Siege of Khe Sanh

by Robert Pisor

  284 “What Giap wants is to control”: Edward Mortimer, “Veterans of Dienbienphu Appraise Khe Sanh,” Washington Post, Feb. 14, 1968.

  285 “Khe Sanh was one more American effort”: Asprey, p. 1282.

  285 “don’t you think we won at Khe Sanh?”: Fallaci, Nothing, pp.85–86.

  285 “Khe Sanh will stand in history”: Soldier, pp. 336–37.

  285 “The most important battle of the war”: Lewis W. Walt, “Khe Sanh—The Battle That Had to Be Won,” Reader’s Digest, August, 1970.

  285 “an unsound blow in the air”: Krulak, Oral History, p. 7.

  286 “The absurdity of Khe Sanh”: Thompson, No Exit, p. 142.

  286 “viable nation should emerge”: Report, pp. 292–93.

  SOURCES

  Asprey, Robert B. War in the Shadows, Vol II. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1975.

  Bloodworth, Dennis. An Eye for the Dragon. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1970.

  Braestrup, Peter. Big Story: How the American Press & Television Reported and Interpreted the Crisis of Tet in Vietnam and Washington. Garden City, New York: Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1978.

  Brandon, Henry. Anatomy of Error. Boston: Gambit, 1969.

  Browne, Malcolm. The New Face of War. Indianapolis, N.Y.: Bobbs-Merrill, 1968.

  Bunting, Josiah. The Lionheads. New York: Popular Library, 1972.

  Burchett, Wilfred G. Vietnam North. New York: International Publishers Co., Inc., 1966.

  ________ . Vietnam: Inside Story of the Guerilla War. New York: International Publishers Co., 1965.

  ________ . Catapult to Freedom. London: Quartet Books, 1978.

  ________ . Grasshoppers and Elephants: Why Vietnam Fell. New York: Urizen Books, 1977.

  Buttinger, Joseph. A Dragon Defiant. New York: Praeger, 1972.

  Charleton, Michael and Moncrief, Anthony. Many Reasons Why. New York: Hill and Wang, 1978.

  Christian, George. The President Steps Down. New York: Macmillan, 1970.

  Corson, William R. Consequences of Failure. New York: W. W. Norton, 1974.

  ________ . The Betrayal. New York: W. W. Norton, 1968.

  Duncan, David Douglas. I Protest! New York: The New American Library, 1968.

  Duncan, Donald. The New Legions. New York: Random House, 1967.

  Ellsberg, Daniel. Papers on the War. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1972.

  Emerson, Gloria. Winners & Losers. New York: Random House, 1976.

  Fairbairn, Geoffrey. Revolutionary Warfare & Communist Strategy. London: Faber & Faber, 1968.

  Fall, Bernard B. Street Without Joy. Harrisburg, Pa.: The Stackpole Company, 1961–64.

  ________ . Last Reflections on a War. Garden City, N. Y.: Doubleday & Co., 1967.

  ________ . The Two Vietnams. Revised edition. New York, Washington and London: Frederick A. Praeger, 1966.

  ________ . Hell in a Very Small Place: The Siege of Dien Bien Phu. New York: Vintage Books, 1968.

  Fallaci, Oriana. Nothing and So Be It. Garden City, N. Y.: Doubleday & Co., 1972.

  Fehrenbach, T. R. This Kind of War. New York: Giant Cardinal Edition, 1964.

  FitzGerald, Frances. Fire in the Lake. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1972.

  Furgurson, Ernest B. Westmoreland: The Inevitable General. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1968.

  Gavin, James M. Crisis Now. New York: Random House, 1968.

  Gellhorn, Martha. A New Kind of War. Manchester, England: A Guardian Booklet, 1966.

  Giap, Vo Nguyen. People’s War, People’s Army. Hanoi: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1974.

  ________ . How We Won the War. Ypsilanti, Michigan: RECON Publications, 1976.

  ________ . (and Van Tien Dung). Banner of People’s War. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1970.

  ________ . Unforgettable Months and Years. Translated by Mai Van Elliott. Data Paper: Number 99, S.E. Asia Program, May, 1975, at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.

  ________ . Big Victory, Great Task. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1968.

  Glasser, Ronald J. 365 Days. New York: Bantam Books, 1971.

  Goulden, Joseph C. Truth is the First Casualty. New York: Rand McNally & Co., 1969.

  Graff, Henry. The Tuesday Cabinet. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1970.

  Greene, Felix. Vietnam! Vietnam! Palo Alto, Calif.: Fulton Publishing Co., 1966.

  Harvey, Frank. Air War—Vietnam. New York: Bantam Books, 1967.

  Hassler, Alfred. Saigon, U.S.A. New York: Richard W. Baron Publishing, 1970.

  Hefley, James and Marti. No Time for Tombstones. Harrisburg, Pa.: Christian Publications, 1974.

  Herr, Michael. Dispatches. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1977.

  Johnson, Lyndon Baines. The Vantage Point. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1971.

  Halberstam, David. The Making of a Quagmire. New York: Random House, 1964.

  ________ . The Best and the Brightest. New York: Random House, 1972.

  Herbert, Anthony B. (with James T. Wooten). Soldier. New York: Dell Publishing Co., 1973.

  Just, Ward. To What End. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin Co., 1968.

  Kahin, George McTurnan and Lewis, John W. The United States in Vietnam. Delta Publishing Co., 1967.

  Kearns, Doris. Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream. New York: Harper & Row, 1976.

  Keegan, John. Dien Bien Phu. New York: Random House, 1974.

  King, Edward L. The Death of the Army. New York: Saturday Review Press, 1972.

  Kinnard, Douglas. The War Managers. Hanover, N. H.: University Press of New England, for the University of Vermont, 1977.

  Knoebl, Kuno. Victor Charlie. London, England: Pall Mall Press, 1967.

  Kovic, Ron. Born on the Fourth of July. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1976.

  Lamb, Helen B. Vietnam’s Will to Live. New York & London: Monthly Review Press, 1972.

  Lancaster, Donald. The Emancipation of French Indochina. New York: Octagon Books, 1974.

  Lane, Allen, ed., Prevent the Crime of Silence. Reports from Sessions of the International War Crimes Tribunal Convened by Bertrand Russell. London: Penguin Press, 1971.

  Langer, Paul and Zasloff, Joseph J. North Vietnam and the Pathet Loa, Partners in the Struggle for Laos. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1970.

  “Lessons from the Vietnam War.” Report of a Seminar Held at the Royal United Service Institute, February 12, 1969, Whitehall, England.

  Lewallen, John. Ecology of Devastation: Indochina. Baltimore, Maryland: Penguin Books, 1971.

  Lewy, Guenter. America in Vietnam. New York: Oxford University Press, 1978.

  Littauer, Raphael and Uphoff, Norman. The Air War in Indochina. Boston: Beacon Press, 1972.

  Lucas, Jim G. Dateline: Vietnam. New York: Award Books, 1964 & 1965.

  Marshall, S.L.A. West to Cambodia. New York: Cowles Book Co., 1968.

  ________ . Battles in the Monsoon. New York: William Morrow & Co., 1967.

  ________ . The Soldier’s Load and the Mobility of a Nation. Washington, D.C.: The Combat Forces Press, 1950.

  ________ . Ambush. New York: Cowles Book Co., 1969.

  Martin, Earl S. Reaching the Other Side. New York: Crown Publishing, 1978.

  McAleavy, Henry. Black Flags in Vietnam. New York: Macmillan Co., 1968.

  McAlister, John T., Jr. Vietnam: The Origins of Revolution. Garden City, N. Y.: Doubleday & Co., 1971.

  McCarthy, Mary. Vietnam. Middlesex, England: Penguin Books, 1967.

  ________ . Hanoi. New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1968.

  Mecklin, John. Mission in Torment. Garden City, N. Y.: Doubleday & Co., 1965.

  Miller, Carolyn Paine. Captured! Chappaqua, New York: Christian Herald Books, 1977.

  Millet, Allan R., ed. A Short History of the Vietnam War. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1978.

  Mulligan, Hugh A. No Place to Die. New York: William Morrow and Co., 1967.

  Mylander, Maureen. The Generals. New York: Dial Press, 1974.

  Oberdorfer, Don. Tet! G
arden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Co., 1971.

  O’Neill, Robert J. General Giap: Politician & Strategist. Cassell Australia Ltd., 1969.

  ________ . The Strategy of General Giap Since 1964. Canberra, Australia: Australian National University Press, 1969.

  Palmer, Dave Richard. Summons of the Trumpet. San Rafael, Calif.: Presidio Press, 1978.

  The Pentagon Papers; The Secret History of the Vietnam War. New York Times Edition. New York: Bantam Books, 1971.

  Pettit, Clyde Edwin. The Experts. Secaucus, New Jersey: Lyle Stuart, 1975.

  Pike, Douglas. Viet Cong. Cambridge, Mass.: The M.I.T. Press, 1966.

  Raskin, Marcus G. and Fall, Bernard B., eds. The Vietnam Reader; a Collection of Essays and Original Documents. New York: Random House, 1965.

  Rottmann, Larry; Barry, Jan; and Pacquet, Basil T., eds. Winning Hearts and Minds; War Poems by Vietnam Veterans. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1972.

  Roy, Jules. Battle of Dien Bien Phu. New York: Pyramid Books, 1966.

  Sack, John, M. New York: The American Library, 1967.

  Salisbury, Harrison E. Behind the Lines—Hanoi. New York: Bantam Books, 1967.

  Schandler, Herbert Y. The Unmaking of a President: Lyndon Johnson and Vietnam. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1977.

  Schell, Jonathan. The Military Half: An Account of the Destruction in Quang Ngai and Quang Tin. New York: Vintage, 1968.

  ________ . The Village of Ben Suc. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1967.

  Shaplen, Robert. Time Out of Hand. New York: Harper & Row, 1969.

  ________ . The Road from War: Vietnam 1965–70. New York: Harper & Row, 1970.

  Snepp, Frank. Decent Interval. New York: Vintage, 1977.

  Steinbeck, John, IV. In Touch. New York: Dell Publishing, 1968.

  Tanham, George K. Communist Revolutionary Warfare. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1961. Revised 1967.

  Terzani, Tiziano. Giai Phong! The Fall & Liberation of Saigon. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1976.

  Thompson, Sir Robert. Peace is Not at Hand. New York: David McKay Company, 1974.

  ________ . No Exit from Vietnam. New York: David McKay Company, 1969.

  Thorne, David and Butler, George, eds. John Kerry and Vietnam Veterans Against the War; The New Soldier. New York: Collier Books, 1971.

  Tran Van Don. Our Endless War. San Rafael, Calif.: Presidio Press, 1978.

  Van Dyke, Jon M. North Vietnam’s Strategy for Survival. Palo Alto, Calif.: Pacific Books, 1972.

  Visions of Victory. Analytical Introduction by Patrick J. McGarvey. Hoover Institute on War, Revolution and Peace, Stanford University, 1969.

  Walt, Lewis W. Strange War, Strange Strategy. New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1970.

  Warner, Denis. The Last Confucian. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1964.

  ________ . A Certain Victory. Kansas City: Sheed, Andrews and McMeel, 1978.

  Webb, James. Fields of Fire. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1978.

  West, F.J., Jr. The Village. New York: Harper & Row, 1972.

  West, Richard. Victory in Vietnam. London: Private Eye Productions, 1974.

  Westmoreland, General William C. A Soldier Reports. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Co., 1976. (Soldier)

  Windchy, Eugene G. Tonkin Gulf. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Co., 1971.

  MILITARY AND GOVERNMENT SOURCES

  Albright, John; Cash, John A.; and Sandstrum, Allan W. Seven Firefights in Vietnam. Office of the Chief of Military History, U. S. Army, Washington, D. C., 1970.

  Berger, Carl, ed. The U. S. Air Force in Southeast Asia, 1961–73. Office of Air Force History, Washington, D. C., 1977. (USAF)

  Clapp, Lt. Col. Archie J. The Marines in Vietnam, 1954–73. History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U. S. Marine Corps, Washington, D. C., 1977.

  “Comments,” Uncatalogued letters, annotated manuscripts, and commentaries on Capt. Meyer Shore’s The Battle for Khe Sanh, by participants. (Comments)

  Command Chronologies. The daily accounts of battle and routine for each battalion and for the Twenty-sixth Marine Regiment. On file at the U. S. Marine Corps Library, with original radio messages, maps, situation reports, and other primary material.

  Ewell, Lt. Gen. Julian and Hunt, Maj. Gen. Ira A., Jr. Sharpening the Combat Edge: The Use of Analysis to Reinforce Military Judgement. Dept. of the Army, Washington, D. C., 1974.

  Guay, Lt. Col. Robert, USMC. The Khe Sanh Airlift. January 31, 1969. A lecture and slide presentation analyzing air logistical requirements.

  Hay, Lt. Gen. John H., Jr. Tactical and Material Innovations, Dept. of the Army, Washington, D. C., 1974.

  Hearings of the Electronic Battlefield Subcommittee of the Preparedness Investigations Subcommittee of the Committee on Armed Services, U.S. Senate, 91st Cong., 2nd sess., November 18, 19, and 24, 1970. (Electronic Battlefield)

  Kelly, Col. Francis J. U.S. Army Special Forces, 1961–1971. Dept. of the Army, Washington, D.C., 1973.

  Marine Corps Oral History Collection Catalog, History and Museums Division. Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, Washington, D.C., (Oral History)

  Mc Christian, Maj. Gen. Joseph A. The Role of Military Intelligence, 1965–67. Department of the Army, Washington, D. C., 1974.

  Nalty, Bernard C. Air Power and the Fight for Khe Sanh. Office of Air Force History, U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C., 1973.

  Newspaper files. Thousands of newspaper clippings on the Vietnam War, organized roughly by date, in twelve or more bound volumes in the U.S. Naval Library, Washington, D. C. This twice-daily digest of morning and afternoon papers (it often included transcripts of television, radio and wire service reports) was prepared to keep Pentagon officials aware of every detail of American media coverage of the Vietnam war.

  Pearson, Lt. Gen. Willard. The War in the Northern Provinces, 1966–68. Department of the Army, Washington, D. C., 1975.

  Rogers, Lt. Gen. Bernard William. Cedar-Falls-Junction City: A Turning Point, Dept. of the Army, Washington, D. C., 1974.

  Shore, Capt. Meyers SI, III. The Battle for Khe Sanh. Historical Branch, 6-3 Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, Washington, D. C., 1969.

  Shoup, David M. Testimony to the Committee on Foreign Relations, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., March 20, 1968.

  Shulimson, Jack. U.S. Marines in Vietnam, 1966; An Expanding War, (Working Draft). History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, Washington, D. C., April, 1978.

  Sullivan, Cornelius D. Winter-Spring Offensive in the Vietnam War: Its Conduct and Higher Direction. The Center for Strategic Studies, Georgetown University, Washington, D. C., November, 1968.

  U.S.M.A.C.V. 1968 Summary, Office of Information, Saigon, 1969.

  Westmoreland, General William C. Report on the War in Vietnam (as of June 30, 1968). Washington, D. C., Government Printing Office, 1969.

  ________ . Speeches: South Carolina General Assembly (April 26, 1967); Testimony to Armed Services Committee (November, 1967); Joint Session of Congress (April 28, 1967); Press Club, Washington, D. C. (November 21, 1967); and Associated Press Managing Editors (Spring, 1967).

  Whitlow, Cpt. Robert H. U.S. Marines in Vietnam, 1954–1964. History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, Washington, D. C., 1977.

  SELECTED MILITARY ARTICLES

  Althoff, Lt. Col. David L. “Helicopter Operations at Khe Sanh,” (Interview), Marine Corps Gazette, vol. 54, no. 5 (May 1969).

  Caufield, Maj., M. P. “India Six,” Marine Corps Gazette, vol. 53, no. 7 (July 1969).

  Collins, Col. John M. “The Vietnam War in Perspective,” Strategic Research Group, National War College, Washington, D.C., 1972.

  Davis, Maj. Gen. R.G. and Jones, Lt. J. L., Jr. “Employing the Recon Patrol,” Marine Corps Gazette, vol. 54, no. 5, (May 1970).

  Hammond, Lt. Col. J. W., Jr. “Combat Journal,” Marine Corps Gazette, vol. 52, no. 7, (July 1968).

  Kipp, Robert M. “Counterinsurgency from 30,000 Feet: B-52s in Vietnam,” Air University Review, XIX, no. 2, (
January–February 1968).

  Serong, A. P. “The 1972 Easter Offensive,” Southeast Asia Perspectives, 10, (Summer 1974).

  Simmons, Brig. Gen. Edwin H., USMC. “Marine Corps Operations in Vietnam, 1967,” Naval Review, 1969.

  ________ . “Marine Corps Operations in Vietnam, 1968,” Naval Review, 1970.

  Studt, Lt. Col. John C. “Battalion on the Attack,” Marine Corps Gazette, vol. 54, no. 7 (July 1970).

  Swearengen, Maj. Mark A. “Siege: 40 Days at Khe Sanh,” Marine Corps Gazette, vol. 54, no. 4, (April 1975).

  Turley, Lt. Col. G. H. and Wells, Capt. Mr. R. “Easter Invasion,” Marine Corps Gazette, vol. 57, no. 3, (March 1973).

  SELECTED ARTICLES

  Alsop, Stewart. “Will Westmoreland Elect Johnson?” Saturday Evening Post, January 13, 1968.

  Arnett, Peter. “Viet Red Drive Challenges U.S. Military Assumptions,” Baltimore Sun, February 7, 1968.

  Baldwin, Hanson W. “The Enemy’s Armory Goes Modern,” New York Times, March 3, 1968.

  ________ . “Khe Sanh Disturbs Many in Marines,” New York Times, March 14, 1968.

  Braestrup, Peter. “Copters Run Constant Risks to Supply Khe Sanh Outposts,” Washington Post, March 5, 1968.

  Buckley, Tom. “U.S. Cuts Estimate of Foe’s Strength,” New York Times, November 25, 1967.

  ________ . “U.S. Troops Face Point-Blank Fire; Near Top of Hill,” New York Times, November 22, 1967.

  ________ . “Offensive Is Said to Pinpoint Enemy’s Strengths,” New York Times, Feb. 2, 1968.

  ________ . “Westmoreland Asserts ‘Very Heavy Fighting’ is Ahead,” New York Times, March 11, 1968.

  Carroll, John S. “Reds Claim Forewarning of B-52 Raids,” Baltimore Sun, March 20, 1968.

  “Cavalry Charge to Khe Sanh by Road and Chopper,” Life, April 19, 1968.

  Coffey, Raymond R. “The Scene in Vietnam: Gloomier and Gloomier,” Chicago Daily News, March 7, 1968.

  ________ . “Viet ‘Progress,’ ” Chicago Daily News, January 10, 1968.

  Deepe, Beverly. “U.S. Military Seeks Khe Sanh Offensive,” Christian Science Monitor, March 26, 1968.

  “Drawing the Noose?” Newsweek, Feb. 5, 1968.

  Duncan, Donald. “Khe Sanh,” Life, vol. 64, no. 8, February 23, 1968.

  “End of Vietnam War in Sight?” U.S. News & World Report, September 11, 1967.