 In the end , a major allied relief expedition ( Operation Pegasus ) launched by all three brigades of the First Cavalry Division reached Khe Sanh on 8 April , but North Vietnamese forces were already withdrawing from the area . Both sides claimed that the battle had served its intended purpose . The MACV estimated that 5 @,@ 500 North Vietnamese troops had been killed and considerably more wounded . During Operation Pegasus , 730 American lives lost and another 2 @,@ 642 wounded . 
