khesanh

The Battle of Khe Sanh

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Airstrike! 500 pound bombs impact on NVA trenches outside the wire at Khe Sanh.

A C-130 transport plane burns after being struck by enemy artillery and veering off the runway at Khe Sanh.

Marine trenches at Khe Sanh sheltered occupants from sniper fire and artillery barrages.



	Prior to the beginning of the siege of Khe Sanh, the combat base, located in the mountainous area just south of the DMZ, was regarded by Marines as a sort of “in country R&R center”, a place to relax and unwind after serving at Con Thien or Plieku. After the siege began on January 21st, 1968, Khe Sanh would be regarded by the Marines that served there as “Hell on Earth” The entire country of South Vietnam was engulfed by the Tet offensive of 1968, coinciding with the Vietnamese Lunar New Year Celebration. From the DMZ to the streets of Saigon, the VietCong and North Vietnamese Army launched surprise attacks on US and South Vietnamese military targets. The Marines combat base at Khe Sanh, located just south of the DMZ and west of the Laotian border was a tempting target for the NVA, hoping to achieve another Dien Bien Phu style victory and force an American withdrawal from South Vietnam. However, unlike the successful siege in 1954, the attack on Khe Sanh would result in terrible losses for the NVA. American rotary and fixed wing assets would pound NVA positions mercilessly when the weather was clear, and Marine artillery from Khe Sanh and surrounding bases would answer and NVA fire with a torrent of steel. Although the Marines suffered in deplorable conditions due to the weather, sniper fire and NVA artillery, they were kept well supplied, something the French were not able to do in 1954. Marines lived in underground bunkers and traveled the length and breadth of the base in trenches, leaving cover only long enough to unload cargo and supplies, or answer NVA fire. To expose oneself above ground for too long would bring fire from well-hidden NVA snipers, or artillery positions in the surrounding hills. Enemy troops dug a network of trenches, attempting to get close enough to launch an attack that would breach the wire of the base, but Navy and Air Force F-4 Phantom II fighters and AC-47 “Puff the Magic Dragon” gunships hampered their efforts. B-52 bombers from Thailand and Guam hammered the surrounding hills with 500 and 1000 pound bombs in an effort to destroy the NVA artillery that harassed the base. The siege continued through March of 1968 when the US Army launched Operation Pegasus, and the 3rd Marine Division and the Army’s 1st Cavalry Division moved towards Khe Sanh. By April, ARVN Rangers were air landed at Khe Sanh to begin relieving the Marines. The siege proved to be a media success for the North Vietnamese, but a complete failure from a military standpoint.