Kou Kiet
Kou Kiet (translation: Redeem Honor; also called Operation About Face) was a major Laotian Civil War victory for the anti-communist troops of the Kingdom of Laos. Patterned after prior Operation Raindance, it depended upon extensive air strikes blasting communist units and clearing them from the path of the Royalist offensive. Powered by 150 daylight and 50 night sorties daily, with 50 to 80 day strikes directed by Raven Forward Air Controllers, Kou Kiet ran from 6 August to 30 September 1969. It was successful beyond expectations. After the Royal Lao Government troops achieved their objectives, General Vang Pao insisted on pushing forward while they had the initiative. As a result, the Royalists regained control of the entire Plain of Jars while also capturing a huge stock of munitions from the communist forces. Their triumph came at a huge cost. Even though the Royalists were successful, by battle's end their forces were exhausted an the pool of potential recruits were limited, while the Vietnamese could easily replace their personnel losses.
| Kou Kiet | |||||||||
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| Part of Laotian Civil War, Vietnam War | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Kingdom of Laos |
North Vietnam Pathet Lao | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Vang Pao | Unknown | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
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Blue Battalion Auto Defense Choc militia Special Guerrilla Unit 2 Volunteer Battalion 27 Volunteer Battalion 21 Volunteer Battalion 24 101st Paratroop Battalion Mobile Group 22 Mobile Group 23 Less than 30 T-28s Raven Forward Air Controllers |
Infantry PT-76s Infantry battalions | ||||||||