The End of the Line

Download The End of the Line PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN 13 : 9780393322699
Total Pages : 324 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (226 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The End of the Line by : Robert Pisor

Download or read book The End of the Line written by Robert Pisor and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 1982 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It was the most spectacular battle of the entire war. For 6,000 trapped marines, it was a nightmare; for President Lyndon Johnson, an obsession. For General Westmoreland, it was to be the final vindication of technological weaponry. In a compelling narrative, Robert Pisor sets forth the history, the politics, the strategies, and, above all, the desperate reality of the battle that became the turning point of the United States's involvement in Vietnam.

Siege of Khe Sanh: The Story of the Vietnam War's Largest Battle

Download Siege of Khe Sanh: The Story of the Vietnam War's Largest Battle PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN 13 : 0393354520
Total Pages : 352 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (933 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Siege of Khe Sanh: The Story of the Vietnam War's Largest Battle by : Robert Pisor

Download or read book Siege of Khe Sanh: The Story of the Vietnam War's Largest Battle written by Robert Pisor and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2018-01-30 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A war correspondent’s masterful blow-by-blow account of the Battle of Khe Sanh, reissued with a new preface by Mark Bowden for the battle’s 50th anniversary. The six-month siege of Khe Sanh in 1968 was the largest, most intense battle of the Vietnam War. For six thousand trapped U.S. Marines, it was a nightmare; for President Johnson, an obsession. For General Westmoreland, it was to be the final vindication of technological weaponry; for General Giap, architect of the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu, it was a spectacular ruse masking troops moving south for the Tet offensive. With a new introduction by Mark Bowden—best-selling author of Hu? 1968—Robert Pisor’s immersive narrative of the action at Khe Sanh is a timely reminder of the human cost of war, and a visceral portrait of Vietnam’s fiercest and most epic close-quarters battle. Readers may find the politics and the tactics of the Vietnam War, as they played out at Khe Sahn fifty years ago, echoed in our nation’s global incursions today. Robert Pisor sets forth the history, the politics, the strategies, and, above all, the desperate reality of the battle that became the turning point of U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

Last Stand at Khe Sanh

Download Last Stand at Khe Sanh PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Da Capo Press
ISBN 13 : 0306821400
Total Pages : 400 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (68 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Last Stand at Khe Sanh by : Gregg Jones

Download or read book Last Stand at Khe Sanh written by Gregg Jones and published by Da Capo Press. This book was released on 2014-04-22 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a remote mountain stronghold in 1968, six thousand US Marines awoke one January morning to find themselves surrounded by 20,000 enemy troops. Their only road to the coast was cut, and bad weather and enemy fire threatened their fragile air lifeline. The siege of Khe Sanh-the Vietnam War's epic confrontation-was under way. For seventy-seven days, the Marines and a contingent of US Army Special Forces endured artillery barrages, sniper fire, ground assaults, and ambushes. Air Force, Marine, and Navy pilots braved perilous flying conditions to deliver supplies, evacuate casualties, and stem the North Vietnamese Army's onslaught. As President Lyndon B. Johnson weighed the use of tactical nuclear weapons, Americans watched the shocking drama unfold on nightly newscasts. Through it all, the bloodied defenders of Khe Sanh held firm and prepared for an Alamo-like last stand. Now, Gregg Jones takes readers into the trenches and bunkers at Khe Sanh to tell the story of this extraordinary moment in American history. Last Stand at Khe Sanh captures the exceptional courage and brotherhood that sustained the American fighting men throughout the ordeal. It brings to life an unforgettable cast of characters-young high school dropouts and rootless rebels in search of John Wayne glory; grizzled Korean War veterans; daredevil pilots; gritty platoon leaders and company commanders; and courageous Navy surgeons who volunteered to serve in combat with the storied Marines. Drawing on in-depth interviews with siege survivors, thousands of pages of archival documents, and scores of oral history accounts, Gregg Jones delivers a poignant and heart-pounding narrative worthy of the heroic defense of Khe Sanh.

The Battle for Khe Sanh

Download The Battle for Khe Sanh PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : DigiCat
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 158 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (596 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Battle for Khe Sanh by : Moyers S. Shore

Download or read book The Battle for Khe Sanh written by Moyers S. Shore and published by DigiCat. This book was released on 2022-05-28 with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Valley of Decision

Download Valley of Decision PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 616 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Valley of Decision by : John Prados

Download or read book Valley of Decision written by John Prados and published by . This book was released on 1991 with total page 616 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This military history of the Vietnam War uses official documents including US Government records and North Vietnamese Army material. It also draws on notes, personal letters, diaries and eye-witness accounts collected over 20 years by Ray W. Stubbe, nicknamed chaplain of Khe Sanh.

The Hill Fights

Download The Hill Fights PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Presidio Press
ISBN 13 : 0307417123
Total Pages : 386 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (74 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Hill Fights by : Edward F. Murphy

Download or read book The Hill Fights written by Edward F. Murphy and published by Presidio Press. This book was released on 2007-12-18 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While the seventy-seven-day siege of Khe Sanh in early 1968 remains one of the most highly publicized clashes of the Vietnam War, scant attention has been paid to the first battle of Khe Sanh, also known as “the Hill Fights.” Although this harrowing combat in the spring of 1967 provided a grisly preview of the carnage to come at Khe Sanh, few are aware of the significance of the battles, or even their existence. For more than thirty years, virtually the only people who knew about the Hill Fights were the Marines who fought them. Now, for the first time, the full story has been pieced together by acclaimed Vietnam War historian Edward F. Murphy, whose definitive analysis admirably fills this significant gap in Vietnam War literature. Based on first-hand interviews and documentary research, Murphy’s deeply informed narrative history is the only complete account of the battles, their origins, and their aftermath. The Marines at the isolated Khe Sanh Combat Base were tasked with monitoring the strategically vital Ho Chi Minh trail as it wound through the jungles in nearby Laos. Dominated by high hills on all sides, the combat base had to be screened on foot by the Marine infantrymen while crack, battle-hardened NVA units roamed at will through the high grass and set up elaborate defenses on steep, sun-baked overlooks. Murphy traces the bitter account of the U.S. Marines at Khe Sanh from the outset in 1966, revealing misguided decisions and strategies from above, and capturing the chain of hill battles in stark detail. But the Marines themselves supply the real grist of the story; it is their recollections that vividly re-create the atmosphere of desperation, bravery, and relentless horror that characterized their combat. Often outnumbered and outgunned by a hidden enemy—and with buddies lying dead or wounded beside them—these brave young Americans fought on. The story of the Marines at Khe Sanh in early 1967 is a microcosm of the Corps’s entire Vietnam War and goes a long way toward explaining why their casualties in Vietnam exceeded, on a Marine-in-combat basis, even the tremendous losses the Leathernecks sustained during their ferocious Pacific island battles of World War II. The Hill Fights is a damning indictment of those responsible for the lives of these heroic Marines. Ultimately, the high command failed them, their tactics failed them, and their rifles failed them. Only the Marines themselves did not fail. Under fire, trapped in a hell of sudden death meted out by unseen enemies, they fought impossible odds with awesome courage and uncommon valor.

Expendable Warriors

Download Expendable Warriors PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Stackpole Books
ISBN 13 : 1461750938
Total Pages : 192 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (617 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Expendable Warriors by : Bruce B. G. Clarke

Download or read book Expendable Warriors written by Bruce B. G. Clarke and published by Stackpole Books. This book was released on 2009-03-10 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On January 21, 1968, nine days before the Tet Offensive, thousands of North Vietnamese regulars attacked the U.S. Marine base at Khe Sanh in remote northwestern South Vietnam, beginning a siege that ended seventy-seven days later in a tactical victory for the U.S. As a young U.S. Army officer serving with the Marines at the outpost, Bruce Clarke participated in the entire battle. His book combines firsthand experiences with archival research to describe the saga of Khe Sanh, which ended with the U.S.'s abandonment of the base, making it the heartbreaking and controversial symbol of American involvement in Vietnam.

The Battle for Khe Sanh

Download The Battle for Khe Sanh PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 220 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (31 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Battle for Khe Sanh by : Moyers S. Shore

Download or read book The Battle for Khe Sanh written by Moyers S. Shore and published by . This book was released on 1969 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Khe Sanh 1967–68

Download Khe Sanh 1967–68 PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1846036712
Total Pages : 96 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (46 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Khe Sanh 1967–68 by : Gordon L. Rottman

Download or read book Khe Sanh 1967–68 written by Gordon L. Rottman and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-09-20 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Khe Sanh

Download Khe Sanh PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Casemate
ISBN 13 : 9781612005904
Total Pages : 512 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (59 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Khe Sanh by : Eric Hammel

Download or read book Khe Sanh written by Eric Hammel and published by Casemate. This book was released on 2018-01-11 with total page 512 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In late 1967 as part of the Tet offensive, U.S. commanders hoped to lure the North Vietnamese Army into exposing large numbers of soldiers to their overwhelming air power. But in January 1968, a U.S. Marine Corps force found themselves surrounded by the enemy in their hilltop base at Khe Sanh. The siege lasted for nearly three months and caught the attention of the world; for many it came to epitomize the conflict. Eric Hammel's classic account is a vivid oral history, using the words of American fighting men caught up in the gruelling, deadly seventy-seven-day ordeal creates a harrowing tapestry of tragedy and triumph. As two North Vietnamese Army divisions move to surround them, the vastly outnumbered U.S. Marines rush to strengthen their defenses at the isolated base and several nearby hilltop positions. The Communist forces repeatedly attack, are repeatedly repelled, and then dig in to take the American base by siege-the makings of a classic, modern "set-piece" strategy in which the defenders become bait to tie the attackers to fixed positions in which they can be pummelled and pulverized by American artillery and air support. The gripping - and moving - narrative flows from the masterfully woven threads provided by nearly a hundred men who gallantly endured the wrenching all-out struggle to hold the combat base and its vulnerable outlying positions. Re-issued in the fiftieth anniversary year of the siege, with an updated photo section and maps, this is a ground-breaking and influential history of this crucial landmark battle.

Blood in the Hills

Download Blood in the Hills PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 1493019767
Total Pages : 288 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (93 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Blood in the Hills by : Charles W. Sasser

Download or read book Blood in the Hills written by Charles W. Sasser and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2017-04-01 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A soldier’s eye view of Vietnam’s fiercest close-quarters battle upon its 50th anniversary Khe Sanh’s Hill Fights of 1967—as experienced by co-author Bobby Maras and told in this hour-by-hour, day-by-day account—were carnage on the ground, much of it hand-to-hand fighting in the dark. Thanks to the brave Marines of the 9th and 3rd, Khe Sanh survived the first concentrated attack by the North Vietnamese to invade the South. After the Hill Fights, American forces pulled back and held out against constant enemy shelling and frequent attacks until the siege was broken. Combining Maras’ personal experiences with the war’s bigger picture, Blood in the Hills honors the heroic actions of our soldiers and shows how Khe Sanh was microcosm of the entire Vietnam War.

Hill Fights: the First Battle of Khe Sanh 1967

Download Hill Fights: the First Battle of Khe Sanh 1967 PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781097337392
Total Pages : 66 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (373 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Hill Fights: the First Battle of Khe Sanh 1967 by : Rod Andrew

Download or read book Hill Fights: the First Battle of Khe Sanh 1967 written by Rod Andrew and published by . This book was released on 2019-05-10 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Khe Sanh

Download Khe Sanh PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Pacifica Press
ISBN 13 : 9780935553567
Total Pages : 477 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (535 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Khe Sanh by : Eric Hammel

Download or read book Khe Sanh written by Eric Hammel and published by Pacifica Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 477 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From critcally acclaimed military historian Eric Hammel comes a vivid oral history account of the Tet 1968 siege of the Khe Sanh Combat Base. The words of American fighting men caught up in the grueling, deadly seventy-seven-day ordeal create a harrowing tapestry of tragedy and triumph. As two North Vietnamese Army divisions move to surround them, the vastly outnumbered U.S. Marines rush to strengthen their defenses at the isolated base and several nearby hilltop positions. The Communist forces repeatedly attack, are repeatedly repelled, and then dig in to take the American base by siege-the makings of a classic, modern "set-piece" strategy in which the defenders become bait to tie the attackers to fixed positions in which they can be pummeled and pulverized by American artillery and air support. Khe Sanh: Siege in the Clouds is a ground-breaking step forward in the oral history genre. This gripping-and moving-narrative flows from the masterfully woven threads provided by nearly a hundred men who gallantly endured the wrenching all-out struggle to hold the combat base and its vulnerable outlying positions.

The Siege of Khe Sanh

Download The Siege of Khe Sanh PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Grand Central Pub
ISBN 13 : 9780446360234
Total Pages : 300 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (62 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Siege of Khe Sanh by : Eric Hammel

Download or read book The Siege of Khe Sanh written by Eric Hammel and published by Grand Central Pub. This book was released on 1990 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the compelling oral tradition of Nam, the second volume of the dramatic front-line account of Khe Sanh "takes the reader straight into the trenches and foxholes".--New York Times Book Review. Here are the first-person accounts of the men who fought and survived one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War.

Feeding Victory

Download Feeding Victory PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : University Press of Kansas
ISBN 13 : 0700634029
Total Pages : 400 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (6 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Feeding Victory by : Jobie Turner

Download or read book Feeding Victory written by Jobie Turner and published by University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 2022-06-03 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A study of logistics problems and solutions from 18th century wars of empire to the Vietnam War.

The Battle for Khe Sanh

Download The Battle for Khe Sanh PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : CreateSpace
ISBN 13 : 9781500145033
Total Pages : 220 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (45 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Battle for Khe Sanh by : II Usmc Shore, Captain

Download or read book The Battle for Khe Sanh written by II Usmc Shore, Captain and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2014-06-10 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the extreme northwestern corner of South Vietnam there stands a monument to the free world. Unlike those which commemorate the victories of past wars, this one was not built on marble or bronze but the sacrifices of men who fought and died at a remote outpost to halt the spread of Communism. This is the story of those men--the defenders of Khe Sanh--and the epic 77-day struggle which not only denied the North Vietnamese Army a much needed victory but reaffirmed to the world the intention of the United States to hold the line in Southeast Asia. In addition to having been a contest of men and machines, this was the test of a nation's will. As a history, this work is not intended to prove any point, but rather to record objectively the series of events which came to be called the Battle of Khe Sanh. These events spanned a period from April 1967 to April 1968. The rationale for the buildup along the Demilitarized Zone and the commitment to hold the small garrison is presented as a logical extension of the three-pronged strategy then employed throughout I Corps and the rest of South Vietnam; this balanced campaign included pacification programs, counterguerrilla activity, and large unit offensive sweeps. Although isolated, the Khe Sanh Combat Base was a vital link in the northern defenses which screened the Allied counterinsurgency efforts in the densely populated coastal plains from invasion by regular divisions from North Vietnam. By obstructing this attempted invasion, American and South Vietnamese forces at Khe Sanh provided a shield for their contemporaries who were waging a war for the hearts and minds of the people in the cities, villages, and hamlets farther to the south. In the process, a reinforced regiment--the 26th Marines--supported by massive firepower provided by the Marine and Navy air arms, the U.S. Air Force and Marine and Army artillery, defended this base and mangled two crack North Vietnamese Army divisions, further illustrating to Hanoi the futility of its war of aggression. Later, after the encirclement was broken and additional U.S. forces became available, the Allies were able to shift emphasis from the fixed defense to fast-moving offensive operations to control this vital area astride the enemy's invasion route. In these operations, our troops thrust out to strike the enemy whenever he appeared in this critical region. This shift in tactics in the spring of 1968 was made possible by favorable weather, the buildup of troops, helicopters, and logistics that had taken place during the winter of 1967-68. An additional factor was the construction of a secure forward base across the mountains to the east of Khe Sanh, from which these operations could be supported. The Khe Sanh Combat Base then lost the importance it had earlier and was dismantled after its supplies were drawn down, since it was no longer needed. The strategy of containing the North Vietnamese Army along the border remained the same; but revised tactics were now possible. But in 1967 and early 1968, neither troops nor helicopters, logistics nor the forward base were available to support the more aggressive tactics. The enemy lunged into the area in force, and he had to be stopped. The KSCB with its airstrip was the pivotal point in the area from which Allied firepower could be directed and which the enemy could not ignore. It was here that the 26th Marines made their stand. This study also provides insight into the mechanics of the battle from the highest echelon of command to the smallest unit. In addition, appropriate coverage is provided to the supporting arms and the mammoth logistics effort which spelled the difference between victory and defeat. While this is basically a story about Marines, it notes the valiant contributions of U. S. Army, Navy, and Air Force personnel, as well as the South Vietnamese.

The Battle of Khe Sanh

Download The Battle of Khe Sanh PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781077640429
Total Pages : 78 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (44 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Battle of Khe Sanh by : Charles River Editors

Download or read book The Battle of Khe Sanh written by Charles River Editors and published by . This book was released on 2019-07-02 with total page 78 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: *Includes pictures *Includes a bibliography for further reading By the end of 1967, with nearly half a million troops deployed, more than 19,000 deaths, and a war that cost $2 billion a month and seemed to grow bloodier by the day, President Lyndon Johnson's administration faced an increasingly impatient and skeptical nation regarding the Vietnam War. Regardless, by then, both sides were preparing to take the war into a new phase. U.S. General William "Westy" Westmoreland, commander of American forces in the theater, planned an aggressive strategy to send forces into Laos and Cambodia to sever the "Ho Chi Minh Trail" and other lines of supply. Without the steady flow of materiel, the efforts of both the Viet Cong and the NVA units beginning to move into action would wither on the vine, laying the groundwork for an American and South Vietnamese triumph. However, unbeknownst to the Americans, the North Vietnamese were planning their own major, hopefully decisive campaign for early 1968. This would come in the form of the Tet Offensive, a coordinated surprise assault on many key locations throughout the conflict zone. Van Tien Dung and Le Duan devised this scheme over the objections of the famous general Vo Nguyen Giap, who left in disgust on medical leave to communist Hungary. Key to both sets of plans was an American base in the extreme northwest of South Vietnam, close to Laos and part of a chain of US and ARVN (South Vietnamese military) bases designed to screen the South from direct invasion by the North. This base bore the name of a town at its location, Khe Sanh. Whether as a jumping off point for potential American operations in Laos, or a relatively isolated target for a sudden offensive, Khe Sanh entered the thoughts of planners on both sides as 1967 drew to a close. As a result, a long siege, punctuated by shorter, more bloody encounters, developed in the early days of 1968. Shortly after the battle, a massive coordinated Viet Cong operation - the Tet Offensive - briefly paralyzed American and South Vietnamese forces across the country, threatening even the American embassy compound in Saigon. With this, the smiling mask slipped even further, inflaming the burgeoning antiwar movement. Although American soldiers didn't lose a battle strategically during the campaign, the Tet Offensive made President Johnson non-credible and historically unpopular, to the extent that he did not run for reelection in 1968. By then, Vietnam had already fueled the hippie counterculture, and anti-war protests spread across the country. On campuses and in the streets, some protesters spread peace and love, but others rioted. In August 1968, riots broke out in the streets of Chicago, as the National Guard and police took on 10,000 anti-war rioters during the Democratic National Convention. By the end of the decade, Vietnam had left tens of thousands of Americans dead, spawned a counterculture with millions of protesters, and destroyed a presidency, and more was still yet to come. Nearly 50 years after the fighting, the Battle of Khe Sanh and the Tet Offensive continue to inspire impassioned and occasionally bitter debates among historians, military officers, government officials, veterans, journalists, and the public at large. Perhaps the only proposition to win universal agreement is that the fighting at the start of 1968 represented a significant turning point. The conflict in Vietnam would continue for years, but it would never be the same. The Battle of Khe Sanh: The History and Legacy of the Major Battle that Preceded the Tet Offensive during the Vietnam War chronicles one of the most controversial battles of the war, and the effects it had on both sides. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the Battle of Khe Sanh like never before.