Forces Armées Neutralistes (Neutralist Armed Forces) was an armed political movement of the Laotian Civil War .
85-548: Forces Armées Neutralistes has founded upon the basis of the mutinous Bataillon Parachustistes 2 (Battalion of Parachutists 2) that lost the Battle of Vientiane , FAN's original stance was that of its commander, Captain Kong Le , who espoused strict neutrality for the Kingdom of Laos and an end to governmental corruption. Withdrawing from Vientiane in defeat on 16 December 1960, FAN occupied
170-653: A SEATO meeting in Bangkok that 20 Soviet aircraft were ferrying military aid to the coup force, which had burgeoned to 4,000 men. At about this time, the Joint Chiefs of Staff estimated that unilateral intervention in Laos by the United States would require 60,000 American troops; the intervention option was then rejected. On 3 April 1961, FAN paratroopers were dropped by Soviet aircraft west of Vang Vieng. Coordinating their action with
255-559: A recoilless rifle were among the weapons engaged. The American embassy next door took an artillery shell in the ceiling of its old chancellor building, setting the CIA office afire. Based on reports of the fighting, American Joint Task Force 116, afloat in the South China Sea , was placed on a four-hour alert. The U.S. 2d Airborne Battle Group was also alerted, for the possible seizure of Lao airfields. Uneasy darkness again fell on Vientiane. All
340-604: A bloodless coup on 25 December 1959. He would be himself overthrown on 10 August 1960 by the young paratrooper captain whom had backed him in the 1959 coup. When Captain Kong Le impressed the American officials underwriting Laos as a potential communist, they backed Phoumi's return to power in November and December 1960. In turn, the USSR backed Kong Le as their proxy in this cold war standoff. After
425-549: A defensive posture by Neutralist and Royalist forces for the nonce. By this time, FAN could muster 2,200 men, supported by 50 PT-76 tanks. While centered on the Plain of Jars, FAN raised a Special Guerrilla Battalion that occupied Vang Khy, a village located between Vientiane and Vang Viang. While the reputed purpose of the new battalion was security for Neutralist officials in the capital, the Royalist General Staff suspected it
510-649: A dozen tanks. The next day, BP 4 went over to Deuane's Patriotic Neutralists. One company of the latter was fighting in an offensive against Royalist regiment Groupement Mobile 17 (Mobile Group 17). By 21 May, Ambassador Unger feared that the neutralist forces in Laos faced extinction if FAN's position at Muang Soui fell to the communists. Kong Le withdrew FAN from the Plain in good order, except for an inconsequential loss of small arms. However, in June, his armored force of 23 vehicles had to be abandoned at Muong Kheung. The FAN still blocked Route 7 to communist use, as well as holding
595-474: A new threat to this bastion, Kong Le rushed additional troops from Vientiane some 150 kilometers to Paksan to reinforce it against the arrival of Phoumi's troops. Some residual anti-Kong Le forces led by Colonel Kouprasith Abhay emerged in the power vacuum this left, bidding for control of the capital, and the parachutist reinforcements had to be returned to the capital. As a result, Phoumi's assault element suffered no serious opposition, and rolled into Paksan. At
680-504: A point of co-existing peacefully with nearby PAVN units. However, on 11 March 1965, the Vietnamese communists unexpectedly turned on them, overran the battalion in a midnight attack, and executed its three senior officers. On 10 November, the FAN commander at Muang Soui suddenly decided he would launch another attack on Phou Khout. On short notice, U.S. aircraft using 750lb. bombs blasted the ridge in
765-453: A pro-Kong Le Neutralist intelligence officer's body was found there. In April 1963, the Neutralists split. Colonel Deuane founded his own Patriotic Neutralists from units abandoning FAN. Deuane had about 250 troops under his command; they allied themselves with General Khamouane Boupha 's force of 1,500 in far northern Phongsali Province . The Phetsarath Artillery Battalion, which had downed
850-465: A seven-battalion communist invasion force. Royalist battalions residing near Route 7 on the Plain of Jars drifted south out of FAN's path, avoiding battle. Only Lieutenant Colonel Vang Pao's irregular military offered resistance as they withdrew in an orderly fashion. By the end of the first week of 1961, FAN had linked up with about five PAVN battalions invading Laos. On 19 January 1961, as U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower turned over his office to
935-502: A suspicious eye on one another, cholera threatened the Lao city's populace. A 19 December airlift began medical aid flights to obviate the menace of a cholera epidemic. Concealed within this air contingent was a C-47 from the Republic of Vietnam Air Force . Colonel Nguyễn Khánh and Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Văn Thiệu spent a day discussing possible joint South Vietnamese/Lao operations against
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#17328525455711020-587: A volunteer battalion, and a contingent of artillery from 1st Field Artillery Group. A third contingent, Major Siho Lamphouthacoul 's Groupement Mobile Special 1 (Special Mobile Group 1) containing Bataillon Speciale 11 (Special Battalion 11) and Bataillon Speciale 33 (Special Battalion 33) boarded landing craft to be transported northward on the Mekong River. On 22 November, the Central Intelligence Agency flew in five five-man commando teams from
1105-650: The Cold War . Banned by treaty from stationing an overt Military Assistance Advisory Group in Laos, in December 1955 the U.S. instead chose to establish a "civilian" military aid office within the U.S. embassy in Vientiane. The Programs Evaluation Office was charged with channeling war material to the Lao military. Of the 68 ethnic minorities that comprised the Lao population, the Lao Loum numerically predominated. They dwelt along
1190-479: The First Indochina War . U.S. support would increase to the point of underwriting the Lao budget in its entirety. The rationale behind the support was that it was in American interests to combat the communist insurrectionists in Laos. Banned by treaty from stationing an overt Military Assistance Advisory Group in Laos, in December 1955 the U.S instead chose to establish a "civilian" military aid office within
1275-536: The Mekong River Valley along the southern border with the Kingdom of Thailand . The King of Laos and most of the ruling class of Laos were Lao Loum. About 20 of these influential lowland Lao families actually controlled Laos. With the PEO confined to office work, distribution of military goods took place without PEO followup. From 1955 to 1958, the U.S. would sink $ 202 million into Laos. This aid led to corruption as it
1360-569: The Phou Khout ridgeline positions of People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) troops overlooking FAN positions at Muang Soui. On occasion, Kong Le assumed the robes of Buddhist monkhood while his subordinates led the assaults. Resentment grew among both his subordinates and his troops concerning his leadership, and they mutinied and forced Kong Le into exile on 16 October 1966. After his departure, the Forces Armées Neutralistes were subsumed into
1445-644: The Plain of Jars ; their major center was the all-weather airstrip at Muang Soui. The following year was spent in conflict with Royalist guerrillas. During 1961, FAN grew to a strength of 8,000; it had a company of tanks and a small air arm. However, it was hampered by inadequate supplies erratically passed along by the Pathet Lao communists. Spring of 1963 was a season of growing dissension in Neutralist ranks; sides began to be taken. Major General Kong Le struck an alliance with
1530-479: The Royal Lao Government . The Minister of Defense , General Phoumi Nosavan , was his only real opposition. As the captain solidified his grip on the Kingdom of Laos , Phoumi settled into Savannakhet in southern Laos to gather forces to support a counter-coup. At 08:00 on 21 November 1960, Phoumi Nosavan's army moved from Savannakhet into the offensive. Its mission was to march northward on Route 13 along
1615-591: The esprit de corps of being personally led by Kong Le, it kicked off on 1 December. Kong Le promptly withdrew into a nearby cave that was a Buddhist shrine, there to meditate while his troops attacked. After suffering 12 dead and 68 wounded from communist tank fire, the FAN troops withdrew to Muang Soui. Their unsuccessful commander was not relieved for his failure, but was sacked by Kong Le for embezzling 1.5 million Lao kip from troop funding. Elsewhere, FAN Bataillon Infanterie 5 (Infantry Battalion 5) at Moung Hiem, commanded by Souvanna Phouma's nephew Tiao Sisouvanh, made
1700-516: The Air America plane, was one of the units that joined Deuane. Batallion Parachutistes 1 (Paratroop Battalion 1) was another, along with all of Khamouane's Neutralist Forces from Military Region 1. In the southern panhandle, the majority of Batallion Infanterie 4 (Battalion of Infantry 4) near Tchepone defected to the new movement, which allied itself with the Pathet Lao communists. On 6 April 1963,
1785-451: The Battle of Vientiane ended in his defeat, Kong Le withdrew his paratroopers northward to the strategic Plain of Jars on 16 December 1960, there to form Forces Armee Neutraliste (Neutralist Armed Forces). Kong Le had led his Bataillon Parachutiste 2 (Paratroop Battalion 2) into the 10 August 1960 coup. The battalion suffered only 17 killed in the Battle of Vientiane, before being forced from
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#17328525455711870-573: The Neutralist column overcame light resistance along Route 8 to occupy Lak Sao in late November. However, by January 1964, the badly beaten FAN troops had been withdrawn from Military Region 3; they been brought to the Plain of Jars. The Route 9 corridor from Khe Sanh , Vietnam to Xepon , Laos was open for a potential North Vietnamese invasion. In early 1964, FAN forces were co-located with Royalist units atop mountaintop positions at Phou Khe , Phou San, and Phou Nong. The Royalist units were subjected to numerous communists probes of their strongholds, though
1955-482: The Neutralist movement. Two of FAN's paratroop battalions—BP 4 and BP 6—favored siding with the communists. On 27 April 1964, as the Royalist garrison withdrew from Phou San, it was attacked and defeated by communist forces as nearby FAN units deigned to intervene. However, when Pathet Lao occupied the vacated strongpoint overlooking Kong Le's headquarters at Muong Phan, his Bataillon Parachutistes 5 unsuccessfully assaulted
2040-509: The Neutralists were ignored. Subsequently, the Royalists vacated Phou Nong. With the FAN offering steadily less reliable support to the Royalists, and the communists on the offensive, neutralist Prime Minister Souvanna Phouma convened a conference on the Plain of Jars on 17 April 1964. Failing in his attempt to calm or quell the three-sided conflict, and discouraged by his failure, Souvanna Phouma returned to Vientiane prepared to resign. However, on
2125-567: The PAVN artillerists, a single tank, and a few captives. A couple of sections of 60 mm mortars covered the withdrawal, holding up the Phoumist advance until late in the day. The devastated city they left had suffered at least 600 houses destroyed, about an equal number of citizens killed, and 7,000 left homeless; however, the Neutralists' fighting ability remained intact. Kong Le's forces had suffered only 17 killed. As victors Phoumi and Kouprasith kept
2210-453: The PAVN had 9,000 troops stationed in Laos; the Pathet Lao could muster about 19,500 men. The opposing Royal Lao Army reportedly mustered a strength of 51,000. On 5 January 1963, a BirdAir PV-2T was fired upon and set aflame 30 kilometers south of Muong Sing ; a crew member died of injuries. Colonel Kettsana, the FAN commander of MR 2, began to distrust the communists; in February 1963, he
2295-519: The PAVN on Route 9 in the Lao panhandle, concluding that the situation was too unsettled to conclude anything. Kong Le continued his northward withdrawal on Route 13 with his forces; they blew up the bridge over the Nam Lik (Lik River) to cover their retirement. His Pathet Lao allies sent 1,000 men southward on Route 13 to Moung Kassy, some 40 kilometers north of his position at Vang Vieng . However, Kong Le drove his convoy of vehicles past them to capture
2380-436: The PAVN response was to withhold ammunition from FAN. In general, the Pathet Lao's help to FAN was sporadic; the Lao communists were an untrustworthy conduit of Soviet aid. On 27 September, U.S. ambassador Leonard Unger visited Kong Le on the Plain of Jars. They agreed on an American airdrop of blankets and food. On 22 November, as an Air America C-123 prepared to land the aid, pro-communist Neutralist antiaircraft gunners of
2465-503: The Pathet Lao 2nd and 701st Battalions drove FAN from the ridgeline; they also closed in on Muang Soui. By 30 March 1966, FAN Bataillon Infanterie 8 (Infantry Battalion 8) had had enough; they walked off the battlefield and insisted on being returned to Vang Vieng. On 16 October 1966, Kong Le was forced into exile. Royalist Generals Ouane Rattikone and Kouprasith Abhay wanted control of FAN's 12,000 troops. With their consent, three of Kong Le's subordinates divided up command of FAN after
2550-426: The Pathet Lao launched several simultaneous surprise attacks on the Neutralists on the Plain of Jars. On 10 April 1963, U.S. President John F. Kennedy approved U.S. military aid supply drops to bolster FAN. Although FAN was driven from its positions, it evacuated most of its vehicles and crew-served weapons to Muong Phanh . As a result of an agreement struck between Vang Pao and Kong Le on 11 April, FAN's new ally,
2635-411: The Pathet Lao, they captured the town from the Royalists on Route 13 on 23 April. Though the way lay open before them, the victorious Neutralists did not extend their offensive toward Vientiane. Vang Pao's Hmong irregulars—raised through Operation Momentum—were then equipped with 82mm mortars on 1 March 1961. These weapons, with a range greater than 7,000 meters, when emplaced on high points surrounding
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2720-470: The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN). At 09:00 the following day, a dozen PAVN artillery advisers landed in Vientiane and unloaded half a dozen 122 mm mortars and four 105 mm howitzers to reinforce FAN, thus beginning a Soviet-backed airlift. Meanwhile, a scratch force of Phoumists launched a flanking movement from Savannakhet through Thailand to Chinimao. Kong Le spent 11 and 12 December trying to whip up
2805-687: The Phetsarath Artillery Battalion shot it down, killing the pilots. On 4 December 1962, the FAN air arm was augmented by three Li-2s given by the USSR, as the Russians ended their logistic support. Also in December, a contingent of FAN pilot candidates went to the Soviet Union for aviation training. To command this growing army, Kong Le promoted himself to Major General. He could muster 4,500 Neutralist soldiers at this time. By contrast, at this time,
2890-601: The Plain of Jars could hit Kong Le's forces almost anywhere on the Plain. Meanwhile, the Royal Lao Army, which was expected to defeat the Neutralists "...distinguish(ed) itself primarily by its lassitude and incompetence." At this point, both Phoumi and Kong Le reorganized their forces. However, while both sides were reorganizing, the communists launched attacks. On 12 April, Kong Le met with Vang Pao and agreed on cooperation between their forces. The PAVN 19th Border Defense Battalion overran Khamkeut and Lak Sao , nearly severing
2975-486: The Plain of Jars in northeastern Laos granted Kong Le effective control of the countryside from Vang Vieng to Xam Neua. The Royalists and their American backers were left with two possible methods of resisting FAN—air power and Hmong guerrillas. Operation Millpond was established to supply the air power; ten AT-6 Texans for the Royal Lao Air Force , and training for pilots to man them, would be jointly supplied by
3060-774: The Plain; the effect was to push FAN into cooperation with the communists. After a 23 December 1961 battle between FAN and the guerrillas, a FAN defector and a Vietnamese prisoner verified Vietnamese communist backing for FAN. By the time the International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos agreed upon on 23 July 1962 came into effect, FAN had ramped up to a strength of 8,000 troops. Three battalions under Brigadier General Khoumane Boupha were occupying far northern Phongsaly Province . There were two new infantry battalions outposted in Vang Vieng on Route 13, threatening Vientiane from
3145-506: The Route 13/7 intersection at Sala Phou Khoun, leaving the Pathet Lao at Vang Vieng as a rear guard. Faking a feint up Route 13 north to assault Luang Prabang , Kong Le instead led FAN eastwards onto the Plain of Jars, surmounting the obstacles of fallen trees blocking Route 7. As FAN approached the all-weather airfield at Muang Soui , the Hmong guerrilla company that had felled the trees dispersed into
3230-536: The Royal Lao Army and faded into inconsequentiality. Beginning on 23 December 1950, the United States began military aid to the French administration of the Kingdom of Laos as they fought the First Indochina War . U.S. support would increase to the point of underwriting the Lao budget in its entirety. The rationale behind the support was that it was in American interests to combat the communist insurrectionists in Laos as part of
3315-582: The Royal Lao Army, came to its relief. Within two days, the communists called for a truce; it was short-lived. When communist actions continued against the Neutralists, Hmong Royalist military irregulars feigned an artillery bombardment of Pathet Lao headquarters at Khang Khay and PAVN headquarters at Ban Liang on 20 April as a distraction. On 22 April, Phoumi Nosavan reinforced FAN with two Royalist infantry battalions. Bataillon Infanterie 9 (Battalion of Infantry 9) joined FAN in Muong Phanh, then deployed into
3400-460: The Royalist General Staff agreed to accept them into the Royalist forces at their serving rank. Kong Le departed on a Royal Lao Air Force C-47 on 17 October. On 24 June 1969, the North Vietnamese communists launched Operation Toan Thang . They assaulted the strategic Muang Soui all-weather airfield on Route 7 with four battalions stiffened by PT-76 tanks. Neutralist forces on hand outnumbered
3485-658: The Royalists. In response, in April 1963, Colonel Deuane Sunnalath split off several battalions into a new party, the Patriotic Neutralists , which allied itself with the Pathet Lao. The April 1963 casualty list for FAN was 85 dead, 43 wounded. Given all the losses and defections, FAN was down to 2,200 men and 50 PT-76 light tanks by month's end. In the subsequent years, FAN's battle performance would range from undistinguished to poor, in such battles as Lak Sao . From 1961 through 1966, it launched numerous unsuccessful attacks on
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3570-497: The Thai Police Aerial Reinforcement Unit (PARU). Each team contained two officers, a medic, and two radiomen. PARU Teams A and B would join the head of the column. Teams D and E would trail the movement. Team C would flank the movement to the east, at Khamkeut. They supplied added communication and control capability to the column and advised on ways to circumvent any opposing strong points. By 25 November,
3655-1016: The Thais and Americans. Eventually, the first Thai mercenary pilots were included in this program. A training program for Hmong guerrillas was also established via the CIA. When a Thai request to the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization for intervention was declined on 27 March 1961, the Thais would begin wholesale training of Lao troops within Thailand. Once established on the Plain, FAN would pursue an erratic course. It would ally with, fight against, or coexist with, either Vietnamese or Pathet Lao through 1974. Sisouk na Champassak Prince Sisouk na Champassak ( Lao : ເຈົ້າ ສີສຸກ ນະ ຈໍາປາສັກ ; 28 March 1928 in Pakse , Champassak , Laos – 10 May 1985 in Santa Ana, California , United States )
3740-553: The U.S. embassy in Vientiane . The Programs Evaluation Office was charged with channeling the materiel to the Lao military. Of the 68 ethnic minorities that comprised the Lao population, the Lao Loum numerically predominated. They dwelt along the Mekong River Valley along the southern border with the Kingdom of Thailand . The King of Laos and most of the ruling class of Laos were Lao Loum. About 20 of these influential lowland Lao families actually controlled Laos. Capital Kong Le
3825-608: The Vientiane citizenry's support for FAN. Phoumi's forces had pushed through Paksan and were crossing the Nam Ngum (Ngum River) only 50 kilometers from Vientiane. GMS 1 was slated to circle north of the capital and close in on Wattay Airbase in Vientiane's western outskirts. GM B would drive straight down Route 13 to hook up with Kouprasith's troops in Chinaimo. The battle for Vientiane began at 13:20 on 13 December 1960 with an advance by Phoumi's forces. They launched an infantry battalion into
3910-408: The Vietnamese attackers by a three to one margin. The mixed defense force of Hmong guerrillas and FAN troops held out until 06:00 on 27 June, at which time they scattered to abandon their post to the communists. By now, Vang Pao had come to dislike and distrust FAN. The Operation Off Balance followup mustered 700 FAN troops for a counterattack on the communists. However, FAN and the Royal Lao Army fled
3995-425: The assault on Phou Khout to American air power. While U.S. air strikes struck the communists there, eight battalions of Neutralists fanned out onto the Plain of Jars on 30 January. In the event, air support was sporadic, and with the exception of BP 2, FAN was unsuccessful. On 12 February 1966, a communist attack overran Lima Site 27 ; on the 16th, they also attacked Lima Site 36, suffering heavy losses to napalm and to
4080-485: The battlefield rather than move into the assault, leaving Vang Pao's guerrillas to carry on. The FAN desertion doomed the Off Balance counterattack. The Neutralists had established their headquarters at Khang Khay . On 20 February 1970, a determined North Vietnamese battalion backed by tanks and led by Dac Cong sappers chased FAN and its co-located Hmong irregulars from the base. The casualty count for Royalist forces for
4165-516: The capital even as they linked up with the troops at Chinamao. Simultaneously, Kouprasith's loyalists were led by BP 1 paratroopers in an attack on the city that stalled at the city limits under inaccurate howitzer fire. Both of the Phoumist columns stalled at the eastern municipal limits under heavy weapons fire from FAN troops. Both sides failed to close for combat, settling on direct fire by crew served weapons and point-blank artillery. Entire neighborhoods of local huts were set aflame. When night came,
4250-422: The city by Phoumi's troops. As the defeated paratroopers withdrew northward to the Plain of Jars on 16 December, about 400 neutralist adherents joined the column as new recruits, upping the column's strength to about 1,200 men. The revolutionists' withdrawal along Route 13 distracted attention from the nascent Operation Momentum starting up at nearby Ban Padong. In early 1961, French intelligence sources reported at
4335-404: The color of scarves worn with their uniforms; now and then, the combatants switched scarves and sides. However, by afternoon, Phoumi's and Kouprasith's superior weight of forces prevailed. Kong Le's men were pushed back into Wattay. PAVN gunners wanted to level the entirety of Vientiane. Instead, Kong Le loaded up his 1,200 troops and retreated northwards toward the Plain of Jars , accompanied by
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#17328525455714420-440: The combat sweep. Subsequently, on 25 December 1959, Kong Le and his disaffected paratroopers would supply the muscle for General Phoumi Nosavan 's coup. Phoumi became the defense minister and the de facto ruler of Laos. When matters worsened for the airborne troops, Kong Le led his mutinous paratroop battalion in a nearly bloodless coup on 9 August 1960. Once he gained control of his national capital of Vientiane , he deposed
4505-472: The communists were poised to take any of the Lao towns along the Mekong River . By 5 May 1961, the term Forces Armées Neutralistes came into use to describe Kong Le's military. Kong Le recruited enough new soldiers to split BP 2 into six companies. Although designated as airborne units, only the veteran cadre had parachute training. By October 1961, FAN was in conflict with the Royalist guerrillas surrounding
4590-444: The communists. By month's end, casualty figures for April 1963 came to 71 communist killed and 155 wounded, and 85 dead and 43 wounded Neutralists. Royalist losses were negligible. May 1963 was a time of low morale for FAN, given their losses via enemy action and Patriotic Neutralist defections. An offensive against the communists was planned, then cancelled for fear of provoking an overwhelming counter from PAVN. Souvanna Phouma ordered
4675-487: The countryside. Their commanding officer radioed that two battalions of paratroopers were drifting down upon the airfield; then he also fled. For two weeks after Kong Le left Vientiane, the American embassy urged Phoumi to take up pursuit. On 30 December, he outlined a plan prophetic of the future Operation Triangle . Not knowing that FAN had departed from the Route 7/13 junction, Phoumi planned to have columns closing in on it from all three directions: from Luang Prabang to
4760-472: The detainees were a mixed bag of Frenchmen, Royalists, and Neutralists. When U.S. ambassador Unger backed Souvanna Phouma, the latter was restored to office. By the time of the coup, the Patriotic Neutralists had been largely absorbed into the Pathet Lao; the two sides held the first of their biannual cooperative political congresses in 1964. On the Plain of Jars, the coup sparked further dissension in
4845-424: The eastern bank of the Mekong River some hundreds of kilometers and seize the capital. Groupement Mobile B (Mobile Group B) led off, with two M-24 tanks and six armored cars, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Tiao (Prince) Ekarath Souvannarot. In trail to GMB was Groupement Tactique (Tactical Group), a mixed force of paratroopers from Bataillon Parachustistes 1 (Paratroop Battalion 1), two infantry battalions,
4930-550: The face of heavy antiaircraft fire from machine guns and 37mm cannons. On both 16 and 20 November, FAN attacked up the mountain's north slope. However, air support fizzled out after the 20th, not being resumed until 2 December. When the Christmas bombing truce freed up sorties scheduled for strikes in Vietnam, there was an unsuccessful attempt to restart the air cover for further attacks, but it fizzled. In January 1966, FAN decided to leave
5015-494: The fire of AC-47 gunships . Nevertheless, by 19 February, they were successful. An immediate counterattack was planned, but put on hold. On the night of 12 March, Lima Site 48 fell. On 14 March, FAN once again attacked Phou Khout, with about 30 sorties of U.S. air dropping napalm to clear the way. The communists were pushed back onto Phou Khout's northern slopes, where they were supported by fire from nearby Hill 1157. FAN suffered 10 dead, 31 wounded. At 0400 hours 20 March, troops from
5100-647: The first half of 1970 illustrated just irrelevant FAN's contributions to the war efforts had become. Of the 614 Royalist troops killed during January to June 1970, just ten were Neutralists. Battle of Vientiane This is an accepted version of this page [REDACTED] Royal Lao loyalists Supported by [REDACTED] Thailand [REDACTED] United States [REDACTED] South Vietnam Forces Armées Neutralistes [REDACTED] North Vietnam [REDACTED] Pathet Lao Supported by [REDACTED] Soviet Union Air operations The Battle of Vientiane
5185-433: The lower panhandle from northern Laos by the second week in April 1961. In a second offensive, the PAVN stalemated four of Phoumi's new regiments that were strung out along Route 13 between Luang Prabang and Vientiane. It was during this action that U.S. Special Forces Team Moon was ambushed, and the first Americans killed in action. As a result of PAVN success in these actions, PEO head General Andrew J. Boyle remarked that
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#17328525455715270-487: The mountaintop. Six days later, the third mountaintop position, on Phou Nong, also fell. The defeated troops split into two columns escaping in opposite directions, with the Royalists retreating southeast while FAN withdrew to the northwest. On 13 May 1964, as Pathet Lao troops moved to isolate the Neutralist garrisons at Muong Phan and Muong Kheung, a revolt against Kong Le broke out within FAN. His tank company commander, Colonel Sourideth, encircled Kong Le's headquarters with
5355-467: The newly elected John F. Kennedy , he was influenced to brief the incoming president about the importance of Laos to the domino theory . Kong Le and his newly formed Forces Armee Neutraliste (Neutralist Armed Force) would succeed in withdrawing northward to the strategic Plain of Jars and capturing it, suffering only three killed and ten wounded in the process. The vital road junction of Routes 7 and 13 remained in FAN custody. The central position of
5440-473: The night of 18 April, General Siho Lamphouthacoul led the National Police in a coup. General Kouprasith Abhay , who commanded the Royalist troops in the capital, consented to the coup. Without opposition, Siho's Bataillon Special 33 (Special Battalion 33) conquered the capital's governmental infrastructure. The following morning, coup troops arrested Souvanna Phouma and about 15 other important personages;
5525-403: The north. Three battalions moved southward into the panhandle, to occupy Tchepone , Nhommarath, and Mahaxay . FAN's center of gravity on the Plain of Jars was four paratroop battalions and two artillery battalions. The new artillery battalions were not the only heavy weapons units added to FAN. There was a company of PT-76 amphibious tanks formed from the 45 tanks given to FAN by the PAVN. There
5610-496: The north; from Vientiane on the south; from the Plain of Jars to the east. By this time, Kong Le's column was spilling onto the Plain of Jars from Muang Soui. Further east on Route 7, on 31 December, at Nong Het on the Vietnamese border, 60 Pathet Lao soldiers backed by PAVN cadre attacked a single company Royalist garrison from Bataillon Volontaires 21 (Volunteer Battalion 21). The garrison's call to Headquarters Military Region 2 for reinforcements somehow become an MR 2 report of
5695-413: The program. The basic Lao economy was so underdeveloped that an artificial economy developed. U.S. dollars funded imports that were sold commercially on the open market. The resultant Lao kips went to underwrite the Lao military. These payments were also subsequently turned over into foreign goods. With no controls on the imports, the quality and utility of provisions were often ignored. Fall summarized
5780-406: The result by quoting a pro-American Lao officer, Sisouk na Champassak : "Black market deals in American aid dollars reached such proportions that the Pathet Lao needed no propaganda to turn the rural people against the townspeople." The 1960 Laotian coups brought about a pivotal change of government in the Kingdom of Laos. General Phoumi Nosavan established himself as the strongman running Laos in
5865-496: The ridge left Route 7 blocked to both sides. Deadly minefields inflicted 106 casualties on FAN's paras on 7 August, turning back their fourth assault on Phou Khout. Elsewhere, the FAN garrison in Vang Vieng joined the slow north-bound Royalist offensive column up Route 13 as its contribution to Operation Triangle. In December 1964, another FAN offensive on the communist-held high ground at Phou Khout failed. Planned to take advantage of
5950-578: The same time, the BP 1 paratroopers who were on Phoumi's side were airdropped on the Royal Lao Army headquarters at Chinimao, on the verge of the capital. Suspicious of Kouprasith's ambitions, Phoumi appointed Brigadier General Bounleut Sanichanh as commander-in-chief of the counter-coup forces. At 10:30 on 10 December 1960, representatives of Kong Le departed for Hanoi to formalize a pact between Kong Le's Forces Armees Neutralistes (Neutral Armed Forces) and
6035-458: The southeastern area of the Plain of Jars. That same day, Bataillon Infanterie 24 (Battalion of Infantry 24) reinforced a FAN hilltop position at Phou Theung. By 24 April, marauding Hmong guerrillas had cut Route 7 in three spots; an Air America pilot reported the cratering as taking out 75 to 100 meters of road in each cut. Route 4 was closed by ambushes, and guerrilla units across the Plain covered FAN's retreating stragglers with harassing raids on
6120-494: The strategic Plain of Jars , to begin an uneasy coexistence with the Pathet Lao and the invading People's Army of Vietnam . With the northeastern quarter of Laos under communist control, the United States and the Kingdom of Thailand deepened their involvement in the Laotian Civil War . Beginning on 23 December 1950, the United States began military aid to the French administration of the Kingdom of Laos as they fought
6205-510: The strategic all-weather airstrip at Muang Soui. As they were short of expert gunners, a 279-man Thai artillery battalion was flown into Muong Soui on 4 July 1964 to reinforce FAN as part of the Royalist offensive, Operation Triangle . However, a battalion of the PAVN 148 Regiment of the 316th Division, backed by Pathet Lao, held an overwatch position on the heights of Phou Khout . Three FAN battalions took up an unsuccessful offensive to clear them from overlooking Muong Soui. Their failure to capture
6290-625: The three Groupements converged on Thakhek , approximately 135 kilometers north of Savannakhet. They continued north toward Paksan , some 190 kilometers further. On 5 December, they blasted their way across the Nam Kading (Kading River) just south of Paksan without opposition. At the same time, PARU Team C and Bataillon Volontaires 32 (Volunteer Battalion 32) shifted eastward to their flanking position at Khamkeut. Elements of Kong Le's Bataillon Parachutistes 2 had chased pro-Phoumi forces from Paksan on 22 September and still occupied it. Faced with
6375-400: The two sides settled in under a moonless sky. The following day's fighting would severely damage Vientiane. PAVN shelling in the morning of 14 December pushed Kouprasith's troops back into Camp Chinamiao, where Kouprasith languished in a sickbed. With PAVN artillery support, Phoumi's troops forced Kong Le's troops to the western and northern fringes of the city. By 15:00, the central district
6460-454: The waterborne force overshot its objective. Meantime, BP 1 paratroopers loyal to Phoumi moved door to door hunting down Kong Le's BP 2 paratroopers who had been isolated but continued to snipe away. As evening came, a calm fell again, again broken only by the radio broadcasts. On 16 December, the contending forces warred incoherently over individual blocks of buildings and single streets. The two sides distinguished themselves from one another by
6545-520: Was actually a potential coup force. In December 1963, its commanding officer was murdered in Vientiane. A Royalist assassination was presumed. In an offensive move coordinated with the Royalists, FAN supplied the forces for one of the columns that attacked Lak Sao in Military Region 3 in late 1963. Composed of Batallion Infanterie 8 (Battalion of Infantry 8), a PT-76 amphibious tank company, and Bataillon Parachutistes 5 (Battalion of Parachutists 5),
6630-466: Was also a small air arm, consisting of two C-47s and two Beavers flown north from Vientiane during the retreat to the Plain. Dissension began between FAN and the communists. PAVN insisted on supplying military trainers to FAN, despite Kong Le's preference for cadre from the French military mission. After FAN tank crews were trained by PAVN, the Neutralists had to seize the PT-76 tanks they had been promised;
6715-518: Was an American-trained paratrooper considered one of the more aggressive Lao officers. On 29 July 1959, he led his unit, Bataillon Parachutistes 2 (Paratroop Battalion 2) in a futile attempt to reinforce other Royalist troops engaged with the Pathet Lao in armed disputes over Royalist outposts in Xam Neua Province . Kong Le and his men were disgruntled by the RLA's failure to pay them while they were on
6800-513: Was in ruins; fallen trees and loose electrical wires littered the street. The National Treasury had been looted and burned. The post office and Prime Minister Souvanna Phouma 's office were flattened. Wattay Airbase fell under Phoumi's control, and the Soviet military aid airlifts to Kong Le's forces halted. During the battle, the Ministry of Defense came under fire; both .50 caliber machine guns and
6885-420: Was murdered. Sniping and clashes between FAN and the communists became daily events during the spring of 1963. On 1 April, the pro-Pathet Lao Neutralist Foreign Minister, Quinim Pholsena , was killed by his bodyguard; it was regarded as vengeance for Kettsana's homicide. At that point, the Pathet Lao political delegation fled Vientiane. On 2 April, communist forces attacked FAN on the Plain of Jars. Two days later,
6970-571: Was quiet except the dueling radio stations broadcasting propaganda from both sides. That night, four Royal Thai Army 105 mm howitzers were smuggled across the Mekong into Chinamiao, with one of them becoming embarrassingly stuck in Mekong sand until it was freed at dawn. At 11:30 on 15 December, GMS 1 entered Vientiane from the north, only to be stopped by PAVN artillery and small arms fire from Wattay. At 13:30, Kouprasith sent 80 troops in an attempted amphibious landing to cut off Kong Le's retreat, but
7055-553: Was siphoned off by recipients. As Bernard Fall noted from personal observation, the support of the Lao military was for political reasons, and not necessarily for self-defense. The Lao soldiers were among the most highly paid in the world. They cost an average of about $ 1,000 apiece annually; the global average for a soldier was $ 848 per capita. Many Lao soldiers were fictional recruits, with their pay being siphoned off by Lao officers. Junior Lao officers afforded expensive villas. More disheartening to PEO, there were thievish Americans in
7140-555: Was the decisive action of the 1960 Laotian coups . Fought between 13 and 16 December 1960, the battle ended with General Phoumi Nosavan winning control of the Kingdom of Laos with the aid of the Royal Thai Government and the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency . Vientiane was left devastated by the fighting, with about 600 civilians dead, about the same number of homes destroyed, and 7,000 left homeless. The losing Forces Armées Neutralistes under Captain Kong Le retreated onto
7225-754: Was the eldest son of Chao Bounsouane na Champassak, who was in turn the eldest son of the last King of Champassak , Chao Ratsadanay . His brother is Chao Sisanga Na Champassak. Sisouk was a member of the Na Champassak royal family or house. He served as Secretary General of the Royal Government in the Kingdom of Laos . He is the author of Storm over Laos , a history of Laos from World War II until about 1961. He served as Minister of Finance from 1965 to 1974 in Royal Lao Government . He also served as Minister of Defence before 1975. After fleeing Laos in May 1975, as
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