page_title: Battle of Kham Duc
section_title: Background
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Kham Duc / Background
caption_attribution_description: English: My intention in uploading this photograph is to show a particular event in the history of Vietnam, namely the battle of Kham Duc.
context_page_description: The Battle of Kham Duc was a major battle of the Vietnam War. The event occurred in Khâm Đức, now district capital of Khâm Đức District, then in Quảng Tín Province, from 10–12 May 1968. During the Tet Offensive of 1968, the People's Army of Vietnam 2nd Division tried to capture Đà Nẵng, but they were defeated in the Battle of Lo Giang by elements of the U.S. 1st Marine Division and the 23rd Infantry Division. PAVN General Chu Huy Mân disengaged from the fight on the outskirts of the city, and pulled the 2nd Division into the mountains where it could rest, rebuild, and prepare for the next major operation. Khâm Đức, a small district in the north of Quảng Tín, was chosen as the next target for the 2nd Division. Following their defeat at Đà Nẵng, U.S. military intelligence agencies in I Corps Tactical Zone were confused by the movements of the 2nd Division, because they could not track down the unit.
  During March and April, U.S. military intelligence began to detect elements of the PAVN 2nd Division moving towards Khâm Đức, but their opponent's true intentions were largely unknown.
context_section_description: 1968 marked a decisive turning point in the history of the Vietnam War. Towards the end of January, regular units of the PAVN and the VC initiated large-scale attacks on Saigon and all 34 provincial cities of South Vietnam. Several major towns, villages, and allied military installations throughout the country were also attacked during the same period. In doing so, the PAVN and VC violated the Tết holiday truce, which had enabled South Vietnamese military personnel to go on leave. The combined PAVN/VC forces were able to achieve the element of surprise, but despite some early victories, they could only sustain their offensive for a few days, or in the case of the Battle of Huế several weeks, before being ejected with heavy losses.
  In I Corps the PAVN had mixed successes against allied military forces. On 7 February 1968, PAVN infantry armed with satchel charges, tear gas, and flamethrowers, and reinforced with Soviet-made PT-76 amphibious tanks, successfully seized the Lang Vei Special Forces Camp. At Khe Sanh Combat Base, about 7 kilometers (4.3 mi) east of Lang Vei, the U.S. 26th Marine Regiment was able to hold their ground against a multi-division PAVN assault. During the siege U.S. Air Force (USAF), Navy, and Marine fighter-bombers dropped 40,000 tonnes of bombs on PAVN positions, while B-52 bombers dropped more than 60,000 tonnes of ordnance on areas where the PAVN were believed to have concentrated their forces.
  In the same period, the PAVN 2nd Division under the command of General Giáp Văn Cương clashed with elements of the 1st Marine Division, the Americal Division, and the South Korean Marine Brigade in their attempts to capture Đà Nẵng. The PAVN, however, were defeated in the Battle of Lo Giang. After 9 February, the PAVN 2nd Division seemed to withdraw from the battlefield, so Lieutenant General Robert E. Cushman Jr. Commander of III Marine Amphibious Force ordered his troops to continue their attacks on the retreating forces. In the aftermath of the battle for Đà Nẵng, U.S. military commanders in I Corps held disparate views on the fighting ability of the PAVN 2nd Division. Americal Division commander Major General Samuel W. Koster claimed losses sustained by the PAVN 2nd Division had "impaired its future effectiveness", after his units killed more than 1,000 PAVN soldiers in the month of January alone. In contrast, 1st Marine Division commander Major General Donn J. Robertson told his superiors that the 2nd Division may have several uncommitted units they could deploy for future operations.
  Whether the PAVN 2nd Division had been rendered ineffective or not was uncertain, as U.S. military intelligence did not know the whereabouts of the enemy unit or their intentions. The PAVN had been fighting continuously since January 1968 with U.S. and other allied military forces in I Corps, so their resupply capabilities were overstretched and their soldiers were not given the opportunity to rest before the Tet Offensive. Thus, following the failed attack on Đà Nẵng, PAVN General Chu Huy Mân, Commander of Military Region 5, made the decision to pull the 2nd Division into the mountains where they could rest, resupply, and integrate replacements before going on the offensive again. Mân ordered Cương to split the 2nd Division into two fighting arms: one regiment would tie down the Americans in the Quế Son Valley, while the rest of the division would withdraw to their base areas near Laos, to link up with the 70th Transport Regiment. Then, their next target would be Khâm Đức and the surrounding areas; Mân told his senior officers that they would attack Khâm Đức to force an American retreat.
  Khâm Đức was in the northern section of Quảng Tín Province, South Vietnam, in I Corps Tactical Zone. It sat beside National Highway 14, which paralleled the international border with Laos, surrounded by high mountains on all sides. The Special Forces Camp was named after the main village which was about 800 meters (2,600 ft) to the northeast, and was constructed about mid-way along a 6,000-foot (1,800 m) asphalt runway. Before his assas
caption: This C-130 aircraft was photographed while airlifting supplies into Khâm Đức during April 1968; eventually the aircraft would play a major role in extracting all military and civilian personnel
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