Battle of Vientiane
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.
| Battle of Vientiane | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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Royal Lao loyalists
United States South Vietnam
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Forces Armées Neutralistes
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Phoumi Nosavan Kouprasith Abhay Siho Lamphouthacoul Ekarath Souvannarot Bounleut Sanichanh Vang Pao Nguyễn Khánh Nguyễn Văn Thiệu | Kong Le | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
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Groupement Mobile B Groupement Tactique Groupement Mobile Special 1 Bataillon Volontaires 32 Bataillon Parachutistes 1 Bataillon Volontaires 21 Hmong guerrillas PARU Team A PARU Team B PARU Team C PARU Team D PARU Team E 105mm howitzers C-47 air support CIA air transport support |
Bataillon Parachutistes 2 Pathet Lao armed forces 122mm mortars 105mm howitzers Five battalions Soviet air transport support | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
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N/A Four 105mm howitzers, twenty-five Border Patrol Police One C-47 |
1,200 1,060 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. | |||||||||
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.