Khe Sanh 1967-68: Marines battle for
Vietnams vital hilltop base
(Campaign) by Gordon Rottman
Tenacity On Both Sides, But To What End?
Khe Sanh was a small village in northwest South Vietnam that sat astride
key North Vietnamese infiltration routes. In September 1966 a Marine
battalion deployed into the area. Action gradually increased as the NVA
attempted to destroy Free World Forces bases, and the siege of Khe Sanh
proper began in October 1967. The bitter fight lasted into July 1968 when,
with the changing strategic and tactical situation, the base was finally
closed. This book details the siege and explains how, although the NVA
successfully overran a Special Forces camp nearby, it was unable to drive
US forces from Khe Sanh.
Personal Review: Khe Sanh 1967-68: Marines battle for
Vietnams vital hilltop base (Campaign) by Gordon Rottman

Khe Sanh 1967-68 by Gordon L. Rottman is the first title in the Osprey
campaign series on the Vietnam to appear since Tet 1968 was written 15
years ago and as such, is a welcome detour from the plethora of titles on
obscure subjects such as the War of the Roses. Rottman, a Vietnam
veteran from that period himself, provides his usual high-level of detail and
this volume on Khe Sanh is easily one of his best that he has written for
Osprey. The campaign itself is still obscured by a certain level of mystery
about Vietnamese intentions (was it a diversion or a serious attempt to
storm the base?) and the siege ended with a degree of frustration for both
sides. Although memorable for the US Marine Corps, the indecisive nature
of the Khe Sanh campaign makes it difficult to study and evaluate the
operations there but Rottman's narrative certainly makes a valued
contribution.
Rottman starts with a rather lengthy 15-page background section on
the campaign, which discusses the terrain and weather at length (usually a
weakness in Osprey campaign series titles), as well as the strategic
backdrop in 1968. He also provides a 7-page section on the Hill Battles in
1967 that preceded the actual siege. In the section on opposing plans,
Rottman agrees with the widely-held theory that the North Vietnamese
Army (NVA) operations around Khe Sanh Combat Base (KSCB) were part
of a deception plan to confuse the US and South Vietnamese commanders
about the upcoming Tet offensive, but correctly notes that, "the actual
intentions of the NVA in northwest Quang Tri remain unknown." I found it
very interesting that Rottman never mentioned the NVA commander
General Vo Nguyen Giap, whose name is often associated with planning
the siege. Although the NVA seemed attracted to the notion of staging
another "Dien Bien Phu" sort of siege around KSCB, Rottman notes that
they never made an serious effort to cut off the base water supply or
telephone lines, which lends credibility to the deception theory. US
intentions in garrisoning KSCB were focused on the potential of using the
base as a staging area for attacks on the nearby Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos,
but since this was primarily an Special Forces mission, it seems that the
presence of 7,000 Marines to garrison a "support base" was overkill.
Furthermore, as Rottman notes, US forces around KCSB were primarily
oriented to the defense of the airfield, rather than conducting maneuver
operations to disrupt NVA logistics. Indeed, General Westmoreland may
have violated the "economy of force" principle in lavishing so much effort
on a base that had limited practical use. Rottman also alludes to the high-
level involvement of President Johnson in US operations around KSCB,
but does not discuss the micro-management that other accounts have
mentioned.
As usual, the graphic quality of this volume is quite high with four 2-
D maps (Vietnam strategic situation, 1968; Quang Tri province and the
DMZ; Khe Sanh Combat Base (KSCB); Operation Pegasus, 9 April 1968)
and three 3-D maps (KSCB, early February 1968; Battle for the hills; the
fall of Lang Vei SF camp). The battle scenes are some of the best that I
have seen in Osprey (Fight for Hill 861A; the fight for the command post,

Lang Vei; the "mightiest corporal in the world"). Rottman's order of battle
for the US side is highly detailed, but the NVA order of battle still has many
mysteries even after more than 30 years.
Rottman's campaign narrative is clean and crisp, with just the right
balance between detail and scope. He mentions a number of US tactical
improvisations to support KSCB, such as the "Super Gaggles" and "Micro
Arc Lights." Although the siege of KSCB consisted mostly of artillery duels
and US air strikes, punctuated occasionally by NVA assaults on outlying
hill positions, Rottman's narrative effectively conveys the tenacity of both
sides. The campaign narrative concludes with Operation "Pegasus," which
was the relief of KSCB and the final US evacuation of the base. Of note,
Rottman says in the section on the battlefield today that little remains of
the base but this is not completely accurate, since SPOT imagery from a
few years ago reveals that the outline of the airstrip looks exactly like it did
in 1968 (plus current air maps of Vietnam still list an operational dirt strip
there).
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