Secret War
Encyclopedia
The Laotian Civil War (1953–75) was a fight between the Communist Pathet Lao
, often North Vietnamese of Lao ancestry, and the Royal Lao Government
in which both the political rightists and leftists received heavy external support for a proxy war
from the global Cold War
superpowers. Among United States Central Intelligence Agency Special Activities Division
US and Hmong
veterans of the conflict, it is known as the Secret War.
The Kingdom of Laos
was a covert theatre for battle for the other belligerents during the Vietnam War
. The Franco–Lao Treaty of Amity and Association signed October 22, 1953, transferred remaining French powers — except control of military affairs — to the Royal Lao Government — which did not include any representatives from the Lao Issara
anti-colonial armed nationalist movement — and otherwise establishing Laos as an independent member of the French Union
. The following years were marked by a rivalry between the neutralists under Prince Souvanna Phouma
, the right wing under Prince Boun Oum
of Champassak
, and the left-wing Lao Patriotic Front under Prince Souphanouvong and future Prime Minister Kaysone Phomvihane
. A number of attempts were made to establish coalition governments, and a "tri-coalition" government was finally seated in Vientiane
.
The fighting in Laos involved the North Vietnamese Army, American, Thai
, and South Vietnamese forces directly and through irregular proxies in a battle for control over the Laotian Panhandle. The North Vietnamese Army occupied the area for use as the Ho Chi Minh Trail
supply corridor and staging area for offensives into South Vietnam. There was a second major theatre of action on and near the northern Plaine des Jarres.
The North Vietnamese and Pathet Lao emerged victorious in 1975, as part of the general communist victory in Indochina
that year.
established Laotian neutrality. The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), however, continued to operate in both northern and southeastern Laos. There were repeated attempts from 1954 onward to force the North Vietnamese out of Laos but, regardless of any agreements or concessions, Hanoi
had no intention of abandoning the country or its Laotian communist allies.
The North Vietnamese established the Ho Chi Minh Trail
in the southeast of Laos and paralleling the Vietnamese border. The Trail was designed for North Vietnamese troops and supplies to infiltrate the Republic of Vietnam
and to aid the National Liberation Front
.
The North Vietnamese had a sizable military effort in northern Laos, while sponsoring and maintaining an indigenous communist rebellion, the Pathet Lao
, to put pressure on the Royal Lao Government.
The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA), to disrupt these operations in northern Laos without direct military involvement, responded by training a guerrilla force of some thirty thousand Laotian hill tribesmen, mostly local Hmong
tribesmen along with the Mien
and Khmu
, led by Royal Lao Army
General Vang Pao
, a Hmong military leader. This army, supported by the CIA proprietary airline Air America, Thailand
, the Royal Lao Air Force
, and a covert air operation directed by the United States ambassador to Laos, fought the People's Army of Vietnam, the National Liberation Front (NLF), and their Pathet Lao allies to a seesaw stalemate, greatly aiding U.S. interests in the war in Vietnam.
The status of the war in the north throughout the year generally depended on the weather. As the dry season
started, in November or December, so did North Vietnamese military operations, as fresh troops and supplies flowed down out of North Vietnam on newly passable routes, either down from Dien Bien Phu
, across Phong Saly Province on all weather highways, or on Route 7 through Ban Ban, Laos on the northeast corner of the Plaine des Jarres (commonly called "the PDJ"). The CIA's Clandestine Army would give way, harrying the PAVN and Pathet Lao as they retreated; Raven FACs
would direct massive air strikes against the communists by USAF jets and RLAF T-28
s to prevent the capture of the Laotian capitals of Vientiane
and Luang Prabang
. When the rainy season six months later rendered North Vietnamese supply lines inoperable, the Vietnamese communists would recede toward Vietnam.
The war in the southeastern panhandle
against the Ho Chi Minh Trail was primarily a massive air interdiction program by the USAF and United States Navy
because political constraints kept the trail safe from ground assault from South Vietnam. Raven FACs also directed air strikes here in the southeast; other Forward Air Control
lers from South Vietnam, such as Covey FACs from the 20th Tactical Air Support Squadron
and Nail FACs from the 23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron, also directed strikes. Other air strikes were planned ahead. Overall coordination of the air campaign was directed by an Airborne Command and Control Center.
The existence of the conflict in Laos was sometimes reported in the U.S., and described in press reports as the CIA's "Secret War in Laos" because details were largely unavailable due to official government denials that the war existed. The denials were seen as necessary considering that the North Vietnamese government and the U.S. had both signed agreements specifying the neutrality of Laos. U.S. involvement was considered necessary because the DRV had effectively conquered a large part of the country and was equally obfuscating its role in Laos. Despite these denials, however, the Civil War was actually the largest U.S. covert operation
prior to the Afghan-Soviet War, with areas of Laos controlled by North Vietnam subjected to years of intense US aerial bombardment, representing the heaviest bombing campaign in history.
Overshadowing it all was the struggle of the Cold War
, with the United States policy of containment
of socialism
, and the policy of the People's Republic of China
and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics of spreading communism via subversion and insurgency.
left Laos in political chaos. The French, who had been displaced from their protectorate by the Japanese, wanted to resume control of Laos, and sponsored guerrilla forces to regain control. The Japanese had proclaimed Laos independent even as they lost the war. Though King Sisavang Vong
thought Laos was too small for independence he had proclaimed the end of the French protectorate status though he favored the French return. He let it be known he would accept independence if it should occur. Thus there was a nascent movement for independence amid the turmoil.
Underlying all this was a strong undercurrent of Vietnamese involvement. Sixty percent of the population of Laos's six urban areas were Vietnamese, with the Vietnamese holding key positions in the civil bureaucracies and the police. Since the 1930s the Indochinese Communist Party
had established wholly Vietnamese cells in Laos.
Prince Phetsarath, as Viceroy and Prime Minister, established the Lao royal treasury account with the Indochinese treasury in Hanoi
in an attempt to establish a functional economy.
French commandos parachuted into Laos beginning in 1945 to organize guerrilla forces. By November, they had formed the guerrillas into four light infantry battalions of the newly founded French Union Army. The officers and sergeants of the new Lao battalions were French.
In October, 1945, a Lao nationalist movement called Lao Issara
(Free Laos) was founded as a new government for Laos. Among Lao Issara's prominent members were three European-educated princes; brothers Phetsarath Rattanavongsa
and Souvanna Phouma
, and their half brother, Souphanouvong
. The former became the titular founder of Lao Issara
. Souphanouvong became commander in chief, as well as minister of foreign affairs. Souvanna Phouma became minister of public works.
Independence began with an uprising of the Vietnamese residents in Savannakhet
. Prince Souphanouvong took command of a band of partisans armed with weapons looted from the local militia. The band moved northward to the administrative capitol of Vientiane
with its provisional revolutionary government. Souphanouvong then urged the signing of a military cooperation treaty with the newly established North Vietnam
ese communist government, which was done. The French military mission was escorted out of Laos into Thailand by a contingent of Chinese troops.
However, the Lao Issara never gained more than a tenuous hold on the entirety of Laos. Roving Viet Minh
detachments ruled the northeast, but the Viet Minh declined to aid the new government. Chinese troops, including the Chinese Nationalist
93rd Division, occupied cities as far south as Luang Prabang
. The French-sponsored guerrillas controlled the southern provinces of Savannakhet and Khammouan. Prince Boun Oum
, who sympathized with the French, occupied the rest of the southern panhandle.
For these, and other reasons, Lao Issara could not hold the country against the returning French colonial government and its troops. The French negotiated a Chinese withdrawal from Laos prior to their own return, removing them from the field.
On March 21, 1946, Souphanouvong and his largely Vietnamese force fought the French Union troops at Savannakhet, to no avail; the attackers mustered paratroopers, artillery, armored cars, and Spitfire fighter-bombers. The Lao Issara troops suffered 700 killed. They fled, leaving behind 250 bodies and 150 prisoners.
On 24 April, the French dropped a paratroop battalion on the outskirts of Vientiane, and took the city without resistance. On 9 May, they repeated their airborne tactics with a drop outside Luang Prabang
. This was coupled with a thrust to the north by the French forces, from Vientiane to Luang Prabang, that chased Phetsarath and the Lao Issara ministers out of Laos. The king reinstated the French rule by repudiating his actions that had been pressured from him by the Japanese, Chinese, and Lao Issara.
By September, 1946, the Lao Issara had been defeated and had fled to exile in Bangkok. One of its splinter groups, led by Thao O Anourack fled to Hanoi.
There he allied himself with two men trusted by Ho Chi Minh
; Nouhak Phoumsavan was Vietnamese, and Kaysone Phomvihan was Vietnamese-Lao. These three men founded the military movement that would become the Pathet Lao (Land of Laos).
Thao O Anourack established the initial Pathet Lao base at Con Cuong
, Vietnam. Kaysone Phomvihan organized the first detachment of the new force. By the end of 1946, at least 500 Viet Minh
agents had crossed into Laos.
granted a constitution declaring Laos an independent nation within the French Union
. This began the building of a new government over the next few years, including the establishment of a national army, the Armée Nationale Laotienne, which was the first iteration of the Royal Lao Army
.
The nascent army was plagued by lack of Lao leadership, and its weaponry was a hodgepodge. Thus
the new Armée Nationale Laotienne consisted of light infantry battalions officered by the French. There was one paratroop battalion included. The French began training Lao officers and non-commissioned officers even as they continued to lead and train the new army.
In opposition, the Viet Minh raised a subsidiary revolutionary movement, the Pathet Lao, starting with an initial guerrilla band of 25 in January, 1949.
In October, 1949, the exiled Lao Issara
dissolved and the three royal brothers each chose a separate destiny.
Phetsarath Rattanavongsa
chose to remain in Bangkok. His stay was temporary. He would once again become the viceroy of Laos.
Souvanna Phouma
chose to return to Laos via an amnesty, believing that the Lao would soon free themselves. In 1951 he became Prime Minister for the first time and held that office until 1954.
Souphanouvong
, who had spent seven years in Nha Trang
during his sixteen years in Vietnam
, met Ho Chi Minh
, and acquired a Vietnamese wife while in Vietnam, solicited Viet Minh aid in founding a guerrilla force.
In August, 1950, Souphanouvong had joined the Viet Minh in their headquarters north of Hanoi
, Vietnam, and become the head of the Pathet Lao
, along with its political arm dubbed Neo Lao Hak Sat (Lao Patriotic Front). This was an attempt to give a false front of authority to the Lao communist movement by claiming to represent a united non-partisan effort. Two of its most important founders were members of the Indochinese Communist Party
, which advocated overthrow of the monarchy as well as expulsion of the French.
On December 1950, the Pentalateral Mutual Defense Assistance Pact was signed by the United States, France, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos; it was a tool to transfer American military aid to the French war effort in Indochina. This year also marked the infiltration of at least 5,000 more Viet Minh
into Laos.
In February, 1951, the Indochinese Communist Party
decided to split in three to sponsor war against the French in Cambodia
and Laos
, along with the war in Vietnam. The new Laotian branch consisted of 2,091 members, but included only 31 Lao.
Also, by 1951, the Pathet Lao had mustered sufficient trained troops to join the Viet Minh in military operations.
By October, 1951, the Armée Nationale Laotienne had raised two more battalions of infantry and begun training a battalion of paratroops. The ANL ended the year with a strength of 5,091.
By the end of 1952, the Royal Lao Army
had grown to include a battalion of troops commanded by Laotian officers, as well as 17 other companies.
; included was a token force of 2,000 Pathet Lao led by Souphanouvong
. The objective of the two-pronged invasion was the capture of the royal capital of Luang Prabang and of the Plaine des Jarres.
They were opposed by 10,000 Lao troops stiffened by 3,000 French regulars.
The North Vietnamese invaders succeeded in conquering the border provinces of Phong Saly and Sam Neua
, which were adjacent to northern Vietnam and on the northeastern verge of the Plaine des Jarres. They then moved aside to allow the ragtag Pathet Lao force with its mismatched scrounged equipment to occupy the captured ground, and Souphanouvong moved the Pathet Lao headquarters into Sam Neua City on April 19.
The other strike, moving from Dien Bien Phu
and aimed downriver at Luang Prabang, was thwarted by oncoming monsoons and dogged resistance by the French.
The Vietnamese invasion was stalled, but only because the French had airlifted in battalions of Foreign Legionnaires
and Moroccan Tirailleur
s.
In December, the French Union Army, as part of its attempt to protect Laos from the PAVN, recaptured the Dien Bien Phu valley.
In January, the PAVN launched two assaults on Laos. One thrust crossed the top of the panhandle to the Mekong River town of Thakhek
. The other was again aimed at Luang Prabang. Both were thwarted in a month.
These were diversions to the famous Battle of Dien Bien Phu
, which took place from March through May within ten kilometers of the Lao border, on the lines of communication into the Plaine des Jarres. The ruggedness of the karst mountains of northern Laos channels movement into a few canyons; small watercraft could move from Dien Bien Phu
down to the Nam Ou
, and thence directly downriver to Luang Prabang, or they cross into the PDJ via
Ban Ban.
A notable event was the use of Civil Air Transport
, which later morphed into Air America, in a covert operation to fly supplies to the embattled French in Dien Bien Phu. The PAVN also launched a diversionary thrust at Seno
, Laos, aimed at cutting away the panhandle from the main body of Laos. This thrust was foiled by paratroopers from the French Union's Army of the Republic of Vietnam.
When the relief troops didn't lift the siege in time, the bastion of Dien Bien Phu fell. One of the troopers in the relief column marching from Luang Prabang was a young Hmong
named Vang Pao
.
The French loss at Dien Bien Phu marked the end of the First Indochina War
; the French were driven to negotiate for peace. On July 20, the Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities in Laos was signed, ending French rule. Two months later, the North Vietnamese established a support group for Pathet Lao
forces at Ban Nameo, well within northeastern Laos.
The Agreement radically changed the geography of Indochina. As part of the change the North Vietnamese now succeeded to rule of the northern half of their own country. Laos became totally independent of France. The French turned over its Lao French Union troops to the new nation; as a residual effort, it kept two bases in Laos and supplied advisors to the new Lao military.
The Royal Lao government military also received its first aircraft from the French in 1954; nine Morane-Saulnier MS-500 Criquets were supplied for support and medevac.
Because the Pathet Lao
had shown no willingness to fight, and the 25,000 man Royal Lao Army
was incapable of resisting the PAVN, an attempt was made to coax the Pathet Lao into a coalition with the Royal Lao Government
.
, Thailand.
In early 1955, a United States Operation Mission was set up in Laos. Its primary purpose was supply of military defense materials to the Royal Lao Government
; 80% of its budget was dedicated to this purpose. The United States paid 100% of the Lao military budget. However, the embassy staff was not up to monitoring this program. There was an obvious need for a Military Assistance Advisory Group
; however, the United States had signed a treaty that expressly forbade such.
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower
's solution was to establish the Program Evaluations Office (PEO) in December, 1955, staffed by American civilians with prior military experience and headed up by retired Brigadier General
Rothwell Brown. These civilians were given U. S. State Department status. However, they did not work strictly for the State Department. On military matters, they reported to the Commander in Chief Pacific Command
, with information supplied to the American ambassador; on non-military matters, they reported directly to the ambassador.
1955 was also notable for the despatch of Royal Lao Government troops to Sam Neua
and Phong Saly, which was much resented by the Pathet Lao. As a result of this resentment, and disputes about electoral procedures, the Laotian communists boycotted that year's national elections.
On March 21, 1956, Souvanna Phouma
began his second term as prime minister. He opened a dialogue with his brother, Souphanouvong
. In August, they announced the intention of declaring a ceasefire and reintegrating the Pathet Lao and their occupied territory into the government. However, the Pathet Lao claimed the right to administer the provinces they occupied.
At the same time, they and their North Vietnamese backers ran a massive recruitment campaign, with the aim of forming nine battalions of troops. Many of the new recruits were sent into North Vietnam for schooling and training. This led to United States concern that the Royal Lao Army
would be inadequately equipped and trained because there was only one small French military mission working with the RLA.
In February, 1957, the Program Evaluations Office personnel began supplying training materials to the French Military Mission that was charged with training the Royal Lao Army
. The rationale was that improved training would better fit the army with defending its country. As part of this process, the United States
even took over paying the Royal Lao Army
's salaries.
Beginning in March, 1957, the Royal Lao Army began shuttling arms to Hmong
guerrillas, to enable them to fight on the side of the RLA.
In November, 1957, a coalition government incorporating the Pathet Lao was finally established. Using the slogan, "one vote to the right, one vote to the left to prevent civil war," pro-communist parties received one-third of the popular vote and won 13 of 21 contested seats in the elections of May 4, 1958. With these additional seats, the left controlled a total of 16 seats in the 59 member National Assembly. Combined with independents, this was enough to deny Souvanna's center right, neutralist coalition the two-thirds majority it needed to form a government. With parliament deadlocked, the U.S. suspended aid in June to force a devaluation of the overpriced currency, which was leading to the abuse of U.S. aid. The National Assembly responded by confirming a right-wing government led by Phuy Xananikôn in August. This government included four members of the U.S.-backed Committee for the Defence of the National Interest (none of them National Assembly members). Three more unelected CDNI members were added in December, when Phuy received emergency powers to govern without the National Assembly.
In November, 1958, Brigadier General John A. Heintges reviewed the PEO. He promptly replaced General Brown, and forged a new agreement with the Lao and the French. Integral to the new agreement was the displacement of the French military trainers by Americans. As a result, PEO expanded over twentyfold. Included in the expansion were 149 Special Forces
on temporary duty, and 103 Filipino military veterans working for a newly formed front company named Eastern Construction Company in Laos.
; this unit was charged with the logistics of moving the necessities of war from North Vietnam to the South. Its foremost feat was building and maintaining the Ho Chi Minh trail
down the eastern spine of Laos. Eventually, this transportation network would power the Vietnamese communists to victory. It would have to survive a relentless air campaign comparable to any interdiction bombing in World War II
.
Also in May, the long awaited integration of 1,500 Pathet Lao troops into the national army was scheduled. The U. S. embassy told the Lao government that it would be difficult to gain congressional approval of aid to Laos with communists serving in the army. The Pathet Lao
stalled.
Under orders from Souphanouvong, the Pathet Lao battalions refused to be integrated into the Royal Lao Army. Souphanouvong was then arrested and imprisoned, along with his aides. The two Pathet Lao battalions, one after the other, escaped during the night with no shots fired, taking their equipment, families, and domestic animals with them. On May 23, Souphanouvong
and his companions also escaped unscathed.
In July, U.S. Special Forces Mobile Training Teams from the 77th Special Forces Group, working under the code name Hotfoot, began training the Royal Laotian army. The Green Berets were attached to the Programs Evaluation Office, and like other PEO employees, were nominal civilians. However, even in civilian dress, having traded their green berets for sun helmets, they still had a military appearance.
The RLA was being formed into Groupement Mobiles—regimental-sized units of three battalions. The training teams were assigned one per GM, with some battalions also meriting a team.
On July 28, PAVN units attacked all along the North Vietnamese-Lao border. As they took ground from the Royal Lao Army, they moved in Pathet Lao as occupation troops. Poor battle performance by the RLA seemed to verify the need for further training; the RLA outnumbered the attackers, but still gave ground.
Also in July, the American embassy began to contract for aerial resupply for RLA troops, hiring Robert Brongersma and his Beech 18.
In September, Group 100 was succeeded by Group 959; the North Vietnamese were upgrading their military mission to the Pathet Lao, just as the Americans had expanded PEO. Both sides were raising larger client armies, in hopes the Lao would fight.
and his Special Forces
-trained Neutralist paratroop battalion were able to seize control of the administrative capital of Vientiane in a virtually bloodless coup, while Prime Minister Tiao Samsanith, government officials, and military leaders met in the royal capital, Luang Prabang
. His stated aim for the coup was an end to fighting in Laos, the end of foreign interference in his country, an end to the consequent corruption caused by foreign aid, and better treatment for his soldiers. However, Kong Le's coup did not end opposition to him, and there was a scramble among unit commanders to choose up sides. If one was not pro-coup, then he had the further decision to make as to whom he would back to counter the coup. The front runner was General Phoumi Nosavan
, first cousins with the prime minister/dictator of Thailand, Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat. With the Central Intelligence Agency
's connivance, Sarit set up a covert Thai military advisory group called Kaw Taw. Kaw Taw would be complicit in the counter-coup that was mounted; it supplied artillery, artillerymen, and advisors to Phoumi's forces. It also committed the CIA-sponsored Thai Police Aerial Reinforcement Unit to operations within Laos.
Immediately after Kong Le's coup, Thailand
clamped down with an embargo via land blockade, cutting off the main source of imported goods for Vientiane
. The United States Secretary of State, Christian Herter
, made it clear that the United States supported the “legitimate government under the King's direction.” The United States supported the pro-Western government of Prime Minister Tiao Samsanith, even though it was elected illegally.
The Neutralist forces in Vientiane organized the Executive Committee of the High Command of the Revolution as the interim government in Laos the following day. General Phoumi Nosavan
, stated on August 10 that he planned to retake Vientiane by force. The United States Ambassador to Laos, Winthrop G. Brown, responded to General Phoumi by stating that the United States supported a restoration of peace “through quick and decisive action.”
PEO had turned its support to General Phoumi. With the help of Air America and covert aid from Thailand
, the general and his troops moved north toward Vientiane
from Savannakhet
in southern Laos, in November.
The Soviet Union began a military air bridge into Vientiane in early December; it was characterized as the largest Soviet airlift since World War II
. This air bridge flew in PAVN artillery and gunners to reinforce the Neutralist/Pathet Lao coalition.
On their side, the United States flew four B-26 Invader bombers from Taiwan
into Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base
, poised to strike into Laos. They were later joined by an additional eight B26s. With a dozen guns, half a dozen rockets, and a napalm canister apiece, they were a potent threat, but were never used.
On December 13, Phoumi's army began a three day bombardment of Vientiane. Five hundred civilians and seventeen of Kong Le's paratroopers were killed by the shellfire. On the 14th, a U. S. carrier task force went on alert, and the Second Airborne Brigade stood by to seize selected Laotian airfields. The U. S. was poised to rescue its paramilitary and diplomatic advisors in Laos.
Kong Le and his Neutralists finally withdrew northward to the Plaine des Jarres. Their withdrawal was covered by artillery fire from the PAVN 105 mm howitzers rushed in from Hanoi, and supported by Soviet airdrops of crucial supplies of rations, munitions, and radios. In the retreat, Kong Le picked up 400 recruits, swelling his force to 1,200 men.
Phoumi's coup was thus successful, but the end result was the alliance of the Neutralists with the Pathet Lao on December 23. As 1960 ended, the obscure little nation of Laos had become an arena of confrontation for the world's superpowers.
On 3 January, the Royal Laotian Air Force received its first counter-insurgency aircraft, American-built T-6 Texans, via the Royal Thai Air Force
. These four reconfigured trainers were armed with two .30 caliber machine guns and five inch rockets, and could carry 100 pound bombs. Four previously trained Lao pilots undertook transition training in Thailand; on 9 January, the pilots flew the new RLAF fighter-bombers to Vientiane. Two days later, they flew their first combat sorties, against PAVN and Pathet Lao covering Kong Le's retreat into the Plaine des Jarres.
Russian Soviet air supply continued, bringing in heavy weapons to supplement the light arms previously delivered. On January 7, the North Vietnamese presence was escalated by an additional four battalions; two of the battalions immediately moved to the point of conflict, on Route 7, which connected to Vientiane. A third PAVN battalion moved into action at Tha Thom, south of the PDJ. On 15 January, the entire 925th Independent Brigade of the PAVN had crossed into Laos to reinforce the Pathet Lao/Neutralist coalition.
This led to counter-escalation, as the United States
began airdropping arms to a force of 7,000 Hmong
guerrillas later in the month. Air America was also bequeathed four H-34 helicopters from the U. S. Navy.
By the beginning of February, the first four volunteer pilots from the Royal Thai Air Force arrived to fly four more T-6s supplied to the Royal Laotian Air Force. The Thai mercenaries had been officially discharged from the RTAF, and held no official position in the RLAF. The growth of the RLAF would be nullified by its casualties, as five of the T-6s had been lost in action by the end of March.
The incoming Kennedy administration found itself pitched immediately into the Laotian crisis. An interagency task force founded in early February began a two month study of possible American responses to the Laotian war. The most drastic alternative they envisioned was a 60,000 man commitment of American ground troops in southern Laos, with a possible use of nuclear weapons.
Less drastic options were elected. Even as the French ended their training mission, the American training efforts ramped up. Sixteen H-34 helicopters were transferred from the U. S. Marine Corps to Air America; maintenance facilities were established in Udorn in far northern Thailand, a few miles south of Vientiane.
On 9 March, the communists captured the only road junction between Luang Prabang and Vientiane. When RLA troops were ordered to counterattack and retake the junction, they dropped their weapons and ran. Special Forces Team Moon was assigned as advisors to the RLA unit.
On 22 April 1961, Team Moon was overrun. Two sergeants were killed, and team leader Captain Walter H. Moon was captured; he was later executed while trying to escape captivity. Another sergeant was released sixteen months later.
The B26s had been scheduled to strike at Kong Le, but the strike was stayed by an event on the far side of the world. The Bay of Pigs Invasion
failed, and that failure gave pause to U. S. actions in Laos. A ceasefire was sought. Simultaneously, the Programs Evaluation Office shed its civilian guise and went above ground to become a Military Advisory Assistance Group. Emblematic of the change, the Hotfoot teams donned their U. S. uniforms and became White Star Mobile Training Teams.
The truce supposedly went into effect the first week of May, but was repeatedly breached by the communists. With the Royal Lao Army ineffective, the Hmong guerrillas were left as the only opposition to the communists. In early June, they were forced from their beleaguered position at Ban Padong by an artillery barrage followed by a ground assault. Under command of General Vang Pao
, they fell back to Long Tieng
.
The U. S. Central Intelligence Agency had begun secretly recruiting Lao montagnards into 100 man militia companies. Riflemen trained for these militias would receive eight weeks basic training, then serve several months in their militia. Once they had that experience, which often included their first combat, they were further recruited into battalions of irregular troops called Special Guerrilla Units. The battalions were filled out along ethnic lines, most being Hmong, but some being Yao
(Iu-Mien) or Lao Theung
(Lao Saetern). SGUs, once formed up, underwent three further months training by Thai officers and sergeants in Phitsanuloke, Thailand.
By summer, the CIA had mustered 9,000 hill tribesmen into the ranks of the Armée Clandestine. It was aided by 9 CIA agents, 9 Special Forces augmentees, and 99 Thai Special Forces troopers from the Police Aerial Resupply Unit.
By autumn, the future course of American involvement was set. Paramilitary trainers would train guerrilla units, with resupply coming via airdrops, and specialized short takeoff and landing aircraft using makeshift dirt airstrips. Other trainers would try to mold the Royalist regulars into a fighting force. Fighter-bombers would serve as flying artillery to blast the communist forces into retreat or submission.
In December, the Royalists decided to assert control over the provincial capitol of Nam Tha, which was on the northwestern border, almost in southern China. GMs 11 and 18 were stationed there, and soon came under pressure from the communists.
In May, a PAVN assault broke the RLG forces and routed them. The Royalist soldiers fled southward across the entirety of northwestern Laos into Thailand, a retreat of over a hundred miles.
Faced with this fiasco, the U. S. forced the RLG into a coalition with the Pathet Lao and Kong Le's Forces Armee Neutrale. This technically fulfilled the Geneva Agreements on Laos and triggered the treaty requirement that foreign military technicians be withdrawn from Laos by October. The United States disbanded its Military Assistance Advisory Group and withdrew its military mission. The Vietnamese communists did not; they repatriated only a token 40 technicians out of an estimated 2,000.
July 1962 saw the field tests of Pilatus Porter
Short Takeoff and Landing aircraft by Bird and Sons. The original two Porters' performance was degraded by heat and height robbing power from engine performance. One of the Porters crashed in December, killing all on board.
Several companies of hill tribes irregulars were sent to Hua Hin
, Thailand for training.
Vang Pao gathered three SGU battalions into Groupement Mobile 21 and spearheaded a drive into Sam Neua. His offensive was resupplied by supplies airdropped by the civilian aircraft of Air America and Bird and Sons.
By the middle of the year, the Pathet Lao and Neutralists had begun to squabble with one another.
In the meantime, the United States re-established a Military Assistance Advisory Group to support its efforts in Laos, basing it in Bangkok
. The Requirements Office of the U.S. Embassy in Vientiane was manned by civilians and monitored the need for U.S. military aid to Laos.
In August, the Royal Laotian Air Force received its first four T-28 Trojan
s that had been adapted for counter-insurgency warfare.
The irregular companies trained the previous year in Thailand were now formed into a battalion called SGU 1. Irregular forces proliferated throughout the country. In Military Regions 3 and 4, action, intelligence, and road watch teams infiltrated the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
In December, Vang Pao was promoted to Brigadier General by King Sisavong.
On 1 April, the USAF set up Waterpump, which was a pilot training program in Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base
to supply Lao pilots for the Royal Laotian Air Force. The RLAF also began augmenting its ranks with Thai volunteer pilots in 1964.
Run by a 41 man team from Detachment 6 of the 1st Air Commando Wing, this facility was an end run around the treaty obligation that forbade training in Laos. Besides training pilots, Waterpump encouraged cooperation between the RLAF and the Royal Thai Air Force
. It was also tasked, as a last resort, to augment the RLAF to counter a renewed Communist offensive in Laos.
In Laos itself, there was an effort to train Laotians as forward air guides. Meantime, the Butterfly forward air control program began.
Even as the air commandos established themselves in Udorn and Laos, several Lao generals attempted a coup in Vientiane. With the capital in turmoil, the Communists on the Plaine des Jarres attacked and overran the Royalist and Neutralist positions. The United States then released the necessary ordnance for the RLAF to bomb Communist encampments, beginning on May 18.
On May 19, the United States Air Force
began flying mid and low-level missions over the renewed fighting, under the code name Yankee Team. They also began reconnaissance missions over the Laotian panhandle to obtain target information on men and material being moved into South Vietnam over the Ho Chi Minh Trail. By this time, the footpaths on the trail had been enlarged to truck roads, with smaller paths for bicycles and walking. The Trail had become the major artery for use by North Vietnam to infiltrate South Vietnam.
On 9 June, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson
ordered an F-100
strike against the enemy in retaliation for the shoot down of another U.S. aircraft.
The summer of 1964 was marked by a successful attack by the Forces Armee Royale. Operation Triangle cleared one of the few roads in Laos; Route 13 connected the administrative capitol of Vientiane with the royal capitol of Luang Prabang.
The Plain of Jars activities expanded by December 1964, were named Operation Barrel Roll
, and were under the control of the U.S. ambassador to Laos, who approved all targets before they were attacked.
This year began with an event that showed how the commanding generals of the five military regions of Laos were essentially warlords of their own domains.
In February, Commanding General of Military Region 5 Kouprasith Abhay
mounted a coup against the group of generals whom had attempted a coup the previous year. Among the losers fleeing into exile were General Phoumi Nosavan
.
On April 3, the U.S. began Operation Steel Tiger over the Laotian panhandle and the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone
(DMZ) to locate and destroy enemy forces and materiel being moved southward at night on the Ho Chi Minh Trail into South Vietnam. However, since circumstances made it a highly complex matter in regard to the neutrality of Laos, target approval had to come from the U.S. government in Washington, D.C.
Additionally, the U.S. ambassadors in South Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand were involved in controlling these U.S. air operations.
Late in 1965, the communists greatly increased their infiltration along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The United States decided to concentrate airpower upon a small segment of the Trail closest to South Vietnam and used most extensively by the enemy. As a result, Operation Tiger Hound was initiated in December 1965, utilizing aircraft from the Air Force, the United States Navy
, and U.S. Marines, the Vietnamese Air Force, and the Royal Laotian Air Force. On 11 December, B-52
heavy bombers were called in to this tactical operation, in their first use over Laos.
In July, Royal Lao Government (RLG) forces seized Nam Bac. Three Infantry Regiments, one independent infantry battalion, and one artillery battalion took Nam Bac and established a defensive line north of Luang Prabang
.
On the Plain of Jars, the Pathet Lao advance gradually slowed due to the destruction of its supplies by airpower, and Laotian troops then counter-attacked. By August 1966, they had advanced to within 45 miles of the DRV border. North Vietnam then sent thousands of its regular troops into the battle and once again the Laotians were forced to retreat.
Steel Tiger operations continued down the length of the panhandle in 1966, with special emphasis upon the Tiger Hound area. Since most of the communist truck traffic was at night, the Air Force developed and began using special equipment to detect the nighttime traffic.
In eastern Laos, U.S., Royal Laotian, and VNAF aircraft continued their attacks on traffic along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. During 1967, B-52s flew 1,718 sorties in this area, almost triple their 1966 record. The major targets were trucks which had to be hunted down and destroyed one-by-one. This seemed to be irrational thinking to many Americans flying these combat missions for these trucks could have been destroyed en masse before, during, or after their unloading from the freighters that had hauled them to North Vietnam if bombing of Haiphong
had been permitted.
In northern Laos, the Communists continued their slow advance across the Plain of Jars in 1967. Laotian victories were few and far between, and by the end of the year, the situation had become critical even with the air support which had been provided by the Royal Lao Air Force
.
Laotian tribal irregulars were operating out of Nam Bac, under CIA direction from Luang Prabang, some 60 miles south of the guerrilla base. In midyear, over the objections of Lao colonels, American advisors pressured Royal Lao troops into forming their smaller units into combat battalions. Despite the poor training of the Lao soldiers, some of whom had never fired a weapon, these raw new units were moved northward out of Luang Prabang over a several month period to garrison Nam Bac. By mid-October, some 4,500 government troops held the valley to secure the air strip for their resupply, a la Dien Bien Phu
. The American intent was the establishment of Nam Bac as the keystone of an "iron arc" of defensive positions across northern Laos.
In response, the PAVN 316th Infantry Division was dispatched to Laos to assault Nam Bac. The Royalist garrison was soon surrounded. They had American-supplied 105mm howitzers for artillery support. They could also call on Royal Lao Air Force
T-28s for close air support. U. S. Air Force fighter-bombers struck the Communist supply lines. Communist gunfire closed the Nam Bac airstrip to fixed wing resupply. Air America copters flew in supplies and evacuated the wounded; American C-123s parachuted supplies ferried from Udorn RTAFB to the beleaguered government troops. The Royalist troops would not launch a clearing attack to regain use of the runway for resupply. On 25 December, a Vietnamese artillery barrage kicked off their offensive.
Throughout 1968, the communists slowly advanced across the northern part of Laos, defeating Laotian forces time and time again, and eventually the U.S base Lima Site 85
was overrun. This success was achieved despite U.S. military advice and assistance. In November, the U.S. launched an air campaign against the Ho Chi Minh Trail because North Vietnam was sending more troops and supplies than ever along this route to South Vietnam. This new operation, named Operation Commando Hunt, continued until 1972, with little success.
On 23 March 1969, the Royal Lao Army
launched a large attack (Cu Kiet Campaign) against the communists in the Plain of Jars/Xieng Khoang areas, supported by its own air units and the U.S. Air Force. In June, the enemy launched an attack of its own and gained ground, but by August, Laotian forces attacked again and regained what had been lost. In all these operations, the U.S. Air Force flew hundreds of Barrel Roll missions; however, many were canceled because of poor weather.
Pathet Lao forces were supported by PAVN's 174th Vietnamese Volunteer Regiment. By September, the 174th had to fall back to regroup. In mid-September, they launched a counterattack and recovered the Plain of Jars. Forces participating in the campaign included the 316th and 312th Infantry Divisions, the 866th Infantry Regiment, the 16th Artillery Regiment, one tank company, six sapper and engineer battalions, one Nghe An Province local force battalion, and ten PL battalions.
On 11 February, the offensive (Campaign 139) opened. By the 20th, control of the Plain of Jars was secure. RLG forces withdrew to Muong Xui. On 25 February, the RLG abandoned Xieng Khoang city. Xam Thong fell on 18 March and Long Thieng was threatened. On 25 April, the campaign ended. After the end of the campaign, the "316th Division, the 866th Regiment, and a number of specialty branch units were ordered to stay behind to work with our Lao friends."
At the beginning of 1970, fresh troops from North Vietnam advanced through northern Laos. The Air Force called in B-52s and, on 17 February, they were used to bomb targets in northern Laos. The enemy advance was halted by Laotian reinforcements, and for the remainder of the year it was a "seesaw" military campaign.
1 May – elements of SVN PAVN units (28th and 24A regiments) join with North Vietnamese Army and Pathet Lao to seize Attopeu.
Although communist movements down the Ho Chi Minh Trail grew during the year, the U.S. war effort was reduced because authorities in Washington, believing the U.S. objectives in Southeast Asia
were being achieved, imposed budget limits. This reduced the number of combat missions the USAF could fly.
Because of significant logistical stockpiling by PAVN in the Laotian Panhandle, South Vietnam launched Operation Lam Son 719, a military thrust on 8 February 1971. Its goals were to cross into Laos toward the city of Tchepone
and cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail, hopefully thwarting a planned North Vietnamese offensive. Aerial support by the U.S., was massive since no American ground units could participate in the operation. On 25 February, PAVN launched a counterattack, and in the face of heavy opposition, the South Vietnamese force withdrew from Laos after losing approximately a third of its men.
Combined offensive to take Plain of Jars. On 18 December, PAVN and Pathet Lao forces launched counteroffensive (Campaign Z) to recover the Plain. Volunteer forces included the 312th and 316th Divisions, the 335th and 866th Infantry Regiments, and six artillery and tank battalions. Xam Thong fell and the push continued toward Long Thieng.
Lower Laos – the 968th Infantry Regiment and Pathet Lao forces reclaimed the Tha Teng and Lao Nam areas, and liberated the Bolovens Plateau.
During the dry season 1971–72, PL/PAVN forces dug into defensive positions and fought for permanent control of the Plain of Jars. Units participating included the 316th Infantry Division, the 866th, 335th, and 88th Regiments, and nine specialty branch battalions under the command of Senior Colonel Le Linh. Seven PL battalions also participated.
On 21 May, RLG forces attempted to seize the Plain. The battle lasted 170 days (until 15 November 1972). The communists claimed to have killed 1,200 troops and captured 80.
When PAVN launched the Nguyen Hue Offensive (known in the West as the Easter Offensive) into South Vietnam on 30 March, Massive U.S. air support was required inside South Vietnam and its air strikes in Laos dropped to their lowest point since 1965.
In northern Laos, the communists made additional gains during the year but failed to overwhelm government forces. In November, the Pathet Lao agreed to meet with Laotian Government representatives to discuss a cease-fire.
The national government was forced to accept the Pathet Lao into the government.
During 1974 and 1975 the balance of power in Laos shifted steadily in favour of the Pathēt Lao as the U.S. disengaged itself from Indochina. Prime Minister Souvanna Phouma
was tired and demoralised, and following a heart attack in mid 1974 he spent some months recuperating in France, after which he announced that he would retire from politics following the elections scheduled for early 1976. The anti-communist forces were thus leaderless, and also divided and deeply mired in corruption. Souphanouvong
, by contrast, was confident and a master political tactician, and had behind him the disciplined cadres of the communist party and the Pathēt Lao forces and the North Vietnamese army. The end of American aid also meant the mass demobilization of most of the non-Pathēt Lao military forces in the country. The Pathēt Lao on the other hand continued to be both funded and equipped by North Vietnam.
In May 1974 Souphanouvong put forward an 18-point plan for "National Reconstruction," which was unanimously adopted – a sign of his increasing dominance. The plan was mostly uncontroversial, with renewed promises of free elections, democratic rights and respect for religion, as well as constructive economic policies. But press censorship was introduced in the name of "national unity," making it more difficult for non-communist forces to organise politically in response to the creeping Pathēt Lao takeover. In January 1975 all public meetings and demonstrations were banned. Recognising the trend of events, influential business and political figures began to move their assets, and in some cases themselves, to Thailand, France or the U.S.
. A few days earlier the Khmer Rouge
army had entered Phnom Penh
. The Pathēt Lao now knew that victory was within reach, and with the Vietnam war over the North Vietnamese authorised the seizure of power in Laos. Pathēt Lao forces on the Plain of Jars supported by North Vietnamese heavy artillery and other units began advancing westward.
In late April, the Pathēt Lao took the government outpost at Sala Phou Khoum crossroads which opened up Route 13 to a Pathēt Lao advance toward Muang Kassy. For the non-Pathēt Lao elements in the government, compromise seemed better than allowing what had happened in Cambodia and South Vietnam to happen in Laos. A surrender was thought to be better than a change of power by force.
Demonstrations broke out in Vientiane, denouncing the rightists and demanding political change. Rightist ministers resigned from the government and fled the country, followed by senior Royal Lao Army commanders. A Pathēt Lao minister took over the defence portfolio, removing any chance of the Army resisting the Pathēt Lao takeover. Prime Minister Souvanna Phouma
, dreading further conflict and apparently trusting Souphanouvong
's promises of a moderate policy, gave instructions that the Pathēt Lao were not to be resisted, and the U.S. began to withdraw its diplomatic personnel. The Pathēt Lao army entered the major towns of southern Laos during May, and in early June occupied Luang Phrabāng. Panic broke out in Vientiane as most of the business class and many officials, officers and others who had collaborated with the U.S. scrambled to get their families and property across the Mekong to Thailand. Recognising that the cause was lost, Vang Pao led thousands of his Hmong fighters and their families into exile – eventually about a third of all the Lao Hmong left the country. Pathēt Lao forces entered an almost deserted Vientiane in August.
For a few months the Pathēt Lao appeared to honour their promises of moderation. The shell of the coalition government was preserved, there were no arrests or show-trials, and private property was respected. Diplomatic relations with the U.S. were maintained, despite an immediate cut-off of all U.S. aid. (Other western countries continued to offer aid, and Soviet and eastern European technicians began to arrive to replace the departed Americans.) But in December there was a sharp change in policy. A joint meeting of the government and the Consultative Council was held, at which Souphanouvong demanded immediate change. There was no resistance.
On 2 December King Savang Vatthana
agreed to abdicate, and Souvanna Phouma resigned. The Lao People's Democratic Republic was proclaimed, with Souphanouvong as President. Kaisôn Phomvihān emerged from the shadows to become Prime Minister and the real ruler of the country. No more was heard of elections or political freedoms: non-communist newspapers were closed, and a large-scale purge of the civil service, army and police was launched. Thousands were dispatched for "re-education" in remote parts of the country, where many died and many more were kept for up to ten years. This prompted a renewed flight from the country. Many of the professional and intellectual class, who had initially been willing to work for the new regime, changed their minds and left – a much easier thing to do from Laos than from either Vietnam or Cambodia. By 1977 ten percent of the population had left the country, including most of the business and educated classes.
Once in power, the Pathet Lao economically cut its ties to all its neighbors (including China
) with the exception of the DRV and signed a treaty of friendship with Hanoi. The treaty allowed the Vietnamese to station soldiers within Laos and to place advisers throughout the government and economy.
. The end came for Vang Pao on May 5, 1975 when he was called before Souvanna Phouma, the Prime Minister of Laos, and ordered to cooperate with the communist Pathet Lao. Vang Pao took the general’s stars off his collar, threw them on the desk of Souvanna Phouma, and stalked out of the room. Four days later the official Pathet Lao newspaper warned that the Hmong would be exterminated “to the last root.”
Jerry Daniels, Vang Pao’s CIA case officer, was the only American remaining in Long Tieng and he began to plan an evacuation of the Hmong. However, he had only one airplane to evacuate the 3,500 Hmong leaders and families he judged to be at risk of execution by the Pathet Lao then advancing on Long Tieng. Brigadier General Heinie Aderholt
in Bangkok helped to find additional planes and sent three pilots flying two C-46 and one C-130 transport aircraft to Long Tieng. The planes were “sheep-dipped” to remove any U.S. markings as the operation was carried out in secret. The pilots were American civilians: Les Strouse, Matt Hoff, and Al Rich.
With the three American planes, the evacuation began in earnest on May 13 with each transport aircraft making four flights each that day from Long Tieng to Udorn
, Thailand and transporting more than 65 people per airplane on each trip – far more than the 35 maximum passengers dictated by safety conditions at mountain-ringed Long Tieng. Thousands of Hmong clustered around the airstrip at Long Tieng awaiting evacuation and the situation became increasingly ugly. On May 14, Vang Pao and Jerry Daniels were evacuated secretly by helicopter to Thailand and the air evacuation came to an end. The next day the Pathet Lao marched into Long Tieng unopposed. Daniels accompanied Vang Pao to exile in Montana and then returned to Thailand to help the Hmong refugees there.
What nobody had anticipated was the tens of thousands of Hmong left behind in Long Tieng and Laos would follow Vang Pao and other Hmong leaders to Thailand. By the end of 1975 about 40,000 Hmong had succeeded to reaching Thailand, traveling on foot through the mountains and floating across the Mekong River. How many died or were killed in the attempt to escape Laos will never be known, but the flight of Hmong and other Laotian highland peoples into Thailand would continue for many more years. They faced repression at home from the communist government as the price of their collaboration with the Americans. Most of the Hmong in Thailand would eventually be resettled in the United States and other countries. Between 1975 and 1982, 53,700 Hmong and other highland Laotian refugees were resettled in the United States and thousands more in other countries.
is located on the grounds of the Arlington National Cemetery
between the John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame
and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
.
In 2004, following several years of pressure from a coalition of U.S. conservatives and liberal human rights activists, the U.S. government reversed a policy of denying immigration to Hmong who had fled Laos for refugee camps in Thailand in the 1990s. In a major victory for the Hmong, fifteen thousand Hmong were later recognised as refugees and afforded expedited U.S. immigration rights by the U.S. government.
A legacy of the civil war is continuing casualties from unexploded ordnance (UXO) dropped by the U.S. and Laotian Air Forces from 1964-1973. More than 2 million tons of bombs were dropped on Laos, 30 percent of which failed to explode immediately. However, UXO remains dangerous to persons coming in contact, purposefully or accidentally, with bombs. Casualties in Laos from UXO are estimated at 12,000 since 1973. In 2006, 33 years after the last bomb was dropped and after decades of UXO clearance programs, 59 people were known to have been killed or injured by UXO. So abundant are the remnants of bombs on the Plain of Jars
that the collection and sale of scrap metal from bombs has been a major industry since the Civil War.
Pathet Lao
The Pathet Lao was a communist political movement and organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The group was ultimately successful in assuming political power after the Laotian Civil War. The Pathet Lao were always closely associated with Vietnamese communists...
, often North Vietnamese of Lao ancestry, and the Royal Lao Government
Royal Lao Government
The Royal Lao Government was the ruling authority in the Kingdom of Laos from 1947 until the communist seizure of power in December 1975 and the proclamation of the Lao People's Democratic Republic...
in which both the political rightists and leftists received heavy external support for a proxy war
Proxy war
A proxy war or proxy warfare is a war that results when opposing powers use third parties as substitutes for fighting each other directly. While powers have sometimes used governments as proxies, violent non-state actors, mercenaries, or other third parties are more often employed...
from the global Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
superpowers. Among United States Central Intelligence Agency Special Activities Division
Special Activities Division
The Special Activities Division is a division in the United States Central Intelligence Agency's National Clandestine Service responsible for covert operations known as "special activities"...
US and Hmong
Hmong people
The Hmong , are an Asian ethnic group from the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Hmong are also one of the sub-groups of the Miao ethnicity in southern China...
veterans of the conflict, it is known as the Secret War.
The Kingdom of Laos
Kingdom of Laos
The Kingdom of Laos was a sovereign state from 1953 until December 1975, when Pathet Lao overthrew the government and created the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Given self-rule in 1949 as part of a federation with the rest of French Indochina, the 1953 Franco-Lao Treaty finally established a...
was a covert theatre for battle for the other belligerents during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. The Franco–Lao Treaty of Amity and Association signed October 22, 1953, transferred remaining French powers — except control of military affairs — to the Royal Lao Government — which did not include any representatives from the Lao Issara
Lao Issara
The Lao Issara was an anti-French, non-communist nationalist movement formed in 1945 by Prince Phetsarath. This short-lived movement emerged after the Japanese defeat in World War II and became the government of Laos before the return of the French. It aimed to prevent the French from restoring...
anti-colonial armed nationalist movement — and otherwise establishing Laos as an independent member of the French Union
French Union
The French Union was a political entity created by the French Fourth Republic to replace the old French colonial system, the "French Empire" and to abolish its "indigenous" status.-History:...
. The following years were marked by a rivalry between the neutralists under Prince Souvanna Phouma
Souvanna Phouma
Prince Souvanna Phouma was the leader of the neutralist faction and prime minister of the Kingdom of Laos several times, from 1951–1952, 1956–1958, 1960 and 1962-1975.-Early life:...
, the right wing under Prince Boun Oum
Boun Oum
Prince Boun Oum was the son of King Ratsadanay, and was the hereditary prince of Champassack and also Prime Minister of Laos.-Early life:...
of Champassak
Kingdom of Champasak
The Kingdom of Champasak , in southern Laos, broke away from the Lan Xang kingdom in 1713. The Kingdom of Champasak prospered at the beginning the 18th century, but it was reduced to a vassal state of Siam before the century had passed. Under French rule the kingdom became an administrative block...
, and the left-wing Lao Patriotic Front under Prince Souphanouvong and future Prime Minister Kaysone Phomvihane
Kaysone Phomvihane
Kaysone Phomvihane was the leader of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party from 1955, though Souphanouvong served in a figurehead role...
. A number of attempts were made to establish coalition governments, and a "tri-coalition" government was finally seated in Vientiane
Vientiane
-Geography:Vientiane is situated on a bend of the Mekong river, which forms the border with Thailand at this point.-Climate:Vientiane features a tropical wet and dry climate with a distinct monsoon season and a dry season. Vientiane’s dry season spans from November through March. April marks the...
.
The fighting in Laos involved the North Vietnamese Army, American, Thai
Thai people
The Thai people, or Siamese, are the main ethnic group of Thailand and are part of the larger Tai ethnolinguistic peoples found in Thailand and adjacent countries in Southeast Asia as well as southern China. Their language is the Thai language, which is classified as part of the Kradai family of...
, and South Vietnamese forces directly and through irregular proxies in a battle for control over the Laotian Panhandle. The North Vietnamese Army occupied the area for use as the Ho Chi Minh Trail
Ho Chi Minh trail
The Ho Chi Minh trail was a logistical system that ran from the Democratic Republic of Vietnam to the Republic of Vietnam through the neighboring kingdoms of Laos and Cambodia...
supply corridor and staging area for offensives into South Vietnam. There was a second major theatre of action on and near the northern Plaine des Jarres.
The North Vietnamese and Pathet Lao emerged victorious in 1975, as part of the general communist victory in Indochina
Indochina
The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
that year.
Overview
The Geneva ConferenceGeneva Conference (1954)
The Geneva Conference was a conference which took place in Geneva, Switzerland, whose purpose was to attempt to find a way to unify Korea and discuss the possibility of restoring peace in Indochina...
established Laotian neutrality. The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), however, continued to operate in both northern and southeastern Laos. There were repeated attempts from 1954 onward to force the North Vietnamese out of Laos but, regardless of any agreements or concessions, Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
had no intention of abandoning the country or its Laotian communist allies.
The North Vietnamese established the Ho Chi Minh Trail
Ho Chi Minh trail
The Ho Chi Minh trail was a logistical system that ran from the Democratic Republic of Vietnam to the Republic of Vietnam through the neighboring kingdoms of Laos and Cambodia...
in the southeast of Laos and paralleling the Vietnamese border. The Trail was designed for North Vietnamese troops and supplies to infiltrate the Republic of Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
and to aid the National Liberation Front
National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam
The Vietcong , or National Liberation Front , was a political organization and army in South Vietnam and Cambodia that fought the United States and South Vietnamese governments during the Vietnam War . It had both guerrilla and regular army units, as well as a network of cadres who organized...
.
The North Vietnamese had a sizable military effort in northern Laos, while sponsoring and maintaining an indigenous communist rebellion, the Pathet Lao
Pathet Lao
The Pathet Lao was a communist political movement and organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The group was ultimately successful in assuming political power after the Laotian Civil War. The Pathet Lao were always closely associated with Vietnamese communists...
, to put pressure on the Royal Lao Government.
The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
(CIA), to disrupt these operations in northern Laos without direct military involvement, responded by training a guerrilla force of some thirty thousand Laotian hill tribesmen, mostly local Hmong
Hmong people
The Hmong , are an Asian ethnic group from the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Hmong are also one of the sub-groups of the Miao ethnicity in southern China...
tribesmen along with the Mien
Yao people
The Yao nationality is a government classification for various minorities in China. They form one of the 55 ethnic minority groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China, where they reside in the mountainous terrain of the southwest and south...
and Khmu
Khmu people
The Khmu is one of the largest ethnic groups based in northern Laos. They can also be found in Burma, southwest China , Thailand, and Vietnam, where they are an officially recognized ethnic group...
, led by Royal Lao Army
Royal Lao Army
The Royal Lao Army was the armed forces of the Kingdom of Laos. Its predecessor was the National Laotian Army - NLA of the French Union, created in 1947 from 'maquis', or guerrilla units gathered by French commandos. It was created in 1954 after the French granted Laos complete autonomy...
General Vang Pao
Vang Pao
Vang Pao was a Lieutenant General in the Royal Lao Army. He was an ethnic Hmong and a leader of the Hmong American community in the United States.-Early life:...
, a Hmong military leader. This army, supported by the CIA proprietary airline Air America, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, the Royal Lao Air Force
Royal Lao Air Force
The Royal Lao Air Force was the air force branch of the Military of the Royal Lao Government in the Kingdom of Laos. The RLAF, along with the Royal Lao Navy, and the Royal Lao Army, were placed under the control of the Ministry of Defense in Vientiane....
, and a covert air operation directed by the United States ambassador to Laos, fought the People's Army of Vietnam, the National Liberation Front (NLF), and their Pathet Lao allies to a seesaw stalemate, greatly aiding U.S. interests in the war in Vietnam.
The status of the war in the north throughout the year generally depended on the weather. As the dry season
Dry season
The dry season is a term commonly used when describing the weather in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which oscillates from the northern to the southern tropics over the course of the year...
started, in November or December, so did North Vietnamese military operations, as fresh troops and supplies flowed down out of North Vietnam on newly passable routes, either down from Dien Bien Phu
Dien Bien Phu
Điện Biên Phủ is a city in northwestern Vietnam. It is the capital of Dien Bien province, and is known for the events there during the First Indochina War, the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, during which the region was a breadbasket for the Việt Minh.-Population:...
, across Phong Saly Province on all weather highways, or on Route 7 through Ban Ban, Laos on the northeast corner of the Plaine des Jarres (commonly called "the PDJ"). The CIA's Clandestine Army would give way, harrying the PAVN and Pathet Lao as they retreated; Raven FACs
Raven FACs
The Raven Forward Air Controllers, also known as The Ravens, were fighter pilots used in a covert operation in conjunction with the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States in Laos during America's Vietnam War...
would direct massive air strikes against the communists by USAF jets and RLAF T-28
T-28
The Soviet T-28 was among the world's first medium tanks. The prototype was completed in 1931 and production began in late 1932. It was an infantry-support tank intended to break through fortified defences...
s to prevent the capture of the Laotian capitals of Vientiane
Vientiane
-Geography:Vientiane is situated on a bend of the Mekong river, which forms the border with Thailand at this point.-Climate:Vientiane features a tropical wet and dry climate with a distinct monsoon season and a dry season. Vientiane’s dry season spans from November through March. April marks the...
and Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang, or Louangphrabang , is a city located in north central Laos, where the Nam Khan river meets the Mekong River about north of Vientiane. It is the capital of Luang Prabang Province...
. When the rainy season six months later rendered North Vietnamese supply lines inoperable, the Vietnamese communists would recede toward Vietnam.
The war in the southeastern panhandle
Panhandle
A panhandle is an informal geographic term for an elongated arm-like protrusion of a geo-political entity, such as a subnational entity or a sovereign state.-Term:...
against the Ho Chi Minh Trail was primarily a massive air interdiction program by the USAF and United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
because political constraints kept the trail safe from ground assault from South Vietnam. Raven FACs also directed air strikes here in the southeast; other Forward Air Control
Forward air control
Forward air control is the provision of guidance to Close Air Support aircraft intended to ensure that their attack hits the intended target and does not injure friendly troops. This task is carried out by a forward air controller . For NATO forces the qualifications and experience required to be...
lers from South Vietnam, such as Covey FACs from the 20th Tactical Air Support Squadron
20th Tactical Air Support Squadron
The 20th Tactical Air Support Squadron is the former name of the 20th Reconnaissance Squadron, a unit of the United States Air Force. It is currently assigned to the 432d Wing at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada. Its original term of service overlapped World War II, and it was inactivated in 1949...
and Nail FACs from the 23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron, also directed strikes. Other air strikes were planned ahead. Overall coordination of the air campaign was directed by an Airborne Command and Control Center.
The existence of the conflict in Laos was sometimes reported in the U.S., and described in press reports as the CIA's "Secret War in Laos" because details were largely unavailable due to official government denials that the war existed. The denials were seen as necessary considering that the North Vietnamese government and the U.S. had both signed agreements specifying the neutrality of Laos. U.S. involvement was considered necessary because the DRV had effectively conquered a large part of the country and was equally obfuscating its role in Laos. Despite these denials, however, the Civil War was actually the largest U.S. covert operation
Covert operation
A covert operation is a military, intelligence or law enforcement operation that is carried clandestinely and, often, outside of official channels. Covert operations aim to fulfill their mission objectives without any parties knowing who sponsored or carried out the operation...
prior to the Afghan-Soviet War, with areas of Laos controlled by North Vietnam subjected to years of intense US aerial bombardment, representing the heaviest bombing campaign in history.
Overshadowing it all was the struggle of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, with the United States policy of containment
Containment
Containment was a United States policy using military, economic, and diplomatic strategies to stall the spread of communism, enhance America’s security and influence abroad, and prevent a "domino effect". A component of the Cold War, this policy was a response to a series of moves by the Soviet...
of socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
, and the policy of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics of spreading communism via subversion and insurgency.
1945: Prelude to war
The end of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
left Laos in political chaos. The French, who had been displaced from their protectorate by the Japanese, wanted to resume control of Laos, and sponsored guerrilla forces to regain control. The Japanese had proclaimed Laos independent even as they lost the war. Though King Sisavang Vong
Sisavang Vong
Sisavang Phoulivong , was king of Kingdom of Luang Phrabang and later Kingdom of Laos from 28 April 1904 until his death on 20 October 1959.-Early life:...
thought Laos was too small for independence he had proclaimed the end of the French protectorate status though he favored the French return. He let it be known he would accept independence if it should occur. Thus there was a nascent movement for independence amid the turmoil.
Underlying all this was a strong undercurrent of Vietnamese involvement. Sixty percent of the population of Laos's six urban areas were Vietnamese, with the Vietnamese holding key positions in the civil bureaucracies and the police. Since the 1930s the Indochinese Communist Party
Indochinese Communist Party
The Indochinese Communist Party was a political party which was transformed from old Vietnamese Communist Party in October 1930...
had established wholly Vietnamese cells in Laos.
Prince Phetsarath, as Viceroy and Prime Minister, established the Lao royal treasury account with the Indochinese treasury in Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
in an attempt to establish a functional economy.
French commandos parachuted into Laos beginning in 1945 to organize guerrilla forces. By November, they had formed the guerrillas into four light infantry battalions of the newly founded French Union Army. The officers and sergeants of the new Lao battalions were French.
In October, 1945, a Lao nationalist movement called Lao Issara
Lao Issara
The Lao Issara was an anti-French, non-communist nationalist movement formed in 1945 by Prince Phetsarath. This short-lived movement emerged after the Japanese defeat in World War II and became the government of Laos before the return of the French. It aimed to prevent the French from restoring...
(Free Laos) was founded as a new government for Laos. Among Lao Issara's prominent members were three European-educated princes; brothers Phetsarath Rattanavongsa
Phetsarath Rattanavongsa
Prince Phetsarath Rattanavongsa was prime minister of Laos from 1942 to 1945, and was the first and last vice-king of the Kingdom of Laos.-Early life:Phetsarath was born on 19 January 1890 in Luang Prabang, the second son of...
and Souvanna Phouma
Souvanna Phouma
Prince Souvanna Phouma was the leader of the neutralist faction and prime minister of the Kingdom of Laos several times, from 1951–1952, 1956–1958, 1960 and 1962-1975.-Early life:...
, and their half brother, Souphanouvong
Souphanouvong
Prince Souphanouvong was, along with his half-brother Prince Souvanna Phouma and Prince Boun Oum of Champasak, one of the “Three Princes” who represented respectively the communist , neutralist, and royalist political factions in Laos...
. The former became the titular founder of Lao Issara
Lao Issara
The Lao Issara was an anti-French, non-communist nationalist movement formed in 1945 by Prince Phetsarath. This short-lived movement emerged after the Japanese defeat in World War II and became the government of Laos before the return of the French. It aimed to prevent the French from restoring...
. Souphanouvong became commander in chief, as well as minister of foreign affairs. Souvanna Phouma became minister of public works.
Independence began with an uprising of the Vietnamese residents in Savannakhet
Savannakhet
Savannakhet or Kaysone Phomvihane is a city in western Laos and the capital of the Savannakhet Province, previously known as Khanthabouli . This is the second-largest city in Laos, after Vientiane. The city is birthtown of Kaysone Phomvihane, former president of Laos, and was named after him in...
. Prince Souphanouvong took command of a band of partisans armed with weapons looted from the local militia. The band moved northward to the administrative capitol of Vientiane
Vientiane
-Geography:Vientiane is situated on a bend of the Mekong river, which forms the border with Thailand at this point.-Climate:Vientiane features a tropical wet and dry climate with a distinct monsoon season and a dry season. Vientiane’s dry season spans from November through March. April marks the...
with its provisional revolutionary government. Souphanouvong then urged the signing of a military cooperation treaty with the newly established North Vietnam
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
ese communist government, which was done. The French military mission was escorted out of Laos into Thailand by a contingent of Chinese troops.
However, the Lao Issara never gained more than a tenuous hold on the entirety of Laos. Roving Viet Minh
Viet Minh
Việt Minh was a national independence coalition formed at Pac Bo on May 19, 1941. The Việt Minh initially formed to seek independence for Vietnam from the French Empire. When the Japanese occupation began, the Việt Minh opposed Japan with support from the United States and the Republic of China...
detachments ruled the northeast, but the Viet Minh declined to aid the new government. Chinese troops, including the Chinese Nationalist
Chinese nationalist
Chinese nationalist can refer to:* Chinese nationalism* Kuomintang - Chinese Nationalist Party in Taiwan....
93rd Division, occupied cities as far south as Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang, or Louangphrabang , is a city located in north central Laos, where the Nam Khan river meets the Mekong River about north of Vientiane. It is the capital of Luang Prabang Province...
. The French-sponsored guerrillas controlled the southern provinces of Savannakhet and Khammouan. Prince Boun Oum
Boun Oum
Prince Boun Oum was the son of King Ratsadanay, and was the hereditary prince of Champassack and also Prime Minister of Laos.-Early life:...
, who sympathized with the French, occupied the rest of the southern panhandle.
For these, and other reasons, Lao Issara could not hold the country against the returning French colonial government and its troops. The French negotiated a Chinese withdrawal from Laos prior to their own return, removing them from the field.
1946: The French return; the Vietnamese arrive
In January 1946, the French began the reconquest of Laos by sweeping the Bolovens Plateau. They had organized six battalions of light infantry, to which they added a minor force of French troops.On March 21, 1946, Souphanouvong and his largely Vietnamese force fought the French Union troops at Savannakhet, to no avail; the attackers mustered paratroopers, artillery, armored cars, and Spitfire fighter-bombers. The Lao Issara troops suffered 700 killed. They fled, leaving behind 250 bodies and 150 prisoners.
On 24 April, the French dropped a paratroop battalion on the outskirts of Vientiane, and took the city without resistance. On 9 May, they repeated their airborne tactics with a drop outside Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang, or Louangphrabang , is a city located in north central Laos, where the Nam Khan river meets the Mekong River about north of Vientiane. It is the capital of Luang Prabang Province...
. This was coupled with a thrust to the north by the French forces, from Vientiane to Luang Prabang, that chased Phetsarath and the Lao Issara ministers out of Laos. The king reinstated the French rule by repudiating his actions that had been pressured from him by the Japanese, Chinese, and Lao Issara.
By September, 1946, the Lao Issara had been defeated and had fled to exile in Bangkok. One of its splinter groups, led by Thao O Anourack fled to Hanoi.
There he allied himself with two men trusted by Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh
Hồ Chí Minh , born Nguyễn Sinh Cung and also known as Nguyễn Ái Quốc, was a Vietnamese Marxist-Leninist revolutionary leader who was prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam...
; Nouhak Phoumsavan was Vietnamese, and Kaysone Phomvihan was Vietnamese-Lao. These three men founded the military movement that would become the Pathet Lao (Land of Laos).
Thao O Anourack established the initial Pathet Lao base at Con Cuong
Con Cuong
Con Cuong is a district of Nghe An Province in the North Central Coastal region of Vietnam.As of 2003 the district had a population of 66,702. The district covers an area of 1,745 km². The district capital lies at Con Cuong....
, Vietnam. Kaysone Phomvihan organized the first detachment of the new force. By the end of 1946, at least 500 Viet Minh
Viet Minh
Việt Minh was a national independence coalition formed at Pac Bo on May 19, 1941. The Việt Minh initially formed to seek independence for Vietnam from the French Empire. When the Japanese occupation began, the Việt Minh opposed Japan with support from the United States and the Republic of China...
agents had crossed into Laos.
1947–52: Build-up of forces
On May 11, 1947, King Sisavang VongSisavang Vong
Sisavang Phoulivong , was king of Kingdom of Luang Phrabang and later Kingdom of Laos from 28 April 1904 until his death on 20 October 1959.-Early life:...
granted a constitution declaring Laos an independent nation within the French Union
French Union
The French Union was a political entity created by the French Fourth Republic to replace the old French colonial system, the "French Empire" and to abolish its "indigenous" status.-History:...
. This began the building of a new government over the next few years, including the establishment of a national army, the Armée Nationale Laotienne, which was the first iteration of the Royal Lao Army
Royal Lao Army
The Royal Lao Army was the armed forces of the Kingdom of Laos. Its predecessor was the National Laotian Army - NLA of the French Union, created in 1947 from 'maquis', or guerrilla units gathered by French commandos. It was created in 1954 after the French granted Laos complete autonomy...
.
The nascent army was plagued by lack of Lao leadership, and its weaponry was a hodgepodge. Thus
the new Armée Nationale Laotienne consisted of light infantry battalions officered by the French. There was one paratroop battalion included. The French began training Lao officers and non-commissioned officers even as they continued to lead and train the new army.
In opposition, the Viet Minh raised a subsidiary revolutionary movement, the Pathet Lao, starting with an initial guerrilla band of 25 in January, 1949.
In October, 1949, the exiled Lao Issara
Lao Issara
The Lao Issara was an anti-French, non-communist nationalist movement formed in 1945 by Prince Phetsarath. This short-lived movement emerged after the Japanese defeat in World War II and became the government of Laos before the return of the French. It aimed to prevent the French from restoring...
dissolved and the three royal brothers each chose a separate destiny.
Phetsarath Rattanavongsa
Phetsarath Rattanavongsa
Prince Phetsarath Rattanavongsa was prime minister of Laos from 1942 to 1945, and was the first and last vice-king of the Kingdom of Laos.-Early life:Phetsarath was born on 19 January 1890 in Luang Prabang, the second son of...
chose to remain in Bangkok. His stay was temporary. He would once again become the viceroy of Laos.
Souvanna Phouma
Souvanna Phouma
Prince Souvanna Phouma was the leader of the neutralist faction and prime minister of the Kingdom of Laos several times, from 1951–1952, 1956–1958, 1960 and 1962-1975.-Early life:...
chose to return to Laos via an amnesty, believing that the Lao would soon free themselves. In 1951 he became Prime Minister for the first time and held that office until 1954.
Souphanouvong
Souphanouvong
Prince Souphanouvong was, along with his half-brother Prince Souvanna Phouma and Prince Boun Oum of Champasak, one of the “Three Princes” who represented respectively the communist , neutralist, and royalist political factions in Laos...
, who had spent seven years in Nha Trang
Nha Trang
Nha Trang is a coastal city and capital of Khanh Hoa province, on the South Central Coast of Vietnam. It is bounded on the North by Ninh Hoà district, on the East by the South China Sea, on the South by Cam Ranh town and on the West by Diên Khánh district...
during his sixteen years in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, met Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh
Hồ Chí Minh , born Nguyễn Sinh Cung and also known as Nguyễn Ái Quốc, was a Vietnamese Marxist-Leninist revolutionary leader who was prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam...
, and acquired a Vietnamese wife while in Vietnam, solicited Viet Minh aid in founding a guerrilla force.
In August, 1950, Souphanouvong had joined the Viet Minh in their headquarters north of Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
, Vietnam, and become the head of the Pathet Lao
Pathet Lao
The Pathet Lao was a communist political movement and organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The group was ultimately successful in assuming political power after the Laotian Civil War. The Pathet Lao were always closely associated with Vietnamese communists...
, along with its political arm dubbed Neo Lao Hak Sat (Lao Patriotic Front). This was an attempt to give a false front of authority to the Lao communist movement by claiming to represent a united non-partisan effort. Two of its most important founders were members of the Indochinese Communist Party
Indochinese Communist Party
The Indochinese Communist Party was a political party which was transformed from old Vietnamese Communist Party in October 1930...
, which advocated overthrow of the monarchy as well as expulsion of the French.
On December 1950, the Pentalateral Mutual Defense Assistance Pact was signed by the United States, France, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos; it was a tool to transfer American military aid to the French war effort in Indochina. This year also marked the infiltration of at least 5,000 more Viet Minh
Viet Minh
Việt Minh was a national independence coalition formed at Pac Bo on May 19, 1941. The Việt Minh initially formed to seek independence for Vietnam from the French Empire. When the Japanese occupation began, the Việt Minh opposed Japan with support from the United States and the Republic of China...
into Laos.
In February, 1951, the Indochinese Communist Party
Indochinese Communist Party
The Indochinese Communist Party was a political party which was transformed from old Vietnamese Communist Party in October 1930...
decided to split in three to sponsor war against the French in Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
and Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, along with the war in Vietnam. The new Laotian branch consisted of 2,091 members, but included only 31 Lao.
Also, by 1951, the Pathet Lao had mustered sufficient trained troops to join the Viet Minh in military operations.
By October, 1951, the Armée Nationale Laotienne had raised two more battalions of infantry and begun training a battalion of paratroops. The ANL ended the year with a strength of 5,091.
By the end of 1952, the Royal Lao Army
Royal Lao Army
The Royal Lao Army was the armed forces of the Kingdom of Laos. Its predecessor was the National Laotian Army - NLA of the French Union, created in 1947 from 'maquis', or guerrilla units gathered by French commandos. It was created in 1954 after the French granted Laos complete autonomy...
had grown to include a battalion of troops commanded by Laotian officers, as well as 17 other companies.
1953-54: First North Vietnamese invasion & French defeat
By April, 1953, the Viet Minh's People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) invaded northeastern Laos with 40,000 troops commanded by General Vo Nguyen GiapVo Nguyen Giap
Võ Nguyên Giáp is a retired Vietnamese officer in the Vietnam People’s Army and a politician. He was a principal commander in two wars: the First Indochina War and the Vietnam War...
; included was a token force of 2,000 Pathet Lao led by Souphanouvong
Souphanouvong
Prince Souphanouvong was, along with his half-brother Prince Souvanna Phouma and Prince Boun Oum of Champasak, one of the “Three Princes” who represented respectively the communist , neutralist, and royalist political factions in Laos...
. The objective of the two-pronged invasion was the capture of the royal capital of Luang Prabang and of the Plaine des Jarres.
They were opposed by 10,000 Lao troops stiffened by 3,000 French regulars.
The North Vietnamese invaders succeeded in conquering the border provinces of Phong Saly and Sam Neua
Sam Neua
Xam Neua is the capital city of Houaphan Province, Laos, located in the northeast of the country. Xam Neua is one of the country's least visited provincial capitals by Western tourists.-Demographics:Residents are mostly Lao, Vietnamese and Hmong, along with some Tai Dam, Tai Daeng and Tai Lu...
, which were adjacent to northern Vietnam and on the northeastern verge of the Plaine des Jarres. They then moved aside to allow the ragtag Pathet Lao force with its mismatched scrounged equipment to occupy the captured ground, and Souphanouvong moved the Pathet Lao headquarters into Sam Neua City on April 19.
The other strike, moving from Dien Bien Phu
Dien Bien Phu
Điện Biên Phủ is a city in northwestern Vietnam. It is the capital of Dien Bien province, and is known for the events there during the First Indochina War, the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, during which the region was a breadbasket for the Việt Minh.-Population:...
and aimed downriver at Luang Prabang, was thwarted by oncoming monsoons and dogged resistance by the French.
The Vietnamese invasion was stalled, but only because the French had airlifted in battalions of Foreign Legionnaires
French Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion is a unique military service wing of the French Army established in 1831. The foreign legion was exclusively created for foreign nationals willing to serve in the French Armed Forces...
and Moroccan Tirailleur
Tirailleur
Tirailleur literally means a shooting skirmisher in French from tir—shot. The term dates back to the Napoleonic period where it was used to designate light infantry trained to skirmish ahead of the main columns...
s.
In December, the French Union Army, as part of its attempt to protect Laos from the PAVN, recaptured the Dien Bien Phu valley.
In January, the PAVN launched two assaults on Laos. One thrust crossed the top of the panhandle to the Mekong River town of Thakhek
Thakhek
Thakhek is a town in south-central Laos on the Mekong River and facing Nakhon Phanom across the river in northeastern Thailand. It is the capital of Khammouane province....
. The other was again aimed at Luang Prabang. Both were thwarted in a month.
These were diversions to the famous Battle of Dien Bien Phu
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was the climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War between the French Union's French Far East Expeditionary Corps and Viet Minh communist revolutionaries. The battle occurred between March and May 1954 and culminated in a comprehensive French defeat that...
, which took place from March through May within ten kilometers of the Lao border, on the lines of communication into the Plaine des Jarres. The ruggedness of the karst mountains of northern Laos channels movement into a few canyons; small watercraft could move from Dien Bien Phu
Dien Bien Phu
Điện Biên Phủ is a city in northwestern Vietnam. It is the capital of Dien Bien province, and is known for the events there during the First Indochina War, the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, during which the region was a breadbasket for the Việt Minh.-Population:...
down to the Nam Ou
Nam Ou
The Nam Ou is one of the most important rivers of Laos. It runs 448 km from Phongsaly Province to Luang Prabang Province. Along with the Mekong, the Nam Ou is the only natural channel suitable for large-draft boat transportation. Near its confluence with the Mekong are the Pak Ou Caves,...
, and thence directly downriver to Luang Prabang, or they cross into the PDJ via
Ban Ban.
A notable event was the use of Civil Air Transport
Civil Air Transport
Civil Air Transport was a Chinese airline, later owned by the CIA, that supported United States covert operations throughout East and Southeast Asia...
, which later morphed into Air America, in a covert operation to fly supplies to the embattled French in Dien Bien Phu. The PAVN also launched a diversionary thrust at Seno
Seno
- Fictional characters :* Alice Seno/Seno Arisu of Alice 19th** Mayura Seno, Alice's older sister...
, Laos, aimed at cutting away the panhandle from the main body of Laos. This thrust was foiled by paratroopers from the French Union's Army of the Republic of Vietnam.
When the relief troops didn't lift the siege in time, the bastion of Dien Bien Phu fell. One of the troopers in the relief column marching from Luang Prabang was a young Hmong
Hmong people
The Hmong , are an Asian ethnic group from the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Hmong are also one of the sub-groups of the Miao ethnicity in southern China...
named Vang Pao
Vang Pao
Vang Pao was a Lieutenant General in the Royal Lao Army. He was an ethnic Hmong and a leader of the Hmong American community in the United States.-Early life:...
.
The French loss at Dien Bien Phu marked the end of the First Indochina War
First Indochina War
The First Indochina War was fought in French Indochina from December 19, 1946, until August 1, 1954, between the French Union's French Far East...
; the French were driven to negotiate for peace. On July 20, the Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities in Laos was signed, ending French rule. Two months later, the North Vietnamese established a support group for Pathet Lao
Pathet Lao
The Pathet Lao was a communist political movement and organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The group was ultimately successful in assuming political power after the Laotian Civil War. The Pathet Lao were always closely associated with Vietnamese communists...
forces at Ban Nameo, well within northeastern Laos.
The Agreement radically changed the geography of Indochina. As part of the change the North Vietnamese now succeeded to rule of the northern half of their own country. Laos became totally independent of France. The French turned over its Lao French Union troops to the new nation; as a residual effort, it kept two bases in Laos and supplied advisors to the new Lao military.
The Royal Lao government military also received its first aircraft from the French in 1954; nine Morane-Saulnier MS-500 Criquets were supplied for support and medevac.
Because the Pathet Lao
Pathet Lao
The Pathet Lao was a communist political movement and organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The group was ultimately successful in assuming political power after the Laotian Civil War. The Pathet Lao were always closely associated with Vietnamese communists...
had shown no willingness to fight, and the 25,000 man Royal Lao Army
Royal Lao Army
The Royal Lao Army was the armed forces of the Kingdom of Laos. Its predecessor was the National Laotian Army - NLA of the French Union, created in 1947 from 'maquis', or guerrilla units gathered by French commandos. It was created in 1954 after the French granted Laos complete autonomy...
was incapable of resisting the PAVN, an attempt was made to coax the Pathet Lao into a coalition with the Royal Lao Government
Royal Lao Government
The Royal Lao Government was the ruling authority in the Kingdom of Laos from 1947 until the communist seizure of power in December 1975 and the proclamation of the Lao People's Democratic Republic...
.
1955–58: The lull
In January, 1955, French advisors began training the first Lao aviation force. Later that year, Thailand would supply Sikorsky H-19 helicopters and volunteer pilots to the Lao military. The Thais also trained thirty Lao officers in weapons use at Hua HinHua Hin
Hua Hin is a famous beach resort town in Thailand, in the northern part of the Malay Peninsula, some 200 km south of Bangkok. It has a population of 84,883 in an area of 911 km², and is one of eight districts of the Prachuap Khiri Khan province.Hua Hin is closely associated with the...
, Thailand.
In early 1955, a United States Operation Mission was set up in Laos. Its primary purpose was supply of military defense materials to the Royal Lao Government
Royal Lao Government
The Royal Lao Government was the ruling authority in the Kingdom of Laos from 1947 until the communist seizure of power in December 1975 and the proclamation of the Lao People's Democratic Republic...
; 80% of its budget was dedicated to this purpose. The United States paid 100% of the Lao military budget. However, the embassy staff was not up to monitoring this program. There was an obvious need for a Military Assistance Advisory Group
Military Assistance Advisory Group
Military Assistance Advisory Group is a designation for American military advisers sent to assist in the training of conventional armed forces of Third World countries. Before and during the Vietnam War, there were three of these groups operating in Southeast Asia...
; however, the United States had signed a treaty that expressly forbade such.
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
's solution was to establish the Program Evaluations Office (PEO) in December, 1955, staffed by American civilians with prior military experience and headed up by retired Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
Rothwell Brown. These civilians were given U. S. State Department status. However, they did not work strictly for the State Department. On military matters, they reported to the Commander in Chief Pacific Command
United States Pacific Command
The United States Pacific Command is a Unified Combatant Command of the United States armed forces responsible for the Pacific Ocean area. It is led by the Commander, Pacific Command , who is the supreme military authority for the various branches of the Armed Forces of the United States serving...
, with information supplied to the American ambassador; on non-military matters, they reported directly to the ambassador.
1955 was also notable for the despatch of Royal Lao Government troops to Sam Neua
Sam Neua
Xam Neua is the capital city of Houaphan Province, Laos, located in the northeast of the country. Xam Neua is one of the country's least visited provincial capitals by Western tourists.-Demographics:Residents are mostly Lao, Vietnamese and Hmong, along with some Tai Dam, Tai Daeng and Tai Lu...
and Phong Saly, which was much resented by the Pathet Lao. As a result of this resentment, and disputes about electoral procedures, the Laotian communists boycotted that year's national elections.
On March 21, 1956, Souvanna Phouma
Souvanna Phouma
Prince Souvanna Phouma was the leader of the neutralist faction and prime minister of the Kingdom of Laos several times, from 1951–1952, 1956–1958, 1960 and 1962-1975.-Early life:...
began his second term as prime minister. He opened a dialogue with his brother, Souphanouvong
Souphanouvong
Prince Souphanouvong was, along with his half-brother Prince Souvanna Phouma and Prince Boun Oum of Champasak, one of the “Three Princes” who represented respectively the communist , neutralist, and royalist political factions in Laos...
. In August, they announced the intention of declaring a ceasefire and reintegrating the Pathet Lao and their occupied territory into the government. However, the Pathet Lao claimed the right to administer the provinces they occupied.
At the same time, they and their North Vietnamese backers ran a massive recruitment campaign, with the aim of forming nine battalions of troops. Many of the new recruits were sent into North Vietnam for schooling and training. This led to United States concern that the Royal Lao Army
Royal Lao Army
The Royal Lao Army was the armed forces of the Kingdom of Laos. Its predecessor was the National Laotian Army - NLA of the French Union, created in 1947 from 'maquis', or guerrilla units gathered by French commandos. It was created in 1954 after the French granted Laos complete autonomy...
would be inadequately equipped and trained because there was only one small French military mission working with the RLA.
In February, 1957, the Program Evaluations Office personnel began supplying training materials to the French Military Mission that was charged with training the Royal Lao Army
Royal Lao Army
The Royal Lao Army was the armed forces of the Kingdom of Laos. Its predecessor was the National Laotian Army - NLA of the French Union, created in 1947 from 'maquis', or guerrilla units gathered by French commandos. It was created in 1954 after the French granted Laos complete autonomy...
. The rationale was that improved training would better fit the army with defending its country. As part of this process, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
even took over paying the Royal Lao Army
Royal Lao Army
The Royal Lao Army was the armed forces of the Kingdom of Laos. Its predecessor was the National Laotian Army - NLA of the French Union, created in 1947 from 'maquis', or guerrilla units gathered by French commandos. It was created in 1954 after the French granted Laos complete autonomy...
's salaries.
Beginning in March, 1957, the Royal Lao Army began shuttling arms to Hmong
Hmong people
The Hmong , are an Asian ethnic group from the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Hmong are also one of the sub-groups of the Miao ethnicity in southern China...
guerrillas, to enable them to fight on the side of the RLA.
In November, 1957, a coalition government incorporating the Pathet Lao was finally established. Using the slogan, "one vote to the right, one vote to the left to prevent civil war," pro-communist parties received one-third of the popular vote and won 13 of 21 contested seats in the elections of May 4, 1958. With these additional seats, the left controlled a total of 16 seats in the 59 member National Assembly. Combined with independents, this was enough to deny Souvanna's center right, neutralist coalition the two-thirds majority it needed to form a government. With parliament deadlocked, the U.S. suspended aid in June to force a devaluation of the overpriced currency, which was leading to the abuse of U.S. aid. The National Assembly responded by confirming a right-wing government led by Phuy Xananikôn in August. This government included four members of the U.S.-backed Committee for the Defence of the National Interest (none of them National Assembly members). Three more unelected CDNI members were added in December, when Phuy received emergency powers to govern without the National Assembly.
In November, 1958, Brigadier General John A. Heintges reviewed the PEO. He promptly replaced General Brown, and forged a new agreement with the Lao and the French. Integral to the new agreement was the displacement of the French military trainers by Americans. As a result, PEO expanded over twentyfold. Included in the expansion were 149 Special Forces
Special forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
on temporary duty, and 103 Filipino military veterans working for a newly formed front company named Eastern Construction Company in Laos.
1959: Second North Vietnamese invasion
On May 15, 1959, the People's Army of Vietnam established Group 559Group 559
Group 559 was a transportation and logistical unit of the People's Army of Vietnam that was subordinate to the Rear Services General Directorate....
; this unit was charged with the logistics of moving the necessities of war from North Vietnam to the South. Its foremost feat was building and maintaining the Ho Chi Minh trail
Ho Chi Minh trail
The Ho Chi Minh trail was a logistical system that ran from the Democratic Republic of Vietnam to the Republic of Vietnam through the neighboring kingdoms of Laos and Cambodia...
down the eastern spine of Laos. Eventually, this transportation network would power the Vietnamese communists to victory. It would have to survive a relentless air campaign comparable to any interdiction bombing in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Also in May, the long awaited integration of 1,500 Pathet Lao troops into the national army was scheduled. The U. S. embassy told the Lao government that it would be difficult to gain congressional approval of aid to Laos with communists serving in the army. The Pathet Lao
Pathet Lao
The Pathet Lao was a communist political movement and organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The group was ultimately successful in assuming political power after the Laotian Civil War. The Pathet Lao were always closely associated with Vietnamese communists...
stalled.
Under orders from Souphanouvong, the Pathet Lao battalions refused to be integrated into the Royal Lao Army. Souphanouvong was then arrested and imprisoned, along with his aides. The two Pathet Lao battalions, one after the other, escaped during the night with no shots fired, taking their equipment, families, and domestic animals with them. On May 23, Souphanouvong
Souphanouvong
Prince Souphanouvong was, along with his half-brother Prince Souvanna Phouma and Prince Boun Oum of Champasak, one of the “Three Princes” who represented respectively the communist , neutralist, and royalist political factions in Laos...
and his companions also escaped unscathed.
In July, U.S. Special Forces Mobile Training Teams from the 77th Special Forces Group, working under the code name Hotfoot, began training the Royal Laotian army. The Green Berets were attached to the Programs Evaluation Office, and like other PEO employees, were nominal civilians. However, even in civilian dress, having traded their green berets for sun helmets, they still had a military appearance.
The RLA was being formed into Groupement Mobiles—regimental-sized units of three battalions. The training teams were assigned one per GM, with some battalions also meriting a team.
On July 28, PAVN units attacked all along the North Vietnamese-Lao border. As they took ground from the Royal Lao Army, they moved in Pathet Lao as occupation troops. Poor battle performance by the RLA seemed to verify the need for further training; the RLA outnumbered the attackers, but still gave ground.
Also in July, the American embassy began to contract for aerial resupply for RLA troops, hiring Robert Brongersma and his Beech 18.
In September, Group 100 was succeeded by Group 959; the North Vietnamese were upgrading their military mission to the Pathet Lao, just as the Americans had expanded PEO. Both sides were raising larger client armies, in hopes the Lao would fight.
1960: The neutralist coup
On August 9, 1960, Captain Kong LeKong Le
Kong Le is a former paratrooper captain in the Royal Lao Army known for overthrowing the government of Laos in a 1960 coup d'état. He obtained his training from the Armed Forces of the Philippines in 1957 and joined the Royal Lao Army in 1960.-Coup of 1960:...
and his Special Forces
Special forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
-trained Neutralist paratroop battalion were able to seize control of the administrative capital of Vientiane in a virtually bloodless coup, while Prime Minister Tiao Samsanith, government officials, and military leaders met in the royal capital, Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang, or Louangphrabang , is a city located in north central Laos, where the Nam Khan river meets the Mekong River about north of Vientiane. It is the capital of Luang Prabang Province...
. His stated aim for the coup was an end to fighting in Laos, the end of foreign interference in his country, an end to the consequent corruption caused by foreign aid, and better treatment for his soldiers. However, Kong Le's coup did not end opposition to him, and there was a scramble among unit commanders to choose up sides. If one was not pro-coup, then he had the further decision to make as to whom he would back to counter the coup. The front runner was General Phoumi Nosavan
Phoumi Nosavan
Phoumi Nosavan was a Lao military and political figure of the Vietnam War . Nosavan was of Chinese descent....
, first cousins with the prime minister/dictator of Thailand, Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat. With the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
's connivance, Sarit set up a covert Thai military advisory group called Kaw Taw. Kaw Taw would be complicit in the counter-coup that was mounted; it supplied artillery, artillerymen, and advisors to Phoumi's forces. It also committed the CIA-sponsored Thai Police Aerial Reinforcement Unit to operations within Laos.
Immediately after Kong Le's coup, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
clamped down with an embargo via land blockade, cutting off the main source of imported goods for Vientiane
Vientiane
-Geography:Vientiane is situated on a bend of the Mekong river, which forms the border with Thailand at this point.-Climate:Vientiane features a tropical wet and dry climate with a distinct monsoon season and a dry season. Vientiane’s dry season spans from November through March. April marks the...
. The United States Secretary of State, Christian Herter
Christian Herter
Christian Archibald Herter was an American politician and statesman; 59th governor of Massachusetts from 1953 to 1957, and United States Secretary of State from 1959 to 1961.-Early life:...
, made it clear that the United States supported the “legitimate government under the King's direction.” The United States supported the pro-Western government of Prime Minister Tiao Samsanith, even though it was elected illegally.
The Neutralist forces in Vientiane organized the Executive Committee of the High Command of the Revolution as the interim government in Laos the following day. General Phoumi Nosavan
Phoumi Nosavan
Phoumi Nosavan was a Lao military and political figure of the Vietnam War . Nosavan was of Chinese descent....
, stated on August 10 that he planned to retake Vientiane by force. The United States Ambassador to Laos, Winthrop G. Brown, responded to General Phoumi by stating that the United States supported a restoration of peace “through quick and decisive action.”
PEO had turned its support to General Phoumi. With the help of Air America and covert aid from Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, the general and his troops moved north toward Vientiane
Vientiane
-Geography:Vientiane is situated on a bend of the Mekong river, which forms the border with Thailand at this point.-Climate:Vientiane features a tropical wet and dry climate with a distinct monsoon season and a dry season. Vientiane’s dry season spans from November through March. April marks the...
from Savannakhet
Savannakhet
Savannakhet or Kaysone Phomvihane is a city in western Laos and the capital of the Savannakhet Province, previously known as Khanthabouli . This is the second-largest city in Laos, after Vientiane. The city is birthtown of Kaysone Phomvihane, former president of Laos, and was named after him in...
in southern Laos, in November.
The Soviet Union began a military air bridge into Vientiane in early December; it was characterized as the largest Soviet airlift since World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. This air bridge flew in PAVN artillery and gunners to reinforce the Neutralist/Pathet Lao coalition.
On their side, the United States flew four B-26 Invader bombers from Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
into Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base
Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base
Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base is a Royal Thai Air Force facility. It is located in Central Thailand, approximately 144 miles northwest of Bangkok in Takhli district, Nakhon Sawan Province, near the city of Nakhon Sawan.- Units :...
, poised to strike into Laos. They were later joined by an additional eight B26s. With a dozen guns, half a dozen rockets, and a napalm canister apiece, they were a potent threat, but were never used.
On December 13, Phoumi's army began a three day bombardment of Vientiane. Five hundred civilians and seventeen of Kong Le's paratroopers were killed by the shellfire. On the 14th, a U. S. carrier task force went on alert, and the Second Airborne Brigade stood by to seize selected Laotian airfields. The U. S. was poised to rescue its paramilitary and diplomatic advisors in Laos.
Kong Le and his Neutralists finally withdrew northward to the Plaine des Jarres. Their withdrawal was covered by artillery fire from the PAVN 105 mm howitzers rushed in from Hanoi, and supported by Soviet airdrops of crucial supplies of rations, munitions, and radios. In the retreat, Kong Le picked up 400 recruits, swelling his force to 1,200 men.
Phoumi's coup was thus successful, but the end result was the alliance of the Neutralists with the Pathet Lao on December 23. As 1960 ended, the obscure little nation of Laos had become an arena of confrontation for the world's superpowers.
1961: Superpowers' involvement deepens
Beginning on January 1, a new coalition of Kong Le's Neutralists, Pathet Lao, and PAVN drove 9,000 Royal Lao Army troops from the Plaine des Jarres.On 3 January, the Royal Laotian Air Force received its first counter-insurgency aircraft, American-built T-6 Texans, via the Royal Thai Air Force
Royal Thai Air Force
The Royal Thai Air Force or RTAF is the air force of the Kingdom of Thailand. Since its establishment in 1913, as one of the earliest air forces of Asia, the Royal Thai Air Force had engaged in many major and minor battles. During the Vietnam war era, the air force has been developed with USAF-aid...
. These four reconfigured trainers were armed with two .30 caliber machine guns and five inch rockets, and could carry 100 pound bombs. Four previously trained Lao pilots undertook transition training in Thailand; on 9 January, the pilots flew the new RLAF fighter-bombers to Vientiane. Two days later, they flew their first combat sorties, against PAVN and Pathet Lao covering Kong Le's retreat into the Plaine des Jarres.
Russian Soviet air supply continued, bringing in heavy weapons to supplement the light arms previously delivered. On January 7, the North Vietnamese presence was escalated by an additional four battalions; two of the battalions immediately moved to the point of conflict, on Route 7, which connected to Vientiane. A third PAVN battalion moved into action at Tha Thom, south of the PDJ. On 15 January, the entire 925th Independent Brigade of the PAVN had crossed into Laos to reinforce the Pathet Lao/Neutralist coalition.
This led to counter-escalation, as the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
began airdropping arms to a force of 7,000 Hmong
Hmong people
The Hmong , are an Asian ethnic group from the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Hmong are also one of the sub-groups of the Miao ethnicity in southern China...
guerrillas later in the month. Air America was also bequeathed four H-34 helicopters from the U. S. Navy.
By the beginning of February, the first four volunteer pilots from the Royal Thai Air Force arrived to fly four more T-6s supplied to the Royal Laotian Air Force. The Thai mercenaries had been officially discharged from the RTAF, and held no official position in the RLAF. The growth of the RLAF would be nullified by its casualties, as five of the T-6s had been lost in action by the end of March.
The incoming Kennedy administration found itself pitched immediately into the Laotian crisis. An interagency task force founded in early February began a two month study of possible American responses to the Laotian war. The most drastic alternative they envisioned was a 60,000 man commitment of American ground troops in southern Laos, with a possible use of nuclear weapons.
Less drastic options were elected. Even as the French ended their training mission, the American training efforts ramped up. Sixteen H-34 helicopters were transferred from the U. S. Marine Corps to Air America; maintenance facilities were established in Udorn in far northern Thailand, a few miles south of Vientiane.
On 9 March, the communists captured the only road junction between Luang Prabang and Vientiane. When RLA troops were ordered to counterattack and retake the junction, they dropped their weapons and ran. Special Forces Team Moon was assigned as advisors to the RLA unit.
On 22 April 1961, Team Moon was overrun. Two sergeants were killed, and team leader Captain Walter H. Moon was captured; he was later executed while trying to escape captivity. Another sergeant was released sixteen months later.
The B26s had been scheduled to strike at Kong Le, but the strike was stayed by an event on the far side of the world. The Bay of Pigs Invasion
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs Invasion was an unsuccessful action by a CIA-trained force of Cuban exiles to invade southern Cuba, with support and encouragement from the US government, in an attempt to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro. The invasion was launched in April 1961, less than three months...
failed, and that failure gave pause to U. S. actions in Laos. A ceasefire was sought. Simultaneously, the Programs Evaluation Office shed its civilian guise and went above ground to become a Military Advisory Assistance Group. Emblematic of the change, the Hotfoot teams donned their U. S. uniforms and became White Star Mobile Training Teams.
The truce supposedly went into effect the first week of May, but was repeatedly breached by the communists. With the Royal Lao Army ineffective, the Hmong guerrillas were left as the only opposition to the communists. In early June, they were forced from their beleaguered position at Ban Padong by an artillery barrage followed by a ground assault. Under command of General Vang Pao
Vang Pao
Vang Pao was a Lieutenant General in the Royal Lao Army. He was an ethnic Hmong and a leader of the Hmong American community in the United States.-Early life:...
, they fell back to Long Tieng
Long Tieng
Long Tieng is a Laotian military base located in Xiangkhouang Province. During the Laotian Civil War, it served as a town and airbase operated by the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States...
.
The U. S. Central Intelligence Agency had begun secretly recruiting Lao montagnards into 100 man militia companies. Riflemen trained for these militias would receive eight weeks basic training, then serve several months in their militia. Once they had that experience, which often included their first combat, they were further recruited into battalions of irregular troops called Special Guerrilla Units. The battalions were filled out along ethnic lines, most being Hmong, but some being Yao
Yao people
The Yao nationality is a government classification for various minorities in China. They form one of the 55 ethnic minority groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China, where they reside in the mountainous terrain of the southwest and south...
(Iu-Mien) or Lao Theung
Lao Theung
The Lao Theung or Lao Thoeng is one of the traditional divisions of ethnic groups living in Laos . It literally indicates the "midland Lao", and comprises a variety of different ethnic groups of mostly Austro-Asiatic origin...
(Lao Saetern). SGUs, once formed up, underwent three further months training by Thai officers and sergeants in Phitsanuloke, Thailand.
By summer, the CIA had mustered 9,000 hill tribesmen into the ranks of the Armée Clandestine. It was aided by 9 CIA agents, 9 Special Forces augmentees, and 99 Thai Special Forces troopers from the Police Aerial Resupply Unit.
By autumn, the future course of American involvement was set. Paramilitary trainers would train guerrilla units, with resupply coming via airdrops, and specialized short takeoff and landing aircraft using makeshift dirt airstrips. Other trainers would try to mold the Royalist regulars into a fighting force. Fighter-bombers would serve as flying artillery to blast the communist forces into retreat or submission.
In December, the Royalists decided to assert control over the provincial capitol of Nam Tha, which was on the northwestern border, almost in southern China. GMs 11 and 18 were stationed there, and soon came under pressure from the communists.
1962: Disaster and a new government
By February, the Royal Lao Government's hold on Nam Tha seemed tenuous enough that it was reinforced by the paratroopers of GM 15. That gave a numerical edge to the defenders and should have guaranteed Nam Tha's retention. The presence of armed American Special Forces advisors should have stiffened them with military expertise.In May, a PAVN assault broke the RLG forces and routed them. The Royalist soldiers fled southward across the entirety of northwestern Laos into Thailand, a retreat of over a hundred miles.
Faced with this fiasco, the U. S. forced the RLG into a coalition with the Pathet Lao and Kong Le's Forces Armee Neutrale. This technically fulfilled the Geneva Agreements on Laos and triggered the treaty requirement that foreign military technicians be withdrawn from Laos by October. The United States disbanded its Military Assistance Advisory Group and withdrew its military mission. The Vietnamese communists did not; they repatriated only a token 40 technicians out of an estimated 2,000.
July 1962 saw the field tests of Pilatus Porter
Pilatus PC-6
|-See also:-References:* Lambert, Mark. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1993–1994. Coulsdon, UK: Jane's Data Division, 1993. ISBN 0 7106 1066 1.* Taylor, John W. R. Janes's All The World's Aircraft 1965–66. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, 1965....
Short Takeoff and Landing aircraft by Bird and Sons. The original two Porters' performance was degraded by heat and height robbing power from engine performance. One of the Porters crashed in December, killing all on board.
Several companies of hill tribes irregulars were sent to Hua Hin
Hua Hin
Hua Hin is a famous beach resort town in Thailand, in the northern part of the Malay Peninsula, some 200 km south of Bangkok. It has a population of 84,883 in an area of 911 km², and is one of eight districts of the Prachuap Khiri Khan province.Hua Hin is closely associated with the...
, Thailand for training.
1963: Stasis
In January, the second Pilatus Porter crashed; its pilot escaped with serious burns.Vang Pao gathered three SGU battalions into Groupement Mobile 21 and spearheaded a drive into Sam Neua. His offensive was resupplied by supplies airdropped by the civilian aircraft of Air America and Bird and Sons.
By the middle of the year, the Pathet Lao and Neutralists had begun to squabble with one another.
In the meantime, the United States re-established a Military Assistance Advisory Group to support its efforts in Laos, basing it in Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
. The Requirements Office of the U.S. Embassy in Vientiane was manned by civilians and monitored the need for U.S. military aid to Laos.
In August, the Royal Laotian Air Force received its first four T-28 Trojan
T-28 Trojan
The North American Aviation T-28 Trojan is a piston-engined military trainer aircraft used by the United States Air Force and United States Navy beginning in the 1950s...
s that had been adapted for counter-insurgency warfare.
The irregular companies trained the previous year in Thailand were now formed into a battalion called SGU 1. Irregular forces proliferated throughout the country. In Military Regions 3 and 4, action, intelligence, and road watch teams infiltrated the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
In December, Vang Pao was promoted to Brigadier General by King Sisavong.
1964–65: Escalation and US Air Force involvement
Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base
Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base is a Royal Thai Air Force base, the home of 2nd Air Division/23rd Wing Air Combat Command.The 231 Squadron "Hunter" is assigned to Udorn, equipped with the Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet-A.-History:...
to supply Lao pilots for the Royal Laotian Air Force. The RLAF also began augmenting its ranks with Thai volunteer pilots in 1964.
Run by a 41 man team from Detachment 6 of the 1st Air Commando Wing, this facility was an end run around the treaty obligation that forbade training in Laos. Besides training pilots, Waterpump encouraged cooperation between the RLAF and the Royal Thai Air Force
Royal Thai Air Force
The Royal Thai Air Force or RTAF is the air force of the Kingdom of Thailand. Since its establishment in 1913, as one of the earliest air forces of Asia, the Royal Thai Air Force had engaged in many major and minor battles. During the Vietnam war era, the air force has been developed with USAF-aid...
. It was also tasked, as a last resort, to augment the RLAF to counter a renewed Communist offensive in Laos.
In Laos itself, there was an effort to train Laotians as forward air guides. Meantime, the Butterfly forward air control program began.
Even as the air commandos established themselves in Udorn and Laos, several Lao generals attempted a coup in Vientiane. With the capital in turmoil, the Communists on the Plaine des Jarres attacked and overran the Royalist and Neutralist positions. The United States then released the necessary ordnance for the RLAF to bomb Communist encampments, beginning on May 18.
On May 19, the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
began flying mid and low-level missions over the renewed fighting, under the code name Yankee Team. They also began reconnaissance missions over the Laotian panhandle to obtain target information on men and material being moved into South Vietnam over the Ho Chi Minh Trail. By this time, the footpaths on the trail had been enlarged to truck roads, with smaller paths for bicycles and walking. The Trail had become the major artery for use by North Vietnam to infiltrate South Vietnam.
On 9 June, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
ordered an F-100
F-100 Super Sabre
The North American F-100 Super Sabre was a supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard until 1979. The first of the Century Series collection of USAF jet fighters, it was the first USAF fighter capable of...
strike against the enemy in retaliation for the shoot down of another U.S. aircraft.
The summer of 1964 was marked by a successful attack by the Forces Armee Royale. Operation Triangle cleared one of the few roads in Laos; Route 13 connected the administrative capitol of Vientiane with the royal capitol of Luang Prabang.
The Plain of Jars activities expanded by December 1964, were named Operation Barrel Roll
Operation Barrel Roll
Operation Barrel Roll was a covert U.S. Air Force 2nd Air Division and U.S. Navy Task Force 77, interdiction and close air support campaign conducted in the Kingdom of Laos between 14 December 1964 and 29 March 1973 concurrent with the Vietnam War.The original purpose of the operation was to serve...
, and were under the control of the U.S. ambassador to Laos, who approved all targets before they were attacked.
In February, Commanding General of Military Region 5 Kouprasith Abhay
Kouprasith Abhay
General Kouprasith Abhay was a Laotian military and political figure from the Vietnam War .He was born into the privileged ruling family of Khong Island...
mounted a coup against the group of generals whom had attempted a coup the previous year. Among the losers fleeing into exile were General Phoumi Nosavan
Phoumi Nosavan
Phoumi Nosavan was a Lao military and political figure of the Vietnam War . Nosavan was of Chinese descent....
.
On April 3, the U.S. began Operation Steel Tiger over the Laotian panhandle and the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone
Demilitarized zone
In military terms, a demilitarized zone is an area, usually the frontier or boundary between two or more military powers , where military activity is not permitted, usually by peace treaty, armistice, or other bilateral or multilateral agreement...
(DMZ) to locate and destroy enemy forces and materiel being moved southward at night on the Ho Chi Minh Trail into South Vietnam. However, since circumstances made it a highly complex matter in regard to the neutrality of Laos, target approval had to come from the U.S. government in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Additionally, the U.S. ambassadors in South Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand were involved in controlling these U.S. air operations.
Late in 1965, the communists greatly increased their infiltration along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The United States decided to concentrate airpower upon a small segment of the Trail closest to South Vietnam and used most extensively by the enemy. As a result, Operation Tiger Hound was initiated in December 1965, utilizing aircraft from the Air Force, the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, and U.S. Marines, the Vietnamese Air Force, and the Royal Laotian Air Force. On 11 December, B-52
B-52 Stratofortress
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber operated by the United States Air Force since the 1950s. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, who have continued to provide maintainence and upgrades to the aircraft in service...
heavy bombers were called in to this tactical operation, in their first use over Laos.
1966–67
In the far northwest, Team Fox, an intelligence team of Mien hill tribesmen began long range reconnaissance of southern China.In July, Royal Lao Government (RLG) forces seized Nam Bac. Three Infantry Regiments, one independent infantry battalion, and one artillery battalion took Nam Bac and established a defensive line north of Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang, or Louangphrabang , is a city located in north central Laos, where the Nam Khan river meets the Mekong River about north of Vientiane. It is the capital of Luang Prabang Province...
.
On the Plain of Jars, the Pathet Lao advance gradually slowed due to the destruction of its supplies by airpower, and Laotian troops then counter-attacked. By August 1966, they had advanced to within 45 miles of the DRV border. North Vietnam then sent thousands of its regular troops into the battle and once again the Laotians were forced to retreat.
Steel Tiger operations continued down the length of the panhandle in 1966, with special emphasis upon the Tiger Hound area. Since most of the communist truck traffic was at night, the Air Force developed and began using special equipment to detect the nighttime traffic.
Haiphong
, also Haiphong, is the third most populous city in Vietnam. The name means, "coastal defence".-History:Hai Phong was originally founded by Lê Chân, the female general of a Vietnamese revolution against the Chinese led by the Trưng Sisters in the year 43 C.E.The area which is now known as Duong...
had been permitted.
In northern Laos, the Communists continued their slow advance across the Plain of Jars in 1967. Laotian victories were few and far between, and by the end of the year, the situation had become critical even with the air support which had been provided by the Royal Lao Air Force
Royal Lao Air Force
The Royal Lao Air Force was the air force branch of the Military of the Royal Lao Government in the Kingdom of Laos. The RLAF, along with the Royal Lao Navy, and the Royal Lao Army, were placed under the control of the Ministry of Defense in Vientiane....
.
Laotian tribal irregulars were operating out of Nam Bac, under CIA direction from Luang Prabang, some 60 miles south of the guerrilla base. In midyear, over the objections of Lao colonels, American advisors pressured Royal Lao troops into forming their smaller units into combat battalions. Despite the poor training of the Lao soldiers, some of whom had never fired a weapon, these raw new units were moved northward out of Luang Prabang over a several month period to garrison Nam Bac. By mid-October, some 4,500 government troops held the valley to secure the air strip for their resupply, a la Dien Bien Phu
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was the climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War between the French Union's French Far East Expeditionary Corps and Viet Minh communist revolutionaries. The battle occurred between March and May 1954 and culminated in a comprehensive French defeat that...
. The American intent was the establishment of Nam Bac as the keystone of an "iron arc" of defensive positions across northern Laos.
In response, the PAVN 316th Infantry Division was dispatched to Laos to assault Nam Bac. The Royalist garrison was soon surrounded. They had American-supplied 105mm howitzers for artillery support. They could also call on Royal Lao Air Force
Royal Lao Air Force
The Royal Lao Air Force was the air force branch of the Military of the Royal Lao Government in the Kingdom of Laos. The RLAF, along with the Royal Lao Navy, and the Royal Lao Army, were placed under the control of the Ministry of Defense in Vientiane....
T-28s for close air support. U. S. Air Force fighter-bombers struck the Communist supply lines. Communist gunfire closed the Nam Bac airstrip to fixed wing resupply. Air America copters flew in supplies and evacuated the wounded; American C-123s parachuted supplies ferried from Udorn RTAFB to the beleaguered government troops. The Royalist troops would not launch a clearing attack to regain use of the runway for resupply. On 25 December, a Vietnamese artillery barrage kicked off their offensive.
1968: Royal Lao Army neutralized
On 13 January the North Vietnamese launched a multi-division attack on the Royal Lao Army at Nam Bac, Laos. Some of the government troops began withdrawing from the valley. After about a third of the defenders had retreated, the final assault on the Royalist garrison came out of a heavy mist and hit the Royalist command post. Its communications with the defenders was cut; the rout was on. The heavy weapons and scale of the PAVN attack could not be matched by the national army and it was effectively sidelined for several years. Most of the government soldiers scattered into the surrounding hills; about 200 of the defenders were killed in action. Of the 3,278 Royalist soldiers, only about a third returned to government service. The Royalists had suffered such a staggering defeat that their army never recovered; the government was left with only tribal irregulars using guerrilla tactics fighting on its side.Throughout 1968, the communists slowly advanced across the northern part of Laos, defeating Laotian forces time and time again, and eventually the U.S base Lima Site 85
Battle of Lima Site 85
The Battle of Lima Site 85, also called Battle of Phou Pha Thi, was fought as part of a military campaign waged during the Vietnam War and Laotian Civil War by the Vietnam People’s Army and the Pathet Lao, against airmen of the United States Air Force 1st Combat Evaluation Group, elements of the ...
was overrun. This success was achieved despite U.S. military advice and assistance. In November, the U.S. launched an air campaign against the Ho Chi Minh Trail because North Vietnam was sending more troops and supplies than ever along this route to South Vietnam. This new operation, named Operation Commando Hunt, continued until 1972, with little success.
1969–72
Royal Lao Army
The Royal Lao Army was the armed forces of the Kingdom of Laos. Its predecessor was the National Laotian Army - NLA of the French Union, created in 1947 from 'maquis', or guerrilla units gathered by French commandos. It was created in 1954 after the French granted Laos complete autonomy...
launched a large attack (Cu Kiet Campaign) against the communists in the Plain of Jars/Xieng Khoang areas, supported by its own air units and the U.S. Air Force. In June, the enemy launched an attack of its own and gained ground, but by August, Laotian forces attacked again and regained what had been lost. In all these operations, the U.S. Air Force flew hundreds of Barrel Roll missions; however, many were canceled because of poor weather.
Pathet Lao forces were supported by PAVN's 174th Vietnamese Volunteer Regiment. By September, the 174th had to fall back to regroup. In mid-September, they launched a counterattack and recovered the Plain of Jars. Forces participating in the campaign included the 316th and 312th Infantry Divisions, the 866th Infantry Regiment, the 16th Artillery Regiment, one tank company, six sapper and engineer battalions, one Nghe An Province local force battalion, and ten PL battalions.
On 11 February, the offensive (Campaign 139) opened. By the 20th, control of the Plain of Jars was secure. RLG forces withdrew to Muong Xui. On 25 February, the RLG abandoned Xieng Khoang city. Xam Thong fell on 18 March and Long Thieng was threatened. On 25 April, the campaign ended. After the end of the campaign, the "316th Division, the 866th Regiment, and a number of specialty branch units were ordered to stay behind to work with our Lao friends."
At the beginning of 1970, fresh troops from North Vietnam advanced through northern Laos. The Air Force called in B-52s and, on 17 February, they were used to bomb targets in northern Laos. The enemy advance was halted by Laotian reinforcements, and for the remainder of the year it was a "seesaw" military campaign.
1 May – elements of SVN PAVN units (28th and 24A regiments) join with North Vietnamese Army and Pathet Lao to seize Attopeu.
Although communist movements down the Ho Chi Minh Trail grew during the year, the U.S. war effort was reduced because authorities in Washington, believing the U.S. objectives in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
were being achieved, imposed budget limits. This reduced the number of combat missions the USAF could fly.
Because of significant logistical stockpiling by PAVN in the Laotian Panhandle, South Vietnam launched Operation Lam Son 719, a military thrust on 8 February 1971. Its goals were to cross into Laos toward the city of Tchepone
Xekong Province
Sekong is a province of Laos, located in the south-east of the country.-Geography:Sekong was created in 1984, when it was split off from Salavan Province. It is bordered by Vietnam to the east, Attapeu Province to the south, Salavanh Province to the north, and Champasak Province to the west...
and cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail, hopefully thwarting a planned North Vietnamese offensive. Aerial support by the U.S., was massive since no American ground units could participate in the operation. On 25 February, PAVN launched a counterattack, and in the face of heavy opposition, the South Vietnamese force withdrew from Laos after losing approximately a third of its men.
Combined offensive to take Plain of Jars. On 18 December, PAVN and Pathet Lao forces launched counteroffensive (Campaign Z) to recover the Plain. Volunteer forces included the 312th and 316th Divisions, the 335th and 866th Infantry Regiments, and six artillery and tank battalions. Xam Thong fell and the push continued toward Long Thieng.
Lower Laos – the 968th Infantry Regiment and Pathet Lao forces reclaimed the Tha Teng and Lao Nam areas, and liberated the Bolovens Plateau.
During the dry season 1971–72, PL/PAVN forces dug into defensive positions and fought for permanent control of the Plain of Jars. Units participating included the 316th Infantry Division, the 866th, 335th, and 88th Regiments, and nine specialty branch battalions under the command of Senior Colonel Le Linh. Seven PL battalions also participated.
On 21 May, RLG forces attempted to seize the Plain. The battle lasted 170 days (until 15 November 1972). The communists claimed to have killed 1,200 troops and captured 80.
When PAVN launched the Nguyen Hue Offensive (known in the West as the Easter Offensive) into South Vietnam on 30 March, Massive U.S. air support was required inside South Vietnam and its air strikes in Laos dropped to their lowest point since 1965.
In northern Laos, the communists made additional gains during the year but failed to overwhelm government forces. In November, the Pathet Lao agreed to meet with Laotian Government representatives to discuss a cease-fire.
1973–74
The US pulled out of Laos in 1973, as stipulated by the Paris Peace Accord. North Vietnam was not required to remove its forces under the terms of the treaty.The national government was forced to accept the Pathet Lao into the government.
During 1974 and 1975 the balance of power in Laos shifted steadily in favour of the Pathēt Lao as the U.S. disengaged itself from Indochina. Prime Minister Souvanna Phouma
Souvanna Phouma
Prince Souvanna Phouma was the leader of the neutralist faction and prime minister of the Kingdom of Laos several times, from 1951–1952, 1956–1958, 1960 and 1962-1975.-Early life:...
was tired and demoralised, and following a heart attack in mid 1974 he spent some months recuperating in France, after which he announced that he would retire from politics following the elections scheduled for early 1976. The anti-communist forces were thus leaderless, and also divided and deeply mired in corruption. Souphanouvong
Souphanouvong
Prince Souphanouvong was, along with his half-brother Prince Souvanna Phouma and Prince Boun Oum of Champasak, one of the “Three Princes” who represented respectively the communist , neutralist, and royalist political factions in Laos...
, by contrast, was confident and a master political tactician, and had behind him the disciplined cadres of the communist party and the Pathēt Lao forces and the North Vietnamese army. The end of American aid also meant the mass demobilization of most of the non-Pathēt Lao military forces in the country. The Pathēt Lao on the other hand continued to be both funded and equipped by North Vietnam.
In May 1974 Souphanouvong put forward an 18-point plan for "National Reconstruction," which was unanimously adopted – a sign of his increasing dominance. The plan was mostly uncontroversial, with renewed promises of free elections, democratic rights and respect for religion, as well as constructive economic policies. But press censorship was introduced in the name of "national unity," making it more difficult for non-communist forces to organise politically in response to the creeping Pathēt Lao takeover. In January 1975 all public meetings and demonstrations were banned. Recognising the trend of events, influential business and political figures began to move their assets, and in some cases themselves, to Thailand, France or the U.S.
1975
In March 1975, confident that the U.S. no longer had the stomach to intervene militarily in Indochina, the North Vietnamese began their final military offensive in South Vietnam, which by the end of April carried them to victory with the fall of SaigonFall of Saigon
The Fall of Saigon was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by the People's Army of Vietnam and the National Liberation Front on April 30, 1975...
. A few days earlier the Khmer Rouge
Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge literally translated as Red Cambodians was the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, who were the ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen and Khieu Samphan...
army had entered Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh is the capital and largest city of Cambodia. Located on the banks of the Mekong River, Phnom Penh has been the national capital since the French colonized Cambodia, and has grown to become the nation's center of economic and industrial activities, as well as the center of security,...
. The Pathēt Lao now knew that victory was within reach, and with the Vietnam war over the North Vietnamese authorised the seizure of power in Laos. Pathēt Lao forces on the Plain of Jars supported by North Vietnamese heavy artillery and other units began advancing westward.
In late April, the Pathēt Lao took the government outpost at Sala Phou Khoum crossroads which opened up Route 13 to a Pathēt Lao advance toward Muang Kassy. For the non-Pathēt Lao elements in the government, compromise seemed better than allowing what had happened in Cambodia and South Vietnam to happen in Laos. A surrender was thought to be better than a change of power by force.
Demonstrations broke out in Vientiane, denouncing the rightists and demanding political change. Rightist ministers resigned from the government and fled the country, followed by senior Royal Lao Army commanders. A Pathēt Lao minister took over the defence portfolio, removing any chance of the Army resisting the Pathēt Lao takeover. Prime Minister Souvanna Phouma
Souvanna Phouma
Prince Souvanna Phouma was the leader of the neutralist faction and prime minister of the Kingdom of Laos several times, from 1951–1952, 1956–1958, 1960 and 1962-1975.-Early life:...
, dreading further conflict and apparently trusting Souphanouvong
Souphanouvong
Prince Souphanouvong was, along with his half-brother Prince Souvanna Phouma and Prince Boun Oum of Champasak, one of the “Three Princes” who represented respectively the communist , neutralist, and royalist political factions in Laos...
's promises of a moderate policy, gave instructions that the Pathēt Lao were not to be resisted, and the U.S. began to withdraw its diplomatic personnel. The Pathēt Lao army entered the major towns of southern Laos during May, and in early June occupied Luang Phrabāng. Panic broke out in Vientiane as most of the business class and many officials, officers and others who had collaborated with the U.S. scrambled to get their families and property across the Mekong to Thailand. Recognising that the cause was lost, Vang Pao led thousands of his Hmong fighters and their families into exile – eventually about a third of all the Lao Hmong left the country. Pathēt Lao forces entered an almost deserted Vientiane in August.
For a few months the Pathēt Lao appeared to honour their promises of moderation. The shell of the coalition government was preserved, there were no arrests or show-trials, and private property was respected. Diplomatic relations with the U.S. were maintained, despite an immediate cut-off of all U.S. aid. (Other western countries continued to offer aid, and Soviet and eastern European technicians began to arrive to replace the departed Americans.) But in December there was a sharp change in policy. A joint meeting of the government and the Consultative Council was held, at which Souphanouvong demanded immediate change. There was no resistance.
On 2 December King Savang Vatthana
Savang Vatthana
Savang or Sisavang Vatthana was the last king of the Kingdom of Laos. He ruled from 1959 after his father's death, until his forced abdication in 1975...
agreed to abdicate, and Souvanna Phouma resigned. The Lao People's Democratic Republic was proclaimed, with Souphanouvong as President. Kaisôn Phomvihān emerged from the shadows to become Prime Minister and the real ruler of the country. No more was heard of elections or political freedoms: non-communist newspapers were closed, and a large-scale purge of the civil service, army and police was launched. Thousands were dispatched for "re-education" in remote parts of the country, where many died and many more were kept for up to ten years. This prompted a renewed flight from the country. Many of the professional and intellectual class, who had initially been willing to work for the new regime, changed their minds and left – a much easier thing to do from Laos than from either Vietnam or Cambodia. By 1977 ten percent of the population had left the country, including most of the business and educated classes.
Once in power, the Pathet Lao economically cut its ties to all its neighbors (including China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
) with the exception of the DRV and signed a treaty of friendship with Hanoi. The treaty allowed the Vietnamese to station soldiers within Laos and to place advisers throughout the government and economy.
Evacuation of the Hmong
A dramatic event during the takeover of Laos by the communists was the evacuation of Vang Pao and other Hmong leaders by air from Long TiengLong Tieng
Long Tieng is a Laotian military base located in Xiangkhouang Province. During the Laotian Civil War, it served as a town and airbase operated by the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States...
. The end came for Vang Pao on May 5, 1975 when he was called before Souvanna Phouma, the Prime Minister of Laos, and ordered to cooperate with the communist Pathet Lao. Vang Pao took the general’s stars off his collar, threw them on the desk of Souvanna Phouma, and stalked out of the room. Four days later the official Pathet Lao newspaper warned that the Hmong would be exterminated “to the last root.”
Jerry Daniels, Vang Pao’s CIA case officer, was the only American remaining in Long Tieng and he began to plan an evacuation of the Hmong. However, he had only one airplane to evacuate the 3,500 Hmong leaders and families he judged to be at risk of execution by the Pathet Lao then advancing on Long Tieng. Brigadier General Heinie Aderholt
Harry C. Aderholt
Harry Chaney Aderholt I was an American Brigadier General in the United States Air Force and a prominent figure in air force special operations. Aderholt died on May 20, 2010.-Biography:...
in Bangkok helped to find additional planes and sent three pilots flying two C-46 and one C-130 transport aircraft to Long Tieng. The planes were “sheep-dipped” to remove any U.S. markings as the operation was carried out in secret. The pilots were American civilians: Les Strouse, Matt Hoff, and Al Rich.
With the three American planes, the evacuation began in earnest on May 13 with each transport aircraft making four flights each that day from Long Tieng to Udorn
Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base
Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base is a Royal Thai Air Force base, the home of 2nd Air Division/23rd Wing Air Combat Command.The 231 Squadron "Hunter" is assigned to Udorn, equipped with the Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet-A.-History:...
, Thailand and transporting more than 65 people per airplane on each trip – far more than the 35 maximum passengers dictated by safety conditions at mountain-ringed Long Tieng. Thousands of Hmong clustered around the airstrip at Long Tieng awaiting evacuation and the situation became increasingly ugly. On May 14, Vang Pao and Jerry Daniels were evacuated secretly by helicopter to Thailand and the air evacuation came to an end. The next day the Pathet Lao marched into Long Tieng unopposed. Daniels accompanied Vang Pao to exile in Montana and then returned to Thailand to help the Hmong refugees there.
What nobody had anticipated was the tens of thousands of Hmong left behind in Long Tieng and Laos would follow Vang Pao and other Hmong leaders to Thailand. By the end of 1975 about 40,000 Hmong had succeeded to reaching Thailand, traveling on foot through the mountains and floating across the Mekong River. How many died or were killed in the attempt to escape Laos will never be known, but the flight of Hmong and other Laotian highland peoples into Thailand would continue for many more years. They faced repression at home from the communist government as the price of their collaboration with the Americans. Most of the Hmong in Thailand would eventually be resettled in the United States and other countries. Between 1975 and 1982, 53,700 Hmong and other highland Laotian refugees were resettled in the United States and thousands more in other countries.
Aftermath
Twenty two years following the end of the Laotian War, on May 15, 1997, the U.S. officially acknowledged its role in the Secret War, erecting a memorial in honour of American and Hmong contributions to U.S. air and ground combat efforts during the conflict. The Laos MemorialLaos Memorial
The Laos Memorial is a small memorial in Arlington National Cemetery, located between the path to the JFK memorial and the Tomb of the Unknowns, in Arlington, Virginia, in the United States. The memorial commemorates the veterans of the "Secret War" in Laos....
is located on the grounds of the Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
between the John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame
John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame
The John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame is a presidential memorial at the gravesite of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, in Arlington National Cemetery. The permanent site replaced a temporary grave and eternal flame used during President Kennedy's funeral on November 25, 1963. The site was designed by...
and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier refers to a grave in which the unidentifiable remains of a soldier are interred. Such tombs can be found in many nations and are usually high-profile national monuments. Throughout history, many soldiers have died in wars without their remains being identified...
.
In 2004, following several years of pressure from a coalition of U.S. conservatives and liberal human rights activists, the U.S. government reversed a policy of denying immigration to Hmong who had fled Laos for refugee camps in Thailand in the 1990s. In a major victory for the Hmong, fifteen thousand Hmong were later recognised as refugees and afforded expedited U.S. immigration rights by the U.S. government.
A legacy of the civil war is continuing casualties from unexploded ordnance (UXO) dropped by the U.S. and Laotian Air Forces from 1964-1973. More than 2 million tons of bombs were dropped on Laos, 30 percent of which failed to explode immediately. However, UXO remains dangerous to persons coming in contact, purposefully or accidentally, with bombs. Casualties in Laos from UXO are estimated at 12,000 since 1973. In 2006, 33 years after the last bomb was dropped and after decades of UXO clearance programs, 59 people were known to have been killed or injured by UXO. So abundant are the remnants of bombs on the Plain of Jars
Plain of Jars
The Plain of Jars is a megalithic archaeological landscape in Laos. Scattered in the landscape of the Xieng Khouang plateau Xieng Khouang, Lao PDR, are thousands of megalithic jars...
that the collection and sale of scrap metal from bombs has been a major industry since the Civil War.
See also
- Battle of Lima Site 85Battle of Lima Site 85The Battle of Lima Site 85, also called Battle of Phou Pha Thi, was fought as part of a military campaign waged during the Vietnam War and Laotian Civil War by the Vietnam People’s Army and the Pathet Lao, against airmen of the United States Air Force 1st Combat Evaluation Group, elements of the ...
- CIA activities in LaosCIA activities in Laos-Politics of Laos and the CIA:A 1962 Time Magazine article about Laos makes some points that help understand the context of the overt and covert actions of all sides in Laos before the Vietnam War....
- Conflict in Laos involving the HmongConflict in Laos involving the HmongThe insurgency in Laos refers to the ongoing, albeit sporadic, military conflict between the Lao People's Army and primarily members of the former "Secret Army" or the Hmong people, who have faced governmental reprisals due to Hmong support for the American-led, anti-communist campaigns in Laos...
- French IndochinaFrench IndochinaFrench Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
- HmongHmong peopleThe Hmong , are an Asian ethnic group from the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Hmong are also one of the sub-groups of the Miao ethnicity in southern China...
- Bomb HarvestBomb HarvestBomb Harvest is a 2007 documentary film directed by Australian filmmaker Kim Mordaunt, and produced by Sylvia Wilczynski. It explores the consequences of war in Laos as it follows an Australian bomb disposal specialist, training locals in the skill of detonating bombs while trying to stop...
- Lee LueLee LueCaptain Lee Lue was a Laotian Hmong fighter bomber pilot notable for flying more combat missions than any other pilot in the Kingdom of Laos. Lee Lue flew continuously, as many as 10 missions a day and averaging 120 combat missions a month to build a total of more than 5,000 sorties...
- Vang PaoVang PaoVang Pao was a Lieutenant General in the Royal Lao Army. He was an ethnic Hmong and a leader of the Hmong American community in the United States.-Early life:...
- Vang Sue
Government documents
- Military History Institute of Vietnam, Victory in Vietnam: The Official History of the People's Army of Vietnam, 1954–1975. Trans. by Merle Pribbenow. Lawrence KS: University of Kansas Press, 2002.
- Nalty, Bernard C. War Against Trucks: Aerial Interdiction in Southern Laos, 1968–1973. Washington DC: Air Force Museums and History Program, 2005.
- Van Staaveren, Jacob, Interdiction in Southern Laos, 1960–1968. Washington DC: Center of Air Force History, 1993.
- Vongsavanh, Brig. Gen. Soutchay, RLG Military Operations and Activities in the Laotian Panhandle. Washington DC: United States Army Center of Military History, 1980.
Histories
- War in Laos, 1954–1975. Kenneth J. Conboy. Squadron/Signal Publications, 1994. ISBN 978-0-89747-315-6, 9780897473156.
- At War in the Shadow of Vietnam: United States Military Aid to the Royal Lao Government, 1955–1975. Timothy Castle. Columbia University Press, 1993. ISBN 978-0-231-07977-8, 9780231079778.
Memoirs
- Kissinger, Henry A. White House Years.
- Nixon, Richard M. RN: The Memoirs of Richard Nixon.
- Yang, Kao Kalia The Latehomecomer
Secondary sources
- Adams, Nina S. and Alfred W. McCoy, eds. Laos: War and Revolution. New York: Harper & Row, 1970.
- Breaux, Jarred James, The Laotian Civil War: The Intransigence of General Phoumi Nosavan and American Intervention in the Fall of 1960. Morrisville, N.C.:Lulu, 2008.
- Blaufarb, Douglas, The Counterinsurgency Era.
- Champassak, Sisouk Na, Storm Over Laos. New York: Praeger, 1961.
- Conboy, Kenneth with James Morrison, Shadow War: The CIA's Secret War in Laos. Boulder CO: Paladin Press, 1995.
- Corn, DavidDavid CornDavid Corn is an American political journalist and author and the chief of the Washington bureau for Mother Jones. He has been Washington editor for The Nation and appeared regularly on FOX News, MSNBC, National Public Radio, and BloggingHeads.tv opposite James Pinkerton or other media...
, Blond Ghost: Ted Shackley and the CIA's Crusades. Simon & Schuster, 1994. ISBN 978-0-671-69525-5, 9780671695255 - Duiker, William J., The Communist Road to Power in Vietnam 2nd ed. Westview Press, 1996.
- Issacs, Arnold, Gordon Hardy, MacAlister Brown, et al., Pawns of War: Cambodia and Laos. Boston: Boston Publishing Company, 1987.
- Karnow, Stanley, Vietnam: A History. New York: Viking, 1983.
- McGehee, Ralph W. Deadly Deceits: My 25 Years in the CIA. New York: Sheridan Square, 1983.
- Morrison, Gayle L. Sky is Falling: an Oral History of the CIA evacuation of the Hmong from Laos, Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1999
- Robbins, Christopher, Air America. New York: Avon, 1985.
- Robbins, Christopher, The Ravens: Pilots of the Secret War in Laos. Bangkok: Asia Books, 2000.
- Thompson, Larry Clinton, Refugee Workers in the Indochina Exodus, 1975–1982. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2010. http://books.google.com/books?id=zI5S5eS4_LQC&printsec=frontcover&dq=refugee+workers&hl=en&ei=jHn3TbjOCZC_gQf8zpGTDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false
- Warner, Roger, Shooting at the Moon: The Story of America's Clandestine War in Laos. South Royalton VE: Steerforth Press, 1996.
External links
- Supporting the "Secret War": CIA Air Operations in Laos, 1955–1974, from Central Intelligence Agency web site.
- "'Secret War' Still Killing Thousands," Andre Vltchek, Worldpress.org correspondent, November 14, 2006.
- The Secret War in Laos, from the plainofjars.net Web Site.
- "Acts of Betrayal," by Michael Johns, National Review, October 23, 1995.
- Air America Association web site
- Online Archive Materials about Air America in the Vietnam Archive at Texas Tech
- Air America – Roll of honour and images.
- Air America by Christopher Robbins
- The Ravens, Pilots of the Secret War in Laos by Christopher Robbins
- Hmong In Transition by Sheila Pinkel
- Bibliography: Laos (bibliography mainly devoted to the portions of the Second Indochina War that occurred in Laos)