Battle of Khe Sanh
1968 CE · Quang Tri Province, Vietnam
The Battle of Khe Sanh was fought in 1968 CE in Quang Tri Province, Vietnam between United States and South Vietnam vs North Vietnam; the Marine base held through a 77-day siege and was relieved, then abandoned by the Americans months later.
Battle of Khe Sanh: quick facts
- Date
- 1968 CE
- Location
- Quang Tri Province, Vietnam
- Belligerents
- United States and South Vietnam vs North Vietnam
- Commanders
- William Westmoreland and David E. Lownds vs Võ Nguyên Giáp
- Result
- the Marine base held through a 77-day siege and was relieved, then abandoned by the Americans months later.
- Era
- 🦅 American Wars
- Quiz difficulty
- hard
What happened at the Battle of Khe Sanh?
For 77 days beginning in January 1968, some 6,000 US Marines at the isolated Khe Sanh Combat Base were besieged by up to 40,000 North Vietnamese troops. Many Americans feared Khe Sanh would become a repeat of the French disaster at Dien Bien Phu. However, unlike the French, the Americans had overwhelming air support. Operation Niagara unleashed massive B-52 strikes that devastated the besieging forces. The siege coincided with the Tet Offensive and became a symbol of the war's grinding nature. The base was ultimately relieved and then controversially abandoned months later.
Did you know?
During the siege of Khe Sanh, the US dropped more bombs on the surrounding area than were dropped on Japan during all of World War II, making it one of the most intense bombardments in military history.
Sources and further reading
- Battle of Khe Sanh on Wikipedia for the full account, historiography and primary sources.
- How BattleGuess compiles and checks battle facts: see the About page.
Entry last reviewed 26 September 2026.