Campaign 74B
Campaign 74B | |||||||||
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Part of Laotian Civil War; Vietnam War | |||||||||
The Plain of Jars, the location of Campaign 74B, highlighted in blue | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
North Vietnam Supported by: Soviet Union People's Republic of China |
Laos Forces Armées Neutralistes Thailand Supported by United States | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Vang Pao | |||||||||
Units involved | |||||||||
316th Division 866th Independent Regiment 165th Regiment Three Dac Cong sapper battalions |
Task Force Vang Pao Task Force Singha Bataillon Infanterie 15 Groupement Mobile 23 Groupement Mobile 21 Groupement Mobile 22 Royal Lao Air Force Bataillon Artillerie 635 Bataillon Infanterie 17 |
Campaign 74B (2 February–30 April 1971) was a major combined arms offensive by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) during the Laotian Civil War. The Communist offensive, if successful, would knock the last remaining fighting troops of the Kingdom of Laos out of the war, ensuring the Vietnamese conquest of Laos. The PAVN 316th Division—reinforced by artillery, tanks, and sappers—attacked during a period of slackened tactical air support for General Vang Pao's guerrilla army; Operation Lam Son 719 was being waged at the same time. Having captured the highly strategic Plain of Jars during Operation 74B, the Communists attackers managed to penetrate deeply enough to fire upon the main guerrilla base at Long Tieng.
Disaster was staved off by importing
Overview
The French loss of the
Background
A major theater of battle during the resulting
Order of battle
Campaign 139 had marked the first use of combined arms in the Laotian Civil War. Campaign 74B was the second combined arms assault, though somewhat fewer troops were allotted for 74B. The PAVN units for 74B had previously fought in Campaign 139 over the same ground. They consisted of the 316th PAVN Division, the 866th Independent Regiment, the 165th Regiment from the 312th PAVN Division, and three Dac Cong sapper battalions, backed by artillery and tanks.[9] The major difference was that all, not part, of the 312th Division had participated in Campaign 139.[10] Another difference was the shortage of ammunition for the PAVN caused by air interdiction of Communist supply lines.[11]
Poised to fend off any attack was Task Force Vang Pao, a reinforced
An important constituent of the Royalist strength was tactical air power. The
Campaign 74B
The Communist offensive
On 2 February 1971, the PAVN rained down a barrage of artillery fire on the Neutralists at the Moung Soui air base. Five of the PAVN PT-76 tanks closed for an assault. By 0600 hours 3 February, BI 17 was fleeing their stronghold, abandoning four 75mm howitzers.[9]
The Communists next attacked a Thai artillery position at Ban Na. To discourage close air support for the Thais, the North Vietnamese moved in heavy machine guns ringing the site for antiaircraft defense. They then shelled the encircled Thais with 85mm and 122mm artillery rounds. They also shelled a second Thai artillery position on Zebra Ridge, as well as a Thai infantry position atop Phou Long Mat.[9]
Foul weather, unusual for February, hindered flight operations. Taking advantage of the cloud cover, a battalion from the 866th Independent Regiment and a
While the Communist battalion tied up the guerrilla regiment, 1st Company of the 27th Dac Cong Battalion infiltrated past those Royalists. Beginning at midnight 13 February, Dac Cong commandos took the major guerrilla base at Long Tieng under fire with a DK-82
If the paucity of air support were not problematic enough, on 14 February,
With the PAVN onslaught moving southwestwards of the PDJ towards the Hmong heartland, Vang Pao thought of a diversionary effort east of the PDJ a la
On 3 March, two more offensive Thai mercenary battalions, Bataillon Commando 605 (BC 605) and Bataillon Commando 606 (BC 606), landed at Long Tieng. Fending off Vang Pao's notion that the Thai units should be reduced to platoon-size reinforcements for Hmong guerrillas units, the CIA advisers lumped the newly arrived battalions together with the two battalions on Skyline Ridge as Task Force Singha. BCs 605 and 606 swept north to Sam Thong with little opposition.[17]
On 9 and 10 March, BG 308 was helicoptered back to its line of departure at Sam Thong to resume moving towards its objective, the Nam Ngum (Ngum River). On 15 March, Task Force Singha gained two more Thai units, Bataillon Commando 601 (BC 601) and Bataillon Commando 602 (BC 602). The newly arrived battalions were directed against Phou Tham Seh, a high point three kilometers north of Skyline Ridge. Despite being overburdened with weighty weaponry, drenched by rain, and chilled by freezing nights, they took the ridge.[17]
On 19 March, BC 605 and BC 606 were helilifted into the Tha Tham Bleung Valley; their objective was nearby Ban Hintang. The next day, GM 31 reached the bank of the Nam Ngum. BC 605 and BC 606 would have no such luck in achieving their objective. They clashed twice with the PAVN before withdrawing southward on 27 March to friendly positions on Zebra Ridge.[17]
Meanwhile, during the furor of battle, Bataillon Artillerie 635 (BA 635) arrived to relieve the artillery positions on Zebra Ridge and the western end of Skyline Ridge. Brown smog from
However, the Thai artillery strongpoint at Ban Na had come under siege during the opening of Campaign 74B. Now the 165th Regiment from the 312th Division joined the attack. However, weather was not the only hindrance to close air support for the Thais; U.S. tactical air was also being diverted to bomb North Vietnam. Instead, BC 605 and BC 606 were tasked with seizing Hill 1663, four kilometers southwest of Ban Na. On 29 March, they lined up on the landing zone for insertion into a landing zone at the foot of Hill 1663. Forty troopers from BC 605 deserted rather than load up; they walked back to Long Tieng. The dutiful Thai troops were stalled at the base of the hill after they landed, fended off by a lightly manned PAVN defense.[13]
On 1 April, GM 31 was withdrawn from its quiet sector on the bank of the Nam Ngum; its new position was eight kilometers east of Sam Thong, protecting its flank. That same day, the Royalists assaulting Hill 1663 were reinforced by troops from Groupement Mobile 23 (GM 23), and took the hill on 1 April. A 105mm howitzer and a 4.2 inch mortar were emplaced on the hilltop as an improvised fire base. With Hill 1663 as a refuge for the besieged forces on Ban Na, BC 606 was ordered to direct a rescue march toward Ban Na on 3 April. As they lined up for the attack, a Phantom II dropped a 2,000-pound bomb on them. The friendly fire incident killed 16 Thais, including BC 605's commanding officer, and a company commander from BC 606. As a result of this accident, which aborted the relief expedition, it was decided to attach a
At 2100 hours on 6 April, with Vang Pao's consent, the besieged Thais abandoned Ban Na. However, instead of fleeing to Hill 1663, they moved south toward Bataillon Infanterie 14 (BI 14) atop Phou Long Mat, suffering middling casualties in the process. The loss of Ban Na relieved the last impediment to Communist control southeast of the Plain of Jars.[13]
Vang Pao's dilemma
General Vang Pao now found himself in a strategic dilemma. Although his Operation Barrel Roll tactical air allotment had been temporarily increased to 60 daily sorties to support his operation, he knew Vietnamization would slash that quota on 1 July. The U.S. belief that Operation Lam Son 719 was best followed by ongoing interdiction strikes further cut his close air support. His American backers were urging him to go on the defensive as a means of aiding peace negotiations to end the Laotian Civil War. Yet the North Vietnamese were poised on the brink of victory; they had at least two more months dry weather for staging their attacks on Long Tieng, and they held the entire Plain of Jars for a staging area. To survive, the Hmong guerrillas had to at least wage limited spoiling offensives. Not only that, the Hmong Council of Elders had to be reassured that he was still fighting, lest the Elders provoke a migration of the community away from the war.[18]
On 18 April 1971, two battalions from two Hmong Groupement Mobiles (GMs) pushed 15 kilometers southeast from Ban Pa Dong to settle upon Pha Phai. In the midst of all this, Thai mercenary units still had to be rotated. On 20 April, two fresh Thai battalions, Bataillon Commando 608 (BC 608) and Bataillon Commando 609 (BC 609), relieved the troops at Hill 1663. At Phou Long Mat, two fresh battalions, BC 603 and BC 607, extended their position two kilometers further northwards by capturing Hill 1900 from the PAVN. On 23 April, Hmong guerrillas were landed northwest of Phou Phasai to besiege the PAVN on the hill.[19]
By the end of April, the hilltop stronghold of Phou Phasai had fallen to the Royalist guerrillas. That same day, the PAVN ended Operation 74B.[19]
Aftermath
On 1 May 1971, GM 21 was helilifted out of Ban Pa Dong ten kilometers north to Khang Kho. On 3 May, GM 22 was lifted into Ban Pa Dong as replacements. The two guerrilla regiments were now poised to move on the Lat Sen airstrip and to link up with GM 23 to take the mountaintop positions at Phou Seu, in a repeat of Kou Kiet.[20]
In mid-May 1971, GM 31 finally cleared the last platoon of PAVN troops from Zebra Ridge, near Long Tieng. On 21 May, it marched to Long Tieng, to be flown back to MR 3 two days later. By the end of May, the PAVN units of the 316th began to slowly recede back upon their
In late May,
Vang Pao now had the month of June before the U.S. tactical air power available to him would drastically diminish. He also had problematic military politics to consider. General
Vang Pao rendered lip service to Washington's desires. However, the U.S. Embassy, which actually controlled the Laotian Civil War and were closer to its realities, sympathized with Vang Pao. He sold them on the necessity for a limited counter-offensive to establish a viable defensive line. In turn, they told Washington that Vang Pao planned an "active defense". With embassy backing, he parachuted in 45 Commando Raiders to interdict the Communist supply line, Route 7. On 3 June, a battalion from GM 21 was helicoptered from Khang Kho to the base of Phou Seu to attack that Communist strongpoint. Eight other Hmong guerrilla battalions swept north and east onto the Plain, capturing Communist supply caches.[20][24]
By 12 June, the hilltop position at Phou Louang had been captured by GM 22, and a fire support base set up on its summit. BC 604 and two 105mm howitzers were airlifted in to extend the artillery's range onto the Plain to the northwest. GM 22 joined GM 21 to overrun the village and airstrip at Lat Sen. Bataillon Guerrilla 224 (BG 224) was lifted in to occupy Lat Sen. GM 22 continued through Lat Sen to Phou Theung, which was vacant of Communist troops. Two 105mm howitzers were airlifted into the base of Phou Theung to support an assault. However, on 18 June, a PAVN infantry counterattack destroyed the guns. The PAVN then lapsed into inactivity.[25]
On 24 June, BC 609 was transferred via air from Hill 1663 to Phou Theung, freeing GM 22 to move eastward to interdict Route 4. GM 21 and BG 224 were directed eight kilometers northeastward to occupy Lat Houang and the adjacent intersection of Routes 4 and 5. The newly formed Groupement Mobile 24 (GM 24), accompanied by CIA adviser George Bacon, was committed and ended its sweep by occupying Phou Seu on 29 June 1971. Three days later another newly trained unit, Bataillon Commando 610 (BC 610), garrisoned the twin peaks.[25]
Results
At this point, Vang Pao's limited offensive had extended his defensive positions to the edge of the Plain, with artillery fire reaching out onto the Plain.[25] Phou Theung had been captured without seeking agreed upon advance approval from Henry Kissinger; he was informed that Vang Pao had only given notice of that offensive move after it was in progress. Nevertheless, both the State Department and CIA Headquarters were uneasy about King Sisavang Vatthana and Prime Minister Souvanna Phouma pushing Vang Pao into an unacceptably risky offensive.[26]
Notes
- ^ Castle, pp. 7–12, 15–18.
- ^ Dommen, pp. 30–34.
- ^ Ahern, p. xiv.
- ^ Warner, pp. 44–47
- ^ Conboy, Morrison, pp. 201–208
- ^ Conboy, Morrison, pp. 210–217.
- ^ Conboy, Morrison, pp. 247–260.
- ^ Conboy, Morrison, pp. 265–277.
- ^ a b c d e f Conboy, Morrison, p. 295.
- ^ Conboy, Morrison, pp. 248–249.
- ^ Anthony, Sexton, p. 341.
- ^ Conboy, Morrison, pp. 294–295.
- ^ a b c d e Conboy, Morrison, p. 297.
- ^ Anthony, Sexton, pp. 310, 341.
- ^ Robbins, pp. 323–332.
- ^ Conboy, Morrison, pp. 295–296.
- ^ a b c Conboy, Morrison, p. 296
- ^ Conboy, Morrison, pp. 297–299.
- ^ a b c Conboy, Morrison, p. 298.
- ^ a b Conboy, Morrison, pp. 299–300.
- ^ Ahern, p. 425.
- ^ Conboy, Morrison, pp. 298–299.
- ^ Castle, p. 111.
- ^ Anthony, Sexton, p. 343.
- ^ a b c Conboy, Morrison, p. 300.
- ^ Ahern, pp. 427–428.
References
- Ahern, Thomas L. Jr. (2006), Undercover Armies: CIA and Surrogate Warfare in Laos. Center for the Study of Intelligence. Classified control no. C05303949.
- Anthony, Victor B. and Richard R. Sexton (1993). The War in Northern Laos. Command for Air Force History. OCLC 232549943.
- Castle, Timothy N. (1993). At War in the Shadow of Vietnam: U.S. Military Aid to the Royal Lao Government 1955–1975. ISBN 0-231-07977-X.
- Conboy, Kenneth and James Morrison (1995). Shadow War: The CIA's Secret War in Laos. Paladin Press. ISBN 0-87364-825-0.
- Dommen, Arthur J. (1995). Chapter 1. Historical Setting. Savada, Andrea Matles, ed. Laos: A Country Study. Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. ISBN 0-8444-0832-8.
- Robbins, Christopher (1987) The Ravens: The Men Who Flew in America's Secret War in Laos. Crown, ISBN 978-0-517-56612-1
- Warner, Roger. Back Fire: The CIA's Secret War in Laos and Its Link to the War in Vietnam. Simon & Schuster, 1995. ISBNs 0684802929, 9780684802923.