In the evening of 2 January, a listening post established by Company The increased enemy activity noted during December continued. As on the 3d Battalion's expedition the previous week, the 1st Battalion encountered only light contact, but found ominous signs of freshly built bunkers and small caches of supplies.24** Taking advantage of his increased troop strength to conduct battalion-sized operations once again, Colonel Lownds sent the 1st Battalion north of the combat base to search the Rao Quan River Valley during the last three days of December.
Companies I and K occupied Hills 881 South and 861, respectively, and Company L joined the 1st Battalion at the combat base proper as Colonel Lownds juggled the units among his defensive positions. The 3d Battalion conducted a four-day sweep of a ridge line west of the combat base, then settled into new positions. Alderman's 3d Battalion, 26th Marines touched down at Khe Sanh's recently refurbished airstrip.* Major General Tompkins, fearing that northeastern Quang Tri was much more vulnerable, argued the point and recorded later that he was "not at all excited about the idea."23 Nevertheless, within five hours. The III MAF staff, with many sources of intelligence available, recognized the significance of the enemy buildup, prompting Lieutenant General Cushman to call Major General Tompkins on 13 December to direct that another battalion be sent to Khe Sanh. With only one battalion at Khe Sanh to protect the combat base and its vital airstrip, as well as the surrounding hills, the 26th Marines' defenses were stretched thin. The fall to more than 6,000 in December.22 Ho Chi Minh Trail network from a monthly average of 480 vehicles in Perhaps the most revealing indicator of increased enemyĪctivity was the rise in North Vietnamese truck traffic along the nearby North Vietnamese Army were near Khe Sanh and another enemy unit, theģ20th Division, was east of the combat base, near Camp CarrollĪnd Cam Lo.
Intelligence sources reported thatīoth the 304th Division and the 325C Division of the
Sniper fire increased around Hill 881 South and the enemy attempted Lu: the 8th Battalion, 29th Regiment and the 95C Regiment.Īround the combat base, Marine patrols sighted new bunkers near HillĨ81 North as well as North Vietnamese carrying supplies and heavy weapons. Cers identified two North Vietnamese units between Khe Sanh and Ca
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