Operation Counterpunch

Operation Counterpunch
Part of Laotian Civil War; Vietnam War
Date26 September 1970 – 7 January 1971
Location
Plain of Jars in northern Laos
Result North Vietnamese communist offensive forestalled for month
Belligerents
 Laos
 Thailand
Supported by
 United States		  North Vietnam
Supported by:
 Soviet Union
 People's Republic of China
Commanders and leaders
Laos
Units involved

Laos Groupements Mobile 22
Bataillon Guerrier 227
Auto Defense Choc militia
Groupement Mobile 23
A battalion-sized Special Guerrilla Unit
Commando Raiders Forces Armées Neutralistes Bataillon Infanterie 17
 United States 21st Special Operations Squadron

Thailand 15th Infantry Bataillon		 Six companies plus scattered garrisons

Operation Counterpunch, waged 26 September 1970 to 7 January 1971, was a military offensive of the Laotian Civil War. Royalist General Vang Pao's guerrilla army regained the vital all-weather forward fighter base at Muang Soui on the Plain of Jars from the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN). The preemptive Counterpunch was credited with delaying an imminent PAVN wet season offensive for a month. The guerrilla army survived, though still heavily outnumbered by the PAVN.