Battle of Lak Sao

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 drive against 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 drive northward from Nhommarath, then eastward to the Vietnamese border. Phoumi's Central Intelligence Agency backers warned him that the Vietnamese would retaliate, but he disregarded them.

The Royal Lao Army reluctantly carried out its mission until it met resistance. At that point, they tended to flee rather than fight. In such fighting as occurred throughout December 1963, two elite Royalist 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. The Lao forces ended the operation in early 1964, having lost control of the Nakay Plateau to the communists. This, following the Battle of Luang Namtha, made two disastrous losses in two years for the Royal Lao Government.

Background
See also Laotian Civil War

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. Meanwhile, Vietnamese communists and Lao communists were active in Laos, sowing discontent against the government. The government itself was in turmoil, as various Lao soldiers 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.

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

The battle
In November 1963, the Royal Lao Army and Forces Armee Neutrale (Neutral Armed Forces) decided to cooperate on a joint operation to cut across the upper Lao panhandle, thus severing attacking forces of the People's Army of Vietnam in two. The planned starting point was Nhommarath. After driving northward up Route 8 to Lak Sao, the Royal Lao Government forces would turn northeast towards Nape Pass, an entry point to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

Although the RLG was heavily dependent on American military and logistical support, it did not pay heed to the American embassy's disapproval. The Americans judged the operation to be too close to the Vietnamese border, and thus inviting retaliation. Nevertheless, the Lao 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 force had occupied Lak Sao. At about the same time, Bataillon Regional 350 (Regional Battalion 350) occupied a westerly flanking position at Khamkeut.

The thrust from Lak Sao moved toward Nape Pass as planned in early December, rolling down a road freshly improved by the Vietnamese. It brushed off a blocking attempt by a company of Lao communists. This was a prelude to aggressive resistance beginning 15 December, as the Vietnamese committed a minimum of three battalions to defeat the Lao thrust. While sending one column down Route 8 to hit the Lao head-on, the Vietnamese also circled around southwards through the Mu Gia Pass to strike towards Nhommarat. On 16 December, the RLG 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 at Nak Sao, and returned to their Khamkeut drop zone. When Khamkeut came under mortar fire from pursuers, 11 BP evaded an additional 6 km west to the Nam Theun riverbank.

The 55 Bataillon Parachutistes (55th Paratroop Battalion) was posted to the rescue. Its first attempt at a combat drop at Ban saw half the battalion 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 at Lak Sao. A confused withdrawal down Route 8 followed. Another reinforcing battalion, Bataillon Volontaires 34 (Volunteer Battalion 34) was inserted into Khamkeut.

In the first days of 1964, the Pathet Lao 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 km northwest. By the end of January 1964, the Nakay Plateau area was in communist hands.

The combat performance of the RLG effort seemed as poor as at the disastrous Battle of Luang Namtha the previous year. This was the second similar defeat suffered by the Lao general running Laos, Phoumi Nosavan.

Reference

 * Conboy, Kenneth and James Morrison, Shadow War: The CIA's Secret War in Laos. Paladin Press, 1995, ISBN 0-87364-825-0.


 * Stuart-Fox, Martin, Historical Dictionary of Laos. Scarecrow Press, 2008. ISBNs 0810864118, 9780810864115.


 * Warner, Roger. Back Fire: The CIA's Secret War in Laos and Its Link to the War in Vietnam. Simon & Schuster, 1995. ISBN 0684802929, 9780684802923.