Osprey Men-at-Arms 217 : The War in Laos 1960-1975

Modern Laos began as a peripheral protectorate of French Indochina - a buffer state designed to shield greater French interests in northern Vietnam from both the Kingdom of Thailand and the British in Burma. From 1893 until World War Two, Laos remained a relatively peaceful French protectorate. Its fractured ethnic composition gave Laos little sense of national identity, enabling the Imperial Japanese military to seize control in mid-1945 without encountering any significant resistance. As the war drew to a close, the Japanese encouraged the growth of indigenous nationalist movements to forestall the return of French power to mainland South-East Asia. Despite these efforts the French re-entered Indochina, swept away the small Free Lao nationalist movement, and methodically retook the protectorate by 1946. Soundly defeated, the Free Laos moved to Thailand. In 1949 a splinter fraction made its way into northern Vietnam and contacted the anti-French Viet Minh forces. This group became the core of the Communist Laotian forces, known commonly as the Pathet Lao. Trained and equipped by the Viet Minh, these forces would eventually plunge Laos into another War. Kenneth Conboy explores the War in Laos 1960-75, backed by a wealth of illustrations and photographs, including eight full page colour plates by Simon McCouaig.

Contents

• The Course of the War
• 1957 - The Abortive Coalition
• 1960 - Kong Le's Coup
• 1962 - The Second Coalition
• 1964
• 1965
• 1966-8 - The NVA Initiative
• 1969 - The NVA Over-Extend
• 1970
• 1971
• 1972-73
• Loatian Government Forces
  The Royal Laotian Army
  Uniforms and Equipment
  The Royal Laotian Air Force
  
• Government Allied Forces
  Laotian Guerrilla Forces
  Thai Volunteer Forces
  US Military Assistance Groups
  
• Communist Forces
  Pathet Lao Uniforms and Equipment
  The North Vietnamese Army
  
• The Plates