Battle of Ban Pa Dong

Battle of Ban Pa Dong
Part of Laotian Civil War; Vietnam War
Date31 January – 6 June 1961
Location
Ban Pa Dong, in central northern Laos
Result Communists capture Royalist guerrilla training base
Belligerents
 Kingdom of Laos
Supported by
 United States
Laos Pathet Lao
Vietnam People's Army of Vietnam
Supported by:
 Soviet Union
 People's Republic of China
Commanders and leaders
Vang Pao
Units involved
Hmong guerrilla trainees
4 howitzers
2 mortars
One Pathet Lao battalion
17 75mm howitzers
Casualties and losses
Substantial Unknown

The Battle of Ban Pa Dong was fought between 31 January and 6 June 1961 in Ban Pa Dong, the Kingdom of Laos. Troops from the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and the Pathet Lao attacked Hmong recruits being trained as Auto Defense Choc guerrillas via Operation Momentum. Although the Hmong made the tactical error of defending a fixed position, their eventual escape from the communist invaders left their fledgling L'Armee Clandestine intact and able to wage war for the Royal Lao Government. However, they abandoned four howitzers and two mortars to the victorious Vietnamese communists. The partisans had also set a deleterious precedent for themselves with their defense of a fixed position.