Khe Sanh: 77 Days Under Siege

For 77 days in early 1968, approximately 6,000 United States Marines and allied troops held an isolated combat base in the mountains of South Vietnam while surrounded by a much larger North Vietnamese force.

Day and night, enemy artillery, rockets and mortars tore into the base. Aircraft attempting to land came under fire. Marines stationed on the surrounding hills sometimes went days without receiving food or water. Every trench, bunker and supply position existed within range of North Vietnamese guns hidden across the border in Laos and in the mountains surrounding the valley.

The Battle of Khe Sanh became one of the longest and most closely watched confrontations of the Vietnam War. American leaders feared it could become another Dien Bien Phu—the 1954 battle in which Vietnamese forces surrounded and defeated a large French garrison.

This time, however, the position held.

An Isolated Base Near Laos

Khe Sanh Combat Base was located in northwestern South Vietnam, approximately seven miles from the Laotian border and south of the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Vietnam.

The base occupied a plateau near Route 9, one of the few east-west roads in the region. Its location allowed American forces to observe North Vietnamese movement near the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the massive network used to move troops and supplies through Laos and into South Vietnam.

The airstrip at Khe Sanh also provided a base for patrols and operations near the border.

The surrounding terrain was dominated by steep hills, deep valleys, thick vegetation and frequent fog. Anyone occupying the high ground could observe and fire upon the combat base below. Marines therefore established defensive positions on several surrounding hills, including Hills 861, 881 South, 950 and other nearby elevations.

Khe Sanh was strategically useful, but it was also dangerously isolated.

The Hill Fights

Heavy fighting around Khe Sanh did not begin in 1968.

During the spring of 1967, Marines fought a series of savage engagements known as the Hill Fights. North Vietnamese Army troops had established positions on Hills 861, 881 North and 881 South, overlooking approaches to the combat base.

Marines attacked through dense vegetation against an enemy occupying fortified positions. The fighting lasted from late April into May and produced heavy casualties on both sides.

Marine artillery and airstrikes eventually helped force the North Vietnamese from the hills. The Marines occupied several of the important heights and established fortified outposts.

The Hill Fights were an early warning. The North Vietnamese were moving large conventional units into the Khe Sanh region and preparing for a much larger battle.

The Enemy Returns

By January 1968, American intelligence indicated that several North Vietnamese divisions were moving toward Khe Sanh.

The base was reinforced by Marines from the 26th Marine Regiment under Col. David E. Lownds. Marine infantry, artillery and support personnel prepared defensive positions while engineers and Navy Seabees strengthened bunkers and repaired the airstrip.

President Lyndon B. Johnson and Gen. William Westmoreland, commander of American forces in Vietnam, became intensely concerned about the base. Johnson reportedly had a scale model of Khe Sanh constructed at the White House so he could follow the developing battle.

Senior Marine commanders were less enthusiastic about defending the isolated position. They understood Khe Sanh’s value but questioned whether holding the base justified the risk of trapping thousands of Marines in a remote valley.

Westmoreland believed the North Vietnamese concentration presented an opportunity. If the enemy committed large forces around Khe Sanh, American artillery and airpower could destroy them away from major population centers.

The stage was set for a major confrontation.

The Siege Begins

The battle erupted during the early morning hours of January 21, 1968.

North Vietnamese artillery, rockets and mortars struck Khe Sanh Combat Base. One enemy round hit the base’s main ammunition storage area, setting off a tremendous series of explosions.

Thousands of artillery shells, mortar rounds and rockets began detonating as the ammunition dump burned. Clouds of smoke rose above the base while Marines rushed to rescue the wounded, fight fires and move surviving supplies away from the destruction.

Much of the ammunition and fuel needed to defend Khe Sanh was destroyed during the opening bombardment.

At nearly the same time, North Vietnamese troops attacked the Marine position on Hill 861. Marines fought them off in close combat, but the attack confirmed that the long-expected battle had begun.

Khe Sanh was under siege.

Life Under Constant Fire

North Vietnamese forces dug artillery positions into the surrounding hills and inside Laos, where American ground forces were generally prohibited from attacking.

Some enemy guns were protected inside caves and rolled out only long enough to fire. After launching several rounds, their crews pulled the weapons back under cover before American aircraft or Marine artillery could respond.

Incoming fire became part of daily life at Khe Sanh. During the heaviest bombardments, more than 1,000 rounds could strike the base in a single day. On February 23, the North Vietnamese fired approximately 1,300 artillery, rocket and mortar rounds into Marine positions.

Marines lived in trenches and reinforced bunkers covered with sandbags and steel runway matting. They learned to recognize the sounds of different enemy weapons and the warning cries announcing incoming fire.

Simply moving across the base was dangerous. A Marine leaving a bunker to obtain food, carry ammunition or deliver a message could be killed by a single mortar round.

Rats entered the bunkers and trenches. The red dirt turned to mud when it rained and became choking dust when it dried. Smoke from burning fuel, trash and explosions hung over the base.

Sleep came in short periods between bombardments, patrols and alerts.

The Outposts on the Hills

Some of the most difficult conditions were experienced by Marines stationed on the surrounding hill positions.

These outposts were essential because they prevented North Vietnamese troops from occupying the high ground and directing fire into the main base. However, the hill positions were isolated and difficult to resupply.

Helicopters bringing ammunition, food and water had to fly through enemy fire. Pilots often had only seconds to land, unload their supplies, pick up casualties and escape.

After several helicopters were shot down or damaged, Marine aviators developed a coordinated resupply system known as the “Super Gaggle.”

Jets attacked enemy gun positions while artillery and mortars fired suppression missions. Other aircraft laid smoke screens around the landing zone. Groups of helicopters then rushed toward the hill, delivered their ca