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move north to Camp Evans, headquarters of the division, and assume the mission of base defense.

The roles and missions of Provisional Corps Vietnam were published by Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, in a Letter of Instruction dated 3 March 1968. Lieutenant General William B. Rosson was designated Commanding General of the Corps which, upon its activation on 10 March, was under operational control of III Marine Amphibious Force. The Provincial Corps, Vietnam, was authorized direct coordination with Army of the Republic of Vietnam forces within its area of responsibility.

This, then, is how the situation stood in early 1968. Press correspondents began to dramatize the developments. Repeatedly the public was told that Khe Sanh was likely to be a "very rough business with heartbreaking American casualties." The impending battle was seen as a major test of strength between the U.S. and North Vietnam, with heavy political and psychological overtones.

On 2 March, I went to Da Nang to present our plan for the relief of Khe Sanh to General Cushman, Commanding General, III Marine Amphibious Force. In attendance at this briefing was General Abrams, Deputy Commander, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, who still had his advance headquarters at Hue-Phu Bai. Our plan was approved in concept and provisional troop allocations were made.

To accomplish this mission, the 1st Cavalry Division would be augmented by the following non-divisional units: 1st Marine Regiment, 26th Marine Regiment, III Army of the Republic of Vietnam Airborne Task Force, and the 37th Army of the Republic of Vietnam Ranger Battalion. In all, I would have over 30,000 troops under my direct operational control.

Having been given the broad mission and the forces necessary, I was given complete freedom on how to do the job from the beginning. Seldom is a commander so blessed. In the early stages of planning, verbal orders were the modus operandi. As the concept took shape, I asked for representatives from all the units that would be working with us and detailed plans were developed under the critical supervision of Colonel Putnam. We even constructed a sand table model of the Khe Sanh area. I made several