Battle of Lak Sao

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Battle of Lak Sao
Part of Laotian Civil War
DateNovember 1963 – January 1964
LocationNorthern Laos
Result Defeat of Royal Lao forces
Belligerents
Flag of Laos (1952-1975).svg Royal Lao Armed Forces
Forces Armées Neutralistes 		Flag of the People's Army of Vietnam.svg People's Army of Vietnam
Commanders and leaders
Flag of Laos (1952-1975).svg Phoumi Nosavan ?

The Battle of Lak Sao, fought between November 1963 and January 1964, was a major engagement of the Laotian Civil War. In November 1963, General Phoumi Nosavan, who held the reins of military power in the Kingdom of Laos, launched a military offensive against North Vietnamese invaders that cut across the northern panhandle of the nation. Although unsupported in this proxy action by his backers in the U.S. Embassy, he went ahead with his plan to push northwards from Nhommarath, then veer eastwards to the Vietnamese border. Phoumi's Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) advisors warned him that the North Vietnamese would retaliate, but he disregarded them.

Laotian Civil War 1963-1975 civil war in Laos

The Laotian Civil War (1959–75) was fought between the Communist Pathet Lao and the Royal Lao Government, with both sides receiving heavy external support in a proxy war between the global Cold War superpowers. It is called the Secret War among the CIA Special Activities Division and Hmong veterans of the conflict.

Major General Phoumi Nosavan was a military strongman who was prominent in the history of the Kingdom of Laos; at times, he dominated its political life to the point of being a virtual dictator. He was born in Savannakhet, the French Protectorate of Laos, on 27 January 1920. Originally a civil servant in the French colonial administration of Laos, during the last year of World War II he joined the resistance movement against the Japanese occupiers. Exiled from 1946 to early 1949 for his opposition to French return to colonizing Laos, he returned to his native soil to begin a military career in 1950 after the collapse of the anti-French Lao Issara government. By 1955, he was Chief of Staff of the brand-new Royal Lao Army. While in that position, he was largely responsible for appointing senior officers into command positions in the Military Regions of Laos. Following that, in 1957 he was the first Lao officer to be schooled in France at the École de Guerre. While in France, he became acquainted with Central Intelligence Agency operative John F. "Jack" Hasey. Phoumi returned to Laos to become a founding member of the Committee for the Defence of National Interests on 17 June 1958. On 25 December 1959, he took control of the capital of Vientiane and of the nation in a bloodless coup.

Kingdom of Laos former country

The Kingdom of Laos was a constitutional monarchy that ruled Laos beginning with its independence on 9 November 1953. The monarchy survived until December 1975, when its last king, Savang Vatthana, surrendered the throne to the Pathet Lao, who abolished the monarchy in favor of a Marxist state called the Lao People's Democratic Republic, which has controlled Laos since.

Contents

The Royal Lao Army (RLA) reluctantly carried out its mission until it met with stiff resistance. At that point, they tended to flee rather than fight. As fighting occurred throughout December 1963, two elite RLA units, the 11th and 55th Parachute Battalions, were rendered ineffective by the communists, and by a faulty parachute drop. A battalion of volunteers was also dispersed by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN). The Royal Lao Armed Forces (FAR) ended the operation in early 1964, having lost control of the Nakay Plateau to the communists. This, following the Battle of Luang Namtha, resulted in two disastrous defeats in just two years for the Royal Lao Government (RLG).

Royal Lao Army

The Royal Lao Army, also designated by its anglicized title RLA, was the Land Component of the Royal Lao Armed Forces (FAR), the official military of the Kingdom of Laos during the North Vietnamese invasion of Laos and the Laotian Civil War between 1960 and 1975.

Peoples Army of Vietnam Combined military forces of Vietnam

The People's Army of Vietnam, also known as the Vietnamese People's Army (VPA), is the military force of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The PAVN is a part of the Vietnam People's Armed Forces and includes: Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, Border Defence Force, and Coast Guard. However, Vietnam does not have a separate Ground Force or Army branch. All ground troops, army corps, military districts and specialised arms belong to the Ministry of Defence, directly under the command of the Central Military Commission, the Minister of Defence, and the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army. The military flag of the PAVN is the flag of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, with the words Quyết thắng added in yellow at the top left.

Royal Lao Armed Forces 1949-1975 combined military forces of Laos

The Royal Lao Armed Forces, best known by its French acronym FAR, were the official armed defense forces of the Kingdom of Laos, a state that existed from 1949 to 1975 in what is now the Lao People's Democratic Republic. The FAR was responsible for the defense of the Kingdom since its independence in October 1953 from France.

Background

The Kingdom of Laos emerged from the First Indochina War independent of the French, but in a state of chaos. Even as the French pulled out of Laos, the Americans took up their advisory role to the Royal Lao Government through such agencies as the Programs Evaluation Office (PEO). Meanwhile, North Vietnamese communists and Lao communists were active in Laos, sowing discontent against the government. The government itself was in turmoil, as various Laotian military leaders and politicians scrambled for positions of power. The American government became convinced that Laos could not be allowed to fall under communist control, lest other countries in Southeast Asia follow suit. [1]

First Indochina War 1946-1954 war between France and Ho Chi Minhs forces

The First Indochina War began in French Indochina on December 19, 1946, and lasted until July 20, 1954. Fighting between French forces and their Việt Minh opponents in the south dated from September 1945. The conflict pitted a range of forces, including the French Union's French Far East Expeditionary Corps, led by France and supported by Bảo Đại's Vietnamese National Army against the Việt Minh, led by Ho Chi Minh and the People's Army of Vietnam led by Võ Nguyên Giáp. Most of the fighting took place in Tonkin in northern Vietnam, although the conflict engulfed the entire country and also extended into the neighboring French Indochina protectorates of Laos and Cambodia.

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. The Franco-Lao Treaty of 1953 gave Laos full independence but 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. During this period, a number of unsuccessful attempts were made to establish coalition governments.

The Programs Evaluation Office was a covert paramilitary mission to the Kingdom of Laos, established on 13 December 1955 by the United States Department of Defense. The 23 July 1962 International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos would cause it to be shut down in September 1962. It would be succeeded by the Requirements Office.

On 14 December 1960, General Phoumi Nosavan won control of the Kingdom of Laos in the Battle of Vientiane. [2] Although he was backed by American covert operations, he did not want to await for a political solution to the political turmoil in Laos. In a move to assert control over Laotian territory, he authorized military operations in northwestern Laos near the Chinese, Burmese, and Vietnamese borders. In doing so, he hoped to force a military solution upon the unsettled political situation in Laos. [3] However, his northwestern forces spectacularly lost the Battle of Luang Namtha, and he was forced to join a coalition government. [3] In July 1962, the International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos was signed, pledging that all foreign troops would exit Laos. The North Vietnamese government would not honor the treaty, however; they withdrew only a token contingent, leaving most of their invading troops inside Laos. [4] In its aftermath, Phoumi would make another attempt at asserting RLG control in a communist-controlled area of Laos, at Lak Sao. [5]

The Battle of Vientiane 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 civilian dead, about the same number of homes destroyed, and 7,000 left homeless. The losing Forces Armées Neutralistes under Captain Kong Le retreated onto the strategic Plain of Jars, to begin an uneasy coexistence with the Pathet Lao and the invading People's Army of Vietnam.

The Battle of Luang Namtha, fought between January 1962 and May 1962, was an important engagement of the Laotian Civil War. It came about as a result of the turmoil following Laotian independence as a result of the First Indochina War with France. The Kingdom of Laos had foreign soldiers upon its soil, and a political struggle in progress concerning those outside troops. Following a coup and counter-coup that left General Phoumi Nosavan in charge, the general decided on military action to settle the political issue of interlopers in Laos.

A coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which multiple political parties cooperate, reducing the dominance of any one party within that "coalition". The usual reason for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament. A coalition government might also be created in a time of national difficulty or crisis to give a government the high degree of perceived political legitimacy or collective identity it desires while also playing a role in diminishing internal political strife. In such times, parties have formed all-party coalitions. If a coalition collapses, a confidence vote is held or a motion of no confidence is taken.

The battle

In November 1963, the Royal Lao Army and the Forces Armées Neutralistes or FAN (Neutralist Armed Forces) decided to cooperate on a joint operation to cut across the upper Laotian panhandle, thus severing the attacking forces of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) in two. The planned starting point was Nhommarath, where a joint RLA/FAN task force was assembled. After advancing northward up Route 8 to Lak Sao, the RLA/FAN forces would turn northeast towards the Nape Pass, an entry point to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. [5]

Forces Armées Neutralistes was an armed political movement of the Laotian Civil War. Founded upon the basis of the mutinous Bataillon Parachustistes 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 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.

Although Phoumi and the RLG were heavily dependent on American military and logistical support, he did not pay heed to the American embassy's disapproval. The Americans judged the operation to be conducted too close to the Vietnamese border, and thus inviting retaliation from the PAVN. Nevertheless, the Laotians decided to go ahead anyway; General Sang Kittarath was placed in charge of the RLA/FAN task force. He committed the Neutralist Bataillon Infanterie 8 (Infantry Battalion 8), 5 Bataillon Parachutistes (5th Paratroop Battalion), and a Neutralist light tank company of PT-76s to the assault. By the end of November, the Royalist task force had occupied Lak Sao. At about the same time, Bataillon Regional 350 (Regional Battalion 350) occupied a westerly flanking position at Khamkeut. [5]

General Sang Kittirath was a prominent military leader during the Laotian Civil War in the Kingdom of Laos. Between January 1955 and January 1965, he was successively the commander of Military Region 2 and head of the Ground Forces Command. His performance as commander of the losing side at the Battle of Lak Sao in early 1964, plus the loss of support from its political patron Major-General Phoumi Nosavan, led to Sang's resignation from command.

PT-76 1950s amphibious light tank family of Soviet origin

The PT-76 is a Soviet amphibious light tank that was introduced in the early 1950s and soon became the standard reconnaissance tank of the Soviet Army and the other Warsaw Pact armed forces. It was widely exported to other friendly states, like India, Iraq, Syria, North Korea and North Vietnam. Overall, some 25 countries used the PT-76.

Khamkeut District District in Bolikhamsai, Laos

Khamkeut is a district (muang) of Bolikhamsai province in central Laos.

The thrust from Lak Sao moved toward Nape Pass as planned in early December, rolling down a road freshly improved by the North Vietnamese, and brushed off a blocking attempt by a company of Pathet Lao guerrillas. This was a prelude to an aggressive resistance that began on 15 December, as the North Vietnamese committed a minimum of three battalions to confront the Laotian thrust. While sending one column down Route 8 to hit the Laotian task-force head-on, the North Vietnamese also circled around southwards through the Mu Gia Pass to strike towards Nhommarat. On 16 December, the RLA rushed the paratroopers of 11 Bataillon Parachutistes (11th Paratroop Battalion) aboard Royal Lao Air Force C-47 transports and dropped them into Khamkheut. By 19 December, the sky soldiers had worked their way over to Lak Sao and begun pushing up Route 8. At a one-lane steel bridge, the paratroopers were bloodied by PAVN forces and retreated. They passed back through friendly forces still holding at Nak Sao, and returned to their Khamkeut drop zone. When Khamkeut came under mortar fire from the PAVN pursuers, 11 BP evaded an additional 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) west to the Nam Theun riverbank. [5]

The 55 Bataillon Parachutistes (55th Paratroop Battalion) was sent to the rescue. Its first attempt at a combat drop at Ban saw half of the battalion being blown off course over a ridge adjacent to the drop zone. After a second drop the following morning, the two paratroop battalions bypassed Khamkeut to relieve the garrison still holding their ground at Lak Sao. A confused withdrawal down Route 8 followed. Another reinforcing battalion, Bataillon Volontaires 34 (Volunteer Battalion 34) was also inserted into Khamkeut. [5]

In the early days of January 1964, the Pathet Lao guerrillas and PAVN soldiers chased BV 34 from the field. BI 8, 5 BP, and the tank company took to the woods; they eventually regrouped at Thakhek. The two paratroop battalions, 55 BP and 11 BP, managed to coalesce at Phon Tiou, some 60 kilometres (37 mi) northwest. By the end of the month, the Nakay Plateau area was now in communist hands. [5]

Consequences

The combat performance of the RLA seemed as poor as it was at the disastrous Battle of Luang Namtha the previous year. This was the second military defeat suffered by the Laotian general running Laos, Phoumi Nosavan. As a result of combat losses, BP 11 was shipped under Program 007 to be retrained by the Royal Thai Army at Lopburi, Thailand. [5] The Battle of Lak Sao also stripped the Royal Lao Army of a general reserve force. [6]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Conboy, Morrison, pp. 13–44.
  2. ↑ Warner, pp. 29–30, 32–33.
  3. 1 2 Stuart-Fox, p. 24.
  4. ↑ Warner, pp. 83-84, 88.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Conboy, Morrison, pp. 100–102.
  6. ↑ Conboy, Morrison, p. 133.

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References

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