Operation Sourisak Montry VIII

Operation Sourisak Montry
Part of Laotian Civil War; Vietnam War
Date September 1971 – 22 June 1972 Location Along the banks of the Mekong River, in the vicinity of Xieng Lom, Laos Result Operation Sourisak Montry: Thai Pyrrhic victory over Pathet Lao Operation Sourisak Montry VIII: Thai offensive repulsed Territorial changes Operation Sourisak Montry: Thai forces temporarily occupy bases on the south bank of the Mekong Operation Sourisak Montry VIII: Communist Party of Thailand retains control of two Lao villages northwest of Xieng Lom
Belligerents
Thailand  Kingdom of Laos Supported by  United States	Pathet Lao Communist Party of Thailand Supported by: People's Republic of China
Units involved
Operation Sourisak Montry Three RTA battalions Two 75mm howitzers One Project Unity battalion Thai air support Air America transport support Operation Sourisak Montry VIII 7th Regimental Combat Team Thai mercenaries 70 US Special Forces Air America medevac 22nd Special Operations Squadron	Operation Sourisak Montry Communist insurgents 500 Pathet Lao forces Operation Sourisak Montry VIII 100 Communist insurgents

Operation Sourisak Montry VIII (September 1971 – 22 June 1972) was a Thai military offensive against an encroaching Chinese Communist presence just north of the Mekong River. Operation Phalat established a base camp at Xieng Lom, Laos, on the southern bank of the Mekong River, and garrisoned it with three Thai mercenary battalions. Operation Sourisak Montry was a series of indecisive skirmishes in the same area, during which the Thais won a Pyrrhic victory over the Pathet Lao in mid-March 1972.

Subsequently, Operation Sourisak Montry VIII in June 1972 attempted to recapture two Lao border villages from Communist forces. The offensive ended poorly, with an Air America civilian pilot killed, an 80-man column pinned down for ten days, and the Thai troops repulsed.