| Unity | |
|---|---|
| Part of Laotian Civil War, Vietnam War | |
| Type | Covert military assistance and reinforcement |
| Location | |
| Planned by | RTA Headquarters 333, CIA Joint Liaison Detachment |
| Commanded by | Royal Thai Army, CIA, Laotian Royalists |
| Objective | Support the Kingdom of Laos through the supply of mercenary and other military units |
| Date | September 1958—22 February 1973 |
| Executed by | Royal Thai Army, CIA, Laotian Royalists |
| Outcome | Reinforced by soldiers from Thailand; ceasefire in on 22 February 1973 ends the program |
| Casualties | 350 Thais and at least 30 civilians killed Over 1,000 Thais injured |
Unity was the code name for Thailand's covert supply of mercenary soldiers to the Kingdom of Laos during the Laotian Civil War. From 4 July 1964 until March 1973, battalions of Thai volunteers fought Communist insurgents on the Plain of Jars in Military Region 2. As the Hmong L'Armée Clandestine was sapped by ongoing casualties and a limited basis for replacements, Unity battalions replaced them.
By December 1970, Unity battalions also began defensive operations against People's Army of Vietnam units pushing westward from the Ho Chi Minh trail in the southern Lao panhandle. By the time the Communists defeated the Royalists in February 1973, about 18,000 Thai volunteers were serving in Laos.