Battle of Khe Sanh Campaign.Battle for the Hills

DATE: 06/11/2025

TIME (GMT): 19:00

ERA: Vietnam

MAP(S): Khe Sanh

TYPE: COOP

TEAMSPEAK: ts1.biaarma.com

GAME: Arma 3

EVENT: Official

AUTHOR(S): Aris for Brothers in Arms Community

SLOTS: 62 / 88

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he Battle of Khe Sanh (21 January – 9 July 1968) was conducted in the Khe Sanh area of northwestern Quang Trị Province, Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), during the Vietnam War. 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, the United States Air Force (USAF) and the RAAF, as well as a small number of Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) troops. These were pitted against two to three divisional-size elements of the North Vietnamese Peoples Army of Vietnam (PAVN).

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, but when the PAVN was found to be moving major forces into the area, the U.S. force at KSCB was reinforced. On 21 January 1968, the PAVN surrounded and besieged the Marine base. In the ensuing five months, KSCB and the hilltop outposts around it were subjected to daily PAVN artillery, mortar, and rocket attacks, and several infantry assaults. More than 274 U.S. troops were killed and more than 2,500 wounded.

To support the Marine base, the USAF undertook Operation Niagara, a massive aerial bombardment campaign. In the first three months, over 114,810 tons of bombs were dropped by US & allied aircraft and over 158,900 artillery rounds were fired in defense of the base. U.S forces lost one KC-130, three C-123 and 35 helicopters, while 23 aircraft and 123 helicopters were damaged.Throughout the campaign, US forces used the latest technology to locate and target PAVN forces, and logistical innovations to support the base.

In March 1968, a combined Marine–Army/ARVN task force launched an overland relief expedition (Operation Pegasus) that eventually broke through to the Marines at Khe Sanh.

American commanders considered the defense of Khe Sanh a success, but shortly after the siege was lifted, decided to dismantle the base rather than risk similar battles in the future. On 19 June 1968, the evacuation and destruction of KSCB began. Amid heavy shelling, the Marines attempted to salvage what they could before destroying what remained as they were evacuated. Minor attacks continued before the base was officially closed on 5 July. Marines remained around Hill 689, though, and fighting in the vicinity continued until 11 July until they were finally withdrawn, bringing the battle to a close.

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. Historians have observed that the Battle of Khe Sanh may have distracted American and South Vietnamese attention from the buildup of Viet Cong (VC) forces in the south before the early 1968 Tet Offensive. Nevertheless, the US commander during the battle, General William Westmoreland, maintained that the true intention of Tet was to distract forces from Khe Sanh.

Area

The village of Khe Sanh was the seat of government of Huong Hoa district, an area of Bru Montagnard villages and coffee plantations about 11 km from the Laotian frontier on Route 9, the northernmost transverse road in South Vietnam. The badly-deteriorated Route 9 ran from the coastal region through the western highlands and crossed the border into Laos. 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 camp then became a Special Forces outpost of the Civilian Irregular Defense Groups, which were to keep watch on PAVN infiltration along the border and to protect the local population.

In the winter of 1964, Khe Sanh became the location of a launch site for the highly-classified Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group. The site was first established near the village and later moved to the French fort.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.

Marino stated that by 1966, Westmoreland had begun to consider Khe Sanh as part of a larger strategy. 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.He gave the order for US Marines to take up positions around 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.

The plateau camp was permanently manned by the US Marines in 1967, when they established an outpost next to the airstrip. 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.The Marines defensive system stretched below the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) from the coast, along Route 9, to Khe Sanh. 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.

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.Westmoreland regarded the choice as quite simple. In his memoirs, he listed the reasons for a continued effort.Khe Sanh could serve as a patrol base for blocking enemy infiltration from Laos along Route 9 as a base for SOG operations to harass the enemy in Laos as an airstrip for reconnaissance planes surveying the Ho Chi Minh Trail as the western anchor for defenses south of the DMZ and as an eventual jump-off point for ground operations to cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

Not all leading Marine officers, however, had the same opinion. Cushman, the new III MAF commander, supported Westmoreland perhaps because he wanted to mend Army/Marine relations after the departure of Walt.Other concerns raised included the assertion that the real danger to I Corps was from a direct threat to Quảng Trị City and other urban areas, a defense would be pointless as a threat to infiltration since PAVN troops could easily bypass Khe Sanh, the base was too isolated, and the Marines had neither the helicopter resources, the troops, nor the logistical bases for such operations. Additionally, Shore argued that the weather was another critical factor because the poor visibility and low overcasts attendant to the monsoon season made such operations hazardous.

On the night of the fall of Lang Vei, three companies of the PAVN 101D Regiment moved into jump-off positions to attack an outpost west of the Combat Base held by 66 men of Company A, 1st Platoon, 1/9 Marines. At 04.15 on 8 February under cover of fog and a mortar barrage, the PAVN penetrated the perimeter, overrunning most of the position and pushing the remaining 30 defenders into the southwestern portion of the defenses. For some unknown reason, the PAVN troops did not press their advantage and eliminate the pocket, instead throwing a steady stream of grenades at the Marines.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.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.

On 23 February, KSCB received its worst bombardment of the entire battle. 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. Casualties from the bombardment were 10 killed and 51 wounded. Two days later, US troops detected PAVN trenches running due north to within 25 m of the base perimeter.The majority of these were around the southern and southeastern corners of the perimeter, and formed part of a system that would be developed throughout the end of February and into March until they were ready to be used to launch an attack, providing cover for troops to advance to jumping-off points close to the perimeter.These tactics were reminiscent of those employed against the French at Dien Bien Phu in 1954, particularly in relation to entrenching tactics and artillery placement, and the realization assisted US planners in their targeting decisions.
By airborne landing near the enemy lines 1^st Battalion 9^th Marines Regiment must relieve the siege of Hills 881 and 861 and then return to Khe Sanh Base to strengthen its defense