Siege of Khe Sanh

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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...

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