Qualla: Operation Scotland II

Operation Scotland II: Introduction

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Department of Defense. Department of the Navy. U.S. Marine Corps. 9/18/1947, Public domain. Operation Pegasus ended the siege of Khe Sanh on April 14, 1968. The 1st Cavalry Division had fought its way up Route 9, broken through the North Vietnamese encirclement, and the 77-day ordeal that had transfixed American television audiences was officially over. The next morning at 08:00, the 3rd Marine Division resumed control of the combat base, and Operation Scotland II began. The Marines were not celebrating. They were heading back into the hills.

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Image: Department of Defense. Department of the Navy. U.S. Marine Corps. 9/18/1947 | Public domain

Operation Scotland II: Task Force Glick

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit USMC Archives from Quantico, USA, CC BY 2.0. Major General Rathvon M. Tompkins, commanding the 3rd Marine Division, sent his deputy commander, Brigadier General Jacob E. Glick, to Khe Sanh to organize the forces assembling there. What Glick found was a patchwork of units: the 1st Marine Regiment was arriving to relieve the ...

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Image: USMC Archives from Quantico, USA | CC BY 2.0

Operation Scotland II: The Ambush at Hill 689

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Department of Defense. Department of the Navy. U.S. Marine Corps. 9/18/1947, Public domain. One day after Scotland II began, on April 16, Company A of the 1st Battalion, 9th Marines set out on patrol southwest of Hill 689. The terrain was typical of the Khe Sanh highlands: dense vegetation, difficult visibility, narrow trails through jungle that concealed almost everyth...

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Image: Department of Defense. Department of the Navy. U.S. Marine Corps. 9/18/1947 | Public domain

Operation Scotland II: Through the Long Months

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Department of Defense. Department of the Navy. U.S. Marine Corps. 9/18/1947, Public domain. The pattern of Scotland II was months of grinding patrol operations punctuated by violent contact. The PAVN generally avoided pitched battles when they could, content to inflict casualties through ambushes and harassment, then withdraw before American firepower could be fully bro...

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Image: Department of Defense. Department of the Navy. U.S. Marine Corps. 9/18/1947 | Public domain

Operation Scotland II: What Control Looked Like

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Department of Defense. Department of the Navy. U.S. Marine Corps. 9/18/1947, Public domain. Operation Scotland II concluded on February 28, 1969 — ten and a half months after it began. In early April, Major General Raymond G. Davis, the outgoing 3rd Marine Division commander, told reporters that "we totally control Quảng Trị Province." The statement reflected the milita...

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Image: Department of Defense. Department of the Navy. U.S. Marine Corps. 9/18/1947 | Public domain