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On the 25th of January I was directed to prepare a contingency plan for the relief or reinforcement of the Khe Sanh Base. This action was the first in a chain of events that was later to emerge as Operation PEGASUS. The mission was threefold: One, to relieve the Khe Sanh Combat Base; two, to open Highway Nine from Ca Lu to Khe Sanh; and, three, to destroy the enemy forces within the area of operations. After the inevitable delays caused by the Tet offensive, the 1st Cavalry Division began preparation for one of its most classical engagements.^[1]

In the first weeks of 1968 signs of an impending enemy attack at Khe Sanh continued to mount. As many as four North Vietnamese divisions were identified just north of the Demilitarized Zone. Two of these divisions, the 325th C and the 304th, were thought to be concentrated in the northwestern edge of Quang Tri Province with elements already in position in the hills surrounding Khe Sanh. In addition, there were numerous indications that the enemy was moving up many batteries of artillery in the southern half of the Demilitarized Zone as well as in areas close to the Laos border—all well within range of the Khe Sanh Combat Base.

Convinced that a massive enemy blow would soon fall on Khe Sanh, the American command moved swiftly to strengthen its forces in the area. The 5th Marine Regiment was hastily redeployed from the Da Nang area north to the vicinity of Hue and the U.S. Army's 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) was displaced to the northern provinces along with two brigades of the 101st Airborne Division. Beginning in mid-January, the combat base at Khe Sanh was consecutively reinforced by the 2d Battalion of the 26th Marines, the 1st Battalion of the 9th Marines, and finally the 37th South Vietnamese Ranger Battalion, bringing the troop level at the base to a little less than 6,000 men.

Concurrent with the buildup of the allied forces in the vicinity of the Demilitarized Zone, B-52 bombers began to systematically pattern bomb suspected enemy locations near Khe Sanh and tactical fighter bombers stepped up attacks in North Vietnam's southern panhandle. East of Khe Sanh, U.S. Army heavy artillery was assembled at the "Rock Pile" and at Camp Carroll to provide long range fire support to the Khe Sanh base on a quick reaction basis.

In the early morning hours of 21 January the enemy had made his long-awaited move against Khe Sanh. The main base was hit