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battle, major, Cold War

Battle of Khe Sanh

Battle of Khe Sanh was a battle fought on 21 January 1968 at Khe Sanh, in what is now Vietnam; it lasted 6 months. It was part of the Vietnam War, which ran from 1955 to 1975.

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Battle of Khe Sanh
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought21 January 1968lasted 6 months
WhereKhe Sanh, Vietnam16.654N, 106.724E
OutcomeBoth sides claim victory: Siege partially relieved in April; North Vietnamese Army gained control of the Khe Sanh region after the American withdrawal on 9 July; Termination of the McNamara Line. North Vietnamese lines of communication were extended farther into South Vietnam.
BelligerentsUnited States; South Vietnam; Kingdom of LaosagainstViet Cong; North Vietnam; Pathet Lao
Part ofVietnam War1955 to 1975

Where it sits in the Vietnam War

Battle of Ap Bac, 1963Battle of Go Cong, 1963Battle of Nam Dong, 1964Battle of An Lao, 1964Gulf of Tonkin incident, 1964Battle of Binh Gia, 1964Operation Starlite, 1965Battle of Dong Xoai, 1965Battle of Ba Gia, 1965Battle of Song Be, 1965Battle of Dương Liễu–Nhông Pass, 1965Attack on Camp Holloway, 1965Battle of Núi Thành, 1965Siege of Plei Me, 1965Battle of Gang Toi, 1965Battle of Ap Bau Bang, 1965Battle of Ia Drang, 1965Battle of Xa Cam My, 1966Battle of A Shau, 1966Operation Crimp, 1966Battle of Bong Son, 1966Battle of Suoi Bong Trang, 1966Battle of Long Tan, 1966Battle of Tra Binh Dong, 1967Battle of Tam Quan, 1967Operation Cedar Falls, 1967Operation Bribie, 1967Battle of Hill 881, 1967Battle of Suoi Chau Pha, 1967Operation Francis Marion, 1967Battle of Ong Thanh, 1967First Battle of Loc Ninh, 1967Battle of Dak To, 1967Battle of Saigon, 1968New Year's Day Battle of 1968, 1968Battle of Khe Sanh, 1968Battle of Ban Houei Sane, 1968Battle of Quang Tri, 1968Battle of Lang Vei, 1968Tet Offensive battle of Cholon and Phu Tho Racetrack, 1968Action of 1 March 1968, 1968Battle of Hue, 1968Battle of Lima Site 85, 1968Battle of An Bao, 1968Battle of Kham Duc, 1968Battle of Coral–Balmoral, 1968Operation Speedy Express, 1968Battle of Hat Dich, 1968Operation Dewey Canyon, 1969Battle of Hamburger Hill, 1969Battle of Binh Ba, 1969Battle of Kompong Speu, 1970Battle of Prey Veng, 1970Battle of Fire Support Base Ripcord, 1970Operation Ivory Coast, 1970Operation Lam Son 719, 1971Battle of FSB Mary Ann, 1971Battle of Snuol, 1971Battle of Long Khanh, 1971Battle of Nui Le, 1971First Battle of Quảng Trị, 1972Battle of Loc Ninh, 1972Battle of Đồng Hới, 1972Battle of Kontum, 1972Second Battle of Quảng Trị, 1972Operation Linebacker II, 1972Battle of Cửa Việt, 1973Battle of the Paracel Islands, 1974Battle of Kampot, 1974Battle of Svay Rieng, 1974Battle of the Iron Triangle, 1974Battle of Phuoc Long, 1974Battle of Ban Me Thuot, 1975Battle of Xuan Loc, 1975Fall of Saigon, 197519631975Battle of Khe Sanh, 1968
75 placed engagements of the Vietnam War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date21 January 1968
to 9 July 1968
PlaceKhe Sanh, Vietnam
16.654N, 106.724E
KindBattle, Cold War
Strength~45,000 in total; ~6,000 Marines at the Combat Base of Khe Sanh; Operation Pegasus: ~20,000 (1st Air Cavalry and Marine units); Operation Arc Light and operation Niagara: U.S. Air Forces~40,000 in total, in which: Siege at Khe Sanh: ~17,200 (304th and 308th Division); Defense at Route 9: ~16,900 (320th and 324th Division); 30 light tanks PT-76
Casualties and lossesU.S. losses: At Khe Sanh: 274 killed; 2,541 wounded (not including ARVN Ranger, RF/PF, Forward Operation Base 3 – US Army and Royal Laotian Army losses); Operation Scotland I and Operation Pegasus: 730 killed; 2,642 wounded,; 7 missing; Operation Scotland II (15 April 1968 – July 1968): 485 killed; 2,396 wounded; USAF: 5 ~ 20 killed, wounded unknown; Operation Charlie for the final evacuation: At least 11 marines killed, wounded unknown; During aerial resupply: 1 KC-130, 3 C-123; ARVN losses: 229 killed, 436 wounded (not including CIDG, RF/PF and SOG losses); CIDG losses: 1,000 – 1,500 killed or missing, at least 250 captured (in Lang Vei), wounded unknown; Kingdom of Laos: Unknown.; Total (21 January – 9 July): 12,000+ casualties; (2,800–3,500 killed, 9,000+ wounded, 7 missing, 250+ captured)Not including ARVN Ranger, RF/PF, Forward Operation Base 3 – U.S. Army, Royal Laotian Army and SOG commandos losses. The low figure often cited for US casualties (205 killed in action, 443 wounded, 2 missing) does not take into account U.S. Army or Air Force casualties or those incurred during Operation Pegasus.; North Vietnamese claim: ~11,900 killed or wounded (including about 9,000 American soldiers); 197 aircraft, 78 tanks, 46 cannons, 50 ammunition depots destroyedUnknown (1,602 bodies were counted, US official public estimated 10,000–15,000 KIA, but MACV's secret report estimated 5,550 killed as of 31 March 1968); North Vietnamese figures: 1,436 wounded (before mid-March); 2,469 KIA (from 20 January until 20 July 1968).
Commanders
Battle of Khe SanhBattle of Khe SanhBattle of Lang VeiBattle of Ban Houei SaneFirst Battle of Quảng TrịSecond Battle of Quảng TrịBattle of Dai DoBattle of Lang VeiBattle of Ban Houei SaneBattle of Dai DoDa NangHueĐồng HớiSaravan100 km16.654N, 106.724E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Khe Sanh
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 50 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Khe Sanh today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2024-04-14. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2024.

The recorded site stands at about 498 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 77 to 1,003 m, 926 m of relief, mountainous country and today it is 77% tree cover, 8% cropland, 8% grassland.

tree cover: 77%cropland: 8%grassland: 8%built-up: 5%tree cover 77%cropland 8%grassland 8%built-up 5%
west to east, 10.0 km128 to 609 mnorth to south, 10.0 km325 to 921 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1968

Battle of Khe Sanh is one of 2,997 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 140 in present-day Vietnam.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q247253, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Siege of Khe Sanh, revision 1378960885, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.