Operation Maharat
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Operation Maharat (30 December 1971–16 March 1972) was a military offensive of the
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 i ...
aimed at Communist insurrectionists. At stake was the sole road junction in northern Laos well in the rear of Royalist troops fighting in
Campaign Z Campaign Z (17 December 1971 – 30 January 1972) was a military offensive by the People's Army of Vietnam; it was a combined arms thrust designed to defeat the last Royal Lao Army troops defending the Kingdom of Laos. The Communist assault to ...
. On 30 December 1971, the garrison of a
Royal Lao Army 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 (FAR), the official military of the Kingdom of Laos during the North Vietnamese invasio ...
artillery battery and two
Forces Armées Neutralistes Forces Armées Neutralistes (Neutralist Armed Forces) was an armed political movement of the Laotian Civil War. History Forces Armées Neutralistes has founded upon the basis of the mutinous ''Bataillon Parachustistes 2'' (Battalion of Parachutists ...
battalions was besieged by an attacking force of
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 gro ...
and
Patriotic Neutralists The Patriotic Neutralists were an armed political movement of the Laotian Civil War. Founded in April 1963 by a schism within the '' Forces Armee Neutraliste'' (FAN) when the latter favored alliance with the Royal Lao Army, the Patriotic Neutralists ...
. On 21 January 1972, the Royalists were reinforced by 11th Brigade, then overrun. The Communists spread north and south along Route 13 over a stretch. A Royalist counter-attack on 16 March 1972 would find both Route 13 and the intersection vacated.


Overview

The road network built by the French while they controlled 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 Burma and China to the northwest, North Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
was a minimal one. They extended Routes 7 and 9 from the Vietnamese coast into the interior of Laos. These east–west roads connected with the only Laotian north–south road, Route 13. Route 7 dead-ended into Route 13 approximately midway between
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) ...
and
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 ...
. It was the only road junction in the entirety of central northern Laos. The French intent was to link Laos with Vietnam, which it had also colonized. When the French granted Laos independence in 1954, a Vietnamese invasion had already taken place, and a Laotian communist insurgency had begun. Thus 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 ...
burgeoned into being.


Background

As
Campaign Z Campaign Z (17 December 1971 – 30 January 1972) was a military offensive by the People's Army of Vietnam; it was a combined arms thrust designed to defeat the last Royal Lao Army troops defending the Kingdom of Laos. The Communist assault to ...
raged along Route 7, a separate engagement behind the Royalist forces being attacked threatened their rear area. Route 13 intersected with Route 7 at Sala Phoun Khoun. Route 13 ran north–south and connected
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 ...
to
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) ...
; Route 7 branched off to cross the
Plain of Jars The Plain of Jars ( Lao: ທົ່ງໄຫຫິນ ''Thong Hai Hin'', ) is a megalithic archaeological landscape in Laos. It consists of thousands of stone jars scattered around the upland valleys and the lower foothills of the central plain of ...
(PDJ) to Dien Ben Phu, Vietnam. Both roads were the only ground lines of communication available. Recognizing the importance of Sala Phou Khoun, the
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 i ...
(RLG) stationed an artillery battery and two battalions of volunteers to defend it against Communist attack—''Bataillon Voluntaires 25'' (BV 25) and ''Bataillon Voluntaires 56'' (BV 56).Conboy, Morrison, p. 331.


Operation Maharat begins

On 30 December 1971, while Campaign Z raged eastwards of Sala Phou Khoun, Communist forces attacked the road junction.
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 gro ...
(PL) troops, with their allied
Patriotic Neutralists The Patriotic Neutralists were an armed political movement of the Laotian Civil War. Founded in April 1963 by a schism within the '' Forces Armee Neutraliste'' (FAN) when the latter favored alliance with the Royal Lao Army, the Patriotic Neutralists ...
, besieged the
Royal Lao Army 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 (FAR), the official military of the Kingdom of Laos during the North Vietnamese invasio ...
(RLA) artillery battery and its protective battalions of
Forces Armées Neutralistes Forces Armées Neutralistes (Neutralist Armed Forces) was an armed political movement of the Laotian Civil War. History Forces Armées Neutralistes has founded upon the basis of the mutinous ''Bataillon Parachustistes 2'' (Battalion of Parachutists ...
(FAN) volunteers. Having fought over this ground before in
Operation Triangle Operation Triangle was a military operation of the Laotian Civil War staged from 19—29 July 1964. Although planned by the General Staff of the Royal Lao Army, it was subject to American approval because the RLA depended on the Americans for fin ...
, the RLA
General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...
was familiar with the terrain as they began Operation Maharat (Operation King). In mid-January, they ordered their 11th Brigade to march northward along Route 13 from Vientiane. When the brigade reached the town of
Vang Vieng Vang may refer to: People Vang is a common surname among Hmong Americans, including *Vang Pao (1929–2011), Lieutenant General in the Royal Lao Army and a leader of the Hmong American community in the United States *Ka Vang (born 1975), writer * ...
, it was helicoptered the rest of the way to the road junction. They no sooner arrived than the Communists overran them on 21 January 1972. The Royalists and their FAN allies scattered into the wilderness, abandoning their four 105mm
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 ot ...
s. The victorious Communists spread both north and south along Route 13. On the morning of 22 January 1972, they struck some south of the 7/13 junction at Moung Kassy, bombarding it with 122mm rockets. On 31 January, Communist forces occupied Kiu Kacham, north of the intersection.Google Maps, Sala Phou Khoun to Kiu Kacham
Retrieved 17 February 2016.


Operation Maharat followup

By the time the Royalists decided to counterattack the Communists along Route 13, it was early March and a fresh battle was being waged on the Plain of Jars. The revival of Operation Maharat would depend on converging columns along the highway and a heliborne insertion of Royalist guerrillas near the road junction.Conboy, Morrison, p. 337. The Military Region 5 Royalist column that left Vientiane consisted of a mixture of RLA and FAN forces. The RLA component contained ''Bataillon Volontaires 52'' (BV 52), ''Bataillon Volontaires 56'' (BV 56), some mobile artillery, and two armored cars. The FAN portion of the attack force was ''Bataillon Volontaires 25'' (BV 25) and ''Bataillon Commando 208'' (BC 208). The four battalions and their accompanying support slowly trundled north toward Sala Phou Khoun. North of Sala Phou Khoun at Luang Prabang, Military Region 1 mustered a contingent of
Commando Raiders The Commando Raiders or Commando Raider Teams (CRTs) were a Laotian elite paramilitary Special Operations and pathfinder force, which operated closely with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the final phase of the Laotian Civil War ...
and three guerrilla battalions—''Bataillon Guerrier 121'' (BG 121), ''Bataillon Guerrier 122'' (BG 122), and ''Bataillon Guerrier 131'' (BG 131). On 10 March 1972, BG 131 was lifted to the top of Phou Chia, west of the 7/13 junction. Before dawn on 15 March, 80 Commando Raiders were landed at Xieng Ngeun on Route 13, some north of Kiu Kacham. The truck convoy carrying BG 121 arrived at 0700 hours to relieve the Raiders. The Raiders promptly reboarded helicopters and flew to move into an unoccupied Kiu Kacham. Again, BG 121 followed them into town. Meanwhile, BG 122 and the mobile artillery moved south into Xieng Ngeun. On 16 March, the Commando Raiders were helilifted to a landing zone east of Kiu Kacham, to be joined by BG 121. BG 122 was also lifted to a new location into a hilltop position overlooking Sala Phou Khoun from the west. They walked down to an unoccupied intersection and greeted the convoys of troops driving in from both north and south.


Result

The Royal Lao Government now controlled the strategic Sala Phou Khoun intersection in the rear of its troops on the Plain of Jars.


Notes


References

* Anthony, Victor B. and Richard R. Sexton (1993). ''The War in Northern Laos''. Command for Air Force History. OCLC 232549943. * Castle, Timothy N. (1993). ''At War in the Shadow of Vietnam: U.S. Military Aid to the Royal Lao Government 1955–1975''. . * Conboy, Kenneth and James Morrison (1995). ''Shadow War: The CIA's Secret War in Laos''. Paladin Press. . * Dommen, Arthur J., Chapter 1. Historical Setting. Savada, Andrea Matles, ed. (1995). ''Laos a country study''. Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. . * Stuart-Fox, Martin (2008) ''Historical Dictionary of Laos''. Scarecrow Press. ISBNs 0810864118, 978-0-81086-411-5. {{coord missing, Laos
Maharat Yeshivat Maharat is a Jewish educational institution in The Bronx, New York, which was the first Open Orthodox yeshiva in North America to ordain women. The word ''Maharat'' () is a Hebrew acronym for phrase ''manhiga hilkhatit rukhanit Toranit'' ...