Vietnam war documentary:The bloody battle of khe sanh - 77 days under siege https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4TfGvFgmxY The 1968 Battle of Khe Sanh was the longest, deadliest and most controversial of the Vietnam War, pitting the U.S. Marines and their allies against the North Vietnamese Army. Both sides have published official histories of the battle, and while these histories agree the fighting took place at Khe Sanh, they disagree on virtually every other aspect of it. Khe Sanh Combat Base was erected near the border with Laos in western Quang Tri province in 1962 by Green Berets. The base featured an airstrip and was atop a plateau “in the shadow of Dong Tri mountain,” overlooking a tributary of the Quang Tri River, according to official Marine Corps histories. The surrounding area featured piedmont hills, uninhabited jungle with impenetrable undergrowth, mountain trails hidden by tree canopies at 60-70 feet above the floor, tall elephant grass and bamboo thickets. It was a natural infiltration route into the south and the densely populated cities on the eastern coast of Quang Tri. United States Military Assistance Command Vietnam commander Army Gen. W.C. Westmoreland said that the base was strategically important. The North Vietnamese hoped to establish a “liberation government” just south of the DMZ and they wanted to control the area to launch attacks into the south and sow unrest. If they wanted to push south from bases in Laos, Khe Sanh stood directly in their path. In addition, by fighting in a generally unpopulated region, there would be few restrictions on tactics and weapons. “Another factor favoring the decision to hold Khe Sanh was the enemy’s determination to take it,” Westmoreland wrote. “Our defense of the area would tie down large numbers of North Vietnamese troops which otherwise could move against the vulnerable populated areas whose security was the heart of the Vietnamese pacification program.” The first substantial Marine units arrived at the base in spring 1966. The first attacks on the base happened a year later, and the NVA were repelled. During what would come to be known as the “Hill Fights,” the Marines secured three surrounding hills and built combat outposts. The base remained relatively quiet for the remainder of the year, according to Bravo skipper retired Lt. Col. Ken Pipes, then a captain. He arrived at Khe Sanh in September 1967. 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. These forces, including support troops, totaled 20,000 to 30,000. The Marine garrison was also reinforced, and on November 1, 1967, Operation Scotland began. The Marine Corps casualty reporting system was based on named operations and not geographic location. Consequently, and unknown at the time, Operation Scotland became the starting point of the Battle of Khe Sanh in terms of Marine casualty reporting. By the middle of January 1968, some 6,000 Marines and Army troops occupied the Khe Sanh Combat Base and its surrounding positions. Khe Sanh was situated on Route 9, the major east-west highway. Because of washed-out bridges and heavy enemy activity, however, the only way for Americans to get to Khe Sanh was by helicopter or airplane. During the darkness of January 20-21, the NVA launched a series of coordinated attacks against American positions. At 0330 hours, soldiers of the NVA 6th Battalion, 2nd Regiment, 325C Division, attacked the Marines on Hill 861. Among the dead Marines was 18-year-old Pfc Curtis Bugger. About two hours later, an NVA artillery barrage scored a hit on the main ammunition dump at Khe Sanh Combat Base, killing Lance Corp. Jerry Stenberg and other Marines. At about 0640 hours the NVA 7th Battalion, 66th Regiment, 304th Division, attacked the Huong Hoa District headquarters in Khe Sanh village. This fighting was heavy, involving South Vietnamese militia as well as U.S. Army MACV advisers and Marines attached to a Combined Action Company platoon. 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. The monumental Battle of Khe Sanh had begun, but the January 21 starting date is essentially arbitrary in terms of casualty reporting. Five Marines were killed on January 19 and 20, while on reconnaissance patrols. The Marine defense of Khe Sanh, Operation Scotland, officially ended on March 31. The Marines knew that their withdrawal from Khe Sanh would present a propaganda victory for Hanoi. On June 28, a Communist spokesman claimed the Americans had been forced to retreat and that Khe Sanh was the “gravest tactical and strategic defeat” for the U.S. in the war. It was the only time Americans abandoned a major combat base because of enemy pressure.

• published: 26 Jun 2015
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