Pathet Lao
Pathet Lao | |
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Leaders | Prince Souphanouvong Kaysone Phomvihane Nouhak Phoumsavanh |
Dates of operation | 1950 – 2 December 1975 |
Headquarters | Vientiane |
Ideology | Communism Marxism–Leninism Left-wing nationalism Pro-Vietnam |
Allies | State allies:
Non-state allies: |
Opponents | State opponents:
Non-state opponents: |
Battles and wars |
History of Laos | ||||||||
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Regional kingdoms era | ||||||||
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Colonial era | ||||||||
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Independent era | ||||||||
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See also | ||||||||
The Pathet Lao (
Organization
The political movement of the Pathet Lao was called first the "Lao People's Party" (1955–1972) and later the "Lao People's Revolutionary Party" (1972–present).
Key Pathet Lao leaders include Prince
The political wing of the Pathet Lao, called the "
History
1940s and 1950s
The organization can trace its roots from the Second World War, similar to the Khmer Issarak in Cambodia and the Viet Minh in Vietnam. Originally the Lao Issara, an anti-French, non-communist nationalist movement formed on 12 October 1945, it was renamed the "Pathet Lao" in 1950 when it was adopted by Lao forces under Souphanouvong, who joined the Viet Minh's revolt against colonial French authorities in Indochina during the First Indochina War.[4]: 12–3
Souphanouvong, who had spent seven years in Nha Trang[5]: 7 during his sixteen years in Vietnam,[6] met Ho Chi Minh, married a Vietnamese woman while in Vietnam, and solicited Viet Minh aid in founding a guerrilla force.
In August 1950, Souphanouvong joined the Viet Minh in their headquarters north of Hanoi, and became the head of the Pathet Lao, along with its political arm dubbed "Neo Lao Issara" (Free Lao Front).[5]: 142–3 The Pathet Lao founded resistance government with members: Souphanouvong (Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs), Kaysone Phomvihane (Minister of Defence), Nouhak Phoumsavanh (Minister of Finance), Phoumi Vongvichit (Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Interior), Souk Vongsak, Sithon Kommadam, and Phaydang Lobliayao. This was an attempt to give a false front of authority to the Lao communist movement by claiming to represent a united non-partisan effort. Two of its most important founders were members of the Indochinese Communist Party, which advocated an overthrow of the monarchy as well as the expulsion of the French.[6]
In 1953, Pathet Lao fighters accompanied an invasion of Laos from Vietnam led by Viet Minh forces; they established a government at
The 1954
It was formed into an official party, the Lao Patriotic Front (Neo Lao Hak Sat (NLHS)), in 1956.[4]: 46 Its stated goal was to wage the communist struggle against capitalism, as well as Western colonialism and imperialism. Unstated was its subordination to the Communist Party of Vietnam.
A coalition government was established in 1957 between the monarchists and communists. In May 1959 two Pathet Lao battalions which had been selected for integration into the Royal Lao Army (RLA) were surrounded by RLA troops who attempted to disarm them, part of one battalion was captured but the remainder fled to North Vietnam. Then in July 1959 Lao police arrested 16 Neo Lao Hak Sat members, including seven who had been elected to the National Assembly, on charges of treason. These actions brought about a resumption of fighting.[7]: 85–9
1959 to 1975
This section needs additional citations for verification. (November 2020) |
In late 1959, North Vietnam had reoccupied areas of eastern Laos.
In the early 1960s, more attempts at neutrality agreements and coalition government were attempted, principally the International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos signed in Geneva on 23 July 1962, but as North Vietnam had no intention of withdrawing from Laos, these agreements all failed. The Pathet Lao entered into another coalition government in June 1962 but by April 1963 the Pathet Lao abandoned the coalition and resumed fighting.[7]: 113–5
By the mid-1960s, the country had fallen into proxy warfare between pro-US and pro-North Vietnamese irregular military groups. The PAVN/Pathet Lao battled the RLA, US irregular forces (including
The Pathet Lao supreme headquarters or center was located in the Viengxay caves near Xam Neua manned by approximately 500 personnel.[4]: 50 NLHS membership was estimated as being 11,000 in 1965 and 14,000 in 1978.[4]: 30
In October 1965 the armed forces were renamed the Lao People's Liberation Army (LPLA). LPLA estimated strength was 25,000 in June 1965, 33,000 in April 1967, 48,000+ in 1970 and 35,000 in late 1972.[4]: 69–70 The LPLA was divided into regular, regional/popular and militia/guerilla forces. LPLA forces had PAVN advisers assigned to them but were not mixed with PAVN forces.[4]: 75–6 Recruitment into the LPLA was based on appeals to the patriotism of young Laotians who were told that their country was rich in natural resources but the people were poor because of capitalism and US imperialism.[4]: 78 If volunteers were not forthcoming then youth would be drafted, with the draft age of 15, but in many cases conscripts were as young as 12.[4]: 78 Training was rudimentary with a greater emphasis placed on political indoctrination than on military skills as the "fighting will" was deemed to be the most important source of military strength.[4]: 83–5 Military units had Political commissars down to company level.[4]: 86 The LPLA were entirely dependent on the PAVN for the supply of weapons and munitions and were generally outgunned by the RLA.[4]: 92
In May 1968, the PAVN launched a multi-division invasion of Laos. The Pathet Lao effectively served as an auxiliary force to the PAVN.[4]: 72–3 In June 1969 the PAVN/Pathet Lao launched Campaign Toan Thang, their first wet season offensive. Even though US air bombardments contributed to the majority of PAVN/Pathet casualties, the RLA were unable to match the numerical strength of the PAVN/Pathet Lao forces, and the RLA took heavy losses.[4]: 73 In September 1969 the RLA attacked PAVN/Pathet Lao positions on the Plain of Jars and along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, while initially successful the RLA forces were pushed back by the PAVN/Pathet Lao Campaign 139.
On 2 February 1971 the PAVN/Pathet Lao launched Campaign 74B temporarily capturing the Plain of Jars and shelling Long Tieng, the base of Vang Pao's RLA aligned army before withdrawing.[9]: 295–300 On 28 October 1972 the PAVN/Pathet Lao launched Campaign 972 scoring a series of victories over the war-weary RLA forces.[9]: 394–5
With the signing of the Paris Peace Accords on 27 January 1973 all U.S. prisoners were to be released under Operation Homecoming. The United States Department of Defense (DOD) listed 311 Americans as missing in Laos, however on 1 February 1973 the North Vietnamese handed the Americans a list of prisoners of war in Laos which included only nine Americans: seven servicemen and two civilians.[10] U.S. agencies believe that as many as 41 Americans may have been held prisoner by the Pathet Lao.[11] Charles Shelton who was captured on 29 April 1965 was listed as a prisoner by the DOD until September 1994.[12] As at 26 July 2019 the DOD's Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency listed 286 Americans as missing in Laos of which 263 were classified as further pursuit, 12 deferred and 11 non-recoverable.[13]
Shortly after the Paris Peace Accords ended U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, the Pathet Lao and the government of Laos signed a cease-fire agreement, the Vientiane Treaty, on 21 February 1973.[14]
On 4 April 1974 the Provisional Government of National Union (PGNU) was formed in Laos.
In December 1974, the Pathet Lao killed Charles Dean and Neil Sharman, backpackers who were captured near Vientiane.[15]
The peace envisaged by the treaty lasted only two years. The Pathet Lao refused to disarm and the PAVN did not leave the country. In late February 1975, the Pathet Lao, with PAVN assistance, began attacking government strongholds on the Plain of Jars. With the fall of the Cambodian government to the Khmer Rouge on 17 April and the fall of the South Vietnamese government to the PAVN on 30 April 1975 the non-communist elements of the national government decided that allowing the Pathet Lao to enter power would be better than to have them take it by force. Long Tieng was evacuated in mid-May. On 23 August 1975, Pathet Lao forces quietly entered the capital Vientiane.
On 2 December 1975, the Pathet Lao firmly took over the government,
After the Pathet Lao took over the country in 1975, the conflict continued in isolated pockets. In 1977, a communist newspaper promised the party would hunt down the "American collaborators" and their families "to the last root". With the demise of the Soviet Union, control of Laos by Vietnam waned at the end of the 1980s. Today, "Pathet Lao" is often invoked as a general term signifying Lao nationalism.[citation needed]
See also
- Indochina
- Laotian Civil War (the Secret War)
- Vietnam War
- Lao People's Revolutionary Party
References
- ^ Andrea Matles Savada, ed. (1994). "The Pathet Lao". Laos: A Country Study. GPO for the Library of Congress. Archived from the original on June 26, 2022. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
.... The basic stance of this front's propaganda was the united struggle against the French without reference to political parties or ideology. Illustrative of this stance was the use henceforth of the name Pathet Lao (Lao Nation).
- ^ Brazinsky, Gregg A. (2017) Winning the Third World: Sino-American Rivalry during the Cold War, p. 249, The University of North Carolina Press
- ^ Pathet Lao. britannica. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
- ^ ISBN 978-0669867442. Archived from the original(PDF) on July 19, 2022.
- ^ ISBN 978-0231079778.
- ^ a b Laos: The Pathet Lao Library of Congress Country Studies
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Langer, Paul; Zasloff, Joseph (1969). Revolution in Laos: The North Vietnamese and the Pathet Lao (PDF). RAND Corporation. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 13, 2023. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ISBN 978-0-8078-3551-7.
- ^ ISBN 0-87364-825-0.
- ^ "Laos P.O.W. list shows 9 from U.S." The New York Times. 2 February 1973. p. 1. Archived from the original on June 11, 2022.
- ^ Thomas W. Lippman (2 January 1994). "POW pilots left in Laos, files suggest". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 19, 2021.
- ^ "Children of the Last P.O.W. Close a Pain-Filled Chapter". The New York Times. 5 October 1994. p. 10. Archived from the original on November 6, 2022.
- ^ "Vietnam era statistical report Americans unaccounted for in Southeast Asia" (PDF). Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. 26 July 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 18, 2022. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- LCCN 62-4818.
- ^ "Pentagon Recovers Remains Believed to Be Howard Dean's Brother". Fox News. AP. 18 November 2003. Archived from the original on June 12, 2022. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
Further reading
- Evans, Grant (2002). A Short History of Laos: The Land in Between. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 9781864489972. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
External links
- https://web.archive.org/web/20120204034101/http://www.onwar.com/aced/data/lima/laos1962.htm
- https://web.archive.org/web/20120204034105/http://www.onwar.com/aced/data/lima/laos1954.htm
- http://www.factmonster.com/ce6/world/A0859186.html Archived 2006-09-04 at the Wayback Machine
- http://countrystudies.us/laos/
- http://countrystudies.us/laos/14.htm
- http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9058717/Pathet-Lao