Johnson agreed with Westmoreland’s argument that the base should be held at all costs, and U.S. Though considered a military victory, the riveting global news coverage of the battle (including the cover of Newsweek) and the shock of the Tet Offensive had public opinion turn sharply against the war and in June 1968, mere months after the bloody battle, General Westmoreland ordered the base to be deserted and destroyed.President Lyndon B.
It managed to draw attention and resources away from the south, while the Tet Offensive strained the ability to defend Khe Sanh.
Its start 10 days before the surprise Tet Offensive was no coincidence. Overall the battle was a diversionary tactic. The official number is around 1,600 but it is more likely that up to 15,000 died fighting. The battle ended when B-52s carpet bombed the trenches and they were able to retake Highway 9.Ĭaption reads: “US troops are praying for deliverance from hellish Khe Sanh, 1968.”Īlthough the Americans could call it a victory, 205 Marines were killed in action and more than 1,600 were wounded this does not include the casualties of other supporting operations during the siege, which would greatly increase the numbers. The situation became desperate fast, with constant shellfire, skirmishes of hand-to-hand combat, rations depleted, underground barracks deep in mud and filth and casualties unable to be evacuated, all with the knowledge that at any moment they would be overrun – the NVA were building miles of bunkers and trenches leading to the base. Some 20,000 NVA forces surrounded and lay siege to 5,000 marines and 1,000 South Vietnam soldiers, who could only be resupplied by air which NVA anti-aircraft prevented.
Khe Sanh had eerie similarities to the battle of Dien Bien Phu – which saw the French defeated – and so Khe Sanh was to be defended and held at any cost in what was called Operation Scotland.
It was the beginning of one of the longest battles of the war, drawing intense, gripping coverage by the media and obsessive attention by President Lyndon B. The siege began on January 21, 1968, with an attack on Hill 881 and 861 followed by a massive artillery bombardment of the base that included a direct hit on a main ammunition store which instantly killed 18 soldiers, wounded 40 and blew up 90% of the base’s artillery and mortar rounds.
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