Operation Lam Son 719

Operation Lam Son 719
Part of the Vietnam War

Fire support bases and movement of forces
Date8 February – 25 March 1971
(1 month, 2 weeks and 3 days)
Location
Southeastern Laos
Result South Vietnamese operational failure[1][2]
Belligerents
 South Vietnam
 United States
Laos Kingdom of Laos

 North Vietnam

Laos Pathet Lao
Commanders and leaders
South Vietnam Hoàng Xuân Lãm
South Vietnam Dư Quốc Đống
South Vietnam Lê Nguyên Khang
South Vietnam Phạm Văn Phú
United States Creighton Abrams
United States James W. Sutherland
United States John G. Hill Jr.
North Vietnam Lê Trọng Tấn
(Military)
North Vietnam Lê Quang Đạo
(Political)
North Vietnam Cao Văn Khánh
(Regional)
Units involved

South Vietnam I Corps Tactical Zone

South Vietnam 1st Ranger Group

  • 21st Ranger Battalion
  • 39th Ranger Battalion

United States XXIV Corps (only within South Vietnam)

Seventh Air Force


Laos GM30 and GM33[3]

Command 702

Group 559

  • Unit B4
  • Unit B5
  • Squadron 559
Strength
South Vietnam 21,000 troops with additional 10,000 support troop
United States 10,000 – 15,000 support troops (in South Vietnam)
Laos ~4,000 troops
~25,000 to ~35,000 troops
88 tanks[4]
Casualties and losses

South Vietnam Per South Vietnam
1,146[5]: 131 -8,843[6] killed
4,236[5]: 131 -12,420[6] wounded
1,767 missing/captured[5]: 131 
United States Per US
215 killed
1,149 wounded
38 missing[7]
Materiel

(US/ARVN): 32+ artillery pieces destroyed, 82 captured[8][9]: 271 
7 aircraft lost[10]
108 helicopters destroyed and 618 damaged (20% badly damaged beyond repair)[11][12]
71 tanks, 163 armoured combat vehicles, 37 half-trucks, 278 trucks destroyed[13]
North Vietnam Per North Vietnam 2,163 killed and 6,176 wounded[14]
South Vietnam claimed
19,360 killed[5]: 131 
670 anti-aircraft guns destroyed[15]
422[5]: 132 -600[15] trucks destroyed
88[15]-106[5]: 132  tanks destroyed

Operation Lam Son 719 or 9th Route – Southern Laos Campaign (Vietnamese: Chiến dịch Lam Sơn 719 or Chiến dịch đường 9 – Nam Lào) was a limited-objective offensive campaign conducted in the southeastern portion of the Kingdom of Laos. The campaign was carried out by the armed forces of South Vietnam between 8 February and 25 March 1971, during the Vietnam War. The United States provided logistical, aerial and artillery support for the operation, but its ground forces were prohibited by law from entering Laotian territory. The objective of the campaign was the disruption of a possible future offensive by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), whose logistical system within Laos was known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail (the Truong Son Road to North Vietnam).

By launching a pre-emptive attack against the PAVN's long-established logistical system, the American and South Vietnamese high commands hoped to resolve several pressing issues. A quick victory in Laos would bolster the morale and confidence of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), which was already high in the wake of the successful Cambodian Campaign of 1970. It would also serve as proof that South Vietnamese forces could defend their nation in the face of the continuing Vietnamization withdrawal of U.S. ground combat forces from the theater. The operation would be, therefore, a test of that policy and the ARVN's capability to operate effectively by itself.

However, due to PAVN and the Viet Cong's (VC) intelligence and preparation beforehand, an inability by the political and military leaders of the U.S. and South Vietnam to face military realities, and poor execution, Operation Lam Son 719 collapsed when faced by the determined resistance of a skillful foe. The campaign demonstrated continued deficiencies in ARVN military leadership and that the best units of the ARVN could be defeated by the PAVN, destroying the confidence that had been built up over the previous three years.

  1. ^ Willbanks, James H (2014) (2014). A Raid Too Far: Operation Lam Son 719 and Vietnamization in Laos Texas. Texas A&M University Press. p. 172. ISBN 9781623490171.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ Sander, Robert D. (5 August 2014). "Invasion of Laos, 1971: Lam Son 719". foreignaffairs.com. No. September/October 2014. Archived from the original on 20 September 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2016. the mission was a disaster
  3. ^ Nguyễn, Ngọc Mai (October 22, 2012). "Miền Nam, 21 năm kháng chiến chống Mỹ: (hồ sơ về cuộc kháng chiến của quân dân miền Nam)". Nhà xuất bản Chính trị-hành chính – via Google Books.
  4. ^ ""Cưa cây nghi binh" tạo đường cơ động cho xe tăng". Archived from the original on 2021-06-24. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Nguyen, Duy Hinh (1979). Indochina Monographs Operation Lam Sơn 719 (PDF). United States Army Center of Military History. ISBN 978-1984054463. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 25, 2022.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  6. ^ a b Nolan, Keith (1986). Into Laos. Presidio Press. p. 358. ISBN 9780440200444.
  7. ^ "Chapter 11: American Military History, Volume II". army.mil. Archived from the original on 19 October 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  8. ^ Steel and Blood: South Vietnamese Armor and the War for Southeast Asia (2008). Mai Việt Hà. Naval Institute Press. P. 93
  9. ^ Nalty, Bernard (2005). The War Against Trucks: Aerial Interdiction in Southern Laos 1968–1972 (PDF). Air Force History and Museums Program. ISBN 9781477550076. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-10-30.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  10. ^ Walk Tall: With the 2nd Battalion 1st ARVN Regiment. John (Jack) Peel, Xlibris Corporation, 2014. P. 166
  11. ^ May 2014, James H. Willbanks (April 13, 2017). "Lam Son 719 South Vietnam Invades Laos, 1971". HistoryNet. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ "Lam Son 719". Archived from the original on 2021-07-27. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
  13. ^ Hinh, Major-General Nguyen Duy (November 6, 2015). Lam Son 719 [Illustrated Edition]. Pickle Partners Publishing. ISBN 9781786251367 – via Google Books.
  14. ^ Viện Sử học, Lịch sử Việt Nam 1965–1975, NXB Khoa học xã hội, Hà Nội – 2002.
  15. ^ a b c Hastings, Max (2018). Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy, 1945–1975. Harper. p. 581. ISBN 9780062405661.

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