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Operation Sourisak Montry VIII
Operation Sourisak Montry VIII (September 1971–22 June 1972) was a Thai military offensive against an encroaching Chinese Communist presence just north of the Mekong River. Operation Phalat established a base camp at Xieng Lom, Laos, on the southern bank of the Mekong River, and garrisoned it with three Thai mercenary battalions. Operation Sourisak Montry was a series of indecisive skirmishes in the same area, during which the Thais won a Pyrrhic victory over the Pathet Lao in mid-March 1972. Subsequently, Operation Sourisak Montry VIII in June 1972 attempted to recapture two Lao border villages from Communist forces. The offensive ended poorly, with an Air America civilian pilot killed, an 80-man column pinned down for ten days, and the Thai troops repulsed. Overview Prime Minister Souvanna Phouma made a foreign aid pact with the People's Republic of China in January 1962. The Chinese Communists committed to construct roads from Yunnan Province into the Kingdom of L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laotian Civil War
The Laotian Civil War (1959–1975) was a civil war in Laos which was waged between the Communist Pathet Lao and the Royal Lao Government from 23 May 1959 to 2 December 1975. It is associated with the Cambodian Civil War and the Vietnam War, with both sides receiving heavy external support in a proxy war between the global Cold War superpowers. It is called the Secret War among the American CIA Special Activities Center, and Hmong and Mien veterans of the conflict. The Kingdom of Laos was a covert theater for other belligerents during the Vietnam War. The Franco–Lao Treaty of Amity and Association (signed 22 October 1953) transferred remaining French powers to the Royal Lao Government (except control of military affairs), establishing Laos as an independent member of the French Union. However, this government did not include representatives from the Lao Issara anti-colonial armed nationalist movement. The following years were marked by a rivalry between the neutralists ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Air America (airline)
Air America was an American passenger and cargo airline established in 1946 and covertly owned and operated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 1950 to 1976. It supplied and supported covert operations in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War, including providing support for drug smuggling in Laos.'' The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade'', by McCoy, with Cathleen B. Read and Leonard P. Adams II, 2003, p. 385 Early history: Civil Air Transport (CAT) CAT was created by Claire Chennault and Whiting Willauer in 1946 as Chinese National Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (CNRRA) Air Transport to airlift supplies and food into war-ravaged China. It was soon pressed into service to support Chiang Kai-shek and his Kuomintang forces in the civil war between them and the communists under Mao Zedong. Many of its first pilots were veterans of Chennault's World War II combat groups, popularly known as Flying Tigers. By 1950, following the defeat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Howitzer
A howitzer () is a long- ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as an artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and descent. Howitzers, like other artillery equipment, are usually organized in a group called a battery. Howitzers, together with long-barreled guns, mortars, and rocket artillery, are the four basic types of modern artillery. Mortars fire at angles of elevation greater than 45°, and are useful for mountain warfare because the projectile could go over obstacles. Cannons fire at low angles of elevation (<45°), and the projectile lands much faster at its target than it would in the case of a mortar. But the cannon is not useful if there is an obstacle like a hill/wall in front of its target. Etymology The English word ''howitzer'' comes from the Czech word , from , 'crowd', and is in turn a borrowing from the Middle High German word or (mode ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chaophraya Surasakmontri
{{Thailand-bio-stub ...
Field Marshal Chaophraya Surasakmontri, sometimes spelled as Chao Phraya Surasak (1851–1931) was a Thai field marshal, nobleman, and businessman. He was best known in Haw wars campaign. He served as Commander of the Department of the Army from 1890-1892, and as Minister of Ministry of Agriculture afterwards. He established a sawmill in Si Racha in 1900. The city of Chaophraya Surasak, in Chonburi is named after him. References Chaophraya 1851 births 1931 deaths Field marshals of Thailand Commanders-in-chief of the Royal Thai Army Ministers of Agriculture and Cooperatives of Thailand Members of the Privy Council of Thailand Chaophraya The Chao Phraya ( or ; th, แม่น้ำเจ้าพระยา, , or ) is the major river in Thailand, with its low alluvial plain forming the centre of the country. It flows through Bangkok and then into the Gulf of Thailand. Et ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ouane Rattikone
Major-General Ouane Rattikone (Ouan Rathikoun), a Laotian senior military officer, was the commander-in-chief of the Royal Lao Armed Forces (French: ''Forces Armées du Royaume'' – FAR), the official military of the Royal Lao Government and the Kingdom of Laos, during the 1960s. He was born in 1912 in Luang Prabang. An ally of the United States during the Vietnam War, Ouane developed a close relationship with William H. Sullivan, the U.S. ambassador to Laos, and Ted Shackley, the CIA station chief in Vientiane. Despite the intense conflicts amongst the FAR regional commanders, Ouane was pivotal in providing local military support against the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and the Pathet Lao in the northern regions of Laos. Ouane was also heavily involved in the trafficking of opium throughout Southeast Asia. Despite widespread conspiracy theories of CIA complicity in drug trafficking, an investigation by the U.S. Senate found no evidence of CIA involvement. In his memoi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Chinese Road
The Chinese Road (or The Chinese Roads) were a series of highways built as a Chinese foreign aid, foreign aid project by the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Kingdom of Laos, northern Laos, beginning in 1962. The first new road was built from Mengla County, Mengla, Yunnan Province, PRC to Phongsali, Laos; it was completed on 25 May 1963. The next major road built was Route 46, begun in the 1966 dry season and stretching from the southern tip of Yunnan Province southward toward the border of the Kingdom of Thailand. As 25,000 Chinese troops and 400 antiaircraft guns came to be posted to defend Route 46, and Thai support of American war efforts in both the Laotian Civil War and the Vietnam War became widely known, there was uneasiness among both Thai and American intelligence communities concerning Communist China's intents in constructing the all-weather highway. American interest in the new road extended up to the White House. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) trained guerrillas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Thai Government
The Government of Thailand, or formally the Royal Thai Government ( Abrv: RTG; th, รัฐบาลไทย, , ), is the unitary government of the Kingdom of Thailand. The country emerged as a modern nation state after the foundation of the Chakri Dynasty and the city of Bangkok in 1782. The Revolution of 1932 brought an end to absolute monarchy and replaced it with a constitutional monarchy. From then on the country was ruled by a succession of military leaders installed after coups d'état, the most recent in May 2014, and a few democratic intervals. The 2007 Constitution (drafted by a military-appointed council, but approved by a referendum) was annulled by the 2014 coup-makers who ran the country as a military dictatorship. Thailand has so far had seventeen Constitutions. Throughout, the basic structure of government has remained the same. The government of Thailand is composed of three branches: the executive, the legislative, and the judiciary. The system of gov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pakbeng
Pakbeng (Lao: ປາກແບ່ງ) is a small village in Laos, on the Mekong River about halfway between the Thai border at Huay Xai and Luang Prabang, Laos. Pakbeng is connected by a sealed road with Oudomxai along the Nam Beng River. Geography Pakbeng had its main road paved in 2005 and also just completed a hydroelectric station downriver thanks to a World Bank loan. Before then, the town was dependent on electrical generators for electricity. There is a small wat to be found in the hills not far from the village. It is an example of a Buddhist temple from the former Lan Na Kingdom. Many of the old temples had been destroyed during wars with the Thai Kingdom 300 years before. History During the Laotian Civil War, Pakbeng was the southern terminus of the freshly constructed Route 46 from Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China. Tourism The town is the overnight stop for boats running between Luang Prabang and Huay Xai. The slow boats which run between Huay Xai and Luan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Nam Bac
The Battle of Nam Bac was one of the major engagements of the Laotian Civil War. Despite misgivings about their potential performance the Royal Lao Army moved in to occupy the Nam Bac Valley in August 1966; the position would block a traditional Vietnamese invasion route that led to the Lao royal capitol, Luang Prabang. The location was problematic. It was closer to the North Vietnamese border than to Luang Prabang; any Vietnamese communist invaders would also enjoy the use of Route 19 for part of their route to the valley. Nam Bac itself could only be resupplied by air from Luang Prabang, and its supply line was dependent upon use of an airstrip sited on low ground within artillery range of nearby heights. Those surrounding hilltop positions would have to be held if assaulted by invaders. Both sides now began to gradually feed in reinforcements. One year later, in August 1967, the Vietnamese communists besieged the Royalist stronghold. Both sides now expedited reinforcements in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Lao Government
The Royal Lao Government was the ruling authority in the Kingdom of Laos from 1947 until the communist seizure of power in December 1975 and the proclamation of the Lao People's Democratic Republic. The Franco-Lao Treaty of 1953 gave Laos full independence but the following years were marked by a rivalry between the neutralists under Prince Souvanna Phouma, the right wing under Prince Boun Oum of Champassak, and the left-wing, Lao Patriotic Front under Prince Souphanouvong and future Prime Minister Kaysone Phomvihane. During this period, a number of unsuccessful attempts were made to establish coalition governments. Notable members of the RLG *Prince Souphantharangsi – the secretary general of the royal palace and brother of the king. *Prince Bovone Vatthana – former provincial governor and half brother of the king. *Prince Thongsouk – director of protocol of the royal palace and half brother of the king. *Prince Souk Bouavong – former provincial governor and minist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kingdom Of Laos
The Kingdom of Laos was a landlocked country in Southeast Asia at the heart of the Indochinese Peninsula. It was bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, North Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and southwest. The country was governed as a constitutional monarchy that ruled Laos beginning with its independence on 9 November 1953. It survived until December 1975, when its last king, Sisavang Vatthana, surrendered the throne to the Pathet Lao during the civil war in Laos, who abolished the monarchy in favour of a Marxist–Leninist state called the Lao People's Democratic Republic, which has controlled Laos ever since. Given self-rule with the new Constitution in 1947 as part of the French Union and a federation with the rest of French Indochina, the 1953 Franco-Lao Treaty finally established a sovereign, independent Laos, but did not stipulate who would rule the country. In the years that followed, three groups led by the so-call ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yunnan Province
Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces of Guizhou, Sichuan, autonomous regions of Guangxi, and Tibet Autonomous Region, Tibet as well as Southeast Asian countries: Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar. Yunnan is China's fourth least developed province based on disposable income per capita in 2014. Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with high elevations in the northwest and low elevations in the southeast. Most of the population lives in the eastern part of the province. In the west, the altitude can vary from the mountain peaks to river valleys by as much as . Yunnan is rich in natural resources and has the largest diversity of plant life in China. Of the approximately 30,000 species of Vascular plant, higher plants in China, Yunnan has perhaps 17,000 or more. Yun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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