Close Air Support And The Battle For Khe Sanh

Author : Lt.-Col Shawn Callahan USMC
Publisher : Pickle Partners Publishing
Page : 221 pages
File Size : 55,7 Mb
Release : 2014-08-15
Category : History
ISBN : 9781782894438

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Close Air Support And The Battle For Khe Sanh [Illustrated Edition] by Lt.-Col Shawn Callahan USMC Pdf

Includes 7 maps, 3 tables, and more than 80 photo illustrations. In the 77 days from 20 Jan. to 18 March of 1968, two divisions of the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) surrounded a regiment of U.S. Marines on a mountain plateau in the northwest corner of South Vietnam known as Khe Sanh. The episode was no accident; it was in fact a carefully orchestrated meeting in which both sides got what they wanted. The North Vietnamese succeeded in surrounding the Marines in a situation in many ways similar to Dien Bien Phu, and may have been seeking similar tactical, operational, and strategic results. General William C. Westmoreland, the commander of the joint U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam (COMUSMACV), meanwhile, sought to lure the NVA into the unpopulated terrain around the 26th Marines in order to wage a battle of annihilation with air power. In this respect Khe Sanh has been lauded as a great victory of air power, a military instrument of dubious suitability to much of the Vietnam conflict. The facts support the assessment that air power was the decisive element at Khe Sanh, delivering more than 96 percent of the ordnance used against the NVA. Most histories of the battle, however, do not delve much deeper than this. Comprehensive histories like John Prados and Ray Stubbe’s Valley of Decision, Robert Pisor’s End of the Line, and Eric Hammel’s Siege in the Clouds provide excellent accounts of the battle, supported by detailed analyses of its strategic and operational background but tend to focus on the ground battle and treat the application of air power in general terms. They do not, however, make significant distinction between the contributions of the two primary air combat elements in this air-land battle: the 7th Air Force and the 1st Marine Air Wing. An analysis of their respective contributions to the campaign reveals that they each made very different contributions that reflected very different approaches to the application of air power.

Author : Shawn P. Callahan
Publisher : Government Printing Office
Page : 184 pages
File Size : 40,7 Mb
Release : 2009
Category : Close air support
ISBN : 0160872561

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Close Air Support and the Battle for Khe Sanh by Shawn P. Callahan Pdf

Author : Shawn P. Callahan
Publisher : Marine Corps Association
Page : 188 pages
File Size : 48,5 Mb
Release : 2009
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : UOM:39015085901513

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Close Air Support and the Battle for Khe Sanh by Shawn P. Callahan Pdf

Chapters include the Hill Battles of 1967, The Seige of 1968, Operation Pegasus and the Relief of Khe Sanh, the Deep Air Battle and the B-52, Radar Controlled Tactical Air Support, Close Air Support, and Conclusions. Mixed within the text are black and white photographs, charts, and figures. An appendix with a glossary and acronym of terms and extensive bibliography support this occasional paper work. These "Occasional Papers" are chosen for intrinsic worth, must reflect structured research, present a contribution to historical knowledge not readily available in published sources, and reflect original content on the part of the author, compiler, or editor.

Author : Lieutenant Shawn Callahan,Shawn P. Callahan, Lieutenant Colonel,U.s. Marine Corps History Division
Publisher : CreateSpace
Page : 184 pages
File Size : 54,5 Mb
Release : 2013-11
Category : History
ISBN : 1494297892

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Close Air Support and the Battle for Khe Sanh by Lieutenant Shawn Callahan,Shawn P. Callahan, Lieutenant Colonel,U.s. Marine Corps History Division Pdf

In the 77 days from 20 January to 18 March of 1968, two divisions of the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) surrounded a regiment of U.S. Marines on a mountain plateau in the northwest corner of South Vietnam known as Khe sanh. The episode was no accident; it was in fact a carefully orchestrated meeting in which both sides got what they wanted. The north Vietnamese succeeded in surrounding the Marines in a situation in many ways similar to Dien Bien Phu, and may have been seeking similar tactical, operational, and strategic results. General William C. Westmoreland, the commander of the joint U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam (COMUSMACV), meanwhile, sought to lure the NVA into the unpopulated terrain around the 26th Marines in order to wage a battle of annihilation with air power. In this respect Khe Sanh has been lauded as a great victory of air power, a military instrument of dubious suitability to much of the Vietnam conflict. The facts support the assessment that air power was the decisive element at Khe Sanh, delivering more than 96 percent of the ordnance used against the NVA. This work focuses mainly on fixed-wing close air support, or the support provided by jet and propeller-driven conventional aircraft, to the general exclusion of rotary-wing aircraft, also known as helicopters. There are several reasons for this, none of which are meant to belittle the contributions or heroism of the Marine, Army, and Air Force helicopter pilots who fought in the hills around Khe Sanh. First, until the arrival of the AH-1G Cobra in April 1969, there was no helicopter designed for dedicated close air support of Marines in Vietnam. The primary gunship during the battle of Khe Sanh was the UH-1E outfitted with machine guns and rocket launchers for the escort of unarmed helicopters. These helicopters were sometimes used for the direct support of ground troops with suppressive fires and were frequently used as forward air controllers, spotting and marking targets for fixed-wing aircraft with heavier ordnance. These roles are appropriately discussed alongside the contributions of the fixed-wing aircraft, but as a general rule, analysis remains focused on the heavier attack aircraft.

Author : Shawn P. Callahan
Publisher : www.Militarybookshop.CompanyUK
Page : 180 pages
File Size : 49,7 Mb
Release : 2010-05-03
Category : History
ISBN : 1839310545

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Close Air Support and the Battle for Khe Sanh by Shawn P. Callahan Pdf

Originally published by the United States Marine Corps History Division in 2009.

Author : Captain Moyers S. Shore II USMC
Publisher : Pickle Partners Publishing
Page : 172 pages
File Size : 45,5 Mb
Release : 2014-08-15
Category : History
ISBN : 9781782893561

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The Battle For Khe Sanh [Illustrated Edition] by Captain Moyers S. Shore II USMC Pdf

Includes more than 10 maps and 20 Illustrations “The Marines’ heroic defense of the Khe Sanh area against numerically superior North Vietnamese forces stands out among the many battles fought to defend the Republic of Vietnam against Communist aggression. “The enemy’s primary objective of his 1968 TET Offensive was to seize power in South Vietnam by creating a general uprising and causing the defection of major elements of the ARVN. In conjunction with this, the enemy apparently expected to seize by military action large portions of the northern two provinces lying just south of the Demilitarized Zone and there to set up a “liberation government.” The virtually unpopulated Khe Sanh Plateau, which lay astride the enemy’s principal avenue of approach from his large base areas in Laos, was obviously an initial objective of the North Vietnamese Army.... “This report provides a detailed and graphic account of events as they unfolded. It centers about the 26th Marine Regiment, the main defenders of the Khe Sanh area, who tenaciously and magnificently held off the enemy during the two-and-one-half-month siege. Yet the battle of Khe Sanh was an inter-Service and international operation. Consequently, appropriate coverage is given to the contributions of the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force, and to South Vietnamese regular and irregular military units, all of whom contributed to the defense of the area and to the destruction of the enemy. As Marine artillery from within the fortified positions pounded the enemy, Army artillery located to the east provided heavy, long-range fire support. Fighter aircraft from the Marines, Air Force, and Navy provided continuous close air support, while B-52 bombers of the Strategic Air Command dealt decisive blows around-the-clock to enemy forces within striking distance of our positions and against enemy supply areas....”-General Westmoreland

Author : Bernard C. Nalty
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 148 pages
File Size : 52,7 Mb
Release : 1974
Category : Khe Sanh, 2nd Battle of, Vietnam, 1968
ISBN : MINN:30000010491946

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Air Power and the Fight for Khe Sanh by Bernard C. Nalty Pdf

Author : Moyers S. Shore
Publisher : Good Press
Page : 157 pages
File Size : 49,9 Mb
Release : 2019-11-25
Category : Fiction
ISBN : EAN:4057664619600

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The Battle for Khe Sanh by Moyers S. Shore Pdf

The Battle for Khe Sanh is a book by Moyers S. Shore. During the Vietnam War a battle was conducted in the Khe Sanh area of northwestern Vietnam, and this work presents equipment and tactics of US forces and how they fought VC forces.

Author : Bernard C. Nalty
Publisher : DIANE Publishing
Page : 145 pages
File Size : 42,7 Mb
Release : 1973
Category : Khe Sanh, Battle of, 1968
ISBN : 9781428993396

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Air Power and the Fight for Khe Sanh by Bernard C. Nalty Pdf

Author : Moyers S. Shore
Publisher : DigiCat
Page : 158 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2022-05-28
Category : Fiction
ISBN : EAN:8596547013716

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The Battle for Khe Sanh by Moyers S. Shore Pdf

The Battle for Khe Sanh is a book by Moyers S. Shore. During the Vietnam War a battle was conducted in the Khe Sanh area of northwestern Vietnam, and this work presents equipment and tactics of US forces and how they fought VC forces.

Author : Anonim
Publisher : DIANE Publishing
Page : 372 pages
File Size : 50,9 Mb
Release : 2024-06-06
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 9781428982109

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Air power in three wars by Anonim Pdf

Author : Air Command and Staff College
Publisher : CreateSpace
Page : 48 pages
File Size : 54,5 Mb
Release : 2014-10-15
Category : History
ISBN : 1502835487

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Air Power and Its Role in the Battles of Khe Sanh and Dien Bien Phu by Air Command and Staff College Pdf

The battles of Dienbienphu and Khe Sanh have many similarities. Both were fought in Vietnam on similar terrain. Both were at the end of long supply lines in isolated jungle areas. Both involved a protracted siege of the defending forces whose success or failure was dependent on their ability to resupply by air and provide close air support against the attacking enemy formations. Yet one force, the French were defeated by a seemingly lightly armed guerrilla force, while the American Marines, opposed by the regular army forces of the North Vietnamese Army, were successful. Furthermore, the level of casualties on both sides were astonishing. At Dienbienphu, the French suffered over 12,350 total casualties as well as having 6,500 taken prisoner at the end of the battle, many of which were never heard from again. The Americans on the other hand suffered comparatively light casualties. 354 battle deaths and 2024 wounded were suffered during the fourteen months of combat operations beginning in April 1967 and ending in June 1968. The primary reason for the American success and the French failure during these two battles was their ability to conduct aerial resupply of the garrison and the hilltop outposts at Khe Sanh and the French inability to provide the necessary materials for their garrison. In addition to aerial resupply, was the American's ability to provide close air support for their positions during the siege as well as fly interdiction missions along the NVA supply lines to slow down or reduce the amount of supplies and troops available for their assaults.

Author : Rod Andrew,U. S. Department U.S. Department of Defense
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 66 pages
File Size : 55,7 Mb
Release : 2019-05-10
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 1097337391

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Hill Fights: the First Battle of Khe Sanh 1967 by Rod Andrew,U. S. Department U.S. Department of Defense Pdf

In the spring of 1967, some of the most vicious and bloody fighting of the Vietnam War occurred in the remote northwestern corner of the Republic of Vietnam (RVN), or South Vietnam. Khe Sanh lies in the mountainous northwest corner of Quang Tri Province. As an otherwise insignificant village that few people from the outside world had ever heard of, Khe Sanh's location astride Route 9 near the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating North and South Vietnam and just 10 kilometers east of the Laotian border made it strategically significant to American military planners and their North Vietnamese foes. Later, in 1968, the legendary siege of Khe Sanh, partly coinciding with the larger Communist Tet Offensive, would make this small village a household name among Americans and a well-known heroic chapter in the history of the U.S. Marine Corps.This narrative does not tell the story of the 1968 siege, but rather describes the equally heroic, brutal, and bloody fighting that took place around Khe Sanh during the preceding year. In the spring of 1967, various units from 3d Marine Division (3d MarDiv) fought a number of ferocious battles with elements of the North Vietnamese Army (NVA), some of the best-trained and most motivated troops of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.* These fierce clashes, erupting suddenly in steep mountainous terrain at close range and resulting in heavy casualties on both sides, included some of the most desperate fighting of the Vietnam War. In Marine Corps lore, they were known as the "Hill Fights" or the "First Battle of Khe Sanh."The relative obscurity of the Hill Fights in comparison to the 1968 siege of Khe Sanh is unfortunate for several reasons. First, individual Marines and small-unit leaders acquitted themselves valiantly in the Hill Fights and their efforts should not be overlooked. The valor of Marine infantrymen at Khe Sanh was matched only by that of the aircraft crews who supported them. Also, the Hill Fights illustrated several trends that characterized the experience of the U.S. Marine Corps in Vietnam. Effective close air support and other fire support coordination were hallmarks of the Hill Fights and undoubtedly saved countless American lives. The fighting around Khe Sanh also highlighted the tenacity of the North Vietnamese soldier and his skills in concealment and in building fortifications.

Author : General William W. Momyer USAF
Publisher : Pickle Partners Publishing
Page : 278 pages
File Size : 45,7 Mb
Release : 2015-11-06
Category : History
ISBN : 9781786250728

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Air Power in Three Wars: World War II, Korea, Vietnam [Illustrated Edition] by General William W. Momyer USAF Pdf

[Includes over 130 illustrations and maps] This insightful work documents the thoughts and perspectives of a general with 35 years of history with the U.S. Air Force – General William W. Momyer. The manuscript discusses his years as a senior commander of the Air Force – strategy, command and control counter air operations, interdiction, and close air support. His perspectives cover World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

Author : Department of Defense (DoD),U. S. Marine Corps (USMC),U. S. Military
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 182 pages
File Size : 42,7 Mb
Release : 2018-03-11
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 1980529205

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U. S. Marine Corps (USMC) History: Close Air Support and the Battle for Khe Sanh - Covering the Vietnam War, Westmoreland, B-52 Stratofortress, Skyhawk, Phantom, Sea Knight, Spooky, and Super Gaggle by Department of Defense (DoD),U. S. Marine Corps (USMC),U. S. Military Pdf

In the 77 days from 20 January to 18 March of 1968, two divisions of the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) surrounded a regiment of U.S. Marines on a mountain plateau in the northwest corner of South Vietnam known as Khe Sanh. The episode was no accident; it was in fact a carefully orchestrated meeting in which both sides got what they wanted. The North Vietnamese succeeded in surrounding the Marines in a situation in many ways similar to Dien Bien Phu, and may have been seeking similar tactical, operational, and strategic results. General William C. Westmoreland, the commander of the joint U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam (COMUSMACV), meanwhile, sought to lure the NVA into the unpopulated terrain around the 26th Marines in order to wage a battle of annihilation with air power. In this respect Khe Sanh has been lauded as a great victory of air power, a military instrument of dubious suitability to much of the Vietnam conflict. The facts support the assessment that air power was the decisive element at Khe Sanh, delivering more than 96 percent of the ordnance used against the NVA.Most histories of the battle, however, do not delve much deeper than this. Comprehensive histories like John Prados and Ray Stubbe's Valley of Decision, Robert Pisor's End of the Line, and Eric Hammel's Siege in the Clouds provide excellent accounts of the battle, supported by detailed analyses of its strategic and operational background but tend to focus on the ground battle and treat the application of air power in general terms. Official Marine Corps histories predictably focus on the experience of the 26th Marines at the expense of the contributions of air forces. Air Force histories, including those written by historians well acquainted with both the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Marine Corps like Bernard C. Nalty, do analyze the application of air power in detail. They do not, however, make significant distinction between the contributions of the two primary air combat elements in this air-land battle: the 7th Air Force and the 1st Marine Air Wing. An analysis of their respective contributions to the campaign reveals that they each made very different contributions that reflected very different approaches to the application of air power.Foreword * Introduction * Close Air Support Doctrines * Khe Sanh Background * The Hill Battles of 1967 * The Siege of 1968 * Operation Pegasus and the Relief of Khe Sanh * The Deep Air Battle and the B-52 * Radar Controlled Tactical Air Support * Close Air Support * Conclusions * Appendix A: Glossary of Acronyms and Terms * Appendix B: Orders of Battle * Appendix C: Fratricide and Near Fratricide Aviation Incidents at Khe Sanh * Bibliography