Haw wars

Siamese army during Haw wars in 1875

Date	1865–1890
Location	Northern Laos, western Vietnam, northern Thailand

Belligerents

Haw rebels (Red flag and Striped flag bands)

Kingdom of Siam
Kingdom of Luang Phrabang

Commanders and leaders

unknown

King Chulalongkorn (Rama V)
Field Marshal Chao Phraya Surasakmontri (Cherm Saeng-Chuto)
Chao Oun Kham, King of Luang Prabang

The Haw Wars (Thai: สงครามปราบฮ่อ) were fought against Chinese quasi-military forces invading parts of Tonkin and the Siam from 1865–1890. Forces invading Lao domains were ill-disciplined and freely plundered Buddhist temples. Not knowing these were remnants of the aftermath of the Taiping Rebellion led by Hong Xiuquan, a heterodox Christian convert, the invaders were confused with Chinese Muslims from Yunnan called Haw (Lao: ຮໍ່; Thai: ฮ่อ; RTGS: Ho; Mandarin Chinese: Hui). Forces sent by King Rama V failed to suppress the various groups, the last of which eventually disbanded in 1890.

During the latter half of the 19th century, bands of Chinese warriors known as "flag gangs" ravaged large areas of northern Laos. Outlaws and freebooters, the flag gangs were fleeing the suppression of the Taiping rebellion in China. Tonkin (now northern Vietnam) was invaded first, when units of the "Black Flags" and the rival "Yellow Flags" crossed the China-Vietnam frontier in 1865 and set up bases in the upper reaches of the Red River Valley.

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Wikipedia