Why did NVA and Vietcong forces attack the U.S. military base at Khe Sanh?

May 22, 2010

Posted by susanne

( 0 ratings )

Hi p43boutelle,

North Vietnamese leaders believed that they could not sustain the heavy losses inflicted by the Americans indefinitely and had to win the war with an all-out military effort. In addition, Ho Chi Minh was nearing death, and they needed a victory before that time came.

The North Vietnamese Commander, Vo Nguyen Giap, was hoping for a repeat of the Dien Bien Phu, where French colonial forces had been defeated in 1954, leading to the eventual creation of an independent, communist North Vietnam.

A repetition of such a victory would be a serious propaganda victory for the North Vietnamese; and the U.S. government made the decision to defend Khe Sanh at all costs.

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