While the Moscow Conference of 1949 helped settle the disputes arising from the Indochina War between France and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, establishing a formal peace treaty in Vietnam, the region of Laos was not awarded such a luxury. The decision from the French government to invite both the Kingdom of Laos’s representatives and representatives of the active Laotian Liberation Army who oppose the French collaborator regime into the peace talks has obviously hindered productive discussions to reach a settlement in Laos. Days of negotiations ended in failure as neither faction agreed on peace leading to the Laotian Liberation Army withdrawing from the Moscow Conference. The withdrawal was followed by reports of amnesty programs launched by the French in order to attempt to weaken the Lao Liberation Army and deprive them of personnel and its leadership. Nevertheless, the hardline approach by the French government in its refusal to grant government positions to the Lao Liberation Army leadership blunted the edge of its amnesty program. The French suspecting, the Laotians from resuming combat operations in the summer, reinforced the Laotian garrison with 17,500 men, including 4,000 from the Laotian Army, supported by an artillery brigade and armored vehicles, French intelligence however failed to predict the emergence of the upcoming Laotian offensive, striking where they least expect…

OPERATION CITADEL

Planned for several months was the fateful day on the 13th of June. 3,800 members of the Lao Liberation Army sneaked across the border from Thailand and into Laos and stormed through their objectives. No more was the LLA in its dire state as it was in 1947, the acquisition of new foreign benefactors, modern infantry equipment, mortars, and even light vehicles, years of training in secretive underground bunkers, black sites in the Thai-Laotian border, and a strong network of informants, propagandists, and spies feeding information to the LLA of French positions in Laos gave the Laotians the perfect time to strike. Divided into the North and Southern Commands, the Laotians made their move:

Battle of Thakhek

Decisive Laotian Victory

Casualties:

Laos Liberation Army: 215

France (Kingdom of Laos): 808, 1322 POWs

Crossing the Mekong in the dead of night, 520 LLA soldiers entered the town of Thakhek which was only guarded by a token local gendarmerie force, the LLA quickly seized the town which alerted units of the Laotian Army who moved to intercept. The attack was repulsed by the LLA which used effective skirmishing tactics, smoke, mortar fire support, kill zones, and baiting the enemy. The battle ended The successful raid by the Laotians onto Thakhek was a good omen for the Lao Issara on their chances during the campaign against France. The Lao Issara quickly realized that the collaborator forces in Thakhek were not a small contingent, but a large portion of the local collaborator army. The rout and disorganization of the Lao Army quickly opened a hole in the French lines in which the French were slow to respond, sending reinforcements from Pakse to help rescue Thakhek. Emboldened by the Thakhek raid, the Southern command of the KPP/LLA's reconnaissance picked up French movements from Pakse to move north to Thakhek where they were now alerted to the presence of Laotian fighters, The thinning of the French lines opened further gaps in the front. Elements of the 8e RIC moved to assist the beleaguered Laotian Army in removing the LLA’s presence from Thakhek who stormed into Thakhek with Panhard armored cars. A pivotal maneuver by shock elements of the LLA ambushed the armored column and managed to commander surviving armored cars whom the LLA utilized to counterattack the French. As the French troops struggled to dislodge the LLA from Thakhek, an LLA relief force raided the town of Savannakhek, successfully taking it from the garrison. Cut off from contact from RIC command and its leadership picked off by LLA sniper teams, a battalion of the 8e RIC was encircled and wiped out in the ensuing combat. Both towns were liberated by the LLA soon after.

Battle of Pakse

Decisive Laotian Victory

Casualties:

Laos Liberation Army: 506 casualties

France (Kingdom of Laos): 809 casualties 300 POWs

The Laotian victory in Thakhek alerted the rest of the 8e RIC which, as intelligence suggests, the Laotians would continue the attack down to Pakse, thus they immediately mobilized and prepared for a raid in the city with the rest of their forces. In the largest battle to date of the campaign, the LLA’s Southern Command converged onto Pakse, waging an asymmetric battle against the French near the city, conserving their troops and baiting the French into ambushes. The initial LLA raid failed to punch through the French lines as their fortifications proved too formidable, forcing the LLA to regroup. In response, the French launched a counterattack in an attempt to control the bridge and main road to Vientiane using their armor, which was met by effective anti-armor skirmishes with mines and anti-materiel rifles by the LLA, repulsing the French back into the city. The Laotian Liberation Army, smelling blood in the water, launched another counterattack into the city, firing incendiary munitions from their mortars and using their captured vehicles for a push. LLA operatives succeeded in eliminating the French commander of the 8e RIC and were overwhelmed by the near-constant and brutal skirmishing of the LLA. Disorganized and under threat from destruction, the 8e RIC withdrew from Pakse and into Sejong where they were harassed along the way withdrawing to Krong Tiem Seap in Cambodia, the remaining Laotian Army troops in the sector surrendered to the LLA. The French strategic blunders in Southern Laos as well as battlefield ingenuity from the LLA ultimately led to a collapse of the French front in the South, with multiple towns and villages in the South liberated by the LLA as French reinforcements from Vientiane were too spread out and far away from the south to reinforce.

Battle of Pak Lay:

Laotian Victory

Casualties:

Laos: 150 casualties

France: 290 casualties 300 POWs

Northern Laos Command was tasked with establishing a base area in the west half of Laos in order to perform further raids on the cities of Luang Prabang and Vientiane, to do so, the Mekong river must be secured and advance upstream to seize the towns of Pak Lay and Tha Dua as well as Muang Xi and other towns. Pak Lay was the first in the chopping bloc with a sizeable LLA contingent pushing into Pak Lay which was guarded by a battalion of the Laotian Army and a French reconissance company. The battle was fierce as the fighting drew into close quarters territory fighting for every meter of the town. The French reconnaissance company successfully withdrew to Vientane and alerted the garrison which redeployed to defend the Laotian Army but it was too late, as the LLA succesfully pushed the collaborators into the river and forced a surrender. The LLA would now make its way into Tha Dua, where the French army would meet them.

Battle of Tha Dua

French Victory

Laos: 490 casualties

France: 345 casualties

Tha Dua was a key road junction to Luang Prabang and Vientiane, thus its defense was crucial, the French spared no expense in its defense, even deploying an artillery battery into the city where it would be utilized to its entire effect. The LLA attempted a flanking maneuver with its shock troops but the withering hail of artillery fire and armor support blunted the Laotian assault. Forcing the Laotians to return to skirmishing tactics, the French hunted the Laotians down, now supported by veteran counter-insurgency units, Utilizing their numerical superiority, the Laotians were whittled down until they were forced to withdraw back to Pak Lay. The town held the line against the LLA claiming many casualties with it. Luang Prabang was safe from assault and the LLA was forced to regroup, Tha Dua was nevertheless the only major victory of the French during the Laotian campaign and it cost the RIC dearly, although not as much as the Laotians in comparison.

Battle of Muang Xi

Major Laotian Victory

Laos Liberation Army: 150

France (Kingdom of Laos): 960

Unlike the contingent in Tha Dua, the Muang Xi contingent faced little opposition due to the remoteness of this sector. The local gendarmerie of Banhouei San fell with little opposition due to being outnumbered 10 to 1. The French were alerted of the Laotians moving north and moved to intercept them at Muang Xi. The rough terrain however slowed down the bulky French forces who were beaten to by the lighter LLA at Muang Xi. Informants within Laos tipped off the LLA of the French relief force which gave them ample time to prepare a trap for the French in the town. As the exhausted French forces arrived in the town, they were picked apart one by one and slaughtered by superior LLA positioning, entrenchment, and unconventional tactics which harassed the French all the way until the 2e RIC was forced to retreat with heavy casualties.

Operation Citadel was an astounding success for the Laotian Liberation Army who despite being a numerically inferior force against a large and well-equipped French Army with local forces, picked apart weak spots in the French lines and claimed major victory after major victory against the French Expeditionary Forces in Laos. The success attributed to the Laotians can best be summed up by the clever use of radio and communications between the LLA, modern equipment, and unconventional tactics even the Viet Minh did not use, complemented by significant French strategic blunders in power projection and the prioritization of areas not under threat and the under garrisoning of areas significantly under threat. The lack of basic infrastructure also made French heavy equipment less reliable which was forced to be used sparingly which would otherwise have helped the outcome of individual battles. The shocking success of the Laotian Liberation Army propelled its leadership to national prominence, earning prestige and notoriety amongst the Laotian populace who not only did they see the LLA as a powerful contender for the leadership struggle, but capable of going toe to toe with the preeminent colonial power of the country. Consequently, the campaign proved disastrous for the Kingdom of Laos. With the vast majority of the local army which served garrison duties for the French military wiped out, destroyed, surrendered or deserted to the cause of the LLA, the position of the Kingdom of Laos is dicey at best and dangerous at worst. Public support for the Kingdom is waning as they no longer feel they could guarantee their safety, especially in the South where areas were left devoid of significant French authority and influence, instead falling to the Laotian Liberation Army’s jurisdiction. The position of the French Expeditionary Force is just as dire. With the seizure of the southern river cities and towns, the LLA has effectively cut off Vientiane from reinforcements, putting a majority of its forces under threat from a lack of supplies and logistical troubles. While Vientiane and Luang Prabang are loyal as well as most of northeastern Laos, the French position is not in a good one.

TOTAL CASUALTIES:

Lao Liberation Army: 1,511

France (Kingdom of Laos): 3,213, 1,922 POWs

Resistance increased by 20%

Compliance reduced by -10%,

Consciousness increased by 15%

Resources increased by 565