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{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict    = Campaign 972
| partof      = [[Laotian Civil War]], [[Vietnam War]]
| date        = 28 October 1972–22 February 1973
| place       = Southern [[Laos]]
| territory   = North Vietnam captures Khong Sedone, [[Salavan (city)|Salavan]], [[Thakhek]], and [[Lao Ngam]]
| result      = Decisive [[North Vietnam]]ese victory. [[Kingdom of Laos]] essentially broken in two. Ceasefire takes effect on 22 February 1973, officially ending the Laotian Civil War. [[Paksong]] captured shortly after the ceasefire.
| combatant1  = {{flag|North Vietnam}}<br>{{flagicon|Laos}} [[Pathet Lao]]
| combatant2  = {{flag|Kingdom of Laos}}<br>'''Supported by:'''<br>{{flag|United States}}
| units1      = {{flagicon|North Vietnam}} Two provincial battalions<br>{{flagicon|North Vietnam}} 4th Battalion of the 270th Regiment<br>{{flagicon|North Vietnam}} [[PT-76]] tanks<br>{{flagicon|Laos}} Three companies
| units2      = {{flagicon|Kingdom of Laos}} 21st Brigade<br>{{flagicon|Kingdom of Laos}} Infantry Battalion 233<br>{{flagicon|Kingdom of Laos}} 2 [[SPECOM]] teams<br>{{flagicon|Kingdom of Laos}} Mobile Group 34<br>{{flagicon|Kingdom of Laos}} Bataillon Guerrier 308<br>{{flagicon|Kingdom of Laos}} Bataillon Guerrier 311<br>{{flagicon|Kingdom of Laos}} Mobile Group 31<br>{{flagicon|USA}} 1 [[Lockheed AC-130|AC-130]]<br>{{flagicon|USA}} [[Boeing B-52 Stratofortress|B-52 Stratofortress]]es
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Laotian Civil War}}
}}

'''Campaign 972''' (28 October 1972 – 22 February 1973) was the final offensive in the south of the [[Kingdom of Laos]] by the [[People's Army of Vietnam]] (PAVN). After fending off a score of [[Royal Lao Government]] attacks against the [[Ho Chi Minh Trail]] between June 1969 and late 1972, the PAVN attacked and essentially cut Laos in two at Khong Sedone by November 1972. Sporadic ongoing fighting, especially for control of [[Paksong]], continued until 8 February 1973. Although a ceasefire officially ended the [[Laotian Civil War]] at noon on 23 February with [[Salavan (city)|Salavan]], [[Thakhek]], and [[Lao Ngam]] in Communist hands, the PAVN launched another successful assault on Paksong 15 minutes later.

==Overview==

{{See also|Operation Left Jab|Operation Junction City Jr.|Operation Maeng Da|Operation Honorable Dragon|Operation Diamond Arrow|Tchepone Operation|Project Copper|Operation Silver Buckle|Operation Desert Rat|Operation Phoutah|Operation Phiboonpol|Operation Sayasila|Operation Bedrock (Laos)|Operation Thao La|Operation Sinsay|Operation Fa Ngum|Operation Black Lion|Operation Black Lion III|Operation Black Lion V}}

The [[Ho Chi Minh Trail]] was central to the PAVN strategy for the conquest of [[South Vietnam]] during the [[Second Indochina War]]. Over the course of the [[Laotian Civil War]], the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] directed a series of offensive attacks by Laotian irregulars against the Trail, which the Communists opposed. [[Operation Lam Son 719]] was a larger and more forceful failed attempt at interdiction of the Trail by the South Vietnamese military in February 1971.<ref>Nalty, pp. 5&ndash;7; 149&ndash;154.</ref><ref>Castle, pp. 108&ndash;109.</ref><ref>Conboy, Morrison, pp. 217&ndash;224, 268&ndash;272, 276&ndash;292, 304&ndash;309, 340&ndash;341, 343&ndash;344, 349&ndash;353, 396.</ref>
 
In 1972, the PAVN took the offensive.<ref name=conboy394b/>

==Background==

Planning for Campaign 972 began as early as February 1972. The Communist leaders in Hanoi ordered increased assistance to the [[Pathet Lao]] stationed near the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The PAVN Military Region 4 in [[Vinh]] was charged with planning an offensive to increase the Pathet Lao holdings in [[Khammouane Province|Khammouane]] and [[Borikhane Province]]s of Laos. Each of the Lao provinces would be invaded by a PAVN provincial battalion. The 4th Battalion of the PAVN 270th Regiment was assigned as additional force. The operation was named Campaign 972 because it would take place in the ninth month of 1972.<ref name=conboy394b>Conboy, Morrison, pp. 394&ndash;395.</ref>

==Campaign 972==

On 25 September 1972, the Pathet Lao [[political commissar]] for Borikhane Province arrested his PAVN adviser before deserting to the Royalists. He took over 300 troops of the Pathet Lao 24th Battalion with him. There was a month's delay while PAVN and loyalist Pathet Lao pursued the dissidents, then regrouped for the assault.<ref name=conboy395>Conboy, Morrison, p. 395.</ref>

On 28 October, the two PAVN columns launched their attacks. In the wake of the defections, the PL contributed just three companies to the offensive. The [[Royal Lao Army]] (RLA) struggled to resist, fielding the 21st Brigade from Thakhek. ''Bataillon Infanterie 233'' (BI 233) and two [[SPECOM]] teams were rushed north from [[Savannakhet]] to aid in the resistance. Despite their efforts, the PAVN probes neared the [[Mekong River]], essentially cutting Laos in two while threatening the [[Kingdom of Thailand]]. One of the Communist columns threatened Thakhek. The other neared the Mekong in the vicinity of the Nam Kading tributary and [[Pakxan]].<ref name=conboy395/>

On 17 November, two Royalist irregular battalions from ''Groupement Mobile 34'' (GM 34), ''Bataillon Guerrier 308'' (BG 308) and ''Bataillon Guerrier 311'' (BG 311), were airlifted north to Thakhek. They moved southeast along Route 13 on the Mekong riverbank until they ran into the PAVN 42nd Provincial Battalion. The engagement would last until 5 December, when the PAVN broke contact. They then attacked back eastward 20 kilometers, inundating RLA forces on Route 12. BG 311 moved to halt the PAVN thrust 11 kilometers east of Thakhek. When GM 308 showed up, they forced the PAVN troops back another 10 kilometers.<ref name=conboy395/>

Having quieted that sector, the two irregular battalions returned to Route 13. However, on 22 December, the PAVN again struck. Their infantry now backed up by [[PT-76 tank]]s, they ejected a RLA garrison from a Route 13 bridge 40 kilometers south of Thakhek. On the 27th, the GM 34 battalions moved down Route 13 to attack the Communists. The next day, the retreating Vietnamese brought down a highway bridge behind them.<ref name=conboy395/>

On 5 January 1973, the GM 34 irregulars began an anticlockwise sweep back towards Thakhek, searching for any stray Vietnamese units. After some skirmishes, the irregular force dispersed, to rendezvous in Thakhek for further deployment. However, during January, the Royalist held positions at Thateng, Salavan, and [[Lao Ngam]] fell to the Communists.<ref name=conboy395/>

By 6 February, ''Groupement Mobile 31'' (GM 31) with its 1,444 soldiers had returned from duty in [[Operation Maharat II]]. They joined the GM 34 battalions in defending Thakhek for the next couple of weeks until the ceasefire ended the war.<ref name=conboy395/>

On 8 February, six PAVN tanks backed by infantry assaulted Paksong. When the [[Lockheed AC-130|AC-130]] gunship flying support had difficulty getting clearance to strike the Vietnamese, the Communists overran the town. U.S. Air Force General [[John W. Vogt, Jr.]] laid on an air campaign to recapture Paksong. He directed 76 preliminary [[B-52 Stratofortress]] strikes in the area. Tactical air support for the Royalist counter-attackers amounted to 254 sorties expended. On 12 February, the Royalists retook Paksong.<ref name=anthony359c>Anthony, Sexton, pp. 359&ndash;361.</ref>

==Aftermath==
The ceasefire ending the war came into effect at noon 22 February 1973. U.S. air power was grounded at that time. Fifteen minutes into the truce, a Communist offensive began to retake Paksong from the Royalists.<ref name=conboy361b/> On 23 February 1972, nine B-52s dropped a retaliatory strike on the Communists. These were the last American combat sorties of the war in southern Laos.<ref name=conboy361b>Anthony, Sexton, pp. 361&ndash;362.</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist|30em}}

==References==

* Anthony, Victor B. and Richard R. Sexton (1993). ''The War in Northern Laos''. Command for Air Force History. OCLC 232549943.
* Castle, Timothy N. (1993). ''At War in the Shadow of Vietnam: U.S. Military Aid to the Royal Lao Government 1955–1975''. {{ISBN|0-231-07977-X}}.
* Conboy, Kenneth and James Morrison (1995). ''Shadow War: The CIA's Secret War in Laos''. Paladin Press. {{ISBN|978-1-58160-535-8}}.
* Nalty, Bernard C. (2005). ''The War Against Trucks: Aerial Interdiction In Southern Laos 1968–1972''. Air Force History and Museums Program. {{ISBN|978-1-47755-007-6}}.

[[Category:Laotian Civil War]]
[[Category:1972 in Laos]]
[[Category:1973 in Laos]]

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