Khe Sanh
From January 21 to July 11, 1968, the United States military defended the remote outpost of Khe Sanh Combat Base (KSCB) and its nearby hills against a persistent North Vietnamese attack. The Marines manning the KSCB were supported from the air with both bombing and resupply. Once the KSCB was placed under siege by the North Vietnamese, US Air Force bombers dropped over 100,000 tons of bombs on the North Vietnamese positions and artillery in a campaign named Operation Niagara. In April a relief column consisting of US Army and Marines as well as South Vietnamese troops broke through and relieved the siege, though attacks on the base continued.
Several senior Marine officers had previously argued that the defense of the isolated Marine outpost was senseless, and the purpose of the outpost ludicrous. It was believed the KSCB would be able to launch attacks on infiltrators along the Ho Chi Minh trail, these officers, including General Lowell English, assistant commander of the 3rd Marines, pointed out infiltrators could simply bypass the base. Keeping the base supplied was particularly difficult during the monsoon season. Westmoreland ordered the base defended and sent the relief column, called Operation Pegasus.
Once the relief column lifted the siege it was decided to abandon the base, which remained under artillery and mortar fire as well as sporadic infantry assaults. The Marines destroyed as much of the base as possible while remaining under fire, beginning in June. By July 5 the base was officially declared closed and the remaining Marines were evacuated. Marines remained in some support positions on nearby hills and fighting continued until July 11, when the last of the Marines were evacuated. The North Vietnamese occupied the position and declared victory.
Since the Marines had successfully withstood the siege, in fierce and bloody fighting, and since the relief operation had broken through Westmoreland declared the siege of Khe Sanh to be an American victory, despite the fact that the defended position had been abandoned under fire and occupied by the enemy. Westmoreland claimed victory because the decision to abandon the base was made after it had been successfully defended and the body count indicated an American victory. While Khe Sanh was under attack and throughout the siege, the Tet Offensive was underway, and Westmoreland claimed that Tet’s purpose was to draw attention away from Khe Sanh.
It was President Johnson who ordered the KSCB be held regardless of the costs. Being battered on all sides from the more widely reported at the time Tet Offensive is what led to the massive operations launched to hold the base, rather than evacuate. After the base was abandoned the media was informed that the base had become unnecessary to the American war effort due to a change of tactics on the part of the North Vietnamese. The Marine defense of the base for six months, supported by Army troops, and Air Force and Navy bombers, resulted in more than 1,500 American dead, including 11 Marines killed during the final evacuation of the base.