| Operation Thao La | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Laotian Civil War; Vietnam War | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Kingdom of LaosSupported by:  United States |
 North VietnamSupported by:  Soviet Union People's Republic of China | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
|
Bataillon Infanterie 9 |
9th PAVN Regiment Five PAVN battalions | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
|
399 killed 1,376 wounded 343 missing |
1,204 killed 763 wounded | ||||||||
Operation Thao La (21 November–16 December 1971) was a Royal Lao Government (RLG) dry season offensive during the Laotian Civil War, aimed at severing the Ho Chi Minh Trail and retrieving the Lao Bolaven Plateau from the grip of the People's Army of Vietnam. Its objectives were the use of recently captured Salavan as a jumpoff point for occupying Tha Theng and Ban Phong. Key to the plan was a prearranged daily allotment of supportive tactical air power.
In the event, the Royalists captured their two objectives. However, they lost both Salavan and Paksong to the North Vietnamese; they also failed to find the Communist transshipment point whose conquest would have interdicted the Trail.