Download or read book U S Marine Corps USMC History Close Air Support and the Battle for Khe Sanh Covering the Vietnam War Westmoreland B 52 Stratofortress Skyhawk Phantom Sea Knight Spooky and Super Gaggle written by Department of Defense (DoD) and published by . This book was released on 2018-03-11 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the 77 days from 20 January to 18 March of 1968, two divisions of the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) surrounded a regiment of U.S. Marines on a mountain plateau in the northwest corner of South Vietnam known as Khe Sanh. The episode was no accident; it was in fact a carefully orchestrated meeting in which both sides got what they wanted. The North Vietnamese succeeded in surrounding the Marines in a situation in many ways similar to Dien Bien Phu, and may have been seeking similar tactical, operational, and strategic results. General William C. Westmoreland, the commander of the joint U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam (COMUSMACV), meanwhile, sought to lure the NVA into the unpopulated terrain around the 26th Marines in order to wage a battle of annihilation with air power. In this respect Khe Sanh has been lauded as a great victory of air power, a military instrument of dubious suitability to much of the Vietnam conflict. The facts support the assessment that air power was the decisive element at Khe Sanh, delivering more than 96 percent of the ordnance used against the NVA.Most histories of the battle, however, do not delve much deeper than this. Comprehensive histories like John Prados and Ray Stubbe's Valley of Decision, Robert Pisor's End of the Line, and Eric Hammel's Siege in the Clouds provide excellent accounts of the battle, supported by detailed analyses of its strategic and operational background but tend to focus on the ground battle and treat the application of air power in general terms. Official Marine Corps histories predictably focus on the experience of the 26th Marines at the expense of the contributions of air forces. Air Force histories, including those written by historians well acquainted with both the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Marine Corps like Bernard C. Nalty, do analyze the application of air power in detail. They do not, however, make significant distinction between the contributions of the two primary air combat elements in this air-land battle: the 7th Air Force and the 1st Marine Air Wing. An analysis of their respective contributions to the campaign reveals that they each made very different contributions that reflected very different approaches to the application of air power.Foreword * Introduction * Close Air Support Doctrines * Khe Sanh Background * The Hill Battles of 1967 * The Siege of 1968 * Operation Pegasus and the Relief of Khe Sanh * The Deep Air Battle and the B-52 * Radar Controlled Tactical Air Support * Close Air Support * Conclusions * Appendix A: Glossary of Acronyms and Terms * Appendix B: Orders of Battle * Appendix C: Fratricide and Near Fratricide Aviation Incidents at Khe Sanh * Bibliography

Download or read book Close Air Support and the Battle for Khe Sanh written by Shawn P. Callahan and published by Government Printing Office. This book was released on 2009 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Close Air Support and the Battle for Khe Sanh written by Shawn P. Callahan and published by Marine Corps Association. This book was released on 2009 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Chapters include the Hill Battles of 1967, The Seige of 1968, Operation Pegasus and the Relief of Khe Sanh, the Deep Air Battle and the B-52, Radar Controlled Tactical Air Support, Close Air Support, and Conclusions. Mixed within the text are black and white photographs, charts, and figures. An appendix with a glossary and acronym of terms and extensive bibliography support this occasional paper work. These "Occasional Papers" are chosen for intrinsic worth, must reflect structured research, present a contribution to historical knowledge not readily available in published sources, and reflect original content on the part of the author, compiler, or editor.

Download or read book Close Air Support And The Battle For Khe Sanh Illustrated Edition written by Lt.-Col Shawn Callahan USMC and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2014-08-15 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Includes 7 maps, 3 tables, and more than 80 photo illustrations. In the 77 days from 20 Jan. to 18 March of 1968, two divisions of the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) surrounded a regiment of U.S. Marines on a mountain plateau in the northwest corner of South Vietnam known as Khe Sanh. The episode was no accident; it was in fact a carefully orchestrated meeting in which both sides got what they wanted. The North Vietnamese succeeded in surrounding the Marines in a situation in many ways similar to Dien Bien Phu, and may have been seeking similar tactical, operational, and strategic results. General William C. Westmoreland, the commander of the joint U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam (COMUSMACV), meanwhile, sought to lure the NVA into the unpopulated terrain around the 26th Marines in order to wage a battle of annihilation with air power. In this respect Khe Sanh has been lauded as a great victory of air power, a military instrument of dubious suitability to much of the Vietnam conflict. The facts support the assessment that air power was the decisive element at Khe Sanh, delivering more than 96 percent of the ordnance used against the NVA. Most histories of the battle, however, do not delve much deeper than this. Comprehensive histories like John Prados and Ray Stubbe’s Valley of Decision, Robert Pisor’s End of the Line, and Eric Hammel’s Siege in the Clouds provide excellent accounts of the battle, supported by detailed analyses of its strategic and operational background but tend to focus on the ground battle and treat the application of air power in general terms. They do not, however, make significant distinction between the contributions of the two primary air combat elements in this air-land battle: the 7th Air Force and the 1st Marine Air Wing. An analysis of their respective contributions to the campaign reveals that they each made very different contributions that reflected very different approaches to the application of air power.

Download or read book Close Air Support and the Battle for Khe Sanh written by lieutenant shawn P. Callahan and published by . This book was released on 2009-02-27 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The history division has undertaken the publication for limited distribution of various studies, theses, compilations, bibliographies, monographs, and memoirs, as well as proceedings at selected workshops, seminars, symposia, and similar colloquia, which it considers to be of significant value for audiences interested in Marine Corps history. these "occasional papers," which are chosen for their intrinsic worth, must reflect structured research, present a contribution to historical knowledge not readily available in published sources, and reflect original content on the part of the author, compiler, or editor. it is the intent of the division that these occasional papers be distributed to selected institutions, such as service schools, official department of defense historical agencies, and directly concerned Marine Corps organizations, so the information contained therein will be available for study and exploitation. this manuscript was developed from a master's thesis written by then-Major Shawn P. Callahan while an Advanced degree program student at George Washington university. the research was financially supported by the naval historical Center's rear Admiral Samuel Eliot Morison naval history supplemental scholarship program and the Marine Corps heritage foundation's lieutenant Colonel lily H. Gridle Memorial Master's thesis fellowship program.

Download or read book Air Power and the Fight for Khe Sanh written by Bernard C. Nalty and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 1973 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Battle For Khe Sanh Illustrated Edition written by Captain Moyers S. Shore II USMC and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2014-08-15 with total page 327 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Includes more than 10 maps and 20 Illustrations “The Marines’ heroic defense of the Khe Sanh area against numerically superior North Vietnamese forces stands out among the many battles fought to defend the Republic of Vietnam against Communist aggression. “The enemy’s primary objective of his 1968 TET Offensive was to seize power in South Vietnam by creating a general uprising and causing the defection of major elements of the ARVN. In conjunction with this, the enemy apparently expected to seize by military action large portions of the northern two provinces lying just south of the Demilitarized Zone and there to set up a “liberation government.” The virtually unpopulated Khe Sanh Plateau, which lay astride the enemy’s principal avenue of approach from his large base areas in Laos, was obviously an initial objective of the North Vietnamese Army.... “This report provides a detailed and graphic account of events as they unfolded. It centers about the 26th Marine Regiment, the main defenders of the Khe Sanh area, who tenaciously and magnificently held off the enemy during the two-and-one-half-month siege. Yet the battle of Khe Sanh was an inter-Service and international operation. Consequently, appropriate coverage is given to the contributions of the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force, and to South Vietnamese regular and irregular military units, all of whom contributed to the defense of the area and to the destruction of the enemy. As Marine artillery from within the fortified positions pounded the enemy, Army artillery located to the east provided heavy, long-range fire support. Fighter aircraft from the Marines, Air Force, and Navy provided continuous close air support, while B-52 bombers of the Strategic Air Command dealt decisive blows around-the-clock to enemy forces within striking distance of our positions and against enemy supply areas....”-General Westmoreland

Download or read book Close Air Support and the Battle for Khe Sanh written by Lieutenant Shawn Callahan and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2013-11 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the 77 days from 20 January to 18 March of 1968, two divisions of the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) surrounded a regiment of U.S. Marines on a mountain plateau in the northwest corner of South Vietnam known as Khe sanh. The episode was no accident; it was in fact a carefully orchestrated meeting in which both sides got what they wanted. The north Vietnamese succeeded in surrounding the Marines in a situation in many ways similar to Dien Bien Phu, and may have been seeking similar tactical, operational, and strategic results. General William C. Westmoreland, the commander of the joint U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam (COMUSMACV), meanwhile, sought to lure the NVA into the unpopulated terrain around the 26th Marines in order to wage a battle of annihilation with air power. In this respect Khe Sanh has been lauded as a great victory of air power, a military instrument of dubious suitability to much of the Vietnam conflict. The facts support the assessment that air power was the decisive element at Khe Sanh, delivering more than 96 percent of the ordnance used against the NVA. This work focuses mainly on fixed-wing close air support, or the support provided by jet and propeller-driven conventional aircraft, to the general exclusion of rotary-wing aircraft, also known as helicopters. There are several reasons for this, none of which are meant to belittle the contributions or heroism of the Marine, Army, and Air Force helicopter pilots who fought in the hills around Khe Sanh. First, until the arrival of the AH-1G Cobra in April 1969, there was no helicopter designed for dedicated close air support of Marines in Vietnam. The primary gunship during the battle of Khe Sanh was the UH-1E outfitted with machine guns and rocket launchers for the escort of unarmed helicopters. These helicopters were sometimes used for the direct support of ground troops with suppressive fires and were frequently used as forward air controllers, spotting and marking targets for fixed-wing aircraft with heavier ordnance. These roles are appropriately discussed alongside the contributions of the fixed-wing aircraft, but as a general rule, analysis remains focused on the heavier attack aircraft.

Download or read book The Battle for Khe Sanh written by Moyers S. Shore and published by DigiCat. This book was released on 2022-05-28 with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Battle for Khe Sanh is a book by Moyers S. Shore. During the Vietnam War a battle was conducted in the Khe Sanh area of northwestern Vietnam, and this work presents equipment and tactics of US forces and how they fought VC forces.

Download or read book The Battle for Khe Sanh written by Moyers S. Shore and published by . This book was released on 1969 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book US Marine Corps F 4 Phantom II Units of the Vietnam War written by Peter E. Davies and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-11-20 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Twenty-five US Marine Corps squadrons flew versions of the Phantom II and 11 of them used the aircraft in South-East Asia from May 1965 through to early 1973. Rather than the air-to-air missiles that were the main component in the original F-4 armament, these aircraft carried an ever-expanding range of weaponry. Some toted 24,500-lb bombs and others strafed with up to three 20 mm gun pods, while most flew daily sorties delivering napalm, Snakeye bombs and big Zuni rockets. Many US Marines holding small outpost positions in Laos and South Vietnam against heavy Viet Cong attack owed their lives to the Phantom II pilots who repeatedly drove off the enemy. The book will examine these missions in the context of US Marine Corps close-support doctrine, using the direct experience of a selection of the aircrew who flew and organised those missions.

Download or read book The Hill Fights written by Edward F. Murphy and published by Presidio Press. This book was released on 2007-12-18 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While the seventy-seven-day siege of Khe Sanh in early 1968 remains one of the most highly publicized clashes of the Vietnam War, scant attention has been paid to the first battle of Khe Sanh, also known as “the Hill Fights.” Although this harrowing combat in the spring of 1967 provided a grisly preview of the carnage to come at Khe Sanh, few are aware of the significance of the battles, or even their existence. For more than thirty years, virtually the only people who knew about the Hill Fights were the Marines who fought them. Now, for the first time, the full story has been pieced together by acclaimed Vietnam War historian Edward F. Murphy, whose definitive analysis admirably fills this significant gap in Vietnam War literature. Based on first-hand interviews and documentary research, Murphy’s deeply informed narrative history is the only complete account of the battles, their origins, and their aftermath. The Marines at the isolated Khe Sanh Combat Base were tasked with monitoring the strategically vital Ho Chi Minh trail as it wound through the jungles in nearby Laos. Dominated by high hills on all sides, the combat base had to be screened on foot by the Marine infantrymen while crack, battle-hardened NVA units roamed at will through the high grass and set up elaborate defenses on steep, sun-baked overlooks. Murphy traces the bitter account of the U.S. Marines at Khe Sanh from the outset in 1966, revealing misguided decisions and strategies from above, and capturing the chain of hill battles in stark detail. But the Marines themselves supply the real grist of the story; it is their recollections that vividly re-create the atmosphere of desperation, bravery, and relentless horror that characterized their combat. Often outnumbered and outgunned by a hidden enemy—and with buddies lying dead or wounded beside them—these brave young Americans fought on. The story of the Marines at Khe Sanh in early 1967 is a microcosm of the Corps’s entire Vietnam War and goes a long way toward explaining why their casualties in Vietnam exceeded, on a Marine-in-combat basis, even the tremendous losses the Leathernecks sustained during their ferocious Pacific island battles of World War II. The Hill Fights is a damning indictment of those responsible for the lives of these heroic Marines. Ultimately, the high command failed them, their tactics failed them, and their rifles failed them. Only the Marines themselves did not fail. Under fire, trapped in a hell of sudden death meted out by unseen enemies, they fought impossible odds with awesome courage and uncommon valor.

Download or read book US Marine Corps F 4 Phantom II Units of the Vietnam War written by Peter E. Davies and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-11-20 with total page 205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Twenty-five US Marine Corps squadrons flew versions of the Phantom II and 11 of them used the aircraft in South-East Asia from May 1965 through to early 1973. Rather than the air-to-air missiles that were the main component in the original F-4 armament, these aircraft carried an ever-expanding range of weaponry. Some toted 24,500-lb bombs and others strafed with up to three 20 mm gun pods, while most flew daily sorties delivering napalm, Snakeye bombs and big Zuni rockets. Many US Marines holding small outpost positions in Laos and South Vietnam against heavy Viet Cong attack owed their lives to the Phantom II pilots who repeatedly drove off the enemy. The book will examine these missions in the context of US Marine Corps close-support doctrine, using the direct experience of a selection of the aircrew who flew and organised those missions.

Download or read book Last Stand at Khe Sanh written by Gregg Jones and published by Da Capo Press. This book was released on 2014-04-22 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a remote mountain stronghold in 1968, six thousand US Marines awoke one January morning to find themselves surrounded by 20,000 enemy troops. Their only road to the coast was cut, and bad weather and enemy fire threatened their fragile air lifeline. The siege of Khe Sanh-the Vietnam War's epic confrontation-was under way. For seventy-seven days, the Marines and a contingent of US Army Special Forces endured artillery barrages, sniper fire, ground assaults, and ambushes. Air Force, Marine, and Navy pilots braved perilous flying conditions to deliver supplies, evacuate casualties, and stem the North Vietnamese Army's onslaught. As President Lyndon B. Johnson weighed the use of tactical nuclear weapons, Americans watched the shocking drama unfold on nightly newscasts. Through it all, the bloodied defenders of Khe Sanh held firm and prepared for an Alamo-like last stand. Now, Gregg Jones takes readers into the trenches and bunkers at Khe Sanh to tell the story of this extraordinary moment in American history. Last Stand at Khe Sanh captures the exceptional courage and brotherhood that sustained the American fighting men throughout the ordeal. It brings to life an unforgettable cast of characters-young high school dropouts and rootless rebels in search of John Wayne glory; grizzled Korean War veterans; daredevil pilots; gritty platoon leaders and company commanders; and courageous Navy surgeons who volunteered to serve in combat with the storied Marines. Drawing on in-depth interviews with siege survivors, thousands of pages of archival documents, and scores of oral history accounts, Gregg Jones delivers a poignant and heart-pounding narrative worthy of the heroic defense of Khe Sanh.

Download or read book Hill Fights the First Battle of Khe Sanh 1967 written by Rod Andrew and published by . This book was released on 2019-05-10 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the spring of 1967, some of the most vicious and bloody fighting of the Vietnam War occurred in the remote northwestern corner of the Republic of Vietnam (RVN), or South Vietnam. Khe Sanh lies in the mountainous northwest corner of Quang Tri Province. As an otherwise insignificant village that few people from the outside world had ever heard of, Khe Sanh's location astride Route 9 near the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating North and South Vietnam and just 10 kilometers east of the Laotian border made it strategically significant to American military planners and their North Vietnamese foes. Later, in 1968, the legendary siege of Khe Sanh, partly coinciding with the larger Communist Tet Offensive, would make this small village a household name among Americans and a well-known heroic chapter in the history of the U.S. Marine Corps.This narrative does not tell the story of the 1968 siege, but rather describes the equally heroic, brutal, and bloody fighting that took place around Khe Sanh during the preceding year. In the spring of 1967, various units from 3d Marine Division (3d MarDiv) fought a number of ferocious battles with elements of the North Vietnamese Army (NVA), some of the best-trained and most motivated troops of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.* These fierce clashes, erupting suddenly in steep mountainous terrain at close range and resulting in heavy casualties on both sides, included some of the most desperate fighting of the Vietnam War. In Marine Corps lore, they were known as the "Hill Fights" or the "First Battle of Khe Sanh."The relative obscurity of the Hill Fights in comparison to the 1968 siege of Khe Sanh is unfortunate for several reasons. First, individual Marines and small-unit leaders acquitted themselves valiantly in the Hill Fights and their efforts should not be overlooked. The valor of Marine infantrymen at Khe Sanh was matched only by that of the aircraft crews who supported them. Also, the Hill Fights illustrated several trends that characterized the experience of the U.S. Marine Corps in Vietnam. Effective close air support and other fire support coordination were hallmarks of the Hill Fights and undoubtedly saved countless American lives. The fighting around Khe Sanh also highlighted the tenacity of the North Vietnamese soldier and his skills in concealment and in building fortifications.

Download or read book Expendable Warriors written by Bruce B. G. Clarke and published by Stackpole Books. This book was released on 2009-03-10 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On January 21, 1968, nine days before the Tet Offensive, thousands of North Vietnamese regulars attacked the U.S. Marine base at Khe Sanh in remote northwestern South Vietnam, beginning a siege that ended seventy-seven days later in a tactical victory for the U.S. As a young U.S. Army officer serving with the Marines at the outpost, Bruce Clarke participated in the entire battle. His book combines firsthand experiences with archival research to describe the saga of Khe Sanh, which ended with the U.S.'s abandonment of the base, making it the heartbreaking and controversial symbol of American involvement in Vietnam.

Download or read book Valley of Decision written by John Prados and published by . This book was released on 1991 with total page 616 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This military history of the Vietnam War uses official documents including US Government records and North Vietnamese Army material. It also draws on notes, personal letters, diaries and eye-witness accounts collected over 20 years by Ray W. Stubbe, nicknamed chaplain of Khe Sanh.