Battle of Muong Khoua
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Muong Khoua took place between April 13 and May 18, 1953, in northern Laos
during the French Indochina War. A garrison of a dozen French
and 300 Laotian
troops occupied a fortified outpost in the hills above the village of Muong Khoua, across the border from Điện Biên Phủ
. Muong Khoua was among the last French outposts in northern Laos, following the decision of the French High Command to string several isolated garrisons through the region to buy time to fortify the major Laotian cities against Việt Minh
attack.
Many of these garrisons were given orders by radio to dig in and fight the approaching Việt Minh forces. Following the fall of a satellite strong point at Sop-Nao, the troops at Muong Khoua, under Captain Teullier, resisted a Việt Minh siege force for thirty-six days while supported by air-dropped supplies and air strikes. The small French force resisted several direct attacks and endured a series of artillery bombardments. Two of the three strong points of the outpost eventually fell in the early morning of May 18, and by mid-day the French force lay defeated.
Four soldiers—two French and two Laotian—reached another French position 50 miles (80.5 km) away after six days of travel through the jungle, however no one else escaped. The resistance of the French garrison became a popular rallying cry for French troops in Indochina
, as well serving as a precursor to French and Việt Minh strategies at the Battle of Điện Biên Phủ
the following year.
commenced an invasion of Laos
to exert additional pressure on Paris
and on the French forces stationed in Indochina. In the area of Muong Khoua were the Việt Minh 312th, 308th, and 316th divisions, whose long supply lines were maintained by a veritable army of 200,000 porters. The French command—headed then by Raoul Salan
—ordered the series of French outposts in northern Laos to resist the Việt Minh invading forces for as long as possible to buy time for the fortification of Luang Prabang
and Vientiane
, the capital cities of Laos. The King of Laos, Sisavang Vong
, remained in Luang Prabang, which added greater impetus to French efforts. The terrain of northern Laos, and the local climate, isolated many of the outposts with the night-time fog
known as crachin, thick jungle, a lack of roads, and steep terrain. Each outpost was given a certain number of days to withstand Việt Minh forces, including Muong Khoua, which was issued orders on April 13 to hold for fourteen days—until April 27.
Muong Khoua, together with its satellite outpost Sop-Nao, was under the command of Captain Teullier, with the satellite outpost being overseen by Lieutenant Grézy. Muong Khoua was situated at the confluence of the rivers Nam Pak and Nam Hou, 40 miles (64.4 km) from Điện Biên Phủ, and approximately 100 miles (160.9 km) to the south-west of the Black River
in Vietnam
. The outpost itself consisted of three separate strongholds, referred to as the Mousetrap, Pi and Alpha, situated on three hills to the west, south-south-east, and south-south-west of the confluence of the Nam Hou and Nam Pak. Each was roughly 220 yards (201.2 m) from the other, forming a triangle. The village of Muong Khoua itself lay at the western foot of the Mousetrap, protected from the river by a large sandbank, and straddling the road to Phong Saly, another French outpost 50 miles (80.5 km) to the north.
and reached Sap-Nao.
Finding themselves surrounded by the Viet Minh, the French at Sop-Nao stood for six days while in radio contact with Teullier at the mother strong point. The survivors, following authorisation from the French captain, retreated during the night of April 9/10 along a round-about route following the assumption by Grézy that the Viet Minh had laid ambushes along the most direct path. The French hacked a new path through the jungle until they reached Laotian tribesmen on April 11, who warned them of Viet Minh units following them. The French attempted to turn for Phong-Saly to the north and met an allied convoy travelling down the Nam Hou in canoe
s. The two forces combined and sailed down the river towards Muong Khoua.
On April 12, the convoy ran into a Viet Minh ambush 600 yards (548.6 m) from the Muong Khoua strong point. Using a barrier of floating tree trunks, the Viet Minh attacked the convoy with machine guns and mortars, destroying the first canoe. The remaining French and Laotian troops returned fire and, with the assistance of forces from Muong Khoua who had heard the firing, routed the Viet Minh troops, who left 13 dead and four wounded behind. The French themselves suffered seven missing, one dead, and one wounded. The remainder joined the French at Muong Khoua, with the canoes and the convoy’s equipment incorporated into the defence. Meanwhile, the Viet Minh’s 910th Battalion of the 148th Regional Regiment of the 312th Division and a heavy mortar company from the 316th Division drew near.
While the French troops from Sop-Nao were making their way via canoe to the mother strong point, Teullier and his forces were feeling what one chronicler referred to as l'asphyxie par le vide (“choking-off by creating a void”), the result of a Viet Minh presence in the area. The local villagers no longer spoke to the French, when they had previously been communicative, and the population began leaving; both the farms and the markets were deserted. The French viewed this as an indicator of imminent enemy attack. Furthermore, the thick jungle and steep slopes isolated the French strong points from all but river- and air-borne supply. The Viet Minh, on the other hand, were adequately supplied by over 200,000 porters, or coolie
s. Referred to officially as a "relatively small" force, the 300 Chasseurs Laotiens and "handful" of French NCOs
and two officers were equipped with three 81mm and two 60mm mortars and two machine guns. They were ordered on April 13 to hold for fourteen days by Colonel Boucher de Crévecoeur, who promised air support.
At 23:00 hours that evening, April 13, mortar shells began landing on the slopes of position Alpha. These bombardments would take place every night, and the Viet Minh launched their first direct assault, which failed and left 22 dead. This defeat prompted a reversion to previous tactics of slowly "gnawing away" at the French outpost, and Giap ordered the 312th to leave some forces behind to continue a siege while the remainder of the division moved on. Meanwhile, overhead, French B-26s
bombed Viet Minh positions, and cargo planes dropped supplies, Luciole (firefly) flares, and ammunition on the French positions. This "air bridge" enabled the garrison to survive, and fourteen days later on April 27 it was still intact; the French High Command dropped a Legion of Honor for Teullier and several Croix de Guerre
s for his men. Teullier and a small group left the Mousetrap to deliver the relevant decorations to Pi and Alpha, although movement between the positions was extremely difficult.
What was possible, however, was a small patrol through the village of Muong Khoua, which had been by now deserted. These French patrols served as an early warning system and an ambush for Viet Minh assaults during the crachin-dominated night. This pattern continued into May. (Meanwhile, other French forces had liberated Xieng Khouang and reached a position 40 miles (64.4 km) from Muong Khoua.) On May 17, the French patrol deployed to the Muong Khoua village overheard barking dogs—one of which yelped—alerting the French to an impending Viet Minh attack. By 23:00, the Viet Minh were visible in the fog, and the patrol returned to the Mousetrap. Teullier issued an alert via radio.
A bombardment from Soviet Russian
120mm mortars, 57mm recoilless rifle
s, and phosphorus
grenades began at 00:30 on May 18. Teullier instructed his radio operator, Sergeant René Novak, to request air-dropped flares and air support, while mortar fire landed on Alpha and the Mousetrap, but not Pi, where Grézy was in command. Pi continued to support the other two areas of the outpost with its own mortar fire.
By 01:10 hours, the western flank of the Mousetrap had fallen to Viet Minh bombardment. By 01:30, the garrison was informed that weather conditions prevented air support, and by 02:30 the Viet Minh forces launched successive assault waves which overran Teullier and his men, including attacks which flanked the position using the nearby sandbanks. At the same time, Alpha was overrun by Viet Minh forces, and by 03:50 no more firing was heard from the Mousetrap. Alpha survived the remainder of the night and was seen fighting by French aircraft at 09:00 that morning. C-47 transport aircraft returned to resume supply drops, however by 12:00 the Tricolor and the Laotian flag
had been removed from Pi’s command bunker.
, with which he reached the French forces.
newspaper The Times
began covering the conflict on April 23, reporting the retreat from Sop Nao to Muong Khoua. However, despite correctly identifying half of the Viet Minh attacking force, it rated the garrison at the mother strong point as numbering 1,000. The battle received scant attention before the garrison fell, however after defeat the coverage remained positive at the thought of French survivors and speculative on the future of the French military presence and new commander, Henri Navarre
. The French High Command released an assessment of the defeat at Muong Khoua in Communique No. 14, stating "During the night of May 17 to 18, the post of Muong Khoua, which had victoriously resisted since the beginning of the Viet Minh offensive, succumbed under the overwhelming mass of assailants."
In January 1954, Muong Khoua was re-occupied by Laotian forces, which were subsequently overrun once more by the 316th Division of the Viet Minh. The Laotian commander, who lived in the village itself with his wife, was killed in his home before the attack. Battalions of the French Foreign Legion
and Laotian forces suffered losses covering the retreat of garrison survivors. The area of Muong Khoua later became a critical supply route across Dien Bien Phu for the Viet Minh and by 1963 was the site of a construction project for the proposed Route 19.
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
during the French Indochina War. A garrison of a dozen French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and 300 Laotian
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
troops occupied a fortified outpost in the hills above the village of Muong Khoua, across the border from Điện Biên Phủ
Dien Bien Phu
Điện Biên Phủ is a city in northwestern Vietnam. It is the capital of Dien Bien province, and is known for the events there during the First Indochina War, the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, during which the region was a breadbasket for the Việt Minh.-Population:...
. Muong Khoua was among the last French outposts in northern Laos, following the decision of the French High Command to string several isolated garrisons through the region to buy time to fortify the major Laotian cities against Việt Minh
Viet Minh
Việt Minh was a national independence coalition formed at Pac Bo on May 19, 1941. The Việt Minh initially formed to seek independence for Vietnam from the French Empire. When the Japanese occupation began, the Việt Minh opposed Japan with support from the United States and the Republic of China...
attack.
Many of these garrisons were given orders by radio to dig in and fight the approaching Việt Minh forces. Following the fall of a satellite strong point at Sop-Nao, the troops at Muong Khoua, under Captain Teullier, resisted a Việt Minh siege force for thirty-six days while supported by air-dropped supplies and air strikes. The small French force resisted several direct attacks and endured a series of artillery bombardments. Two of the three strong points of the outpost eventually fell in the early morning of May 18, and by mid-day the French force lay defeated.
Four soldiers—two French and two Laotian—reached another French position 50 miles (80.5 km) away after six days of travel through the jungle, however no one else escaped. The resistance of the French garrison became a popular rallying cry for French troops in Indochina
Indochina
The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
, as well serving as a precursor to French and Việt Minh strategies at the Battle of Điện Biên Phủ
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was the climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War between the French Union's French Far East Expeditionary Corps and Viet Minh communist revolutionaries. The battle occurred between March and May 1954 and culminated in a comprehensive French defeat that...
the following year.
Việt Minh in Laos
In early 1953, the Việt Minh under Võ Nguyên GiápVo Nguyen Giap
Võ Nguyên Giáp is a retired Vietnamese officer in the Vietnam People’s Army and a politician. He was a principal commander in two wars: the First Indochina War and the Vietnam War...
commenced an invasion of Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
to exert additional pressure on Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and on the French forces stationed in Indochina. In the area of Muong Khoua were the Việt Minh 312th, 308th, and 316th divisions, whose long supply lines were maintained by a veritable army of 200,000 porters. The French command—headed then by Raoul Salan
Raoul Salan
Raoul Albin Louis Salan was a French Army general and the fourth French commanding general during the First Indochina War. Salan was one of four generals who organized the 1961 Algiers Putsch operation and then founded the Organisation de l'armée secrète....
—ordered the series of French outposts in northern Laos to resist the Việt Minh invading forces for as long as possible to buy time for the fortification of Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang, or Louangphrabang , is a city located in north central Laos, where the Nam Khan river meets the Mekong River about north of Vientiane. It is the capital of Luang Prabang Province...
and Vientiane
Vientiane
-Geography:Vientiane is situated on a bend of the Mekong river, which forms the border with Thailand at this point.-Climate:Vientiane features a tropical wet and dry climate with a distinct monsoon season and a dry season. Vientiane’s dry season spans from November through March. April marks the...
, the capital cities of Laos. The King of Laos, Sisavang Vong
Sisavang Vong
Sisavang Phoulivong , was king of Kingdom of Luang Phrabang and later Kingdom of Laos from 28 April 1904 until his death on 20 October 1959.-Early life:...
, remained in Luang Prabang, which added greater impetus to French efforts. The terrain of northern Laos, and the local climate, isolated many of the outposts with the night-time fog
Fog
Fog is a collection of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. While fog is a type of stratus cloud, the term "fog" is typically distinguished from the more generic term "cloud" in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated...
known as crachin, thick jungle, a lack of roads, and steep terrain. Each outpost was given a certain number of days to withstand Việt Minh forces, including Muong Khoua, which was issued orders on April 13 to hold for fourteen days—until April 27.
Muong Khoua, together with its satellite outpost Sop-Nao, was under the command of Captain Teullier, with the satellite outpost being overseen by Lieutenant Grézy. Muong Khoua was situated at the confluence of the rivers Nam Pak and Nam Hou, 40 miles (64.4 km) from Điện Biên Phủ, and approximately 100 miles (160.9 km) to the south-west of the Black River
Black River (Vietnam)
The Black River is a river located in China and northwestern Vietnam. Its source is in Yunnan Province of China...
in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. The outpost itself consisted of three separate strongholds, referred to as the Mousetrap, Pi and Alpha, situated on three hills to the west, south-south-east, and south-south-west of the confluence of the Nam Hou and Nam Pak. Each was roughly 220 yards (201.2 m) from the other, forming a triangle. The village of Muong Khoua itself lay at the western foot of the Mousetrap, protected from the river by a large sandbank, and straddling the road to Phong Saly, another French outpost 50 miles (80.5 km) to the north.
Sop-Nao
Sop-Nao lay 30 miles (48.3 km) to the east of Muong Khoua, along the path of the Việt Minh advance, roughly 20 miles (32.2 km) south-west of Điện Biên Phủ and only a few miles from the Vietnam-Laos border, 75 miles (120.7 km) south of the T'ai Highlands. Grézy, the French Lieutenant in command of the Sop-Nao garrison, commanded a reinforced platoon. On the evening of April 3, a Viet Minh battalion entered Laos near Điện Biên Phủ and Na SanBattle of Na San
The Battle of Nà Sản was fought between French Union forces and the communist forces of the Việt Minh at Nà Sản, Sơn La Province, during the First Indochina War for control of the T’ai region ....
and reached Sap-Nao.
Finding themselves surrounded by the Viet Minh, the French at Sop-Nao stood for six days while in radio contact with Teullier at the mother strong point. The survivors, following authorisation from the French captain, retreated during the night of April 9/10 along a round-about route following the assumption by Grézy that the Viet Minh had laid ambushes along the most direct path. The French hacked a new path through the jungle until they reached Laotian tribesmen on April 11, who warned them of Viet Minh units following them. The French attempted to turn for Phong-Saly to the north and met an allied convoy travelling down the Nam Hou in canoe
Canoe
A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...
s. The two forces combined and sailed down the river towards Muong Khoua.
On April 12, the convoy ran into a Viet Minh ambush 600 yards (548.6 m) from the Muong Khoua strong point. Using a barrier of floating tree trunks, the Viet Minh attacked the convoy with machine guns and mortars, destroying the first canoe. The remaining French and Laotian troops returned fire and, with the assistance of forces from Muong Khoua who had heard the firing, routed the Viet Minh troops, who left 13 dead and four wounded behind. The French themselves suffered seven missing, one dead, and one wounded. The remainder joined the French at Muong Khoua, with the canoes and the convoy’s equipment incorporated into the defence. Meanwhile, the Viet Minh’s 910th Battalion of the 148th Regional Regiment of the 312th Division and a heavy mortar company from the 316th Division drew near.
Siege
Coolie
Historically, a coolie was a manual labourer or slave from Asia, particularly China, India, and the Phillipines during the 19th century and early 20th century...
s. Referred to officially as a "relatively small" force, the 300 Chasseurs Laotiens and "handful" of French NCOs
Non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
and two officers were equipped with three 81mm and two 60mm mortars and two machine guns. They were ordered on April 13 to hold for fourteen days by Colonel Boucher de Crévecoeur, who promised air support.
At 23:00 hours that evening, April 13, mortar shells began landing on the slopes of position Alpha. These bombardments would take place every night, and the Viet Minh launched their first direct assault, which failed and left 22 dead. This defeat prompted a reversion to previous tactics of slowly "gnawing away" at the French outpost, and Giap ordered the 312th to leave some forces behind to continue a siege while the remainder of the division moved on. Meanwhile, overhead, French B-26s
A-26 Invader
The Douglas A-26 Invader was a United States twin-engined light attack bomber built by the Douglas Aircraft Co. during World War II that also saw service during several of the Cold War's major conflicts...
bombed Viet Minh positions, and cargo planes dropped supplies, Luciole (firefly) flares, and ammunition on the French positions. This "air bridge" enabled the garrison to survive, and fourteen days later on April 27 it was still intact; the French High Command dropped a Legion of Honor for Teullier and several Croix de Guerre
Croix de guerre
The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...
s for his men. Teullier and a small group left the Mousetrap to deliver the relevant decorations to Pi and Alpha, although movement between the positions was extremely difficult.
What was possible, however, was a small patrol through the village of Muong Khoua, which had been by now deserted. These French patrols served as an early warning system and an ambush for Viet Minh assaults during the crachin-dominated night. This pattern continued into May. (Meanwhile, other French forces had liberated Xieng Khouang and reached a position 40 miles (64.4 km) from Muong Khoua.) On May 17, the French patrol deployed to the Muong Khoua village overheard barking dogs—one of which yelped—alerting the French to an impending Viet Minh attack. By 23:00, the Viet Minh were visible in the fog, and the patrol returned to the Mousetrap. Teullier issued an alert via radio.
A bombardment from Soviet Russian
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
120mm mortars, 57mm recoilless rifle
Recoilless rifle
A recoilless rifle or recoilless gun is a lightweight weapon that fires a heavier projectile than would be practical to fire from a recoiling weapon of comparable size. Technically, only devices that use a rifled barrel are recoilless rifles. Smoothbore variants are recoilless guns...
s, and phosphorus
Phosphorus
Phosphorus is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. A multivalent nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus as a mineral is almost always present in its maximally oxidized state, as inorganic phosphate rocks...
grenades began at 00:30 on May 18. Teullier instructed his radio operator, Sergeant René Novak, to request air-dropped flares and air support, while mortar fire landed on Alpha and the Mousetrap, but not Pi, where Grézy was in command. Pi continued to support the other two areas of the outpost with its own mortar fire.
By 01:10 hours, the western flank of the Mousetrap had fallen to Viet Minh bombardment. By 01:30, the garrison was informed that weather conditions prevented air support, and by 02:30 the Viet Minh forces launched successive assault waves which overran Teullier and his men, including attacks which flanked the position using the nearby sandbanks. At the same time, Alpha was overrun by Viet Minh forces, and by 03:50 no more firing was heard from the Mousetrap. Alpha survived the remainder of the night and was seen fighting by French aircraft at 09:00 that morning. C-47 transport aircraft returned to resume supply drops, however by 12:00 the Tricolor and the Laotian flag
Flag of Laos
The flag of Laos was adopted on December 2, 1975. The flag had previously been used by the short-lived Lao Issara government of 1945-46, then by the Pathet Lao.-Description and symbolism:...
had been removed from Pi’s command bunker.
Survivors
On May 22, four days after the fall of the Muong Khoua garrison, three of its soldiers—the garrison radio operator French Sergeant Novak and two Laotians—reached the only remaining French outpost in northern Laos, Phong Saly. Bernard Fall recorded in Street Without Joy: "he was only twenty-five years old, but he looked fifty; he kept on walking like an automaton to the centre of the post before he was stopped by some of the men staring at him as at a ghost." Novak and the two other soldiers had spent the four days moving through the jungle of Laos following the defeat of their unit. Two days later, Sergeant Pierre Blondeau also arrived at the outpost. His account detailed 57 hours spent hiding from the Viet Minh before a three-day march without food or navigational aids and then encountering native tribesmen who provided food and a ponyPony
A pony is a small horse . Depending on context, a pony may be a horse that is under an approximate or exact height at the withers, or a small horse with a specific conformation and temperament. There are many different breeds...
, with which he reached the French forces.
Aftermath
The Vietnamese and French media had awarded considerable attention to the conflict, and newspapers worldwide had covered the battle. Bernard Fall made note of the significance of the battle as "epic" in both his 1961 Street Without Joy and 1967 Hell in a Very Small Place. The BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
newspaper The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
began covering the conflict on April 23, reporting the retreat from Sop Nao to Muong Khoua. However, despite correctly identifying half of the Viet Minh attacking force, it rated the garrison at the mother strong point as numbering 1,000. The battle received scant attention before the garrison fell, however after defeat the coverage remained positive at the thought of French survivors and speculative on the future of the French military presence and new commander, Henri Navarre
Henri Navarre
Henri Eugène Navarre was a French Army general. He fought during World War I, World War II and was the seventh commander of French Far East Expeditionary Corps during the First Indochina War...
. The French High Command released an assessment of the defeat at Muong Khoua in Communique No. 14, stating "During the night of May 17 to 18, the post of Muong Khoua, which had victoriously resisted since the beginning of the Viet Minh offensive, succumbed under the overwhelming mass of assailants."
In January 1954, Muong Khoua was re-occupied by Laotian forces, which were subsequently overrun once more by the 316th Division of the Viet Minh. The Laotian commander, who lived in the village itself with his wife, was killed in his home before the attack. Battalions of the French Foreign Legion
French Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion is a unique military service wing of the French Army established in 1831. The foreign legion was exclusively created for foreign nationals willing to serve in the French Armed Forces...
and Laotian forces suffered losses covering the retreat of garrison survivors. The area of Muong Khoua later became a critical supply route across Dien Bien Phu for the Viet Minh and by 1963 was the site of a construction project for the proposed Route 19.