Battle of Khe Sanh

The Battle of Khe Sanh was a battle of the Vietnam War, which was fought between the III Marine Amphibious Force, reinforced with South Vietnamese Army units, and three divisions of the North Vietnamese Army, from January 21 to April 8, 1968. It took place in Khe Sanh, in Quang Tri Province (northwest), South Vietnam, during the Tet Offensive. The outcome was a tactical victory for the American forces.

Lying in a valley and surrounded by a series of jungle-covered hills, Khe Sanh was a United States Marine Corps outpost close to an airstrip, which had been built in September 1962. In 1964, before the Marine Corps base had been established, Khe Sanh became the location of a launch site for the highly-classified Military Assistance Command, Vietnam Studies and Observations Group; From there, reconnaissance teams were launched into Laos to explore and gather important intelligence about the North Vietnamese logistical system known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

Below, a US Marines' 105mm M101A gun pounding North Vietnamese units closing in on the base.

The American command in Saigon initially believed that combat operations around Khe Sanh during the summer of 1967 were just part of a series of minor North Vietnamese offensives in the border regions. Nevertheless, that view of the military situation was changed when it was discovered that the North Vietnamese Army was moving major forces into the area during the fall and winter. As a result, a build-up of Marine forces took place and actions around Khe Sanh started when the Marine base was isolated.

Summary

The Battle of Khe Sanh began at 00:30 hours on January 21, 1968, when Hill 861, which was close to the outpost, was attacked by approximately 300 North Vietnamese troops. Nevertheless, the Marines were prepared. The North Vietnamese infantry still managed to breach the perimeter of the defenses and were only driven back after severe close-quarters fighting. The main base was then subjected to an intense mortar and rocket barrage. Hundreds of mortar rounds and 122mm rockets slammed into the base, leveling most of the above-ground structures. One of the first enemy shells set off an explosion in the main ammunition dump.

A massive air bombing campaign was launched by the US Air Force to support the Marine base during the Battle of Khe Sanh. The US bombing used the latest technological advances in order to locate the communist forces for targeting. The logistical effort to support KSCB, once it was isolated overland, demanded the implementation of other tactical innovations in order to keep the Marines supplied. Thus, in March 1968, an overland relief expedition (Operation Pegasus) was launched by a combined Marine/Army/South Vietnamese task force that eventually broke through to the Marines at Khe Sanh. The battle was a tactical victory for the Marines as the communist attacks were succesfully repelled.

Battle of Khe Sanh (Footage/Video)