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The question, known among American historians as the "riddle of Khe Sanh," has been summed up by John Prados and Ray Stubbe: "Either the Tet Offensive was a diversion intended to facilitate PAVN/VC preparations for a war-winning battle at Khe Sanh, or Khe Sanh was a diversion to mesmerize Westmoreland in the days before Tet."
It was the site of the Battle of Khe Sanh in early-1968, one of the bloodiest engagements of the Vietnam War. Khe Sanh was the location of a US Marine base, so it was often attacked by Viet Cong guerrillas as well as North Vietnamese regulars
On 20 April operational control of the Khe Sanh area passed to the 3rd Marine Regiment. [1]: 35 On 22 April 1967 SLF Bravo comprising 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines supported by HMM-164 had commenced Operation Beacon Star on the southern part of the Street Without Joy straddling Quảng Trị and Thừa Thiên Provinces against the Vietcong (VC) 6th Regiment and 810th and 812th Battalions.
The result was a military disaster, not only decimating the VC as an effective fighting force, but exposing much of their clandestine infrastructure. The Khe Sanh battle, while it did succeed in drawing a portion of American strength, was not sufficient to prevent or divert a strong US/ARVN response in the cities against the assaulting VC.
A C-130 takes off from Khe Sanh. The long and bloody Battle of Khe Sanh began with an assault by the PAVN on Khe Sanh Combat Base in northwestern Quảng Trị Province. The combatants were elements of the U.S. III Marine Amphibious Force (III MAF) and the ARVN against two to three PAVN division-size elements. [28]
At 01:01 6 June, 25 120 mm mortar rounds and 102 mm rockets hit Khe Sanh Combat Base. One hour later Hill 950 came under attack from the west and northeast by an unknown number of PAVN. The PAVN penetrated the position, but the defending Marines quickly forced them to withdraw, leaving 10 dead, one wounded and seven weapons.
In 1971, Khe Sanh was reactivated by the U.S. Army (Operation Dewey Canyon II) to support Operation Lam Son 719, the South Vietnamese invasion of Laos. On the night of 23 March a PAVN sapper attack on Khe Sanh resulted in 3 Americans killed and several aircraft and 2 ammunition dumps destroyed, PAVN losses were 14 killed and 1 captured. [4]
The Battle of Khe Sanh lasted for 77 days. Robert McNamara, a major proponent of the barrier strategy, left the Defense Department on February 29, 1968. In July 1968, General Abrams, the US commander in South Vietnam, ordered Khe Sanh and the surrounding area to be abandoned. The base was dismantled and all the infrastructure along Route 9 ...