 The battle for Khâm Đức and Ngok Tavak was a defeat for U.S. forces, described by one historian as "a Khe Sanh in reverse".Unlike the fight at Khe Sanh, American airpower "averted a massacre" but could not prevent the PAVN from dominating the high ground surrounding Khâm Đức.General Creighton Abrams described the loss at Khâm Đức as a "minor disaster".