Operation Phoutah

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Operation Phoutah

Operation Phoutah (May 15 to late September 1971) was a Royal Lao Army operation, supported by the CIA, during the Laotian Civil War and the wider Vietnam War. The goal was to strike at the North Vietnamese Ho Chi Minh Trail by capturing Moung Phalane, a key transshipment point near Tchepone, Laos. The Royalist force hoped to use Moung Phalane to stage guerrilla raids against the Trail. The plan faced a large opponent: about 50,000 North Vietnamese troops guarding the trail and the important routes around Moung Phalane and Dong Hene.

Forces involved
- Royalist side: Groupement Mobile (GM) 33 and GM 30, Bataillon Guerrier (BG) 301–306, BG 313, BG 314, plus Royal Lao Army (RLA) detachments, some M24 Chaffee tanks, M706 Commando armored cars, and 105mm howitzers. There were also infantry detachments from eight RLA battalions and a Commando Raiders unit.
- Communist side: North Vietnamese forces defending the Moung Phalane area, centered on the Tchepone corridor.

What happened
- In January 1971, the North Vietnamese captured Moung Phalane from BG 303, which then retreated toward Dong Hene.
- Mid-February, BG 314 attacked northeast from Kengkok and BG 303 attacked Moung Phalane, but both efforts ran into strong Soviet-style heavy weapons fire.
- The operation began on May 15, 1971. Royalist garrisons held Dong Hene, and two GM 33 battalions pushed east from Dong Hene while two others pushed from Kengkok toward Moung Phalane.
- On May 17, a PAVN ambush disabled several Royalist vehicles, and the convoy was overrun. The Royalists, short on reinforcements, conducted a fighting retreat, and Dong Hene was burned before the PAVN withdrew to Moung Phalane for the rainy season.
- Throughout May to July, GM 33 repeatedly faced heavy PAVN defenses around Moung Phalane. GM 33 fought its way back to the Dong Hene area and then tried to move toward Moung Phalane again, but the town remained in enemy hands.
- By July, GM 33 was repulsed three times trying to take Moung Phalane. In August, GM 30 relieved GM 33 and the attack resumed with close air support, including AC-130 gunships, but Royalist forces were operating at about half strength due to casualties, malaria, and desertions.
- On September 25, BG 313 arrived to join GM 30, but the combined effort could not push through. The operation ended without success, and Military Region 3 entered a relatively quiet period until October 1972.

Aftermath
The plan to disrupt the Ho Chi Minh Trail by seizing Moung Phalane did not succeed. The Ho Chi Minh Trail remained a critical supply line for North Vietnam, and the fighting around Moung Phalane highlighted the difficulties the Royalists faced in trying to interdict the Trail.