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Operation Sayasila

Operation Sayasila
Part of Laotian Civil War; Vietnam War
Date 26 July 1971—31 October 1971
Location Southern Laos
Result Pyrrhic victory for Kingdom of Laos
Territorial
changes
Kingdom of Laos captures Salavan and Pak Song
Belligerents
 Kingdom of Laos
Forces Armées Neutralistes
Supported by
 Thailand
 United States
 North Vietnam
Commanders and leaders
Sisavang Vatthana
Souvanna Phouma
Thao Ty
Phasouk Somly
N/A
Strength
Over 4,000 1,100
Casualties and losses
136 killed
302 wounded
~170

Operation Sayasila (26 July 1971—31 October 1971) was a major offensive military operation of the Laotian Civil War. It was staged by command of King Sisavang Vatthana. Launched on 26 July 1971 against the Ho Chi Minh Trail complex and its People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) garrison, Sayasila was planned as a rather complex two phase operation dependent on coordinating two columns containing 4,400 troops with close air support in an attack on 1,100 Vietnamese Communist soldiers. When the assault stalled in mid-August, it was elaborated upon with two additional helilifts of Royalist troops behind the PAVN's mobile garrison. When the Royalist command failed to coordinate tactical movements among its various columns, the PAVN 9th Regiment moved to defeat Royalist aggressor columns one at a time. By 1 September, this Royalist attack had also failed.

Bolstered by a fresh regiment of guerrillas as reinforcements, plus support by a minimum of 40 daily U.S. Air Force strike sorties, the Operation Sayasila offensive was renewed on 10 September 1971. It took until 20 October for the Royalists to finally capture their objectives of Salavan and Pak Song. Although the Royal Lao Government (RLG) troops had finally gained their objective, their casualties outnumbered the enemy force they evicted from their objectives. The U.S. government, which was supporting the RLG, placed restrictions on U.S. support aimed at limiting the RLG to defensive efforts.

Beginning in 1964, the strategic importance of the Ho Chi Minh Trail became paramount to the People's Army of Vietnam as its key to conquering South Vietnam. Over the next seven years, the Trail expanded to 4,000 miles of road, trail, and waterway. Tchepone in the Kingdom of Laos became a key logistics and transshipment center for the communists. Its importance can be measured by the fact that among the many attempts to cut the Trail, the multi-divisional Operation Lam Son 719 was launched on 8 February 1971 to capture Tchepone.


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