Operation Left Jab

Operation Left Jab was the first military offensive launched against the Sihanouk Trail extension of the Ho Chi Minh Trail during the Second Indochina War. It was the first battalion-sized operation waged by the Royal Lao Army against the communists. Carried out between 21 and 26 June 1969, the assault interdicted Route 110 of the Sihanouk Trail for its planned three-day stoppage of military supplies. The Royalist guerrillas of Special Guerrilla Unit 2 then evaded an approaching counterattack and regrouped in friendly territory. Operation Left Jab had cleared the way for Operation Diamond Arrow.

Located in the southern panhandle of the territory of the Kingdom of Laos, the Ho Chi Minh Trail was the logistics backbone of the communist forces during the Second Indochina War, as it was the main supply route for Viet Cong and People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) forces fighting in South Vietnam. At the southern end of the Ho Chi Trail was a dirt road, Route 110, and a surrounding network of logistical trails running into Cambodia that comprised the Sihanouk Trail. The Sihanouk Trail connected the Ho Chi Minh Trail with the deep water ocean port of Sihanoukville, the entry point for thousands of tons of communist war materiel. From December 1966 through April 1969, over 21,000 tons of ordnance entered the Sihanouk Trail from the post of Sihanoukville; it was estimated there were sufficient crew-served weapons to equip 240 battalions, and small arms enough for 585 battalions.

Operation Left Jab was the first of a number of military operations waged against the Trail in southern Laos, including missions such as Operation Maeng Da, Operation Honorable Dragon, and Operation Junction City Jr., that originated in Laos.

...
Wikipedia