Siege of Khe Sanh 1968
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 21 January 1968 – 9 July 1968 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1968 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | Post-1945 (1946 onwards) | derived from year |
| Location | Vietnam | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Asia | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Vietnam War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | People's Army of Vietnam, United States | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 16.6539, 106.7242 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Khe Sanh (21 January – 9 July 1968) was conducted in the Khe Sanh area of northwestern Quảng Trị Province, Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), during the Vietnam War. The main forces defending Khe Sanh Combat Base (KSCB) were a regiment of the United States Marine Corps and a battalion of Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) troops. These were pitted against two to three divisional-size elements of the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN).
The US command in Saigon initially believed that combat operations around KSCB during 1967 were part of a series of minor PAVN offensives in the border regions, but when the PAVN was found to be moving major forces into the area, the U.S. force at KSCB was reinforced. On 21 January 1968, the PAVN surrounded and besieged the Marine base. In the ensuing five months, KSCB and the hilltop outposts around it were subjected to daily PAVN artillery, mortar, and rocket attacks, and several infantry assaults. More than 274 U.S. troops were killed and more than 2,500 wounded.
To support the Marine base, the USAF undertook Operation Niagara, a massive aerial bombardment campaign.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Khe Sanh (revision 1378960885), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Lang Vei 1968 · 6 km
- Battle of Ban Houei Sane 1968 · 20 km
- First Battle of Quảng Trị 1972 · 27 km
- Second Battle of Quảng Trị 1972 · 27 km
- Battle of Dai Do 1968 · 46 km
- Battle of Quang Tri (1968) 1968 · 50 km
Other battles of the Vietnam War
- Operation Crimp 1966
- Battle of Ong Thanh 1967
- Battle of Suoi Chau Pha 1967
- Battle of Tam Quan 1967
- Operation Bribie 1967
- Battle of An Bao 1968
- Battle of Ban Houei Sane 1968
- Battle of Coral–Balmoral 1968
- Battle of Hat Dich 1968
- Battle of Huế 1968
All 54 battles of the Vietnam War →
Browse more: battles in Vietnam · Asia · Post-1945 battles