page_title: Laotian Civil War
section_title: 1960: The neutralist coup
hierarchical_section_title: Laotian Civil War / Chronology of the Laotian Civil War / 1960: The neutralist coup
caption_attribution_description: The FAL training Center at Khang Khai, Laos
context_page_description: The Laotian Civil War was a civil war in Laos fought between the Communist Pathet Lao and the Royal Lao Government from 23 May 1959 to 2 December 1975. It is associated with the Cambodian Civil War and the Vietnam War, with both sides receiving heavy external support in a proxy war between the global Cold War superpowers. It is called the Secret War among the CIA Special Activities Center and Hmong veterans of the conflict.
  The Kingdom of Laos was a covert theater for other belligerents during the Vietnam War. The Franco–Lao Treaty of Amity and Association transferred remaining French powers to the Royal Lao Government, establishing Laos as an independent member of the French Union. However, this government did not include representatives from the Lao Issara anti-colonial armed nationalist movement.
  The following years were marked by a rivalry between the neutralists under Prince Souvanna Phouma, the right wing under Prince Boun Oum of Champassak, and the left-wing Lao Patriotic Front under Prince Souphanouvong and half-Vietnamese future Prime Minister Kaysone Phomvihane.
context_section_description: On 9 August 1960, Captain Kong Le and his Special Forces-trained Neutralist paratroop battalion were able to seize control of the administrative capital of Vientiane in a virtually bloodless coup, while Prime Minister Tiao Samsanith, government officials, and military leaders met in the royal capital, Luang Prabang. His stated aim for the coup was an end to fighting in Laos, the end of foreign interference in his country, an end to the consequent corruption caused by foreign aid, and better treatment for his soldiers. However, Kong Le's coup did not end opposition to him, and there was a scramble among unit commanders to choose sides. If one was not pro-coup, then he had the further decision to make as to whom he would back to counter the coup. The front runner was General Phoumi Nosavan, first cousins with the prime minister of Thailand, Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat.
  With Central Intelligence Agency's support, Field Marshal Sarit set up a covert Thai military advisory group, called Kaw Taw. Kaw Taw supported a counter-coup against the new Neutralist Lao government in Vientiane, supplying artillery, artillerymen, and advisers to Phoumi's forces. It also committed the CIA-sponsored Police Aerial Reinforcement Unit (PARU) to operations within Laos.
  Alongside its covert Kaw Taw operation, immediately after Kong Le's coup the government of Thailand began an embargo via land blockade, cutting off the main source of imported goods for Vientiane. The United States Secretary of State, Christian Herter, stated that the United States supported the "legitimate government under the King's direction." The United States supported the pro-Western government of Prime Minister Tiao Samsanith while at the same time the CIA supported the covert counter-coup effort organized by Sarit against the Neutralist government in Vientiane.
  The Neutralist forces in Vientiane organized the Executive Committee of the High Command of the Revolution as the interim government in Laos the following day. General Phoumi Nosavan, stated on 10 August that he planned to retake Vientiane by force. The United States Ambassador to Laos, Winthrop G. Brown, responded to General Phoumi by stating that the United States supported a restoration of peace "through quick and decisive action."
  PEO had turned its support to General Phoumi. With the help of CIA front organization Air America and covert aid from Thailand, the general and his troops moved north toward Vientiane from Savannakhet in southern Laos, in November.
  The Soviet Union began a military air bridge into Vientiane in early December; it was characterized as the largest Soviet airlift since World War II. This air bridge flew in PAVN artillery and gunners to reinforce the Neutralist/Pathet Lao coalition.
  On their side, the United States flew four B-26 Invader bombers from Taiwan into Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base, poised to strike into Laos. They were later joined by an additional eight B26s. With a dozen guns, half a dozen rockets, and a napalm canister apiece, they were a potent threat, but were never used.
  On 13 December, Phoumi's army began a three-day bombardment of Vientiane. Five hundred civilians and seventeen of Kong Le's paratroopers were killed by the shellfire. On the 14th, a U.S. carrier task force went on alert, and the Second Airborne Brigade stood by to seize selected Laotian airfields. The U.S. was poised to rescue its paramilitary and diplomatic advisers in Laos.
  Kong Le and his Neutralists finally withdrew northward to the Plain of Jars. Their withdrawal was covered by artillery fire from the PAVN 105 mm howitzers rushed in from Hanoi, and supported by Soviet airdrops of crucial supplies of rations, munitions, and radios. In the retreat, Kong Le picked up 400 recruits, swelling his force to 1,200 men.
  Phoumi's coup was thus successful, but the end result was the alliance of the Neutralists with the Pathet Lao on 23 December. As 1960 ended, the nation of Laos had become an arena of confrontation for the world's superpowers.
caption: The Laotian Armed Forces training Center at Khang Khai, Laos, March 1960
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