Battle of Vientiane

Battle of Vientiane
Date13 – 16 December 1960
Location
Central Laos, concentrated on Vientiane; sporadic fighting into the Plain of Jars
Result
Territorial
changes
Loyalist forces capture Vientiane; Forces Armées Neutralistes establish themselves in the Plain of Jars
Belligerents

Laos Royal Lao loyalists
Supported by
 Thailand

 United States

 South Vietnam

Forces Armées Neutralistes
 North Vietnam
Laos Pathet Lao
Supported by
 Soviet Union

Commanders and leaders
Laos Phoumi Nosavan
Laos Kouprasith Abhay
Laos Siho Lamphouthacoul
Laos Ekarath Souvannarot
Laos Bounleut Sanichanh
Laos Vang Pao
South Vietnam Nguyễn Khánh
South Vietnam Nguyễn Văn Thiệu
Kong Le
Units involved
Laos Groupement Mobile B
Laos Groupement Tactique
Laos Groupement Mobile Special 1
Laos Bataillon Volontaires 32
Laos Bataillon Parachutistes 1
Laos Bataillon Volontaires 21
Laos Hmong guerrillas
PARU Team A
PARU Team B
PARU Team C
PARU Team D
PARU Team E
105mm howitzers
South Vietnam C-47 air support
CIA air transport support
Bataillon Parachutistes 2
Laos Pathet Lao armed forces
North Vietnam 122mm mortars
North Vietnam 105mm howitzers
North Vietnam Five battalions
Soviet air transport support
Strength
Laos N/A
Thailand Four 105mm howitzers, twenty-five Border Patrol Police
South Vietnam One C-47
1,200
Laos 1,060
North Vietnam Six 122mm mortars, four 105mm howitzers; five battalions invaded Laos from the north
Casualties and losses
At least 17 Neutralistes killed
In Vientiane, about 600 civilians killed and 7,000 civilians left homeless; about 600 homes destroyed.

The Battle of Vientiane was the decisive action of the 1960 Laotian coups. Fought between 13 and 16 December 1960, the battle ended with General Phoumi Nosavan winning control of the Kingdom of Laos with the aid of the Royal Thai Government and the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. Vientiane was left devastated by the fighting, with about 600 civilians dead, about the same number of homes destroyed, and 7,000 left homeless. The losing Forces Armées Neutralistes under Captain Kong Le retreated onto the strategic Plain of Jars, to begin an uneasy coexistence with the Pathet Lao and the invading People's Army of Vietnam.

With the northeastern quarter of Laos under communist control, the United States and the Kingdom of Thailand deepened their involvement in the Laotian Civil War.