The most tragic war between the United States and Vietnam is recognized as the most tragic battle between the United States and Vietnam.

In January 1968, the U.S. Army and the North Vietnamese Army launched a battle for the Khe Sanh area. The Battle of Khe Sanh lasted for six months and ended with the withdrawal of U.S. troops and the reoccupation of Khe Sanh by the North Vietnamese.

For North Vietnam, although there were heavy casualties in Khe Sanh, the victory in this battle was a landmark event in the fight against the US military. Therefore, the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, a representative battle in the Vietnam Anti-French War, was compared, and the Battle of Khe Sanh was called the "American Dien Bien Phu."

In terms of casualties, economic losses and From a strategic and tactical level, the U.S. military can also be said to be the "winner" of the Khe Sanh Battle, and the main reason for the U.S. military's withdrawal was that the U.S. government re-adjusted its entire Vietnam War policy amid domestic anti-war voices.

How did this battle, in which both sides considered themselves "victory", happen?

Since the conflict between North and South Vietnam began in 1961, the Kennedy administration has led the US military to escalate the war step by step. The United States assisted the South Vietnamese government in waging war against the Soviet-backed North Vietnamese government through an undeclared war.

It is not difficult to see that the Vietnam War was similar to the Korean War. It was an extension of the confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United States, and it was also a hot war in the Cold War between the great powers at that time.

After seven years of hard fighting, the US military, which had the upper hand in equipment and supplies, was still unable to eliminate North Vietnam. When the Battle of Khe Sanh began, the US military's enthusiasm for the Vietnam War had been exhausted.

So, where is Khe Sanh, and why did this battle become the end of the Vietnam War?

First of all, the strategic importance of Khe Sanh is mainly based on its geographical location.

Khe Sanh is about 24 kilometers away from the demilitarized zone between North and South Vietnam in the north, and 40 kilometers away from the "Ho Chi Minh Trail", the largest supply line of the North Vietnamese Army. It is about 10 kilometers away from the Laos border in the west, which is conducive to preventing enemy infiltration in the west; Khe Sanh itself is also the capital of the northwestern region of Quang Thanh Province in Vietnam.

General William Westmoreland, the commander of the United States in Vietnam, personally ordered the construction of the Khe Sanh area into a patrol base to prevent Laotian infiltration and harass Laotian enemy forces. Not only that, the US military also established an airport here specifically for reconnaissance of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. This is also the location of the U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam-Research and Observation Group. The main western force of the U.S. Marine Corps is stationed here, which has overall responsibility for the five northernmost provinces of South Vietnam.

Before 1967, Khe Sanh had become an important strategic base for the US military.

However, not everyone shared General Westmoreland's views. At that time, some commanders pointed out that Khe Sanh, as a defensive base, had no significant effect on the threat of enemy penetration because North Vietnamese troops could easily bypass Khe Sanh. The Xishan base is too isolated and lacks a logistical base to supplement it, making it easy to be besieged.

Soon, the commander’s prophecy came true.

In early January 1968, more than 20,000 North Vietnamese troops gathered near the Khe Sanh area, preparing to surround the U.S. military stationed at the Khe Sanh base.

Previously, North Vietnam often went south to conduct harassing operations. Since the purpose was unclear, the US military responded with very neutral defensive counterattacks.

Faced with this attack by the North Vietnamese Army, the U.S. military still fought steadily.

Until the early morning of the 21st, under the cover of darkness, the North Vietnamese People's Army, with the cooperation of 16 PT-76 amphibious tanks, launched a surprise attack on Highland 861 outside the Khe Sanh base. Hundreds of mortars and rockets flew towards the base, and the US military ammunition depot and other defense measures were immediately razed to the ground. The bombing lasted for several hours, causing dozens of American casualties.

At the same time, the North Vietnamese Army also bombed the main base of Khe Sanh, the Lao Camp to the west, Khe Sanh Village to the south, and other camps. Whenever the U.S. military tries to suppress tanks and mortars with firepower, it encounters more violent attacks.

In one day, nearly 1,500 tons of artillery shells fell on the US military camp, and North Vietnamese soldiers also poured into the Khe Sanh base like a tide. The first line of defense of the US defenders was quickly breached.

The situation took a turn for the worse, and the U.S. commander in Vietnam, General Westmoreland, began to consider the use of nuclear weapons. According to confidential documents later released by the U.S. Air Force office: "In late January, General Westmoreland warned that if the situation near the DMZ and Khe Sanh deteriorated sharply, nuclear or chemical weapons might be used."

But when the Air Force Chief of Staff requested nuclear weapons authorization from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, this recommendation was not adopted.

As mentioned above, Khe Sanh, as a prominent position of the US military, lacks strong supply routes. As the North Vietnamese army continues to break through the defenses, it will soon fall into the dilemma of being surrounded. Moreover, the North Vietnamese Army was particularly good at using the terrain to encircle points for reinforcements. It was difficult for distant reinforcements to establish contact with the interior of the Khe Sanh base.

In order to get out of trouble, the US military began to launch what may be the largest air assistance plan in the history of war.

This overwhelming air support became the key to the success of the US military's defense.

First, the U.S. Air Force launched "Operation Niagara", which focused on fire support.

Since the attack on January 21, the Marine Corps at Khe Sanh Base has directly coordinated air assistance with the US Air Force Air Support Center (DASC).

On average, 350 fighter-bombers, 60 B-52s, and 30 observation aircraft conduct intensive bombing raids near the base every day.

How terrible is the firepower of the U.S. Air Force?

According to one North Vietnamese prisoner of war, his entire regiment lost three-quarters of its strength in just one B-52 raid.

Next, the U.S. Army and the North Vietnamese Army began to compete for and defend the highlands and hills near Khe Sanh, entering into daily artillery and mortar bombardment sessions.

The intensive defensive counterattack caused the US military to consume extremely quickly, from 60 tons per day to 185 tons per day. By this time, the main supply route in Khe Sanh had been occupied by the North Vietnamese. Air support became the only reliable option.

But the weather at that time was very bad. The warm, hot and humid climate kept the Xishan area shrouded in clouds and fog, and visibility was poor. If the aircraft attempted to land, they were greeted by North Vietnamese anti-aircraft fire. Even if it lands successfully, it will become a living target for North Vietnam and it will be difficult to take off again.

As a result, all transport aircraft can only use low-altitude parachute drops to achieve supplies. Soon, the U.S. military in Khe Sanh received powerful artillery reinforcements, as well as artillery, tanks, recoilless rifles and other supplies of various calibers.

Relying on its powerful air force, the US military began to fire artillery fire at the Vietnamese army regardless of the cost.

According to U.S. military statistics, the total air support force for the Khe Sanh Battle dispatched approximately 20,000 aircraft.

From January to mid-April alone, U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps aircraft*** dropped more than 100,000 tons of bombs on the Khe Sanh area. You must know that the nuclear bomb dropped by the United States on Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945, was equivalent to a bomb yield of approximately 13,000 tons.

This is equivalent to dropping approximately 1,300 tons of bombs per day, which means that each of the 20,000 North Vietnamese soldiers fighting was hit by the equivalent of 5 tons of bombs.

Why did the US military, which was in an advantageous position in the war, finally choose to withdraw?

The North Vietnamese attack on Khe Sanh itself was a cover for the "Tet Offensive".

While the U.S. military in Khe Sanh was under attack, the North Vietnamese Army launched the largest all-out war in the Vietnam War, targeting the Vietnamese government with swords. Although the Tet Offensive was unsuccessful, the North Vietnamese succeeded in dragging the U.S. government down. The increasing casualties of the US military and the endless domestic draft recruitment have shaken the American people's view of the war.

Even if it costs a high price to hold on to Khe Sanh, it will not have a decisive impact on the war situation in Vietnam.

Because the battle situation in Khe Sanh was very turbulent

In addition, the United States has been mired in the Vietnam War for a long time, and public opinion fluctuated. The local media in the United States also compared this battle with the "Battle of Dien Bien Phu" and believed that this battle was disastrous for the French. The U.S. government not only needs to reconsider its control of Khe Sanh, but also consider the Vietnam War from an overall perspective. necessity.

In response to such remarks, President Johnson, the then President of the United States, stated that "Khe Sanh will never become 'American Dien Bien Phu'" and ordered the U.S. military to protect Khe Sanh at all costs.

However, the tough attitude that has always been welcomed by the people has not played its due role.

A 1968 U.S. opinion poll showed that 20% of Americans turned from "hawks" to "doves."

In March of the same year, the number of people opposed to the war in the United States exceeded the number of people supporting the war for the first time. What makes Johnson even more troublesome is that the U.S. election is approaching, and the presidential candidate Hubert Humphrey nominated by his Democratic Party and the Democratic Party presidential candidate Richard Nixon are in a fierce battle.

Nixon sensed the change in public opinion, followed the "anti-war" rhetoric, and his support rate became higher and higher. Later, in 1973, Nixon officially ended the US war in Vietnam.

In order to win over voters and eliminate negative public opinion about the Vietnam War, Johnson decided to close the Khe Sanh base, which attracted the most public attention.

The evacuation of the Khe Sanh position was actually the precursor to the United States giving up the Vietnam War.

On April 1, the U.S. military began a land rescue plan for the Khe Sanh position - "Operation Pegasus." After three days of fighting, the U.S. military successfully occupied the village in southern Khe Sanh and successfully joined the reinforcements. Under strong firepower, the US military quickly achieved control of the highway and achieved an orderly evacuation.

At the same time as the evacuation, the US military completely cleared the defenses of the Khe Sanh base. All equipment and facilities that could be taken away were shoveled or cut and transported away by the air force. Everything that could not be taken away, such as buildings, tunnels, barbed wire, etc., was destroyed or damaged so as not to leave anything useful for the North Vietnamese Army.

On July 5, 1968, the Khe Sanh base was closed, and the Battle of Khe Sanh officially ended a few days later.

In this battle, 990 US troops died and about 4,500 were injured. North Vietnam suffered 2,441 killed and about 5,000 injured.

If we look at the military objectives of the war, North Vietnam did not achieve its goal of destroying US military bases, but the US military achieved successful defense. It is difficult to say that North Vietnam was the winner. From a longer-term perspective, it is also unreasonable to view the Battle of Khe Sanh as a U.S. military victory.

The famous American war correspondent Thomas Ricks once commented on the Battle of Khe Sanh: "Khe Sanh is engraved in the minds of many Americans as a symbol of meaningless sacrifice and chaotic tactics. This kind of sacrifice and chaos permeated the doomed Vietnam War."

For the North Vietnamese, however, the withdrawal of American troops was their victory.

Beginning on July 7, 1968, Hanoi Radio reported the "Victory of Khe Sanh" for five consecutive days. Not only the Vietnamese people, but also other Asian countries began to believe that the winner of this battle was not the United States, but North Vietnam. In terms of political propaganda and international reputation, North Vietnam was undoubtedly the winner of this war.

Bibliography:

"Victory in Vietnam: A History of the Vietnamese People's Army"

"Air Power and the Battle of Khe Sanh"

"The Battle of Khe Sanh"