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 an the pool of potential recruits were limited, while the Vietnamese could easily replace their personnel losses.
Overview
After World War II, France fought the First Indochina War to retain French Indochina. As part of its loss of that war at Dien Ben Phu, it freed the Kingdom of Laos. Laotian neutrality was established in the 1954 Geneva Agreements. When France withdrew most of its military in conformity with the treaty, the United States filled the vacuum with purportedly civilian paramilitary instructors. A North Vietnamese-backed communist insurrection began as early as 1949. Invading during the opium harvest season of 1953, it settled in northeastern Laos adjacent to the border of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
As the Laotian Civil War flared, the Central Intelligence Agency established a secret guerrilla army in the Plain of Jars. Interposed between the communist settlement around Xam Neua and the Royal Lao Government in Vientiane, the Hmong military irregulars fought to hold on to their traditional territory, and to preserve Laos. After the failure and defeat of Operation Pigfat and Operation Raindance in early 1969, the communists had overrun the Plain of Jars to within ten kilometers of the guerrillas' main base at Long Chieng. As a riposte, Hmong General Vang Pao plotted another spoiling offensive against the pressing communists. However, the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) beat him to it with Campaign Thoan Thang. After the Vietnamese campaign ran its course, Vang Pao launched yet another inconclusive offensive that failed to clear the foe from the Plain of Jars, Operation Off Balance. By 28 June 1969, the PAVN had 60 tanks deployed. Additionally, there were seven new Vietnamese infantry battalions poised on the Plain, while the Royalist remained unreinforced. The PAVN now had a total of 26 battalions in the Plain of Jars area, seemingly poised for a further wet season offensive.
Kou Kiet
Preliminaries
The monsoon rains that had crippled the air support for Operation Off Balance, and Operation Pigfat before that, now began to clear to favor Vang Pao and his forces. With about triple the usual rainfall for the month of July, communist ground logistics began to bog down, often quite literally. Conversely, Vang Pao's troops were being amply supplied via air bridge; brand new M16 rifles were being secretively provided for his troops.
Also, U.S. Air Force tactical air strikes with area denial munitions forced the PAVN supply efforts off the main road. However, to the opposing Royalist forces, the PAVN still remained a threatening force in being to the ancestral Hmong territory south of the Plain of Jars. In late July 1969, as Off Balance was still being fought, Vang Pao plotted a diversionary attack against the PAVN's main supply road, Route 7. Suspicious of leaky security among the Royal Lao Army command, Vang Pao demanded CIA-supported guerrillas for his next offensive. His insistence was problematic, as he lacked the needed manpower in his own CIA guerrilla army. In an unprecedented move, guerrillas were transferred in from other Military Regions.
The Hmong general called the new offensive operation Kou Kiet (Redeemed Honor). His CIA contacts dubbed it Operation About Face when they approved it. No matter the name, it was patterned on the previous Operation Raindance, planned as a three-week attack with the major firepower being tactical air. Newly arrived Ambassador G. McMurtrie Godley messaged his superiors in the U.S. State Department that the military situation on the Plain of Jars was so crucial that if fighter-bombers would not suffice for Kou Kiet, Arc Light strikes by B-52s should be considered as a followup.