Operation Sinsay
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Operation Sinsay (11 February – c. 31 March 1972) was a
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 ...
offensive of 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 ...
. The planned offensive was pre-empted by prior moves by the opposing
People's Army of Vietnam The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN; vi, Quân đội nhân dân Việt Nam, QĐNDVN), also recognized as the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) or the Vietnamese Army (), is the military force of the Vietnam, Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the ...
(PAVN); they struck on 6 March 1972. Although the Communist attack reached Laongam, 21 kilometers from
Pakxe Pakse (or ''Pakxe''; French: ''Paksé''; Laotian: ປາກເຊ 'mouth of the river'; th, ปากเซ) is the capital and most populous city of the southern Laotian province of Champasak, and the second most populous city in Laos. Locat ...
and the
Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...
border, and the defending Royalist battalions there were reassigned to fight in Operation Strength on 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 ...
, monarchist guerrillas were able to interdict Communist supply lines and force a Vietnamese retreat by the end of March 1972.


Overview

The Ho Chi Minh Trail was central to the
People's Army of Vietnam The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN; vi, Quân đội nhân dân Việt Nam, QĐNDVN), also recognized as the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) or the Vietnamese Army (), is the military force of the Vietnam, Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the ...
(PAVN) strategy for the conquest of
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 ...
during the
Second Indochina War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
. When a series of nine CIA-sponsored incursions from Military Region 3 (MR 3) and Military Region 4 (MR 4) of the southern panhandle 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 Burma and China to the northwest, North Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
during 1969 and 1970 failed to interdict the Trail, the massive Operation Lam Son 719 was staged on 8 February 1971 to cut it. In the wake of this failure, CIA backed Laotian guerrillas and
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 ...
military irregulars made further attempts at severing the
logistical Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...
lines of communication.


Background

When Operation Thao La ended in December 1971,
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) forces had only a tenuous hold on the
Bolovens Plateau The Bolaven Plateau is an elevated region in southern Laos. Most of the plateau is located within Champasak Province of Laos, though the edges of the plateau are also located in Salavan, Sekong and Attapeu Provinces. It is located between ...
in Military Region 4 of Laos. The Royalist front line was at Ban Gnik, and was manned by a
regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...
, ''Groupement Mobile 42'' (GM 42). In mid-January 1972, GM 42 was overrun and slaughtered by the 9th Regiment of the
People's Army of Vietnam The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN; vi, Quân đội nhân dân Việt Nam, QĐNDVN), also recognized as the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) or the Vietnamese Army (), is the military force of the Vietnam, Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the ...
(PAVN). Continuing westward toward Thailand, the PAVN regiment descended from the Plateau towards
Pakxe Pakse (or ''Pakxe''; French: ''Paksé''; Laotian: ປາກເຊ 'mouth of the river'; th, ปากเซ) is the capital and most populous city of the southern Laotian province of Champasak, and the second most populous city in Laos. Locat ...
. The RLG hastily improvised a new front line at Laongam from three Thai
mercenary A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any o ...
units—''Bataillon Commando 613'' (BC 613), ''Bataillon Commando 614'' (BC 614), and a Thai artillery fire base. Plagued by 165 cases of malaria, and drained by 300 desertions, the Thai contingent managed to hold the position just 21 kilometers from the Thai border.Conboy, Morrison, pp. 339–340.


Activities

On 11 February 1972, three
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) battalions were selected for Operation Sinsay (Operation Victory). Their objective was the recapture of Ban Ngik. An attempt was made to airlift in the first 53 troops to begin the operation, but it was turned back by foul flying weather and enemy opposition.Conboy, Morrison, p. 340. On 6 March, the PAVN began moving westward toward Thailand along Lao Route 23. The Thai fire base, fearing Communist infiltration behind the Royalist front lines, retired to the junction of Routes 13 and 23 on the Mekong River bank. On 8 March, two PAVN battalions reinforced by T-34 tanks pushed the Thai battalions out of Laongam and back upon the fire base. At about the same time, the PAVN 39th Regiment sent two battalions forth from Salavan in a southwestern anti-clockwise move around the base of the Plateau. On 9 March, the 2nd and 4th battalions of 39th Regiment arrived at the Houei Champi River. A 122mm artillery detachment, an anti-aircraft company, and three 85mm
field gun A field gun is a field artillery piece. Originally the term referred to smaller guns that could accompany a field army on the march, that when in combat could be moved about the battlefield in response to changing circumstances ( field artille ...
s accompanying the two battalions encamped there. The infantry battalions aimed to cross the river to a position 13 kilometers distant overlooking the Thai artillery from the north. With MR 4's headquarters at Pakxe being threatened, as well as Thai sovereignty, the two Thai battalions were transferred away northward to fight in Operation Strength in Military Region 2 (MR 2), leaving the Thai artillery on its own on 10 March. On 11 March, GM 41 from Khong Sedone arrived at Ban Kenggnao on Route 231 behind the 39th Regiment troops. On 12 March, the Royalists destroyed three PAVN truckloads of artillery ammunition and 122mm rockets. With their supplies cut off by GM 41's
interdiction Interdiction is a military term for the act of delaying, disrupting, or destroying enemy forces or supplies en route to the battle area. A distinction is often made between strategic and tactical interdiction. The former refers to operations whose e ...
of the Route 231
line of communication A line of communication (or communications) is the route that connects an operating military unit with its supply base. Supplies and reinforcements are transported along the line of communication. Therefore, a secure and open line of communicati ...
, the PAVN battalions were forced onto the defensive. One battalion dropped back to Houei Champi to secure the artillery, while the other attacked Ban Kenggao. This obviated the threat to Pakxe. On 15 March 1972, the 1,100 guerrillas of GM 43 were airlifted on to the Plateau's northern edge, being landed 14 kilometers south of
Lao Ngam Lao Ngam is a small town in Salavan Province, in southern Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, F ...
. The regiment struck westwards, also interdiction Route 231. One of its battalions took heavy casualties at a river crossing as it pushed southwest toward GM 41. The 39th Regiment, caught in the middle, was forced to withdraw eastward back towards Vietnam. However, the PAVN 9th Regiment still clung to Route 23, and MR 4 had no available troops to challenge them. The RLA was stretched to its limits supporting the Operation Strength counter to
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 ...
. The only available reinforcements for MR 4 were two battalions from neighboring MR 3. They were flown via C-130 from
Savannakhet Savannakhet (ສະຫວັນນະເຂດ), officially named Kaysone Phomvihane ( lo, ໄກສອນ ພົມວິຫານ; th, ไกสอน พมวิหาน) since 2005 and previously known as ''Khanthaboury'' (ຄັນທະ ...
to Pakxe, then trucked forward to the Thai artillery base during the third week of March. From there, they walked eastward along Route 23 for the next 12 days, overcoming light Communist resistance. The imported battalions captured their objective at Laongam for three days before retreating to Pakxe and being shipped back whence they came.


Result

The Royalists kept a tenuous hold on the Route 23 line of communication, preventing the PAVN from occupying it.


Aftermath

Another RLG offensive was planned as a followup to drive the PAVN back along Route 23 into Vietnam.


Notes


References

* 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. . * Hukle, Donald G.; Melvin F. Porter; Paul T. Ringenbach; Richard R. Sexton; Judith A. Skipworth; Adolph H. Zabka. (1974). ''The Bolovens Campaign, 28 July – 28 December 1971 (Project CHECO Southeast Asia Report)''. Pacific Air Force CHECO Division. ASIN: B00B65VIOU. * Nalty, Bernard C. (2005). ''The War Against Trucks: Aerial Interdiction In Southern Laos 1968–1972''. Air Force History and Museums Program. . {{coord missing, Laos Sinsay