| 1973 Laotian coup d'état attempt | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Laotian Civil War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Thao Ma loyalists | Souvanna Phouma loyalists | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Thao Ma  Bounleuth Saycocie | Sourith Don Sasorith | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Appx. 60 | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
10 killed 14 captured | 10 killed | ||||||
The 1973 Laotian coup d'état attempt was a final attempt to stave off a communist coalition government of the Kingdom of Laos. Exiled General Thao Ma returned from the Kingdom of Thailand on 20 August 1973 to take over Wattay International Airport outside the capital of Vientiane. Commandeering an AT-28, he led air strikes upon the office and home of his hated rival, General Kouprasith Abhay. While Thao Ma was unsuccessfully bombing Kouprasith, loyal Royalist troops retook the airfield. Shot down upon his return, Thao Ma was hauled from his airplane's wreckage and executed. The coalition agreement was signed 14 September 1973.