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The Royal Lao Army (french: Armée royale du Laos – ARL), also designated by its anglicized title RLA, was the Land Component of the
Royal Lao Armed Forces The Royal Lao Armed Forces (french: Forces Armées du Royaume), best known by its French acronym FAR, were the official armed defense forces of the Kingdom of Laos, a state that existed from 1949 to 1975 in what is now the Lao People's Democrat ...
(FAR), the official military of the
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 Post-independence Burma, 1948–1962, Burma and China to the northwest, North Vietnam to the east, Kingdom of Cambodi ...
during the
North Vietnamese invasion of Laos North Vietnam supported the Pathet Lao to fight against the Kingdom of Laos between 1958–1959. Control over Laos allowed for the eventual construction of the Ho Chi Minh Trail that would serve as the main supply route for enhanced NLF ( ...
and the
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 ...
between 1960 and 1975.


History

The ARL traced back its origins to
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, when the first entirely Laotian military unit, the 1st Laotian Rifle Battalion ( – BCL), was raised early in 1941 by the
Vichy French Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its ter ...
colonial authorities. Intended to be used on internal security operations to bolster the local colonial
constabulary Constabulary may have several definitions: *A civil, non-paramilitary (police) force consisting of police officers called constables. This is the usual definition in the United Kingdom, in which all county police forces once bore the title (and som ...
force, the "Indigenous Guard" (), the 1er BCL did not see much action until after March 9, 1945, when the
Japanese Imperial Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor ...
forcibly seized control of
French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...
from
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, including
Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist s ...
. The battalion then retreated into the mountains, where they linked with the Laotian irregular guerrilla fighters () operating there. These guerrillas were supplied, trained, and led by teams of
Free French Free France (french: France Libre) was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general , Free France was established as a government-in-exile ...
agents who had been trained in special jungle warfare by the British
Special Operations Executive The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its p ...
(SOE) in India and were subsequently parachuted into Indochina in December 1944 with the aim of creating a local anti-Japanese resistance network. Under the command of their Free French cadres, the battalion's Laotian soldiers engaged in guerrilla actions alongside the irregular "Maquisards" against the Japanese occupation forces in Laos until Japan's surrender on August 15, 1945. In November of that same year, the various Laotian guerrilla groups were consolidated into four regular light infantry battalions and, together with the 1er BCL, integrated into the newly founded French Union Army. Meanwhile, confronted in early
May 1945 The following events occurred in May 1945: May 1, 1945 (Tuesday) * Reichssender Hamburg's Flensburg radio station announced that Adolf Hitler had fallen in Berlin while "fighting for Germany". President Karl Dönitz gave a broadcast that nigh ...
with the Allied Powers' victory over
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
and sensing their own imminent defeat, the Japanese military authorities in Laos began stirring up local anti-French nationalistic sentiments. In October of that year, a group of supporters of Laotian independence led by Prince
Phetsarath Ratanavongsa Prince Phetsarath Ratanavongsa (''Somdej Chao Maha Uparaja Petsaraj Ratanavongsa ''( lo, ສົມເດັຈເຈົ້າ ມຫາ ອຸປຣາຊ ເພັຊຣາຊ ຣັຕນວົງສາ) (19 January 1890 – 14 October 1959 ...
deposed King
Sisavang Vong King Sisavangvong ( lo, ພຣະບາທສົມເດັຈພຣະເຈົ້າມະຫາຊີວິຕສີສວ່າງວົງສ໌, 14 July 1885 – 29 October 1959) Born Prince Khao , was one of the last kings of Luang Praba ...
and announced the formation of a new government body, the Committee for Independent Laos ( lo, ຄະນະ ກຳ ມາທິການເພື່ອປະເທດລາວອິດສະຫຼະ , Khana kam mathikan pheu pathedlav idsara) or Khana Lao Issara and
Lao Issara The Lao Issara ( lo, ລາວອິດສະລະ ) was an anti-French, nationalist movement formed on 12 October 1945 by Prince Phetsarath. This short-lived movement emerged after the Japanese defeat in World War II and became the government ...
for short. Taking advantage of the temporary absence of French authority in the country's main cities, the Lao Issara promptly established an armed defense force to exercise its authority with the support of
Ho Chi Minh (: ; born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), commonly known as (' Uncle Hồ'), also known as ('President Hồ'), (' Old father of the people') and by other aliases, was a Vietnamese revolutionary and statesman. He served as P ...
's
Viet Minh The Việt Minh (; abbreviated from , chữ Nôm and Hán tự: ; french: Ligue pour l'indépendance du Viêt Nam, ) was a national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1941. Also known as the Việt Minh Fro ...
Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi i ...
-based government in the
Tonkin Tonkin, also spelled ''Tongkin'', ''Tonquin'' or ''Tongking'', is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain '' Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, includ ...
and the Nationalist Chinese. The Lao Issara "Army" was essentially a lightly-armed militia force, provided with a mixed assortment of small-arms captured from the Japanese, looted from French colonial depots, or sold by the
Chinese Nationalist Army The National Revolutionary Army (NRA; ), sometimes shortened to Revolutionary Army () before 1928, and as National Army () after 1928, was the military arm of the Kuomintang (KMT, or the Chinese Nationalist Party) from 1925 until 1947 in Chin ...
troops who occupied northern Laos under the terms of the 1945
Potsdam Conference The Potsdam Conference (german: Potsdamer Konferenz) was held at Potsdam in the Soviet occupation zone from July 17 to August 2, 1945, to allow the three leading Allies to plan the postwar peace, while avoiding the mistakes of the Paris P ...
.


The National Laotian Army 1946–1955

In early March 1946, the French Union Army aligned some 4,000 Laotian troops organized into five light infantry battalions () – the 1er, 2e, 3e, 4e, 5e, and 6e BCLs – led by a cadre of French officers and senior NCOs, which participated actively in the French reoccupation of Laos. That month, the Laotian battalions provided infantry support to
French Far East Expeditionary Corps The French Far East Expeditionary Corps (french: Corps Expéditionnaire Français en Extrême-Orient, CEFEO) was a colonial expeditionary force of the French Union Army that was initially formed in French Indochina in 1945 during the Pacific W ...
(CEFEO) armoured units fighting Lao Issara troops at the Battle of Thakhek in Khammouane Province. By the end of April, they had assisted the French in the recapture of
Vientiane Vientiane ( , ; lo, ວຽງຈັນ, ''Viangchan'', ) is the capital and largest city of Laos. Vientiane is divided administratively into 9 cities with a total area of only approx. 3,920 square kilometres and is located on the banks of ...
, followed in May by
Luang Prabang Luang Phabang, ( Lao: ຫລວງພະບາງ/ ຫຼວງພະບາງ) or ''Louangphabang'' (pronounced ), commonly transliterated into Western languages from the pre-1975 Lao spelling ຫຼວງພຣະບາງ (ຣ = silent r ...
which forced the Lao Issara leadership to flee to exile in
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
. Upon the successful conclusion of the campaign, the Laotian battalions continued with small
counter-insurgency Counterinsurgency (COIN) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the activities of guerrillas or revolutionar ...
operations against remnant bands of Lao Issara insurgents over the next three years, assuming responsibility for internal security duties in the areas located along the Thai border. However, faced with the potential threat posed by the growing
Viet Minh The Việt Minh (; abbreviated from , chữ Nôm and Hán tự: ; french: Ligue pour l'indépendance du Viêt Nam, ) was a national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1941. Also known as the Việt Minh Fro ...
insurgency in neighbouring
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...
, the French instituted on July 1, 1949 a separated National Laotian Army ( – ANL) of the
French Union The French Union () was a political entity created by the French Fourth Republic to replace the old French colonial empire system, colloquially known as the " French Empire" (). It was the formal end of the "indigenous" () status of French subj ...
to defend Laos. Its formation actually began earlier in 1947 as an informal gathering of several indigenous irregular auxiliary units made of ex-Lao Issara guerrillas raised early by the French to reinforce their regular CEFEO units. In July 1959, the ANL, the Laotian Navy, and the Laotian Aviation were gathered into the newly created Laotian Armed Forces ( – FAL), renamed Royal Lao Armed Forces ( – FAR) in
September 1961 The following events occurred in September 1961: September 1, 1961 (Friday) *The Soviet Union resumed nuclear testing after a moratorium of three years. Neither the U.S. nor the U.S.S.R. had exploded a nuclear bomb since 1958. The Sovi ...
.


Structure

The chain of command of the Royal Lao Army was placed under the Ministry of Defense in
Vientiane Vientiane ( , ; lo, ວຽງຈັນ, ''Viangchan'', ) is the capital and largest city of Laos. Vientiane is divided administratively into 9 cities with a total area of only approx. 3,920 square kilometres and is located on the banks of ...
. The country was divided into five
military regions Military districts (also called military regions) are formations of a state's armed forces (often of the Army) which are responsible for a certain area of territory. They are often more responsible for administrative than operational matters, and ...
, roughly corresponding to the areas of the country's 13 provinces. To meet the threat represented by the
Pathet Lao The Pathet Lao ( lo, ປະເທດລາວ, translit=Pa thēt Lāo, translation=Lao Nation), officially the Lao People's Liberation Army, was a communist political movement and organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The group ...
insurgency, the Royal Lao Army depended on a small French military training mission ( – MMFI-GRL), headed by a general officer, an exceptional arrangement permitted under the 1955 Geneva Accords, as well as covert assistance from the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
in the form of the
Programs Evaluation Office The Programs Evaluation Office was a covert paramilitary mission to the Kingdom of Laos, established on 13 December 1955 by the United States Department of Defense. The 23 July 1962 International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos would cause it t ...
(PEO). Military organization and tactical training reflected French traditions. Most of the equipment was of U.S. origin, however, because early in the
First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vi ...
, the Americans had been supplying the French with
matériel Materiel (; ) refers to supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commercial supply chain context. In a military context, the term ''materiel'' refers either to the specif ...
ranging from guns to aircraft. Between 1962 and 1971, the U.S. provided Laos with direct military assistance, but not including the cost of equipping and training irregular and paramilitary forces by the
Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
(CIA). By the time the PEO changed into the Requirements Office in September 1962, the PEO believed "...the Laotian army continued to distinguish itself primarily by its lassitude and incompetence." PEO also noted that CIA-trained
Hmong Hmong may refer to: * Hmong people, an ethnic group living mainly in Southwest China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand * Hmong cuisine * Hmong customs and culture ** Hmong music ** Hmong textile art * Hmong language, a continuum of closely related to ...
guerrillas were the only troops fighting to preserve northeastern Laos. When the PEO brought in Operation White Star trainers, the instructors found that 19 out of 20 Laotian soldiers had fewer than three years of education.


Organization 1959–1970

Laotian National Army strength in May 1959 peaked at 29,000 officers and enlisted men organized into twelve independent battalions – ten infantry () and two airborne ( – BP) – plus one armored regiment and an artillery group (). A Laotian regular infantry battalion was organized according to the
French Army History Early history The first permanent army, paid with regular wages, instead of feudal levies, was established under Charles VII of France, Charles VII in the 1420 to 1430s. The Kings of France needed reliable troops during and after the ...
model into a battalion headquarters (HQ), three company HQs and three rifle companies. Long-standing major formations above battalion level, such as Regiments, Half-brigades (), Brigades or even Divisions, were virtually nonexistent at the time. Instead, from November 1960 infantry and Paratrooper battalions began to be brought together to form loosely organized "mobile groups" ( – GMs) or "Mobiles" for short, a tactical expedient inherited from the French who had employed it previously during the
First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vi ...
. Being essentially a regimental-sized combat task-force, a typical Laotian GM consisted of two or three battalions' assembled for specific operations. Originally raised on a temporary basis, the Mobile Groups were re-structured in April 1961 as permanent units,Conboy and McCouaig, ''The War in Laos 1960-75'' (1989), p. 12. and by July 1962 the Laotian Army fielded nine such Groups, eight composed of regular units – GMs 12, 13, 14, 15 (Airborne), 16, 17, and 18 – and one of irregular guerrilla forces – GM B –, with two or more being allocated per each Military Region. By late 1966 the number of mobile groups had increased to twelve, with the addition of the airborne GMs 21 and 802, and the mixed GM 801. In practice, the Military Region's commanders used the GMs as their private armies to further their own interests, rarely dispatching them outside the
Mekong River The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth longest river and the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annual ...
valley. The Mobile Groups' structure was retained until August 1968, when all GMs in the Laotian ground forces were abolished – the GMs 801 and 802 were not disbanded until the following year – and replaced by independent battalions. The regular units were supplemented by eighteen Regional Battalions (), eighteen Volunteer Battalions (), and 247 irregular
Commando Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...
Self-Defense village militia companies ( – ADC). However, in November 1965 the Volunteer Battalions were disbanded and merged with the Regional Battalions, whilst the rural ADC militia companies were grouped with the irregular GM B to form the
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
-sponsored
Special Guerrilla Units Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer Literature * ''Specia ...
(SGUs). Renamed the Royal Lao Army in
September 1961 The following events occurred in September 1961: September 1, 1961 (Friday) *The Soviet Union resumed nuclear testing after a moratorium of three years. Neither the U.S. nor the U.S.S.R. had exploded a nuclear bomb since 1958. The Sovi ...
, the new RLA remained essentially a light infantry force devoted primarily to static defense and internal security rather than national defense; most units were kept stationed near the main population centers (including
Vientiane Vientiane ( , ; lo, ວຽງຈັນ, ''Viangchan'', ) is the capital and largest city of Laos. Vientiane is divided administratively into 9 cities with a total area of only approx. 3,920 square kilometres and is located on the banks of ...
and the provincial capitals) guarding vital facilities such as depots, airfields, and lines of communication. As with its ANL predecessor, the RLA was capable only of limited offensive and
counter-insurgency Counterinsurgency (COIN) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the activities of guerrillas or revolutionar ...
operations, and consequently its conventional military value was very low. The earlier ANL support units, such as the
Military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear rec ...
( or – PM), Medical (),
Quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In ...
(),
Engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considerin ...
(), Geographic services (), Signals (),
Transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipelin ...
(), and Maintenance ( – RM) were also organized into independent battalions or companies. Later in the 1960s, the RLA technical branch services were re-organized and expanded to corps' strength, in order to include
Finance Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of f ...
(),
Military logistics Military logistics is the discipline of planning and carrying out the movement, supply, and maintenance of military forces. In its most comprehensive sense, it is those aspects or military operations that deal with: * Design, development, acqui ...
(),
Ordnance Ordnance may refer to: Military and defense * Materiel in military logistics, including weapons, ammunition, vehicles, and maintenance tools and equipment. **The military branch responsible for supplying and developing these items, e.g., the Uni ...
(), Military Fuel/Petrol, Oil and Lubricants – POL (),
Military justice Military justice (also military law) is the legal system (bodies of law and procedure) that governs the conduct of the active-duty personnel of the armed forces of a country. In some nation-states, civil law and military law are distinct bod ...
(),
Psychological warfare Psychological warfare (PSYWAR), or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations (PsyOp), have been known by many other names or terms, including Military Information Support Operations (MISO), Psy Ops, political warfare, "Hearts and M ...
() and
Military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...
(), all placed under the responsibility of the Service Directorates subordinated to the Ministry of National Defense. A uniformed female auxiliary service, the Royal Laotian Women's Army Corps – RLWAC ( – CFARL), was established in the early 1960s, whose members served in the RLA on administrative, staff, communications, political warfare, medical and other non-combatant duties.


Re-organization 1971-73

Following the Nam Bac débâcle, the demoralized Royal Lao Army reverted to its earlier static defense role of the main population centres along the
Mekong River The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth longest river and the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annual ...
, relinquishing all offensive operations to the Paratrooper battalions,
Commando Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...
units, the irregular ethnic SGUs, the Project "Unity" Thai volunteer battalions and the
Royal Lao Air Force The Royal Lao Air Force (french: Aviation Royale Laotiènne – AVRL), best known to the Americans by its English acronym RLAF, was the air force component of the Royal Lao Armed Forces (FAR), the official military of the Royal Lao Government and ...
(RLAF). This move however, placed an additional heavy burden on these already overstretched elite formations that actually did most of the fighting. By December 1968, total Royal Lao Army strength stood at 45,000 troops on paper, but is estimated that the actual number was no less than 30,000-35,000, with its combat elements organized solely into fifty-eight independent light infantry battalions, one armoured regiment comprising three recce squadrons and one tank squadron,Grandolini, ''Armor of the Vietnam War (2): Asian Forces'' (1998), p. 13. and a single artillery regiment consisting of four artillery battalions. In 1971, with the
Vietnamisation Vietnamization was a policy of the Richard Nixon administration to end U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War through a program to "expand, equip, and train South Vietnamese forces and assign to them an ever-increasing combat role, at the same t ...
process in full swing in
South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...
, a similar effort was attempted towards making the RLA a more effective, self-sufficient force. Following a US Army system of organization, the regular infantry battalions were consolidated into two light divisions, formally created on March 23, 1972 and locally designated as "Strike Divisions" (). Based at Luang Prabang, the 1st Strike Division () commanded by Brigadier-General Bounchanh Savathphayphane, was tasked with operations in northern Laos whilst the 2nd Strike Division (), commanded by Brig. Gen.
Thao Ty Brigadier general Thao Ty (sometimes confused with Colonel Thao Ly, a fighter-bomber pilot of the Royal Lao Air Force) was a Laotian Paratrooper officer and commander of the Airborne Forces and the Special Forces of the Royal Lao Army ( French: ...
and based at Seno near Savannakhet, was oriented towards the south.Conboy and McCouaig, ''The War in Laos 1960-75'' (1989), p. 13. As stipulated by the January 1973
Paris Peace Accords The Paris Peace Accords, () officially titled the Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Viet Nam (''Hiệp định về chấm dứt chiến tranh, lập lại hòa bình ở Việt Nam''), was a peace treaty signed on January 27, 1 ...
, the old ethnic SGU guerrilla forces were scheduled for integration into the RLA. However, most guerrillas – in particular those from the Hmong hill tribes – felt unwelcome in the regular army, still dominated as it was by the Lowland Lao, who were highly prejudiced towards the country's ethnic minorities. In addition, the decreasing in pay and other privileges sharply dulled the cutting edge of what had been an effective fighting force, and left them incapable of halting the takeover of the country by the
Pathet Lao The Pathet Lao ( lo, ປະເທດລາວ, translit=Pa thēt Lāo, translation=Lao Nation), officially the Lao People's Liberation Army, was a communist political movement and organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The group ...
.Conboy and McCouaig, ''The War in Laos 1960-75'' (1989), p. 19.


Final operations 1974-75

By late 1974 a thinning of RLA ranks forced the FAR High Command to replace the two ineffective strike divisions by a series of smaller, understrength brigades. These were maintained until May 1975, when the Pathet Lao entered Vientiane and dissolved the FAR.


List of ANL and Royal Lao Army commanders

*Colonel (later, General)
Sounthone Pathammavong General Sounthone Pathammavong ( lo, ສຸນທອນ ປະຖຳມະວົງ, 1911–1985) was the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Laos from 31 December 1959 to 7 January 1960 and Army Chief of Staff of Royal Lao Armed Forces The Royal ...
(1954–1958) *Major General
Phoumi Nosavan Major General Phoumi Nosavan ( lo, ພູມີ ຫນໍ່ສວັນ; 27 January 1920 – 1985)Stuart-Fox, pp. 258–259. was a military strongman who was prominent in the history of the Kingdom of Laos; at times, he dominated its political life ...
(1958–1965) *Major General
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 t ...
*Major General
Kouprasith Abhay Major-General Kouprasith Abhay ( lo, ກຸປຣະສິທທິ໌ ອະພັຍ; nicknamed 'Fat K'; 1926–1999?Stuart-Fox, pp. 169–170.) was a prominent military leader of the Kingdom of Laos during the Laotian Civil War. Scion of a so ...
(Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Lao Army, 1973–1975)


Notable field commanders

*
Major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...
Phasouk Somly Rasaphak *
Brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointe ...
Soutchay Vongsavanh *
Brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointe ...
Thao Ty Brigadier general Thao Ty (sometimes confused with Colonel Thao Ly, a fighter-bomber pilot of the Royal Lao Air Force) was a Laotian Paratrooper officer and commander of the Airborne Forces and the Special Forces of the Royal Lao Army ( French: ...
*
Major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...
Vang Pao Vang Pao ( RPA: ''Vaj Pov'' , Lao: ວັງປາວ; 8 December 1929 – 6 January 2011) was a major general in the Royal Lao Army. He was a leader of the Hmong American community in the United States. He was also known as General Vang ...
*
Major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...
Khamta Simmanotham *General Sengsouvanh Souvannarath *General Amkha Soukhavong *General Sing Rattanasamai *Colonel
Bounleuth Saycocie Colonel Bounleuth Saycocie (1 September 1931 - 23 October 2014) was a Lao military and political figure of the Second Indochina War. Biography Bounleut Saycocie was born in Hineboune District, Khammouan Province and attended the ''Lycée Pavie' ...
*Colonel Saveng Vongsavath *
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
(later, Major General) Kong Le


Elite Forces

* Royal Lao Army Airborne *
Military Region 5 Commandos The Military Region 5 Commandos (french: Commandos de la Région Militaire 5), MR 5 Commandos or MR 5 Cdos for short, were an elite military unit and Special Operations force of the Royal Lao Armed Forces (commonly known by its French language, ...
(MR 5 Cdos) * SPECOM


Weapons and equipment

Throughout its existence, the Royal Laotian Army received military assistance mainly from
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
, who provided since the late 1940s and mid-1950s respectively everything that the RLA used, from uniforms and boots to rifles, artillery and vehicles.


Small-arms

During the
First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vi ...
the Laotian National Army (ANL) weaponry was a hodgepodge, with most of its poorly trained units equipped in a haphazard way with an array of French, American, Australian, British, and German weapon systems, mostly of WWII-vintage. ANL Infantry battalions were issued with MAS-36,
M1903 Springfield The M1903 Springfield, officially the United States Rifle, Caliber .30-06, Model 1903, is an American five-round magazine-fed, bolt-action service repeating rifle, used primarily during the first half of the 20th century. The M1903 was firs ...
, and
Lee–Enfield The Lee–Enfield or Enfield is a bolt-action, magazine-fed repeating rifle that served as the main firearm of the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century, and was the British Army's sta ...
bolt-action rifles Bolt-action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the bolt via a bolt handle, which is most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon (as most users are right-handed). Most bolt-action ...
(airborne units received in addition the semi-automatic M1A1 paratrooper carbine),Conboy and McCouaig, ''The War in Laos 1960-75'' (1989), p. 38. along with
Sten The STEN (or Sten gun) is a family of British submachine guns chambered in 9×19mm which were used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and the Korean War. They had a simple design and very low production cos ...
,
Owen Owen may refer to: Origin: The name Owen is of Irish and Welsh origin. Its meanings range from noble, youthful, and well-born. Gender: Owen is historically the masculine form of the name. Popular feminine variations include Eowyn and Owena. ...
,
M1A1 Thompson The Thompson submachine gun (also known as the "Tommy Gun", "Chicago Typewriter", "Chicago Piano", “Trench Sweeper” or "Trench Broom") is a blowback-operated, air-cooled, magazine-fed selective-fire submachine gun, invented by United Sta ...
,Conboy and McCouaig, ''South-East Asian Special Forces'' (1991), p. 8. MAS-38 and
MAT-49 The MAT-49 is a submachine gun which was developed by French arms factory Manufacture Nationale d'Armes de Tulle (MAT) for use by the French Army and was first produced in 1949. Development In 1949, after evaluating several prototypes (including ...
submachine gun A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine-fed, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to describe its design concept as an autom ...
s;Conboy and Greer, ''War in Laos 1954–1975'' (1994), p. 12.
FM 24/29 The Fusil-mitrailleur Modèle 1924 M29 (or MAC 24/29), designed in 1924 by the Manufacture d'Armes de Châtellerault, was the standard light machine gun of the French Army from 1925 until the 1960s and was in use until 2000-2006 with the Nation ...
,
Bren The Bren gun was a series of light machine guns (LMG) made by Britain in the 1930s and used in various roles until 1992. While best known for its role as the British and Commonwealth forces' primary infantry LMG in World War II, it was also used ...
, M1918A2 BAR and Browning M1919A6 .30 Cal
light machine gun A light machine gun (LMG) is a light-weight machine gun designed to be operated by a single infantryman, with or without an assistant, as an infantry support weapon. LMGs firing cartridges of the same caliber as the other riflemen of the ...
s were used as squad weapons. Officers and NCOs received MAS-35-S,
Luger P08 The Pistole Parabellum—or Parabellum-Pistole (Pistol Parabellum), commonly known as just Luger or Luger P08 is a toggle-locked recoil-operated semi-automatic pistol. The Luger was produced in several models and by several nations from 1898 ...
,
Walther P38 The Walther P38 (originally written Walther P.38) is a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol that was developed by Carl Walther GmbH as the service pistol of the Wehrmacht at the beginning of World War II. It was intended to replace the costly Luger P08 ...
, or Colt.45 M1911A1 pistols. After 1955, the ANL began the process of standardisation on U.S. equipment. Airborne units took delivery of the
M1 Garand The M1 Garand or M1 rifleOfficially designated as U.S. rifle, caliber .30, M1, later simply called Rifle, Caliber .30, M1, also called US Rifle, Cal. .30, M1 is a semi-automatic rifle that was the service rifle of the U.S Army during World W ...
semi-automatic rifle in late 1959, followed by the
M2 Carbine The M1 carbine (formally the United States Carbine, Caliber .30, M1) is a lightweight semi-automatic carbine that was a standard firearm for the U.S. military during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The M1 carbine was produced ...
the following year.Conboy and Greer, ''War in Laos 1954–1975'' (1994), p. 9. The M3A1 Grease Gun was also received, along with
Smith & Wesson Model 39 The Smith & Wesson Model 39 is a semi-automatic pistol developed for the United States Army service pistol trials of 1954. After the Army abandoned its search for a new pistol, the Model 39 went on the civilian market in 1955 and was the first of ...
pistols, and M1917 and
Smith & Wesson Model 10 The Smith & Wesson Model 10, previously known as the Smith & Wesson .38 Hand Ejector Model of 1899, the Smith & Wesson Military & Police or the Smith & Wesson Victory Model, is a K-frame revolver of worldwide popularity. In production since 1899 ...
revolvers. The ANL (renamed RLA in 1961) was equally provided with Browning M1919A4 .30 Cal Medium machine gunsConboy and Greer, ''War in Laos 1954–1975'' (1994), p. 18. and Browning M2HB .50 Cal
Heavy machine gun A heavy machine gun (HMG) is significantly larger than light, medium or general-purpose machine guns. HMGs are typically too heavy to be man-portable (carried by one person) and require mounting onto a weapons platform to be operably stable or ...
s. Limited quantities of the
Sterling submachine gun The Sterling submachine gun is a British submachine gun (SMG). It was tested with the British Army in 1944–1945 as a replacement for the Sten but it did not start to replace it until 1953. A successful and reliable design, it remained as stan ...
and
L1A1 SLR The L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle, officially "Rifle, 7.62mm, L1A1", also known just as the SLR (Self-Loading Rifle), by the Canadian Army designation C1A1 (C1) or in the US as the "inch pattern" FAL,Especially on the American surplus market. is a Br ...
Assault rifle were acquired from the British for evaluation, but they were never adopted as standard weapons by the RLA. The
Carl Gustaf m/45 The Kulsprutepistol m/45 (Kpist m/45), also known as the Carl Gustaf M/45 and the Swedish K SMG, is a 9×19mm Swedish submachine gun (SMG) designed by Gunnar Johansson, adopted in 1945 (hence the m/45 designation), and manufactured at the Carl ...
submachine gun was provided in small numbers by the Americans, eventually finding its way into the irregular SGU units. In 1969 secret deliveries of the
CAR-15 The Colt Automatic Rifle-15 or CAR-15 is a family of M16 rifle–based firearms marketed by Colt in the 1960s and early 1970s. However, the term "CAR-15" is most commonly associated with the Colt Commando (AKA: XM177); these select-fire carbi ...
carbine, the M16A1 assault rifle and
M60 machine gun The M60, officially the Machine Gun, Caliber 7.62 mm, M60, is a family of American general-purpose machine guns firing 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges from a disintegrating belt of M13 links. There are several types of ammunition approved fo ...
Conboy and Greer, ''War in Laos 1954–1975'' (1994), p. 59. arrived in Laos, and were initially only given to the Laotian Royal Guard and airborne units; standardisation to the CAR-15, the M16 and M60 in the RLA and the irregular SGUs was completed by 1971. ANL and RLA infantry, airborne, and commando formations were equipped with a variety of crew-served weapons.
Mortars Mortar may refer to: * Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon * Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together * Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind * Mortar, Bihar, a villag ...
ranged from the Brandt mle 27/31 81mm to the M19 60mm, M29 81mm, M2 4.2 inch (107mm), M30 4.2 inch (106.7mm) models. They also received M18A1 57mm, M20 75mm, M67 90mm and M40A1 106mm
recoilless rifle A recoilless rifle, recoilless launcher or recoilless gun, sometimes abbreviated "RR" or "RCL" (for ReCoilLess) is a type of lightweight artillery system or man-portable launcher that is designed to eject some form of countermass such as propel ...
s. In addition, individual portable rocket weapons were issued, in the form of the shoulder-fired M20A1 3.5 inch Super Bazooka, M79 "Blooper", XM-148 and
M203 The M203 is a single-shot 40 mm under-barrel grenade launcher designed to attach to a rifle. It uses the same rounds as the older stand-alone M79 break-action grenade launcher, which utilizes the high-low propulsion system to keep recoil forces ...
single-shot grenade launchers, and the expendable anti-tank, one-shot M72 LAW 66mm. Captured infantry weapons of Soviet and Chinese origin, such as
PPSh-41 The PPSh-41 () is a Soviet submachine gun designed by Georgy Shpagin as a cheaper and simplified alternative to the PPD-40. A common Russian nickname for the weapon is "''papasha''" (), meaning "daddy", and it was sometimes called the "burp gun" ...
submachine gun A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine-fed, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to describe its design concept as an autom ...
s, SKS semi-automatic rifles, AK-47 assault rifles, RPD light machine guns, SG-43/SGM Goryunov medium machine guns, DShKM heavy machine gunsConboy and Greer, ''War in Laos 1954–1975'' (1994), p. 34. and
RPG-2 The RPG-2 ( Russian: РПГ-2, Ручной противотанковый гранатомёт, ''Ruchnoy Protivotankovy Granatomyot''; English: "hand-held antitank grenade launcher") is a man-portable, shoulder-fired anti-tank weapon that was de ...
and
RPG-7 The RPG-7 (russian: link=no, РПГ-7, Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт, Ruchnoy Protivotankoviy Granatomyot) is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank, rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Th ...
anti-tank rocket launchers were also employed by elite commando units and the irregular SGUs while on special operations in the enemy-held areas of north-eastern and south-eastern Laos.


Armoured vehicles

By the mid-1950s, the ANL armoured corps inventory consisted of fifteen
M24 Chaffee The M24 Chaffee (officially Light Tank, M24) was an American light tank used during the later part of World War II; it was also used in post–World War II conflicts including the Korean War, and by the French in the War in Algeria and the Firs ...
light tanks whilst the reconnaissance armoured squadron was provided with twenty
M8 Greyhound The M8 light armored car is a 6×6 armored car produced by the Ford Motor Company during World War II. It was used from 1943 by United States and British forces in Europe and the Pacific until the end of the war. The vehicle was widely exporte ...
and M20 Armoured Utility Cars. Mechanized infantry battalions were issued with
M3 half-track The M3 half-track was an American armored personnel carrier half-track widely used by the Allies during World War II and in the Cold War. Derived from the M2 half-track car, the M3 was extensively produced, with about 15,000 standard M3s and mo ...
s and fifteen M3A1 Scout Cars. These obsolete armored vehicles were used mainly for convoy escort duty and static defense of local provincial capitals, being rarely engaged in more offensive operations against the Pathet Lao or the NVA. The Neutralists received in December 1961 forty-five PT-76 Model 1951 amphibious light tanks from the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
, with the vehicles being subsequently taken into RLA service in 1963 and employed on offensive operations, only to be withdrawn from frontline service in November of the following year due to shortages of spare parts and ammunition. In August 1969, during the
Operation About Face Kou Kiet (translation: Redeem Honor; also called Operation About Face) was a major Laotian Civil War victory for the anti-communist troops of the Kingdom of Laos. Patterned after prior Operation Raindance, it depended upon extensive air strikes bla ...
to recapture the Plain of Jars, the irregular
Hmong Hmong may refer to: * Hmong people, an ethnic group living mainly in Southwest China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand * Hmong cuisine * Hmong customs and culture ** Hmong music ** Hmong textile art * Hmong language, a continuum of closely related to ...
SGU guerrilla forces managed to capture from the NVA some twenty-five PT-76B tanks and immediately pressed them into service, being subsequently engaged in the 1970 wet season offensive in the Plain of Jars, but once again maintenance problems soon rendered the vehicles inoperable. The FAR General Staff then requested the delivery of modern
M41 Walker Bulldog The M41 Walker Bulldog, officially 76-mm Gun Tank, M41, was an American light tank developed for armed reconnaissance purposes. It was produced by Cadillac between 1951 and 1954 and marketed successfully to the United States Army as a replaceme ...
light tanks to the RLA armoured corps in order to provide better armor support to the Hmong SGU guerrillas, but the request was declined by Washington, who provided instead in 1970-71 some second-hand fifteen M-706 armoured cars and twenty tracked M113 armored personnel carriers.SIPRI Arms Transfers Database
/ref>


Artillery

Initially equipped with ten ex-French US M116 75mm pack howitzers and some M8 HMC 75mm self-propelled howitzers, the artillery corps fielded since 1963 twenty-five US-supplied M101A1 105mm towed field howitzers and ten M114A1 155mm towed field howitzers received in 1969. The RLA suffered from a serious fire-support shortfall throughout the War, since its small artillery corps was incapable to counter effectively the threat posed by the Soviet 122mm and 130mm long-range towed howitzers employed from 1970 onwards by the NVA and the Pathet Lao, as they outranged the US-made pieces.


Transport and liaison vehicles

Logistics were the responsibility of the transport corps, equipped with a variety of liaison and transportation vehicles handed down by the French or supplied by the Americans. The early ANL motor pool in the mid-1950s consisted in a mixed inventory of WWII-vintage U.S. Willys MB ¼-ton (4x4) jeeps, Dodge WC-51/52 ¾-ton (4x4) utility trucks, Chevrolet G506 1½-ton (4x4) cargo trucks, and GMC CCKW 2½-ton (6x6) cargo trucks. These obsolete vehicles were partly superseded in the 1960s and early 1970s by modern U.S. Willys M38 MC ¼-ton (4x4) jeeps, Willys M38A1 MD ¼-ton (4x4) jeeps, M151 ¼-ton (4x4) utility trucks, Jeepster Commando (4x4) hardtop
Sport utility vehicle A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon defini ...
s (SUV), Dodge M37 ¾-ton (4x4) 1953 utility trucks, M35A1 2½-ton (6x6) cargo trucks and M809 5-ton (6x6) cargo trucks.


RLA uniforms and insignia

The Royal Lao Army owed its origin and traditions to the Laotian colonial ANL and CEFEO troops on French service of the
First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vi ...
, and even after the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
took the role as the main foreign sponsor for the Royal Laotian Armed Forces at the beginning of the 1960s, French military influence was still perceptible in their uniforms and insignia.


Service dress uniforms

Upon its formation at the early 1950s, ANL units were initially outfitted as were French CEFEO troops of the period – the basic Laotian Army working dress for all-ranks was the French Army's M1945 tropical light khaki cotton shirt and pants (). Modelled after the World War II
US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
tropical "Chino" working dress, it consisted of a shirt with a six-buttoned front, two patch breast pockets closed by clip-cornered straight flaps and shoulder straps; the short-sleeved M1946 shirt (), which had two pleated breast pockets closed by pointed flaps, or the "Chino"-style M1949 () could be worn as an alternative in hot weather. Both shirt models' were worn with the matching M1945 pants, which featured two pleats at the front hips; the M1946 khaki shorts () do not appear to have been much favoured by the Laotians. The "Chino" working uniform was initially furnished by
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and later by the US aid programsConboy and McCouaig, ''The War in Laos 1960-75'' (1989), p. 40, Plate B3.(together with locally produced copies), continued to be worn by RLA officers and enlisted men as a service dress or for walking-out with a khaki tie. A French-style, colonial-era white summer cotton dress uniform was initially worn by ANL officers for formal occasions, replaced in 1954 by an almost identical light khaki cotton version first adopted by senior officers serving in the ANL General Staff, and continued to be worn by their FAR successors until 1975. The new khaki dress consisted of an eight-buttoned tunic with a standing collar, provided with two breast pockets and two side pockets, all unpleated and closed by clip-cornered straight flaps, worn with matching khaki slacks. The tunic's front fly and pocket flaps were secured by gilt metal buttons bearing the FAR wreathed "Vishnu" trident. RLA Officers continued to wear the standard ANL summer service dress uniform in khaki cotton, which was patterned after the
French Army History Early history The first permanent army, paid with regular wages, instead of feudal levies, was established under Charles VII of France, Charles VII in the 1420 to 1430s. The Kings of France needed reliable troops during and after the ...
M1946/56 khaki dress uniform (french: Vareuse d'officier Mle 1946/56 et Pantalon droit Mle 1946/56). The open-collar jacket had two pleated breast pockets closed by pointed flaps and two unpleated at the side closed by straight ones whilst the sleeves had false turnbacks; the front fly and pocket flaps were secured by gilt buttons. It was worn with a Khaki shirt and black tie on service dress. The Laotian Royal Guard () were given a ceremonial dress uniform of French pattern, comprising a red
kepi The kepi ( ) is a cap with a flat circular top and a peak, or visor. In English, the term is a loanword of french: képi, itself a re-spelled version of the gsw, Käppi, a diminutive form of , meaning "cap". In Europe, this headgear is most ...
, white eight-buttoned cotton tunic with a standing collar and red fringed
epaulette Epaulette (; also spelled epaulet) is a type of ornamental shoulder piece or decoration used as insignia of rank by armed forces and other organizations. Flexible metal epaulettes (usually made from brass) are referred to as ''shoulder scales' ...
s, plus red cotton trousers with a line of gold braid down the outer side-seams.


Fatigue and field uniforms

The standard ANL field dress during the Indochina War was the French all-arms M1947 drab green fatigues (),Conboy and Greer, ''War in Laos 1954–1975'' (1994), p. 6. whilst airborne battalions received in the late 1940s surplus
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
-vintage
US Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through comb ...
Pattern 44 'Frog Skin' reversible camouflage utilities and British M1942 windproof pattern brushstroke camouflage Denison Smocks. Such early camouflage fatigues were gradually phased out from the early 1950s in favour of French-designed
Lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia altho ...
() camouflage M1947/51, M1947/52 and M1947/53-54 TAP jump-smocks and M1947/52 TTA vests with matching trousers. By the mid-1960s, RLA units in the field were using a wide variety of uniforms depending on availability from foreign aid sources, namely the U.S.,
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
, and
South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...
. The old French M1947 fatigues soon gave way to the US Army
OG-107 The OG-107 was the basic work utility uniform (fatigues) of all branches of the United States Armed Forces from 1952 until its discontinuation in 1989. The designation came from the U.S. Army's coloring code "Olive Green 107" and "Olive Green 50 ...
jungle utilities, which was adopted as standard field dress by all the Laotian military regular and paramilitary irregular forces; M1967 Jungle Utility Uniforms also came into use by 1970. Local variants of the OG-107 fatigues often featured modifications to the original design – shirts with shoulder straps, two "cigarrete pockets" closed by buttoned straight flaps on both upper sleeves, or a pen pocket added on the left sleeve above the elbow, an affection common to all Laotian, South Vietnamese and Cambodian military officers, and additional side "cargo" pockets on the trousers. Olive green US
M-1951 field jacket The M-1951 field jacket was a U.S. Army four pocket jacket made of 9-ounce wind resistant, water repellent treated cotton sateen cloth in Olive Green Shade 107 (OG 107). It was redesignated as the M-1951 field coat in November 1956. Description T ...
s were sometimes worn by RLA and irregular SGU personnel. Camouflage was very popular among the Laotian military. Airborne formations continued to wear Lizard camouflage fatigues up until 1975, and new camouflage patterns were adopted by the RLA and the irregular SGUs throughout the 1960s-1970s. First was the Duck hunter pattern, followed by the similar South Vietnamese "Leopard" pattern (
Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...
: ''Beo Gam'') and
Tigerstripe Tigerstripe is the name of a group of camouflage patterns developed for close-range use in dense jungle during jungle warfare by the South Vietnamese Armed Forces and adopted in late 1962 to early 1963 by US Special Forces during the Vietnam ...
patterns from the United States,
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
(''Thai Tadpole'' and the so-called 'Rubber' Tigerstripe variant) and
South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...
(''Tadpole Sparse'') and finally, by
Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...
patterns (''ERDL 1948 Leaf pattern'' or "Woodland pattern"), the latter being either supplied by the same sources or locally produced.


Headgear

ANL officers received a service peaked cap copied after the French M1927 pattern () with a lacquered black leather peak in both light khaki and white summer versions (the latter with gold embroidered flame decoration on the black cap band for general officers), to wear with the khaki service dress and the white high-collared full dress uniforms, respectively. The peaked caps were worn with the standard gilt metal ANL cap device, a wreathed ''
Airavata Indra (alias Sakra) and Shachi riding the five-headed Divine Elephant Airavata, Folio from a Jain text, Panch Kalyanaka">Shachi.html" ;"title="Indra (alias Sakra) and Shachi">Indra (alias Sakra) and Shachi riding the five-headed Divine Elepha ...
'' crest bearing the Laotian Royal Arms – a three-headed
white elephant A white elephant is a possession that its owner cannot dispose of, and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness. In modern usage, it is a metaphor used to describe an object, construction project, sch ...
standing on a pedestal and surmounted by a pointed parasol – set on a black cloth teardrop-shaped background patch. Upon the creation of the
Royal Lao Armed Forces The Royal Lao Armed Forces (french: Forces Armées du Royaume), best known by its French acronym FAR, were the official armed defense forces of the Kingdom of Laos, a state that existed from 1949 to 1975 in what is now the Lao People's Democrat ...
(FAR) in September 1961, the Royal Lao Army (RLA) adopted a new service peaked cap with crown of "Germanic" shape – very similar to that worn by South Vietnamese
ARVN The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN; ; french: Armée de la république du Viêt Nam) composed the ground forces of the South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon in April 1975. It is estimated to have suffe ...
officers – with the standard gilt metal FAR wreathed trident cap device, again set on a black background though some field officers still wore the old ANL badge on their caps up until the mid-1960s.Conboy and McCouaig, ''The War in Laos 1960-75'' (1989), p. 3. Like its predecessor, the new RLA service peaked cap also came in both khaki and white versions, with a gold cord chinstrap and plain black leather peak for intermediate rank officers whereas general officers' caps had gold embroidered flame decoration on both the black cap band and black leather peak and a gold braid chinstrap. French M1946 and M1957 light khaki sidecaps ( and ) were also worn by all-ranks. The Laotian Royal Guards received a French-style red
kepi The kepi ( ) is a cap with a flat circular top and a peak, or visor. In English, the term is a loanword of french: képi, itself a re-spelled version of the gsw, Käppi, a diminutive form of , meaning "cap". In Europe, this headgear is most ...
with a straight lacquered black leather peak and gold braid chinstrap to wear with their ceremonial full dress uniform. The most common headgear for the ANL personnel during the 1950s was the French M1946 "Gourka" tropical beret (), made of light khaki cotton cloth, but later the RLA standardized on a beret pattern whose design was based on the French M1953/59 model (); it was made of wool in either one or two pieces, attached to a black leather rim with two black tightening straps at the back. In the FAR, berets were still being worn pulled to the left in typical French fashion, with the color sequence for the ground forces as follows: General Service –
scarlet red Sudan IV (C24H20N4O) is a lysochrome (fat-soluble dye) diazo dye used for the staining of lipids, triglycerides and lipoproteins on frozen paraffin sections. It has the appearance of reddish brown crystals with melting point 199 °C and ma ...
(the
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 Post-independence Burma, 1948–1962, Burma and China to the northwest, North Vietnam to the east, Kingdom of Cambodi ...
' national color); Paratroopers, Para-Commandos and Special Forces –
maroon Maroon ( US/ UK , Australia ) is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word ''marron'', or chestnut. "Marron" is also one of the French translations for "brown". According to multiple dictionaries, there are vari ...
; Armoured Cavalry –
black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...
; Military Police – dark blue. Berets made of camouflage cloth in the "Duck hunter", "Leopard", "Tigerstripe" and "Highland" patterns were also used in the field, particularly by elite units within the RLA and by the irregular SGU formations. According to the 1959 regulations, General Service and corps' berets were worn with the standard RLA beret badge placed above the right eye. Issued in gilt metal for officers and in silver metal for the rank-and-file, it consisted of a
trident A trident is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. The trident is the weapon of Poseidon, or Neptune, the God of the Sea in classical mythology. The trident may occasionally be held by other mar ...
, symbolizing the
Hindu God Hindu deities are the gods and goddesses in Hinduism. The terms and epithets for deities within the diverse traditions of Hinduism vary, and include Deva, Devi, Ishvara, Ishvari, Bhagavān and Bhagavati. The deities of Hinduism have evolved ...
Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...
, superimposed on a spinning
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
"Wheel of Law" (''
Chakra Chakras (, ; sa , text=चक्र , translit=cakra , translit-std=IAST , lit=wheel, circle; pi, cakka) are various focal points used in a variety of ancient meditation practices, collectively denominated as Tantra, or the esoteric or ...
'') whose design recalled a
circular saw A circular saw is a power- saw using a toothed or abrasive disc or blade to cut different materials using a rotary motion spinning around an arbor. A hole saw and ring saw also use a rotary motion but are different from a circular saw. ' ...
. There were however exceptions to this rule, such as the Laotian airborne battalions who retained the silver winged dagger metal airborne beret badge modelled after the French pattern previously adopted in the early 1950s, simply replacing the dagger by a Laotian trident after 1961. Laotian troops in the field could be encountered wearing a wide range of Khaki or OG jungle hats and patrol caps, ranging from French M1949 bush hats () and US M-1943 "Walker caps" and M-1951 field caps, to
baseball cap A baseball cap is a type of soft hat with a rounded crown and a stiff bill projecting in front. The front of the hat typically displays a design or a logo (historically, usually only a sports team, namely a baseball team, or names of relevant c ...
s, US "Boonie hats", and even South Vietnamese
ARVN The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN; ; french: Armée de la république du Viêt Nam) composed the ground forces of the South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon in April 1975. It is estimated to have suffe ...
fatigue caps (similar in shape to the
US Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through comb ...
utility cap). Camouflage versions of these headpieces also found their way into the RLA and the SGUs from the United States,
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
and
South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...
, to which were soon added Laotian-made copies. Steel helmets, in the form of the US M-1 and French M1951 NATO () models were standard issue in the ANL, with paratroopers receiving either the US M-1C jump helmet and its respective French-modified versions ( and ) or the airborne pattern of the French M1951 helmet (). Later, the RLA standardized on the modernized US M-1 model 1964 helmet, though the older American and French M1951 helmet patterns could still be encountered in the field among certain regular and irregular Laotian troops in 1971. ANL armoured crews initially received the French M1951 and M1958/65 dark olive green leather
crash helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protec ...
s (, ''Sous-casque radio-char modéle 1958'' and ''Sous-casque radio-char modéle 1965''); after 1971, Laotian M-706 and M113 APC crewmen were issued the US Combat Vehicle Crew (CVC)
fibreglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...
"bone dome" helmet, though neither models offered any satisfactory protection against shrapnel or small arms rounds.


Footwear

White low laced leather shoes were prescribed to wear the earlier ANL white cotton full dress, whilst brown ones were worn with the khaki service/work uniform for all-ranks and, after 1954 the latter were required for RLA officers wearing the new FAR officers’ khaki dress uniform on formal occasions. ANL personnel on the field initially wore a mixture of American and French regulation footwear, including brown leather US M-1943 Combat Service Boots, French M1917 brown leather hobnailed ankle boots (), French M1953 brown leather "Rangers" () and French canvas-and-rubber Pataugas tropical boots; paratroopers received the calf-length French M1950 or M1950/53 TAP () black leather jump-boot models. Black leather combat boots were also provided by the Americans who issued both the early US Army M-1962 "McNamara" model and the M-1967 model with "ripple" pattern rubbler sole; the highly prized US Army Jungle boot was not issued to the RLA but saw limited use after 1971 amongst members of elite units (e.g. Paratroopers, Special Forces) or by irregular guerrilla troops fighting in the jungle environment of southern Laos. Local copies of the South Vietnamese Bata Shoes, Bata tropical boots were also worn in the south.


Army ranks

Initially, ANL troops wore the same rank insignia as their French counterparts, whose sequence followed the
French Army History Early history The first permanent army, paid with regular wages, instead of feudal levies, was established under Charles VII of France, Charles VII in the 1420 to 1430s. The Kings of France needed reliable troops during and after the ...
pattern defined by the Ranks in the French Army, 1956 regulations until 1959, when the Royal Lao Army adopted a new distinctively Laotian-designed system of military ranks, which became in September 1961 the standard rank chart for all branches of service of the newly created
Royal Lao Armed Forces The Royal Lao Armed Forces (french: Forces Armées du Royaume), best known by its French acronym FAR, were the official armed defense forces of the Kingdom of Laos, a state that existed from 1949 to 1975 in what is now the Lao People's Democrat ...
. Under the new regulations, officers were entitled to wear on their service or dress uniforms stiffened red shoulder boards () edged with gold braid and a gold wreathed trident at the inner end. Junior officers () added an appropriate number of five-pointed gold stars to their boards whilst field grade officers () had a single lotus leaf rosette, plus an appropriate number of five-pointed gold stars. Field Marshals and General officers () had a gold leaf design around the lower half of their shoulder boards plus two or more five-pointed silver stars. Senior and junior NCOs () – including Private 1st class – wore cloth chevrons on both upper sleeves; enlisted men () wore no insignia. In the field, officers' shoulder boards were initially replaced by metal rank insignia pinned to simple rectangular red cloth tabs sewn over the right shirt or combat jacket pocket, but some senior officers kept the custom of wearing instead a single chest tab () buttoned or pinned to the shirt's front fly following French Army practice.Lassus, ''Les marques de grade de l'armée française, 1945-1990 (1er partie-introduction)'' (1998), pp. 12-15. By the late 1960s, an American-style system was adopted in which metal pin-on or embroidered cloth rank insignia – either in yellow-on-green full-colour or black-on-green subdued form – were worn on the right collar, though photographic evidence shows that officers on the field also had the habit of displaying their rank insignia on berets,
baseball cap A baseball cap is a type of soft hat with a rounded crown and a stiff bill projecting in front. The front of the hat typically displays a design or a logo (historically, usually only a sports team, namely a baseball team, or names of relevant c ...
s, bush hats and (more rarely) on steel helmets.Conboy and McCouaig, ''The War in Laos 1960-75'' (1989), p. 14.


Rank insignia


Branch insignia

RLA skill and trade badges also came in gilt metal and/or enamelled pin-on and cloth embroidered yellow or black-on-green subdued variants. On dress and service uniforms, they were worn on both collars by all-ranks if shoulder boards were worn, but in the field officers wore them on the left shirt collar only if worn alongside collar rank insignia; enlisted ranks usually wore branch insignia on both collars instead.


Unit insignia

Yellow and subdued nametapes were occasionally worn above the right shirt or jacket pocket on field dress; plastic nameplates were worn with the service and dress uniforms. Elite formations such as the SPECOM, Special Commando Company of the 2nd RLA Strike Division had their unit designation printed over their left pocket.


See also

* 1967 Opium War * Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) * Air America (airline), Air America * Battle of Lang Vei * Directorate of National Coordination * Hmong people *
North Vietnamese invasion of Laos North Vietnam supported the Pathet Lao to fight against the Kingdom of Laos between 1958–1959. Control over Laos allowed for the eventual construction of the Ho Chi Minh Trail that would serve as the main supply route for enhanced NLF ( ...
*
Pathet Lao The Pathet Lao ( lo, ປະເທດລາວ, translit=Pa thēt Lāo, translation=Lao Nation), officially the Lao People's Liberation Army, was a communist political movement and organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The group ...
* Khmer National Armed Forces * Lao Veterans of America * Lao Veterans of America Institute * Laos Memorial *
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 ...
*
Royal Lao Air Force The Royal Lao Air Force (french: Aviation Royale Laotiènne – AVRL), best known to the Americans by its English acronym RLAF, was the air force component of the Royal Lao Armed Forces (FAR), the official military of the Royal Lao Government and ...
* Royal Lao Army Airborne * Royal Lao Police * Vietnam War * Weapons of the Laotian Civil War


Notes


References

*Andrea Matles Savada (ed.), ''Laos: a country study'' (3rd ed.), Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 1995. , OCLC 32394600. �

* Albert Grandolini, ''Armor of the Vietnam War (2): Asian Forces'', Concord Publications, Hong Kong 1998. * Bernard Fall, ''Anatomy of a Crisis: The Laotian Crisis of 1960–1961'', Doubleday & Co., 1969. * Brig. Gen. Soutchay Vongsavanh, ''RLG Military Operations and Activities in the Laotian Panhandle'', United States Army Center of Military History, Washington D.C. 1980. *John Walter, ''Walther Pistols – PP, PPK and P 38'', Weapon series 82, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2022. * Joseph D. Celeski, ''Special Air Warfare and the Secret War in Laos: Air Commandos 1964–1975'', Air University Press, Maxwell AFB, Alabama 2019. �

* Kenneth Conboy and Don Greer, ''War in Laos 1954-1975'', Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications, 1994. * Kenneth Conboy and Simon McCouaig, ''The War in Laos 1960-75'', Men-at-arms series 217, Osprey Publishing Ltd, London 1989. * Kenneth Conboy and Simon McCouaig, ''South-East Asian Special Forces'', Elite series 33, Osprey Publishing Ltd, London 1991. * Kenneth Conboy with James Morrison, ''Shadow War: The CIA's Secret War in Laos'', Boulder CO: Paladin Press, 1995. , 1581605358 * Khambang Sibounheuang (edited by Edward Y. Hall), ''White Dragon Two: A Royal Laotian Commando's Escape from Laos'', Spartanburg, SC: Honoribus Press, 2002. * Leroy Thompson, ''The M1 Carbine'', Weapon series 13, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2011. * Maj. Gen. Oudone Sananikone, ''The Royal Lao Army and U.S. Army advice and support'', Indochina monographs series, United States Army Center of Military History, Washington D.C. 1981. �

* Nina S. Adams and Alfred W. McCoy (eds.), ''Laos: War and Revolution'', Harper & Row, New York 1970. * Roger Warner, ''Shooting at the Moon: The Story of America's Clandestine War in Laos'', South Royalton, VT: Steerforth Press, 1998. *Richard Lathrop, John McDonald and Jim Laurier, ''Cadillac Cage V-100 Commando 1960-71'', New Vanguard series 52, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2002. * Thomas Ahern, ''Undercover Armies: CIA and Surrogate Warfare in Laos'', Center for the Study of Intelligence, Washington D.C. 2006. Classified control no. C05303949. * Timothy Castle, ''At War in the Shadow of Vietnam: United States Military Aid to the Royal Lao Government, 1955–1975'', Columbia University Press, 1993. * Victor B. Anthony and Richard R. Sexton, ''The War in Northern Laos'', Command for Air Force History, 1993. * Steven J. Zaloga and Jim Laurier, ''M24 Chaffee Light Tank 1943–85'', New Vanguard series 77, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2003.


Secondary sources

* Arnold Issacs, Gordon Hardy, MacAlister Brown, et al., ''Pawns of War: Cambodia and Laos'', Boston Publishing Company, Boston 1987. , 0-201-11678-2 * Christophe Dutrône and Michel Roques, ''L'Escadron Parachutiste de la Garde Sud-Vietnam, 1947-1951'', in Armes Militaria Magazine n.º 188, March 2001. (in French language, French) * Christopher Robbins, ''Air America'', Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2012. * Christopher F. Foss, ''Jane's Tank & Combat Vehicle recognition guide'', HarperCollins Publishers, London 2002. * Denis Lassus, ''Les marques de grade de l'armée française, 1945-1990 (1er partie-introduction)'', in Armes Militaria Magazine n.º 159, October 1998. (in French language, French) * Denis Lassus, ''Les marques de grade de l'armée française, 1945-1990 (2e partie-les differents types de galons)'', in Armes Militaria Magazine n.º 161, December 1998. (in French language, French) * Kenneth Conboy, Kenneth Bowra, and Simon McCouaig, ''The NVA and Viet Cong'', Elite series 38, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 1992. * Kenneth Conboy, ''FANK: A History of the Cambodian Armed Forces, 1970-1975'', Equinox Publishing (Asia) Pte Ltd, Djakarta 2011. * Military History Institute of Vietnam, ''Victory in Vietnam: The Official History of the People's Army of Vietnam, 1954–1975'' (translated by Merle Pribbenow), Lawrence KS: University of Kansas Press, 2002. , 0-7006-1175-4 * Paul Gaujac, ''Officiers et soldats de l'armée française d'après le TTA 148 (1943-1956)'', Histoire & Collections, Paris 2011. (in French language, French)


External links


Country Study - Kingdom of LaosRoyal Lao Army and Special Guerrilla Units camouflage patternsRoyal Lao Army rank insignia
{{Authority control Military of Laos Royal Lao Armed Forces Disbanded armies, Laos Military units and formations disestablished in 1975 1949 establishments in Laos 1975 disestablishments in Laos Laotian Civil War