Khe Sanh and the DMZ: the battle and the line that divided Vietnam

1. 20 July 1954

   The Geneva Agreement temporarily divides Vietnam into North and South at the 17th parallel, along the Ben Hai river, until nationwide elections planned for July 1956.^[1]

2. 1954–1967

   Hien Luong Bridge becomes the symbol of the divided country. A joint North–South commission meets beside it under the watch of International Team 76.^[1]

3. 1956

   The elections never take place. It will be 21 years, until 1975, before the country is reunified.^[1]

4. 1965–1972

   Vinh Linh, the North’s frontline district just above the river, is bombed with hundreds of thousands of tonnes of bombs. In 1966–1968 its people dig 114 tunnels totalling more than 40 km to live, farm and fight underground.^[2]

5. 1967

   US bombs destroy Hien Luong Bridge.^[1]

6. 1975

   The war ends and the country is reunified.^[1]

7. 2001–2008

   Hien Luong Bridge is rebuilt to its original 1952 French design: 183.65 m long and 5.5 m wide.^[1]

8. 9 December 2013

   The two banks of Hien Luong – Ben Hai are listed as a special national monument.^[1]

To survive the bombing north of the line, the people of Vinh Linh lived underground. Vinh Moc is the best known of their tunnels, and you can walk through it today.^[2]

Families lived in small rooms cut every 3–5 m along the main 768 m passage, with a meeting hall for 50 people, kitchens, wells, toilets and a nursery. The deepest level stored supplies for Cồn Cỏ island and the southern front.^[2]

In Vietnamese history it is the Route 9 – Khe Sanh campaign, a strategic feint to draw US forces away from the cities before the Tet Offensive. The US hoped to turn Khe Sanh into a “reverse Điện Biên Phủ”.^[4]

1. 1966–1968

   Ta Con airbase is a US strategic base and a key link in the Khe Sanh base complex, 3 km north of Khe Sanh town.^[3]

2. 6 December 1967

   Vietnam’s Central Military Commission sets up the command of the Route 9 – Khe Sanh campaign, led by Major General Trần Quý Hai.^[4]

3. 20 January 1968

   The campaign opens at night, ten days before the Tet Offensive. By 7 February, attacks on Huong Hoa district town, Huội San and Làng Vây give control of Route 9 from Cà Tu to the Laos border.^[4]

4. 10 Feb – 31 Mar 1968

   Ta Con is encircled for 50 days and nights. The US commits the 1st Air Cavalry Division, the 3rd Marine Division and massive air and artillery support.^[4]

5. April – July 1968

   Fighting continues around Làng Khoai, Cu Bốc and Hills 689 and 622, then a final push from 8 May to keep pressure on Ta Con as US forces withdraw from Khe Sanh.^[4]

6. 9 July 1968

   Khe Sanh and all of Huong Hoa district are liberated, a date still marked every year in Khe Sanh.^[5]

7. 15 July 1968

   After more than 170 days, the campaign formally ends.^[4]

Photographs taken by US military photographers at Khe Sanh Combat Base. They are US government works in the public domain. The photo at the top of this page shows a US Air Force F-100 dropping bombs close to the base on 15 March 1968 (official US Marine Corps photo A190936).

• Hien Luong Bridge and the Ben Hai river on Highway 1A: the rebuilt bridge, the 28 m flag tower on the north bank, the loudspeaker towers, the joint commission house, the exhibition “The 17th Parallel and the Wish for Unification” and the reunification monument on the south bank.^[1] A reunification festival is held here every 30 April.^[1]
• Vinh Moc tunnels in Vinh Linh, on the coast north of the river.^[2]
• Ta Con airbase, 3 km north of Khe Sanh town and about 400 m from the Truong Son road: a national monument since 1986, with aircraft and wartime relics on display. Open 7 am to 6 pm.^[3]

Our Truong Son War Trail spends a night in Khe Sanh before riding north to Phong Nha. For the full story of the supply route these battles were fought over, read the history of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Want to add Hien Luong or Vinh Moc to your ride? Ask us on WhatsApp.