Kingdom of LaosForces Armées NeutralistesSpecial Guerilla Units Bataillon Parachutistes 101Bataillon Commando 205Bataillon Guerrier 121Two more MR 1 Bataillon GuerrierBataillon Guerrier 227Two MR 5 battalionsGroupement Mobile 32 Half regiment of two battalions Air operations Operation Xieng Dong (7 April–5 June 1971) was a successful defensive strike by the Royal Lao Army (RLA) against an invasion by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN).

In early February 1971, PAVN forces swept RLA defenders from a line of hilltop positions guarding the royal capital of Luang Prabang.

As early as April 1953, during the First Indochina War, Vietnamese communist forces under General Võ Nguyên Giáp invaded northern Laos with four divisions.

The Viet Minh contented themselves with establishing a base area in Houaphanh Province, adjacent to the set piece Battle of Dien Ben Phu that would decide the war.

[1] When personally asked by General Raoul Salan on 23 April 1953 if he would evacuate Luang Prabang, King Sisavang Vong elected to remain, thus committing the French to defense of the royal capital.

On 24 April, the Blind Bonze Pho Sathou predicted, without leaving his temple, that the North Vietnamese invasion would recede back northward.

On the 30th, still in his wat, the Blind Bonze predicted that the communists were not en route to conquer the administrative capital of Vientiane; the latter fact was verified within a few days by French military intelligence.

Despite having committed the 308th Division, 148th Independent Regiment, and some additional troops to the effort, the invasion was blunted, with French defense forces taking heavy casualties.

[4] In February 1971, North Vietnamese troops attacked and captured a string of hilltop positions forming a defensive line northeast of Luang Prabang.

The communists had previously struck at the Royal Lao Air Force (RLAF) and the Lima 54 airfield in Military Region 1 (MR 1) without touching the city.

Dawn 23 March 1971 found the 335th Independent Regiment of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) just eight kilometers from Luang Prabang, tasked with capturing it.

In late May, the third prong of the Xieng Dong offensive finally moved east, with its two RLA battalions crossing the Mekong north of the communists.