments and an armored regiment. On that day, Tolson ordered his unit to immediately make preparations for Operation Delaware, an air assault into the A Shau Valley. Ray Stubbe has published a translation of the North Vietnamese history of the siege at Khe Sanh. The North Vietnamese lost as many as 15,000 casualties during the siege of Khe Sanh. Taking place between March and July 1970, the Battle of Fire. "[159] In assessing North Vietnamese intentions, Peter Brush cites the claim of Vietnamese theater commander, V Nguyn Gip, "that Khe Sanh itself was not of importance, but only a diversion to draw U.S. forces away from the populated areas of South Vietnam. [128] They also reported 1,436 wounded before mid-March, of which 484 men returned to their units, while 396 were sent up the Ho Chi Minh Trail to hospitals in the north. The fighting was heavy. Operational control of the Khe Sanh area was handed over to the US Army's 1st Air Cavalry Division for the duration of Operation Pegasus. [128] Also, Marine Lieutenant General Victor Krulak seconded the notion that there was never a serious intention to take the base by arguing that neither the water supply nor the telephone land lines were ever cut by the 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. Making the prospect even more enticing was that the base was in an unpopulated area in which American firepower could be fully employed without civilian casualties. [104] Ladd, back on the scene, reported that the Marines stated, "they couldn't trust any gooks in their damn camp. The pallet slid to a halt on the airstrip while the aircraft never had to actually land. He has published over 20 books including: How to Survive Anything, Anywhere. In 1964 an Ohio woman took up the challenge that had led to Amelia Earharts disappearance. The border battles, however, had two significant consequences, which were unappreciated at the time. If firepower determined the outcome of the fight, it was airlift that allowed the defenders to hold their positions. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. [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. This caused problems for the Marine command, which possessed its own aviation squadrons that operated under their own close air support doctrine. The enemy by my count suffered at least 15,000 dead in the area.. 20,000-30,000 men Battle of Khe Sanh Overview WALKI NA WZGRZU: PIERWSZA BITWA KHE SANH Edwarda F. Murphy'ego - twarda okadka w bardzo dobrym stanie | Books & Magazines, Books | eBay! Once the aircraft touched down, it became the target of any number of PAVN artillery or mortar crews. [58] The USAF delivered 14,356 tons of supplies to Khe Sanh by air (8,120 tons by paradrop). Background [ edit] [107] The greatest impediments to the delivery of supplies to the base were the closure of Route 9 and the winter monsoon weather. [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. The Battle of Khe Sanh began 50 years ago this week when roughly 20,000 North Vietnamese troops surrounded an isolated combat base . [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. [138], On the following day, the 2nd Brigade captured the old French fort near Khe Sanh village after a three-day battle. 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. A decision then had to be made by the American high command to commit more of the limited manpower in I Corps to the defense of Khe Sanh or to abandon the base. SOG Reconnaissance teams also reported finding tank tracks in the area surrounding Co Roc mountain. 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. 216217. [127] At 08:00 the following day, Operation Scotland was officially terminated. [112][113][114] In addition, over 100,000 tons of bombs were dropped until mid-April by aircraft of the USAF, US Navy and Marines onto the area surrounding Khe Sanh. 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. [34] The heaviest action took place near Dak To, in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum. [148], Regardless, the PAVN had gained control of a strategically important area, and its lines of communication extended further into South Vietnam. The PAVN 130mm and 152mm artillery pieces, and 122mm rockets, had a longer range than the Marine artillery support which consisted of 105mm and 155mm howitzers. At 0330 hours, soldiers of the NVA 6th Battalion, 2nd Regiment, 325C Division, attacked the Marines on Hill 861. 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. 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. It was the only time Americans abandoned a major combat base because of enemy pressure. [156] Correspondent Michael Herr reported on the battle, and his account would inspire the surreal "Do Long Bridge" scene in the film Apocalypse Now, which emphasized the anarchy of the war. The Battle of Khe Sanh's initial action cost the Marines 12 killed, 17 wounded and two missing. This is the battles end date from the North Vietnamese perspective. The Hill Fights (also known as the First Battle of Khe Sanh) was a battle during the Vietnam War between the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) 325C Division and United States Marines on several hill masses north of the Khe Sanh Combat Base in northwest Qung Tr Province . 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. [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.