Martin Antonenko
A Fixture
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2008
- Messages
- 8,994
Both sides complain - until today! - the victory for themselves...!
On January 21, 1968, North Vietnamese regular troops near Khe Sanh (South Vietnam) took US soldiers under mortar fire for the first time...:
Thus begins the battles that have gone down in history as the "Battle of Khe Sanh"!
Along with the Tet Offensive and the Battle of Huế, the Siege of Khe Sanh is considered one of the most important military operations during the Vietnam War.
The US military had entrenched themselves heavily in the so-called "Combat Base Khe Sanh" - even deep trenches had been dug in advance.
About 6,000 Marines and Special Forces held the base. The US-Americans were supported by their air force.
Some units of the South Vietnamese Army, which was allied with the USA, also took part in the fighting.
The troops were supplied from the air...:
The US high command wanted to give up a "worthwhile target" in Khe Sanh and deliberately provoke the North Vietnamese into an attack.
Essentially, it was a repeat of the (then disastrously failed) French strategy at Điện Biên Pủ (March 13 to May 8, 1954) of creating an isolated heavily fortified base so as to challenge the enemy to attack, and then by all means to decimate.
That succeeded!
The North Vietnamese General Vo Gguyen Giap(who had also been commander in Điện Biên Pủ)...
... unleashed about 20,000 regulars on Khe Sanh, who, despite heavy artillery fire and several assaults, did not succeed in taking the base.
When the battle ended on April 8, 1968 (the date the US-Americans call it!), the North Vietnamese had failed to capture Khe Sanh.
On the US side, 199 soldiers died in Khe Sanh (plus two who are still missing today!), and 43 South Vietnamese.
According to US publications, the North Vietnamese army lost "up to 10,000 men".
Therefore, the USA side claimed victory for themselves!
After the battle, however, the USA gave up the Khe Sanh base - the date of the evacuation, July 9, 1968, is what the North Vietnamese call the end of the battle - and claim victory for themselves.
According to their statements, they also lost "only" 2,469 dead.
Who really won in Khe Sanh is probably not a military question, but an ideological one...
On January 21, 1968, North Vietnamese regular troops near Khe Sanh (South Vietnam) took US soldiers under mortar fire for the first time...:
Thus begins the battles that have gone down in history as the "Battle of Khe Sanh"!
Along with the Tet Offensive and the Battle of Huế, the Siege of Khe Sanh is considered one of the most important military operations during the Vietnam War.
The US military had entrenched themselves heavily in the so-called "Combat Base Khe Sanh" - even deep trenches had been dug in advance.
About 6,000 Marines and Special Forces held the base. The US-Americans were supported by their air force.
Some units of the South Vietnamese Army, which was allied with the USA, also took part in the fighting.
The troops were supplied from the air...:
The US high command wanted to give up a "worthwhile target" in Khe Sanh and deliberately provoke the North Vietnamese into an attack.
Essentially, it was a repeat of the (then disastrously failed) French strategy at Điện Biên Pủ (March 13 to May 8, 1954) of creating an isolated heavily fortified base so as to challenge the enemy to attack, and then by all means to decimate.
That succeeded!
The North Vietnamese General Vo Gguyen Giap(who had also been commander in Điện Biên Pủ)...
... unleashed about 20,000 regulars on Khe Sanh, who, despite heavy artillery fire and several assaults, did not succeed in taking the base.
When the battle ended on April 8, 1968 (the date the US-Americans call it!), the North Vietnamese had failed to capture Khe Sanh.
On the US side, 199 soldiers died in Khe Sanh (plus two who are still missing today!), and 43 South Vietnamese.
According to US publications, the North Vietnamese army lost "up to 10,000 men".
Therefore, the USA side claimed victory for themselves!
After the battle, however, the USA gave up the Khe Sanh base - the date of the evacuation, July 9, 1968, is what the North Vietnamese call the end of the battle - and claim victory for themselves.
According to their statements, they also lost "only" 2,469 dead.
Who really won in Khe Sanh is probably not a military question, but an ideological one...
