Kou Kiet

Kou Kiet
Part of Laotian Civil War, Vietnam War
Date 6 August 1969—30 September 1969 Location Northeastern and central Laos Result Kingdom of Laos Victory RLA captures the Plain of Jars and supplies from the People's Army of Vietnam Forces of the Royal Lao army severely weakened Territorial changes Kingdom of Laos gains control of the Plain of Jars
Belligerents
Kingdom of Laos	North Vietnam Pathet Lao
Commanders and leaders
Vang Pao	Unknown
Units involved
Blue Battalion Auto Defense Choc militia Special Guerrilla Unit 2 Volunteer Battalion 27 Volunteer Battalion 21 Volunteer Battalion 24 101st Paratroop Battalion Mobile Group 22 Mobile Group 23 Less than 30 T-28s Raven Forward Air Controllers	Infantry PT-76s Infantry battalions

Kou Kiet (translation: Redeem Honor; also called Operation About Face) was a major Laotian Civil War victory for the anti-communist troops of the Kingdom of Laos. Patterned after prior Operation Raindance, it depended upon extensive air strikes blasting communist units and clearing them from the path of the Royalist offensive. Powered by 150 daylight and 50 night sorties daily, with 50 to 80 day strikes directed by Raven Forward Air Controllers, Kou Kiet ran from 6 August to 30 September 1969. It was successful beyond expectations. After the Royal Lao Government troops achieved their objectives, General Vang Pao insisted on pushing forward while they had the initiative. As a result, the Royalists regained control of the entire Plain of Jars while also capturing a huge stock of munitions from the communist forces. Their triumph came at a huge cost. Even though the Royalists were successful, by battle's end their forces were exhausted and the pool of potential recruits were limited, while the Vietnamese could easily replace their personnel losses.