Beginning in 1946, France fought the Viet Minh insurrection in French Indochina, including the Kingdom of Laos.

When France withdrew most of its military in conformity with the treaty, the United States filled the vacuum with purportedly civilian paramilitary instructors.

[1][2] As the Laotian Civil War began, the Central Intelligence Agency established a secret guerrilla army in the Plain of Jars to oppose this insurgency.

As a riposte, Hmong General Vang Pao had launched another spoiling offensive against the pressing communists with Kou Kiet.

[9] Although there was apprehension from Headquarters that this assault might spark retribution on the order of Campaign 139, Thanong Kiet was believed necessary if the guerrilla forces were to survive.

The small People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) garrison resisted vigorously; without air power, BG 227 was unsuccessful.

[9] Gaining Auto Defense Choc (ADC) militia reinforcements from nearby Xieng Dat, BG 227 headed north on 27 August.

The Royalists reached the western end of the L-108 airstrip there, only to be repelled by another small cadre of North Vietnamese defenders in mid-September.

[9] On 26 September 1970, to begin Operation Counterpunch, Vang Pao sent one of his battalions to raid communist supply caches along Route 4.

In conjunction with this, an ad hoc regiment, Groupement Mobile 22 (GM 22) was inserted on the hilltop of Phou Long Mat.

A battalion-sized Special Guerrilla Unit (SGU) was imported from Military Region 1 and added into the original Counterpunch effort.

On 27 November, Groupement Mobile 21 (GM 21) and Bataillon Guerrilla 224 (BG 224) landed on the field the Commando Raiders had cleared.

[13] The American Embassy in Vientiane estimated that the pending North Vietnamese wet season offensive had been forestalled for a month.