Operation Off Balance

rdf:langString Operation Off Balance

rdf:langString Operation Off Balance

rdf:langString Bataillon Commando 208

rdf:langString Bataillon Guerrier 201

rdf:langString Bataillon Guerrier 206

rdf:langString Bataillon d'Infanterie 15

rdf:langString Unknown

rdf:langString Supported by:

rdf:langString Supported by

rdf:langString Operation Off Balance

rdf:langString Plain of Jars in northeastern Laos

rdf:langString Unsuccessful Royalist attempt to blunt an enemy offensive

rdf:langString Battalion-size

rdf:langString Operation Off Balance was a hastily planned offensive operation of the Laotian Civil War; it happened between 1 and 15 July 1969 on the Plain of Jars in the Kingdom of Laos. The Royal Lao Government forces in Military Region 1 of Laos had just been evicted from the crucial all-weather airfield at Muang Soui, as well as most of the Plain, on 28 June 1969. Hmong General Vang Pao planned a quick counter-offensive to recapture the airfield from his communist foe; it would kick off on 1 July, supported by 60 sorties per day of tactical air strikes from Operation Barrel Roll. In the event, the 1 July offensive ran afoul of its Neutralist allies, who retreated rather than carry out their assault. A constant flow of reinforcements from the attacking People's Army of Vietnam fed their own strength to resist. With the Neutralists' abstention, the remaining forces in Off Balance—two battalions of Hmong guerrillas and a Royalist paratrooper battalion— were defeated by counterattacking communist tanks supported by heavy artillery. During the battle, the Hmong suffered the loss of their only fighter pilot, Lee Lue. The reputation he had gained while flying over 5,000 combat missions had become the symbol of Hmong resistance; his death was a crushing blow to Hmong morale. Operation Off Balance ended the day of Lee Lue's burial. The communists still held the Plain of Jars and Muang Soui.