Operation Bedrock (Laos)

Operation Bedrock
	Part of Laotian Civil War; Vietnam War
Date	1–9 November 1971
Location	Southwest of Salavan, Laos
Result	Rice supplies to the Ho Chi Minh Trail disrupted
Territorial; changes	Royal Lao Armed Forces occupy rice fields southwest of Salavan
Belligerents
CIA of the United States	North Vietnam; Supported by:; Soviet Union; People's Republic of China
Units involved
Groupement Mobile 41	46th Battalion

Operation Bedrock (Laos) (1–9 November 1971) was a military offensive staged by the

Ho Chi Minh Trail

. It was successful.

Overview

From the start of the

Tchepone in the panhandle of the Kingdom of Laos became a key transshipment and logistics center for the communists. Its significance can be measured by the fact that after many attempts to cut the Trail from Laos, the multi-divisional Operation Lam Son 719 was launched on 8 February 1971 from South Vietnam to capture Tchepone.^[1]^[2]

From 28 July through 31 October 1971, Royalist forces of the

associated airstrips from the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN).^[3]

Background

When the Khmer Republic withdrew its Project Copper forces from MR 4, it vacated a training base at the PS-18 airstrip. The local

Lieutenant Colonel in command, GM 41 was operational as Operation Sayasila ended.^[4]

Operation Bedrock

Operation Bedrock's objective was the removal of the 46th Battalion of the

rice paddies southwest of Salavan, thus depriving the Communist foe of food. On 1 November 1971, GM 41 was helilifted to Salavan.^[5]^[6] The guerrilla regiment stepped off and moved 17 kilometers southwest of Route 16/23.^[5] On either 2 November^[6] or the next morning,^[5] the Royalist guerrillas seized the crucial triple road junction of Routes 16, 23, and 231, 21 kilometers southwest of Salavan.^[6] One battalion with a heavy weapons company set up a defensive position atop Phou Kong Noy, overlooking the triple junction.^[5]^[6]

Scattered contacts with Communist troops occurred over 3 and 4 November. The guerrillas depended on their air superiority and called in close air support strikes in these instances; they also utilized heavy weapons fire. The Royalists continued their sweep back toward their point of departure. On 5 November, the Royalists occupied Ban Naxain Noy, some 18 kilometers southwestward of Salavan. A resident stated that the headquarters of the PAVN 46th Battalion had moved out the day before.^[5]

There was no contact with Communist forces over the next few days, as the Royalist regiment split into battalions for offensive sweeps. One battalion roved to a point nine kilometers north of the Communist base camp at Thateng. Another occupied the village of Ban Lavang.^[5]

No more clashes occurred, as the Bataillon Guerriers regrouped at Salavan to end Operation Bedrock on 9 November 1971.^[5]

Result

As a rice denial mission, the movement was also considered a success alongside the secret operation delta. The PAVN 46th Battalion's control of the rice growing plains near Salalvan was broken.^[5]^[6]