<p>It was widely believed that the North Vietnamese forces were commanded by General Vo Nguyen Giap, long-time friend of Ho Chi Minh, and defense minister in his government. Whether or not Giap was in the field was never known certainly; most observers believed that he ran the campaign, and was hoping to repeat his victory over the French at Dien Bien Phu.
</p>
<p>The North Vietnamese had two full combat divisions in place around Khe Sanh, one of which had fought at Dien Bien Phu. There were reinforcements not far away. Total NVA strength was estimated at 20,000 troops, 72 heavy artillery pieces from 75-mm to 122-mm caliber, more than 200 mortars in three calibers, and an unknown number of rocket launchers. They had built and improved the roads between their positions and the Laos border where portions of the Ho Chi Minh supply trail emerged from the jungle canopy. Guns were dug in, and the battleground was set for a major attack on the Marines.
</p>
<p>Khe Sanh had a garrison of about 3,600 Marine troops of the 26th Division, plus the 1st Battalion, 13th Marines, a heavy artillery unit. The tactical plan was simple: hold the outpost. Their main supporting force was to be air power, a veritable Niagara of falling bombs and rockets. General William C. Westmoreland gave that name—Operation Niagara—to the massive air strikes planned to back the Marines.
</p>
<p>USAF used Strategic Air Command and tactical air as its strike force, and the Navy had a carrier task force TF77 in the Gulf of Tonkin, with its planes and those of the First Marine Air Wing available. About 400 strike sorties each day were easily possible.
</p>
<p>The battle began the morning of 21 January 1968. Giap's artillery fired a rolling barrage against the base. An early salvo hit the main ammunition dump, destroying all but two per cent of the munitions available. Worse, the shells hit and cratered the airstrip, cutting it so short that none of the heavier transports would be able to land.
</p>
<p>Under enemy fire, a Naval construction detachment repaired the runway so that it could handle Fairchild C-123 Provider light tactical transports. Six of them flew in that afternoon and evening with 24 tons of munitions. The next day, 20 more C-123 sorties raised the total to 130 tons, relieving the immediate problem of an ammunition shortage.
</p>
<p>Then the battle settled into the characteristic pattern: artillery barrages by the enemy, answering air strikes plus artillery from the Marine base, and Army artillery from a distant base called the Rock Pile. Marine reinforcements came in, including a South Vietnamese battalion, raising the Khe Sanh combat strength to about 6,000 men. Their supply needs were massive, and between a dozen and 15 cargo transports came into the base area each day to unload. Most of them were Lockheed C-130 tactical transports, which could haul up to 15 tons, more than three times the capacity of the C-123s.
