Military history of Laos
The Military history of Laos has been dominated by struggles against stronger neighbours, primarily Thailand and Vietnam, from at least the 18th century.
Early history
Historically,
The army's strength enabled Fa Ngum to expand Lan Xang's borders to the western escarpment of the
Following Fa Ngum's death, struggles with
Colonial era
1828 to 1900
Following the destruction of Vientiane, Laotian affairs were dominated by Siam, although the Vietnamese also involved themselves from over the mountains. It was not until 1884, when France guaranteed Annam the integrity of its territorial domain, that Siamese hegemony over the eastern bank of the Mekong encountered a new challenge. Using Annam's claims to Laotian territories as a diplomatic pretext, France forced Siam to renounce all claims to territory east of the Mekong and even to islands in the river by successive treaties between 1893 and 1907.[2]
To reinforce their security forces, which up to the twentieth century consisted largely of Vietnamese militia, the French formed local Laotian police and military constabulary units and provided them with some modern weapons, equipment, and rudimentary training. The Laotian units, whose salaries were paid for by the royal house of Louangphrabang (Luang Prabang), pledged allegiance to the monarchy, establishing a military tradition that ended only in 1975.[2]
1901 to 1940
Between 1901 and 1907, France's colonial forces in Laos put down a group of southern mountain
1941 to 1946
The first entirely Laotian military unit was formed by the French in 1941 and was known as the First Battalion of Chasseurs Laotiens (light infantry). It was used for internal security and did not see action until after the
Meanwhile, taking advantage of the temporary absence of French authority in the towns, the Lao Issara government armed itself to defend the Laotian independence it had claimed on behalf of the people. For the most part, the effective components of the Lao Issara armed forces consisted of Vietnamese residents of the towns of Laos, who either had received weapons given them by the surrendering Japanese troops—sold by the Chinese Nationalist soldiers who occupied northern Laos under the 1945 Potsdam Conference agreements—or looted from French arsenals. In the Battle of Thakhek (Khammouan) in March 1946, which decided the issue of sovereignty in Laos in favor of the French, the Lao Issara used mortars and light machine guns against French armored vehicles and planes. One of the main preoccupations of the members of the Lao Issara government, exiled in Bangkok between 1946 and 1949, was to procure weapons to fight against the French.[2]
1946 to 1954
French efforts to train and expand the Royal Lao Army continued during the
Under the terms of the armistice signed at the
Royal Lao Army
1954 to 1961
With the ending of the war, Laos was no longer a part of the French Union, but had instead become an entirely sovereign nation. The country was subsequently divided into five military regions and the chain of command of the Royal Lao Army was placed under the Ministry of Defense in Vientiane.[3]
To meet the threat represented by the Pathet Lao, the Royal Lao Army depended on a small French military training mission led by a general officer—an exceptional arrangement permitted under the Geneva agreement. Laos' military organization and tactical training reflected the French military tradition. Most of the equipment possessed by the Lao military was of United States (US) origin, because the US had been supplying the French during the early phase of the First Indochina War.
It seemed evident to the US legation that only United States personnel in Laos could ensure that the Royal Lao Army was capable of meeting the threat posed by the North Vietnam-backed Pathet Lao. In December 1955, as a means of circumventing the prohibition against foreign military personnel imposed by the 1954 Geneva agreement—which the US had pledged to honor—the United States Department of Defense established a disguised military mission in Laos, called the Programs Evaluation Office (PEO). The PEO worked under cover of a civilian aid mission. It was staffed by military personnel and a general officer, who wore civilian clothes was in command. During the 1955–61 period, the PEO gradually supplanted the French military mission's role as the provider of equipment and training to the Royal Lao Army. With increasing numbers of Laotian officers receiving training in Thailand, and at staff schools in the US, a perception that the French military mission in Laos was a relic of colonialism surfaced. By 1959, the PEO had more than 100 staff members and the US was paying the entire cost of the Royal Lao Army's salaries.[3]
A treaty prohibiting Laos from joining any military alliance prevented the nation from joining the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) that was formed by Australia, Britain, France, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand and the United States in September 1954. However, a protocol to the treaty designated Laos as a country for which mutual security provisions would apply in the event that it became the victim of aggression. Furthermore, with the unsuccessful integration of two Pathet Lao battalions into the Royal Lao Army, Laos faced an increased chance of attack from North Vietnamese forces. When fighting consequently broke out with North Vietnam along the Lao border between July and September 1959, the Royal Lao Government (RLG) wanted to appeal to SEATO for help. However, the RLG was dissuaded from seeking support by the US, due to the latter's fear that such an appeal could lead to the engagement of US combat troops in Laos. Also, guerrillas belonged to ethnic tribes that lived on both sides of the border, which made the question of aggression ambiguous. In January 1961, the Lao Government was again dissuaded by the US from seeking SEATO assistance, but on this occasion Kong Le was also involved in the aggression.[3]
Kong Le's coup d'état on August 9, 1960, threatened to split the army between Kong Le's Lao Neutralist Revolutionary Organization (known as the Neutralists or the Neutralists Armed Forces) and the leadership of General Phoumi Nosavan, the former Lao minister of defense. PEO headquarters in Vientiane had become inactive, as US diplomats were instructed to find a way to isolate Nosavan and aid was eventually cut off. Meanwhile, the PEO branch office in Savannakhet, Phoumi's headquarters, continued to supply and pay Phoumi's troops. Following Phoumi's capture of Vientiane, the Neutralists were compelled, for survival, to enter into an alliance with the Pathet Lao and their North Vietnamese backers; an alliance that would thereafter provide Kong Le's organization with supplies.[3]
1961 to 1968
In April 1961, the PEO was upgraded to a Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG), and its members were allowed to wear uniforms. The MAAG was withdrawn in 1962 under the terms of the Geneva Agreement, which was supposed to neutralize Laos. Because the North Vietnamese did not respect the withdrawal requirement, the United States stepped up military aid to the Lao Government, but avoided sending ground troops into Laos, which would have violated the agreement.[3]
As part of this effort, United States
In October 1964, in response to an offensive by the Pathet Lao and North Vietnamese to expel the Neutralists from the Plain of Jars, the United States began providing air support against Pathet Lao positions and North Vietnamese supply lines. However, it was not until March 1966 at Phoukout, northwest of the Plain of Jars, that the Pathet Lao started to win major battles against the Royal Lao Army. In July 1966, the Pathet Lao won another major battle in the Nambak Valley in northern Louangphrabang Province by overrunning a Royal Lao Army base and inflicting heavy casualties. These victories gave the Pathet Lao new momentum in the war for control of Laos.[3]
Meanwhile, in southern Laos, where the North Vietnamese had been working steadily every dry season to expand the
1969 to 1973
During the June 1969 rainy season, the Pathet Lao and two North Vietnamese battalions, using Soviet tanks, pushed the Royal Lao Army and the Neutralists out of their base at Muang Sua northwest of the Plain of Jars. Fighting continued during the monsoon season. In September 1969, Vang Pao's Hmong, supported by United States bombing, launched a series of surprise attacks against key points on the Plain of Jars. A new North Vietnamese army division joined the battle shortly thereafter and by February, 1970, had regained all of the devastated plain.[3]
In 1970, despite eight years of ground offensives by the Royal Lao Army and massive United States air support, the Pathet Lao had grown into an army of 48,000 troops and was prepared to challenge Royal Lao Army forces on their own territory by mounting large offensives in the south, engaging an even greater number of North Vietnamese forces. The introduction of Soviet-made long-range 130mm artillery pieces onto the battlefield, in that year, allowed the Pathet Lao and North Vietnamese to neutralize to some extent the Royal Lao Army's advantage of air superiority.[3]
In 1970 the combat elements of the Royal Lao Army were organized into fifty-eight infantry battalions and one artillery regiment of four battalions. The largest tactical unit was the battalion, which was composed of a headquarters, a headquarters company, and three rifle companies. Royal Lao Army units were devoted primarily to static defense and were stationed near population centers, lines of communication, depots, and airfields. These units were complemented by military police and armored, engineer, and communications units. Between 1962 and 1971, the United States provided Laos with an estimated US$500 million in military assistance, not including the cost of equipping and training irregular and paramilitary forces. During the 1971–75 period, it added about seventy-five
In February 1971, a major offensive by the South Vietnamese army, with United States logistical and air support, sent two divisions into Laos in the vicinity of Xépôn, with the objective of cutting North Vietnamese supply lines. However, once inside Laos, South Vietnamese commanders were separated from their resupply bases by long logistics lines, resulting in an early termination of the offensive. By December 1971, the Pathet Lao had taken Paksong on the Bolaven Plateau and had invested the main Hmong base at Longtiang. Communist advances continued into 1972 and encircled Thakhek on the Mekong, and Vientiane.[3]
The cease-fire of February 22, 1973, ended bombing by the United States and temporarily halted ground offensives. The Pathet Lao, however, following their usual practice, used the cessation of military operations to resupply their forces over the long and exposed roads from North Vietnam. In further fighting in the spring of 1975, the Pathet Lao finally broke the resistance of Vang Pao's Hmong blocking the road junction linking Vientiane, Louangphrabang, and the Plain of Jars. Watched by two battalions of Pathet Lao troops, which had been flown into Vientiane and Louangphrabang on Soviet and Chinese planes to neutralize those towns under the cease-fire agreement, the communists organized demonstrations to support their political and military demands, leading to the final, bloodless seizure of power in the towns that the RLG had held until then.[3]
References
- ^ a b Auclair, Nicholas C. "Historical background". A country study: Laos (Andrea Matles Savada, editor). Library of Congress Federal Research Division (July 1994). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ a b c d e f g Auclair, Nicholas C. "Colonial era". A country study: Laos (Andrea Matles Savada, editor). Library of Congress Federal Research Division (July 1994). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Auclair, Nicholas C. "Royal Lao Army". A country study: Laos (Andrea Matles Savada, editor). Library of Congress Federal Research Division (July 1994). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.