Lang Vei

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{{Infobox Military Conflict |conflict=Battle of Lang Vei |partof=Second Indochina War/Vietnam War |date=February 7, 1968 |place=Lang Vei, Vietnam |result=PAVN pyrrhic victory |combatant1=North Vietnam |combatant2=United States |commander1=unknown |commander2=Capt. Frank C. Willoughby |strength1=Unknown |strength2=500 |casualties1=400-500 dead
unknown wounded 7
confirmed PT-76 tanks destroyed |casualties2=9 US Special Forces killed
19 wounded
9 MIA
Civilian Irregular Defense Groups 165 killed
30 wounded }}

Lang Vei was an American Special Forces camp, located approximately 7 kilometers west of the Khe Sanh Combat Base in the northwestern corner of South Vietnam, near its borders with North Vietnam and Laos. Constructed in 1967 for special operations along and across the Laotian border, the camp was overwhelmed by North Vietnamese forces on February 7, 1968.

Lang Vei was positioned some nine kilometers west of Khe Sanh village on Route Coloniale 9. Known to Americans as Highway 9, this major roadway stretched through Quang Tri Province from Dong Ha on the coast west to Lao Bao, passing through places such as Cam Lo as well as Khe Sanh.

The Battle of Lang Vei

The North Vietnamese Army (known to Americans as the NVA, but more properly the PAVN or People’s Army of Vietnam) launched an attack on the U.S. Marine combat base at Khe Sanh on January 21, 1968. On February 6th, they attacked the nearby Lang Vei camp. The camp's 500 defenders included American Green Berets and indigenous troops.

The camp was subjected to an unusually intense mortar and artillery barrage beginning about 6:00 pm on the 6th, and the defenders immediately responded with counter fire from the camp and supporting fire from the Khe Sanh Combat Base.

The PAVN ground attack began before 1:00 am in the predawn darkness of February 7th, supported by some twelve Russian PT-76 reconnaissance tanks. The first two to reach the protective wire around the camp perimeter were taken under fire and knocked out, but additional tanks maneuvered around the destroyed vehicles to overrun the defenders of the southern sector.

The camp’s defenders had been warned of a possible armored attack by earlier intelligence reports and were equipped with LAWS rockets. These, together with the camp’s 106-mm. and 57-mm. recoilless rifles, destroyed another 5 tanks but were not able to stop the remainder. The defenders made a fighting retreat from the perimeter but were soon surrounded in pockets of resistance. Meanwhile the PAVN forces ranged through the camp, using their tanks and explosive charges to destroy fortifications within the camp and attack the tactical operations center and other combat positions.

When day broke the defenders in the operations center called in air strikes against the North Vietnamese and requested the Marines at Khe Sanh to implement their contingency plan to reinforce the Special Forces camp. Fearing that the Lang Vei attack was part of a larger PAVN scheme the Marines chose not to reinforce the camp. At noon General William Westmoreland decided to evacuate the surviving defenders and a reaction force was dispatched with tactical air support.

The extraction took place that afternoon and by nightfall the camp had been evacuated. The seriously wounded were evacuated by helicopter while the reaction force escorted the remaining survivors and many refugees in a foot march that reached the Khe Sanh base on the morning of February 8th. Almost half of the defenders had been killed or were missing in action, but the PAVN had suffered proportionately and the attackers stopped at Lang Vei without attacking Khe Sanh.

Results

The battle is considered a PAVN pyrrhic victory. Although they succeeded in overrunning the camp they sustained heavy casualties, including most of their Russian tanks (7 confirmed with 2 more possible). Due to the heavy losses, PAVN General Vo Nguyen Giap abandoned his plan to use the tanks in a larger assault on Khe Sanh.

US Special Forces Losses: 9 killed, 19 wounded, 9 MIA (or possibly POW)

Civilian Irregular Defense Groups: 165 killed, 30 wounded

PAVN: 400-500 killed, unknown wounded, 7 confirmed PT-76 tanks destroyed

Today a PT-76 tank rests on the site of the Lang Vei battle as a war monument commemorating the PAVN victory.