Operation Snake Eyes

Operation Snake Eyes
Part of Laotian Civil War
Operational scopeStrategic offensive
PlannedDecember 1969
Planned byG. McMurtrie Godley
Commanded byXieng Manh Noy Sirisouk
ObjectiveCapture and block the extension of Route 46
OutcomeAborted

Operation Snake Eyes was a proposed military operation of the Laotian Civil War. Planned in mid-December 1969 by the U.S. Ambassador to Laos, the planned interdiction of the newly constructed Chinese Road, Route 46, was aimed at halting the road's progress toward the border with Thailand. The offensive by guerrilla raiders was delayed six months for operational reasons. When it was finally ready to be launched, it was pre-empted by the furor caused by the Cambodian Incursion. Fearful that Operation Snake Eyes would arouse even greater publicity, the Central Intelligence Agency handlers of the guerrillas canceled the operation on orders of the White House. Attempts to limit Chinese expansion toward the south would be left to future operations, such as Operation Phalat and Operation Sourisak Montry.