Khe Sanh and PEGASUS

[thedrifter]

Khe Sanh and PEGASUS



The base at Khe Sanh remained relatively quiet throughout the first week of the enemy Tet offensive, but the lull ended with a heavy ground attack on the morning of 5 February. The enemy penetrated the perimeter of the position on Hill 861A, and the resulting hand-to-hand combat drove the enemy back. A second attempt to overrun the position was less successful than the first. Elsewhere the North Vietnamese were more successful when, on 7 February, they struck at the Special Forces camp at Lang Vei.

The Lang Vei Special Forces Camp was located astride Route 9 some nine kilometers west of Khe Sanh Village. Beginning about 1800 on 6 February, the camp was subjected to an unusually intense mortar and artillery barrage. The defenders immediately responded with counter fire from the camp and requested supporting fire from the Khe Sanh Combat Base.

The enemy ground attack began about midnight on the morning of 7 February. The initial force to reach the protective wire around the perimeter included two of the approximately twelve Russian manufactured PT-76 amphibious tanks. The two armored vehicles were sighted in the outer wire on the southern side of the camp, taken under fire, and knocked out.

The armor defeating weapons in the camp consisted of two 106-mm. recoilless rifles, a few 57-mm. recoilless rifles, and 100 light antitank weapons known as LAWS. The LAW is designed to be fired once and discarded. These special weapons had been provided to the camp shortly before the attack as a result of intelligence reports which indicated that an attack was imminent and that armored vehicles would most likely be involved. Because of the newness of the weapons, few of the indigenous personnel and only half of the Americans had had the opportunity to fire the weapon before the attack. One survivor reported that several LAW'S failed to fire. This may have been due to lack of training or to improper storage.



Additional tanks moved around the destroyed vehicles and overran the company manning the southern sector. The friendly troops pulled back, but continued fighting. They fought the tanks with small arms, machine guns, hand grenades, and antitank weapons. As the attack continued, the defenders were forced to continue their withdrawal from the forward positions. They re-formed in pockets and continued to resist and fire at the enemy troops and tanks as they moved through the camp. As the enemy soldiers advanced, they used explosive charges to demolish the fortifications within the camp. The enemy tanks used their 76-mm. main guns against the combat positions and tactical operations center in the camp.

As the battle continued, air strikes were called in. When day broke over the battlefield, the defenders located in the operations center called for and received air support to assist them in breaking out of the still surrounded position. Their escape was aided by a rescue force that had returned to the camp to help extract survivors. By day's end the camp had been evacuated and all surviving personnel extracted.

As the Lang Vei battle progressed, the Marines were requested to implement their contingency plan to reinforce the Special Forces camp. However, because of the fear that this attack was but a part of an all-out general attack in the area, Lang Vei was not reinforced. By noon on the 7th, General Westmoreland was being briefed on the need to evacuate the survivors. Also at the meeting were General Cushman and General Tompkins. General Westmoreland directed that aircraft be made available to support the reaction force, and that afternoon the extraction took place.

When 7 February came to an end, the Lang Vei Camp was empty. Almost half of the 500 defenders were dead or missing. The survivors left behind them seven destroyed enemy tanks and at least as many enemy casualties as they themselves had suffered. The enemy attack stopped at the camp. It did not continue east toward Khe Sanh.

At Khe Sanh the marines were monitoring the battle at Lang Vei. After the seriously wounded had been evacuated by helicopter, the remaining survivors and many refugees moved east on foot. On the morning of 8 February some 3,000 refugees, including the Lang Vei survivors and Laotian 33d Battalion troops who had withdrawn from their attacked position on 23 January, appeared at the front gate of the Khe Sanh perimeter. At first denied admittance, the people were later searched and permitted to enter. Most were soon evacuated out of the area with the Laotians being returned to their own country.

At 0420, 8 February, a reinforced enemy battalion assaulted a platoon position of the 9th Marine Regiment. The marines were forced back from that portion of their perimeter which bore the brunt of the assault, but maintained control of most of the position. A company-sized counterattack at mid-morning restored the position, but the Marine commander at Khe Sanh decided to evacuate that platoon position because of its exposed location.



Enemy pressure on the Khe Sanh Combat Base continued during the following two weeks but not in the form of any major ground attacks. Probes, minor clashes, and sniping incidents occurred daily although the main enemy interest appeared to be the consolidation of his position and preparation for an all-out effort. In attempts to deter these preparations by artillery and air strikes, the marines were themselves hindered by the weather.

During this period Khe Sanh and its surrounding outposts continued to be supplied almost entirely by air. Marine and Air Force cargo aircraft made numerous daily runs to keep the base provisioned, to bring in replacement troops, and to take out wounded. The pilots had to brave both poor weather and intense enemy antiaircraft fire to accomplish these tasks.

On 10 February, a Marine C-130, loaded with fuel containers, was laced with bullets just before touching down on the runway. The aircraft was lost along with some of the passengers and crew. This incident caused major revisions in the offloading procedure. As a result of this loss and the damage inflicted on other aircraft while on the ground, landings of the large C- 130 type aircraft were suspended at Khe Sanh on 23 February.

Operation NIAGARA II continued throughout this period. This intensive air interdiction campaign continued to provide excellent results. The high volume reconnaissance missions, added to other intelligence sources, recommended an average of at least 150 targets per day. On 15 February, one of the most lucrative targets, an ammunition storage area, was pinpointed 19 kilometers south southwest of Khe Sanh in the Co Roc Mountain region. Flight after flight of strike aircraft were directed into the area throughout a 24-hour period. Many secondary explosions and fires revealed additional stockpiles which were in turn attacked. In all, it proved to be a good day's work resulting in over 1,000 secondary explosions and fires, some of which continued two and one-half hours after a series of strikes had been completed.



Air operations on the logistical side also progressed. Following the termination of G- 130 aircraft landings, the Air Force introduced a new procedure to continue supplying the main Khe Sanh base. Known as the Low Altitude Parachute Extraction System or LAPES, this self-contained method of delivery had been put to good use while the air strip was being repaired in late 1967. The name of the system accurately described the technique. As the aircraft came in low over the airstrip, the pilot opened the tail gate and released a reefed cargo parachute which was connected to the pallet mounted cargo in the aircraft. When the pilot electrically cut the reefing line, it caused the parachute to fully deploy and inflate. The parachute then jerked the pallets out of the aircraft over the roller system mounted on the aircraft floor. After a five- to ten-foot drop, the cargo skidded to a halt on the runway. Experienced pilots could consistently leave their loads in a 25-meter square.

A second technique was also used to deliver cargo by aircraft without actually landing. This method, known as the Ground Proximity Extraction System or GPES, was used less frequently than the low altitude system. In the GPES delivery, as the C-130 aircraft came in low over the airstrip, the pilot would try to snag an arresting line on the ground similar to the line a navy pilot uses in landing on an aircraft carrier. The ground line then jerked the cargo from the opened rear of the aircraft.

About 65 deliveries using the low altitude and ground proximity systems were made before Khe Sanh was relieved and resupply effected by way of Route 9. By far, the majority of the supplies for the base were delivered by parachute because weather was too poor to permit the visual flying required for the two extraction type systems.

Another aspect of the air operations was the last leg of the resupply system in which helicopters picked up supplies at Dong Ha and carried them to the outposts on the surrounding hills. They faced the same problems as did the fixed-wing pilots, but to a greater degree. The low-flying helicopter pilots were more vulnerable than their higher flying, faster fellow aviators. Because of the additional exposure, helicopters soon were escorted by strike aircraft to provide suppressive fire as they dropped off supplies and picked up troops.

continued......

[thedrifter]

Helicopters were greatly affected by the weather. When the helicopters were grounded, life became hard on the marines in the outposts. One period of weather when the helicopters could not fly persisted for nine days and created such a water shortage that one small position was authorized to conduct a two-hour march to obtain water from the nearest stream. The patrol surprised a group of enemy soldiers and eliminated many of them.

Fighting on the ground in Operation SCOTLAND, a Marine designation, continued through the end of February. The last day of the month, 29 February, General Tompkins and Colonel Lownds pieced together the relevant facts to reason that a big enemy push was imminent. Each day brought better weather and longer flying hours. Numerous intelligence reports pointed to a massing of North Vietnamese units at three points around the main base. Although the enemy had failed to gain control of the hill outposts, he could not afford to let the weather improve much more before he acted.

During the early evening hours of 29 February, a string of sensors indicated a major movement of troops along Route 9. The fire support control center at the base directed all available assets against the area. The firepower was massive. Artillery, radar-guided fighter bombers, and minor and major B-52 strikes pounded the enemy's route of march.

A battalion of the 304th North Vietnamese Army Division made the first strike at 2130 on 29 February. The 37th Vietnamese Army Ranger Battalion received the brunt of the initial assault, and all available supporting fire was given the rangers. Hit with this concentrated firepower, the enemy was unable to breach the outer defenses. His second attempt two hours later met a similar fate. So did the third at 0315 on 1 March. The supporting fires had prevented the assault waves from gaining momentum.

Although the enemy continued to harass the base, to probe the weakness along the perimeter, and to shell it from a distance, he had changed his basic tactics. He assumed a less aggressive posture and began waiting for the Marine patrols to come to him. But this did not help him either. As time passed and the weather improved, indications by mid-March were that major North Vietnamese Army units were leaving the area around Khe Sanh.

The Marine's last significant clash during Operation SCOTLAND took place on 30 March when a company, moving under a closely co-ordinated artillery support package, swept 850 meters south of the Khe Sanh perimeter and assaulted a heavily fortified enemy position. Surprise was with the attackers, however, and the marines drove the enemy out of his positions, destroyed the fortifications, and returned to their base.

Planning for Pegasus



The next day at 0800, SCOTLAND was officially ended. At that time, the operational control of the 26th Marine Regiment at Khe Sanh passed to the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) which initiated Operation PEGASUS.

Elsewhere in northern I Corps Tactical Zone, it became apparent during late March that the enemy was continuing to build his base areas along Route 547 and had constructed an alternate route, 547A, from the A Shau Valley east towards Hue. These routes provided the enemy with a major artery for the movement of troops, supplies, and equipment out of the valley and into the denser jungle area between the valley and Hue. Reconnaissance of the area revealed a sophisticated communications system using wire lines and the presence of heavy automatic and antiaircraft weapons. Numerous caches of weapons, ammunition, and other equipment had been located by elements of the 101st Airborne Division operating along Route 547 and 547A west of Hue. These caches indicated the presence of 37-mm. antiaircraft cannons and tracked vehicles, probably tanks, in the area. General Westmoreland, after his 17 March visit to Provisional Corps, Vietnam, directed B-52 tactical airstrikes to interdict Route 547 and 547A.


Khe Sanh, Vietnam, 1968 An ammunition dump struck by a shell explodes in front of U.S. Marines. This picture was on the cover of Newsweek on March 18, 1968.
ROBERT ELLISON

Final preparations were being made for relieving the siege of Khe Sanh by the reinforced 1st Cavalry Division. On 22 March General Rosson held a meeting with division commanders at Camp Evans, 15 kilometers southeast of Quang Tri City and formulated plans for the relief of 1st Cavalry Division elements from their area of operation along the coastal areas of Quang Tri Province by units of the 101st Airborne Division. To insure that a sufficient force would be available to offset a new enemy threat at Hue, General Rosson requested that the Vietnamese Marine Task Force be retained at Hue. If the force could not be retained, he requested that a fourth Vietnamese Airborne Battalion and U.S. forces be made available for employment in the Hue area. General Cushman forwarded General Rosson's report to General Westmoreland with a recommendation that the airborne task force be raised to four battalions for the Con Thien-Gio Linh operation. The Con Thien operation was envisioned as a deception plan for Operation PEGASUS. This operation would also place the airborne task force closer to the ultimate zone of action in the Khe Sanh Operation.

General Rosson, Captain Smith, the commanding officer of Task Force CLEARWATER and the Commander of the Naval Support Activity in Da Nang met at the III Marine Amphibious Force headquarters with General Cushman to discuss the deception plan and to determine the details of its implementation and its effect on logistical support in northern I Corps Tactical Zone.



Operation Orders



The Third Marine Division issued its operation order on 25 March to cover both the Con Thien-Gio Linh operation, which would be executed in conjunction with U.S. Army elements and the 1st Vietnamese Division, and Operation PEGASUS. The 4th Marine Regiment was to secure Route 9 and provide convoy security in its area. The 9th Marine Regiment was to provide security for Route 9 in its sector. The 12th Marine Regiment was instructed to support the attack of the 1st Cavalry Division within its artillery capabilities.



As the enemy activity around Khe Sanh tapered off, it appeared that Operation PEGASUS might go much quicker than originally anticipated. If true, this would relieve elements of the 1st Cavalry Division for earlier commitment to attacks in the A Shau Valley area. General Westmoreland expressed the view that Operation PEGASUS was to exact the maximum destruction of enemy forces and facilities, and its duration would therefore have to depend on the tactical situation as it developed. General Cushman and General Rosson assured General Westmoreland that all preparations for Operation PEGASUS would be ready for the planned 1 April attack. General Westmoreland also approved the concept for a later operation in the A Shau Valley presented by the III Marine Amphibious Force. Thus, the logistical planning for the operation into the A Shau Valley was conducted concurrently with logistical support for PEGASUS and it was envisioned that the second operation would continue as a smooth transition from the first.


Provisional Corps, Vietnam, Operation Plan 1-68 was redesignated Operation Order 1-68 with D-day, H-hour, established as 01001 April. General Tompkins, Commanding General, 3d Marine Division, ordered the execution of a deception operation with D-day, H-hour, established as 0600 on 30 March. The U.S. elements participating in the combined operation were designated Task Force KILO and the Vietnamese Army portion of the operation designated LAM SON 203. The deception operation envisioned a task force attacking northeast from Dong Ha toward the demilitarized zone.

As the final co-ordination was being accomplished to insure all units were ready for the pending operation, some elements were already at work. In addition to the U.S. Air Force actions in preparation for the operation, the 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry of the 1st Cavalry Division, was directing strikes to eliminate antiaircraft positions in the area before the airmobile division committed the bulk of its helicopters. Heavy U.S. Air Force strikes had stripped away much of the concealment needed by the enemy. With the addition of the reconnaissance squadron of the 1st Cavalry Division, the effectiveness of artillery and air strikes directed against the enemy antiaircraft positions was almost total. As the final hours of March ticked away, the Free World Forces awaited the signal to strike.

Opening Operations


At 0600, 30 March, U.S. Army, Marine, and Vietnamese Army forces initiated their planned deception operation northeast of Dong Ha. The U.S. element consisted of the 3d Squadron, 5th Cavalry; Company C, 2d Battalion, 34th Armor; Company A, 1st Battalion, 502d Airborne, 101st Airborne Division; and 2d Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment; all controlled by the 3d Marine Division. The Vietnamese Army element consisted of the 1st Battalion, 2d Infantry, and the 3d Battalion, 1st Infantry, under the control of the 1st Vietnamese Army Infantry Division. The maneuver elements attacked generally north toward the demilitarized zone along the coastal plains near Gio Linh. All units reached their objectives that afternoon. Following only light action, the operation was terminated on the afternoon of 1 May.


Naplam strike on perimeter of Khe Sanh

continued....

[thedrifter]

The broad concept for the relief of Khe Sanh envisioned the 1st Cavalry Division attacking west from Ca Lu to seize the high ground along Highway 9 in a series of successive air mobile assaults. Concurrently the marines were to secure and repair Highway 9 leading to Khe Sanh. Under the single manager concept for air, intensive close air support was to assist the attacks, together with massive B-52 strikes prior to and during the assault. Major units reinforcing the 1st Cavalry Division were the 1st Marine Regiment with three battalions and an airborne task force of three battalions, plus the supporting combat and service units.



Operation PEGASUS began at 0700 on 1 April with U.S. Army, U.S. Marine, and Vietnamese forces moving out from Ca Lu along Highway 9 toward the Khe Sanh Combat Base. The 1st Cavalry Division attacked with a combination of air and ground assaults to clear and secure the road and remove the enemy from the area of operation. During the morning hours, the two lead Marine battalions moved out according to plan, pushing west from Ca Lu. Delayed by weather, it was not until 1300 that the initial waves of 1st Cavalry Division helicopters placed men of the 3d Brigade of the Cavalry on a series of landing zones as close as five miles to Khe Sanh.

The 2d Battalion, 1st Marines, advanced westward on the north side of Route 9 while the 2d Battalion, 3d Marines, advanced on the south side of the road. As the Marines progressed and cleared Route 9 and the nearby terrain of enemy troops, engineer companies began repairing the road. They cleared one and a half kilometers of road and constructed four by-passes the first day. Throughout the operational area, the Americans spent a quiet night in rapidly prepared defensive positions.

Although Operation NIAGARA had been terminated with the beginning of PEGASUS, air support continued. The first day of the operation, eight B-52 raids were flown to assist the ground forces. Four of the missions were in the vicinity of Khe Sanh. Poor weather in the early daylight hours limited tactical fighter support to 66 sorties. Eight U.S. Air Force C-130 and four C-123 cargo aircraft delivered 115 tons the first day and 24 helicopter missions boosted the sum to just under 150 tons. An additional 44 personnel joined the combat base by way of C-123 aircraft, which were still permitted to land on the strip.

On 2 April operations began at 0655 with two Marine battalions resuming their advance along either side of Route 9 toward Khe Sanh. Contact with the enemy was minimal. The 2d Battalion, 7th Cavalry, began an air assault at 1300. The late starting time was attributed to ground fog, haze, and low hanging clouds. These unfavorable flying conditions continued throughout the operation.

The 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, remained near the air field north of Ca Lu, which had been designated Landing Zone STUD. The Marine unit retained this mission for the duration of the operation.

The Army, Navy, and Marine engineer units continued their work along Route 9. On 2 April they cleared almost three kilometers of the road and completed two bridges and two more bypasses.

The sustained air support included 36 B-52 aircraft delivering six strikes, five of which were in the immediate vicinity of Khe Sanh Combat Base. In spite of the unfavorable flying weather, 142 tactical air sorties were flown by Air Force, Navy, and Marine aircraft in support of the ground troops conducting PEGASUS. Air Force cargo aircraft dropped 91.4 tons of supplies into Khe Sanh and helicopters raised the total tonnage to 162.



On 3 April the tempo of the operation picked up somewhat. The marines continued westward along Route 9 with the engineers working furiously right on their heels. The 1st Cavalry's 3d Brigade continued operations in the vicinity of the landing zones they had occupied during the first day. The 2d Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division air-assaulted in the PEGASUS area of operations one day ahead of schedule with the 2d Battalion, 5th Cavalry, going into Landing Zone Tom and the 2d Battalion, 12th Cavalry, moving first to Landing Zone STUD by CH-47 helicopters, then reloading into smaller UH-1H helicopters for an air assault into Landing Zone WHARTON. The 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry, then flew into Landing Zone WHARTON. Both landing zones received 'artillery and rocket fire from enemy positions during the moves, but the troops were not to be easily diverted. By the end of the day, all 2d Brigade troops and three batteries of the 1st Battalion, 77th Artillery, were in position. At that time, other artillery batteries in position included Battery C, 21st Artillery, which had followed the air assault troops into Landing Zone CATES, and B Battery, 21st Artillery, which had followed into Landing Zone MIKE on D-day. Battery A, 21st Artillery, joined the 2d Battalion, 7th Cavalry, at Landing Zone THOR on 2 April.

During the fourth day, April 4, the enemy resistance continued at a moderate level. The marines maintained their westward attack along the main supply route and the Third Brigade kept up pressure on enemy elements around the established landing zones. The 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry, initiated an attack on an enemy battalion occupying positions in an old French fort.

On the same day, elements of the 26th Marine Regiment began their first major offensive move in weeks, attacking out of the Khe Sanh Combat Base. Preceded by extensive artillery preparation, at 0600 the 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, assaulted southeast towards their objective, Hill 471. The hill was secured by 1720 that day.

The fifth day, 5 April, opened with an enemy attack on Hill 471, which the Marines had occupied the previous afternoon. At 0515 the 7th Battalion, 66th Regiment, 304th North Vietnamese Division, charged up the hill. The fight was one of the highlights of Operation PEGASUS and was quite one-sided. Assisted by tremendous artillery and close air support, the marines cut down large numbers of the attackers while suffering few casualties themselves.

Elsewhere, except for the 1st Cavalry Division's 2d Brigade, the operation followed a routine pattern. The marines and the 2d Battalion, 7th Cavalry, maintained their westward movement, meeting moderate opposition along Route 9. The engineers had reconstructed a total of 5.5 kilometers of the road, completing four bridges and twelve by-passes.

The Marine advance along the main supply route continued through 6 April. The 2d Battalion, 7th Cavalry, maintained its drive west and met stubborn enemy resistance occasioning the heaviest fighting of the operation thus far. Following a day-long battle, the cavalry finally drove the enemy out of his defensive positions, capturing 121 individual and 10 crew-served weapons.

The 2d Battalion, 12th Cavalry, was airlifted from Landing Zone TIMOTHY to Hill 471 and effected relief of the 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, at noon. The marines then opened a clearing attack to the northwest.

Meanwhile the 1st Battalion of the 5th Cavalry was encountering stiff resistance at an old French fort about 15 kilometers due east of Khe Sanh. On the sixth day of Operation PEGASUS the 1st of the 5th was extracted and the 2d Battalion of the 5th Cavalry picked up the mission of seizing the strongly defended position. The fort finally fell on 7 April thus eliminating the final known enemy strongpoint between the advance cavalry troopers and Khe Sanh.

Little further significant contact was to occur during the final days of the operation. The remainder of Operation PEGASUS was directed at opening the main supply route and sifting through the debris of battle. The retreating enemy continued to offer some resistance, but without spirit.

The seventh day, 7 April, witnessed a further lessening of enemy strength in the area of operations. Ground probes against friendly positions continued but fewer reports were made of attacks by enemy artillery.

At 0800 on 8 April, the relief of the Khe Sanh Combat Base was accomplished as the 3d Brigade airlifted its command post into the base and assumed the mission of securing the position. The 2d Battalion, 7th Cavalry, cleared Route 9 to the base and linked up with the marines.



By this time it was apparent that the enemy had chosen to flee rather than face the highly mobile Americans. Vast amounts of new equipment were abandoned in place by the North Vietnamese as they hastily retreated.

Nevertheless, the enemy maintained some order in his withdrawal. At 0350 on 8 April, an element of the Vietnamese Army Airborne Task Force near the command post of the 3d Vietnamese Airborne Battalion was attacked. For over four hours the clash continued before the enemy withdrew leaving almost 75 dead behind. Later that afternoon, the 3d, 6th, and 8th Vietnamese Army Airborne Task Force closed in at Landing Zone SNAKE and began operations along Route 9 to the west.

continued....

[thedrifter]

The final battle of the operation took place on Easter Sunday, 14 April. The location was ironically between Hills 881 S and 881 N where the battle for Khe Sanh had started on 20 January. The 3d Battalion, 26th Marines, attacked from Hill 881 S to seize Hill 881 N and met heavy resistance. The marines prevailed, and the enemy withdrew leaving over 100 dead behind.

On 10 April, General Rosson had visited General Tolson, the commanding general of the 1st Cavalry Division, and told him to begin extracting units from PEGASUS to continue preparations for the assault into the A Shau Valley. The weather in the valley was ideal for airmobile operations at the time, and General Rosson was anxious to get the new action underway before the end of the month.

The next day, 11 April, Route 9 was officially declared open at 1600. The engineers had rebuilt 14 kilometers of road, replaced 9 key bridges, and constructed 17 by-passes. General Westmoreland described their achievement as herculean.

At 0800, on April 15, Operation PEGASUS and Operation LAM SON 207A were officially ended. The 2d Brigade came under the operational control of the 3d Marine Division, joined Task Force GLICK, and initiated Operation SCOTLAND II in the vicinity of Khe Sanh. The Vietnamese Army Airborne Task Force relocated to Hue.

The rapid and successful conclusion of Operation PEGASUS can be laid first to detailed planning and preparation. Second, the enemy was either unable to, or did not know how to, react against airmobile maneuvering of large numbers of combat troops and supporting artillery around and behind enemy positions. Third, an unprecedented degree of bomber and fighter air support was provided to the ground forces, and this combat power punched the enemy along the front line and throughout positions to his rear. Over 100,000 tons of bombs and 150,000 rounds of artillery were expended during the operation. More important, this ordnance was expended in response to excellent intelligence. Fourth, the ability to keep Khe Sanh and the troops in the field supplied was considerable. Fifth, of extreme significance was the determination and courage of the individual fighting man in the ranks.

Additional Sources:
www.vwam.com
iml.jou.ufl.edu
www.mikerian.com
www.pieceuniquegallery.com
www.3rdmarines.net
www.qmfound.com
www.informationwar.org
www.beal-net.com
www.arance.net
www.tallcomanche.org
www.wardogs.com
es.geocities.com/namspeak

CONCLUSIONS


Intelligence firmly believes that Operation Pegasus had caught the NVA totally by surprise, leaving them so badly beaten, that they couldn’t properly bury their dead, having to leave a lot of their wounded behind. It is also believed that what was left of the 304th and 325th NVA Divisions, were in no shape to take their supplies and equipment in their retreat.

"Victory Was Ours" But viewing the bodies of hundreds of NVA killed in action, the devastation and destruction they suffered, and most of all the badly wounded NVA left behind crying out, caused a feeling of sickness deep within, and left us in a very quiet somber mood, knowing that like us, they also had family's back home

The reality of war had settled in, and it was not a time to celebrate our victory.

Route 9, a logistical vital supply route was secured and re-opened, and the NVA units were forced to retreat from the area, heading back North toward the DMZ to re-supply

Final Stats Pegasus “Operation Pegasus”


1,304 NVA confirmed killed
(un-official estimates place NVA KIA's at 3500 - 5000)
21 NVA regulars captured, and provide interrogation teams with vital detailed information on NVA activity in the area of Khe Sanh & I-Corp


U.S. & Allied Casualties


51 US Marines Killed in Action
42 US Army Killed in Action
33 ARVN troops Killed in Action
approx. 370 were wounded in "Operation Pegasus"


Tactical Air Support


5 B52 Arc Light Strikes conducted
1,625 tactical air strikes were flown as follows:
650 by Marine pilots
463 by Air Force pilots
436 by Carrier-Based Task Force 77 US Navy pilots
58 by US Army pilots
18 by South Vietnamese Air Force pilots










U.S. heavy artillery pounds the area around the embattled base. Near Khe Sanh, April 1968



Ellie

[DELTA2ALPHA]

Operation Pegasus was said to be the relief of Khe Sanh. Not so. The 26th Marines,with attatched units, had already broken the back of the attacking NVA units before this operation was launched.
Although the Marines were glad to see additional US troops in the area after 77 days of constant bombardment, once there,the Air Mobile only helped to chase the enemy to scattered positions.All the ARMY did was relieve the Marines of the perimeter resposnability of the Combat base.
Once relieved, the Marine garrison then proceded to futher pursue and attack the NVA units in the field of battle,far from the confines of the wire
for an additional two weeks in the AO assigned to them.When the enemy was driven far from the base ,then and only then did the Marine Corps withdraw from the area for some well deserved rest and rebuilding.
The Combat Base was abandoned less than three months later. I was ****ed off at the time,but after 35 years of reflection, can see the wisdom of the move to a more defensive position.
To this day,and every day of my life, I remember the 500 plus Marines that gave the ultimate,the supreme honor,to dedicate thier lives,to guarantee that we have the opertuninty to live our lives in freedom.... Please, Please remember them as I do....MIKE Delta 1/26