Deuane Sunnalath
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Lieutenant (later Colonel) Deuane Sunnalath (, 1927–1978) led a schism within neutralist forces fighting in the
Laotian Civil War The Laotian Civil War was waged between the Communist Pathet Lao and the Royal Lao Government from 23 May 1959 to 2 December 1975. The Kingdom of Laos was a covert Theatre (warfare), theater during the Vietnam War with both sides receiving heavy ...
. After following Captain
Kong Le Captain Kong Le (Laotian language, Lao: ກອງແລ; 6 March 1934 – 17 January 2014) was a Laotian Officer (armed forces), military officer and prominent military figure in Laos during the 1960s. He led the premier unit of the Royal Lao ...
through his 1960 coup that established a third side in the war, Deuane led a walkout from Kong Le's '' Forces Armee Neutraliste'' (Neutral Armed Forces) in April 1963. Deuane would lead his disaffected Patriotic Neutralists into an alliance with the Communists, while the remaining Neutralists in FAN would favor the Royalists. Deuane would eventually become the Deputy Minister of Education in the Provisional Government for National Union on 9 April 1974.


Service under the French

Lieutenant Deuane Sunnalath (alternative spelling Deuane or Deuan Sounnarath) was born in
Vientiane Vientiane (, ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Laos. Situated on the banks of the Mekong, Mekong River at the Thailand, Thai border, it comprises the five urban districts of Vientiane Prefecture and had a population of 840,000 ...
, the
Kingdom of Laos The Kingdom of Laos was the form of government in Laos from 1947 to 1975. Located in Southeast Asia at the heart of the Indochinese Peninsula, it was bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, North Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the sou ...
in 1927. He originally served as an interpreter for the French military at their Vung Tau training center during the
First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam, and alternatively internationally as the French-Indochina War) was fought between French Fourth Republic, France and Việ ...
. In December, 1953
Aspirant Aspirant is usually an officer cadet rank used in armies, navies and air forces. In Western Christianity, an aspirant is the first stage in becoming a monastic. Religious use In Western Christianity, the term is also used in reference to rel ...
Deuane and Vang Pao led a 100-man Lao contingent undergoing military training at
Khang Khay Khang may refer to: * Khang people, a people of northwestern Vietnam * Kháng language * Khang, Iran (disambiguation), places in Iran {{dab ...
, the
Kingdom of Laos The Kingdom of Laos was the form of government in Laos from 1947 to 1975. Located in Southeast Asia at the heart of the Indochinese Peninsula, it was bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, North Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the sou ...
. Once commissioned, Deuane proved a bright, flamboyant, mercurial but capable officer. At various times, he led the ''Groupement de Commando Mixtes Aeroportes'' (Mixed Airborne Commando Group), and ran the commando training course for the
Royal Lao Army The Royal Lao Army (; – ARL), also designated by its anglicized title RLA, was the land component of the Royal Lao Armed Forces (FAR), the official military of the Kingdom of Laos during the North Vietnamese invasion of Laos and the Laotian C ...
.


Service with the paratroopers

Deuane continued to serve in the Lao military after the French defeat, becoming a company commander in ''Bataillion Parachutistes 2'' (Parachute Battalion 2) under Captain
Kong Le Captain Kong Le (Laotian language, Lao: ກອງແລ; 6 March 1934 – 17 January 2014) was a Laotian Officer (armed forces), military officer and prominent military figure in Laos during the 1960s. He led the premier unit of the Royal Lao ...
. When Kong Le revolted against what he perceived as a corrupt government in August 1960, Deuane sat out the coup. However, afterward he attached himself to Kong Le as the captain tried to rally the nation to the side of the coup forces. When General Phoumi Nosavan attacked
Vientiane Vientiane (, ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Laos. Situated on the banks of the Mekong, Mekong River at the Thailand, Thai border, it comprises the five urban districts of Vientiane Prefecture and had a population of 840,000 ...
in a countercoup, Deuane was at Wattay just outside the city. He may have joined General Kouprasith Abhay on 8 December 1960 in the general's abortive countercoup attempt in Vientiane, but returned to Wattay upon its failure. At any rate, he was a member of the party that flew to
Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...
on 10 December to formalize the ongoing
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
aerial supply mission to Kong Le's forces. At 0900 hours the following morning, six Russian transports landed at Wattay to unload four 105mm
howitzer The howitzer () is an artillery weapon that falls between a cannon (or field gun) and a mortar. It is capable of both low angle fire like a field gun and high angle fire like a mortar, given the distinction between low and high angle fire break ...
s, six 4.2 inch
mortars Mortar may refer to: * Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon * Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together * Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind * Mortar, Bihar, a village i ...
, and a dozen artillery experts from the
People's Army of Vietnam The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), officially the Vietnam People's Army (VPA; , , ), also recognized as the Vietnamese Army (), the People's Army () or colloquially the Troops ( ), is the national Military, military force of the Vietnam, S ...
. Despite this reinforcement by heavy weapons, Kong Le's ''Forces Armee Neutraliste'' (Neutral Armed Forces) was defeated and withdrew northward up Route 13 to the
Plain of Jars The Plain of Jars ( Lao: ທົ່ງໄຫຫີນ ''Thong Hai Hin'', ) is a megalithic archaeological landscape in Laos. It consists of thousands of stone jars scattered around the upland valleys and the lower foothills of the central plain of ...
. Along the route was the town of Vang Vieng about 150 kilometers north of Vientiane.
''Google maps Laos.'' Retrieved: 12 February 2015.
Kong Le entrusted Deuane with the task of raising and leading two new FAN battalions there, ''Bataillon Infanterie 1'' and ''Bataillon Infanterie 2'' (Infantry Battalions 1 and 2). When FAN's intelligence officer was arrested in Vientiane on 5 November 1961, Deuan was poised to attack the capital with those troops if the major was not released. The major walked on 7 November.Conboy, Morrison, pp. 96–98. With two putative governments in power, international pressure led to talks that led to the International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos of 23 July 1962. By 27 September 1962, Kong Le had struck an agreement for supplying American military aid to FAN. However, political dissension began to cleave FAN, as members leaned toward either the Royalist or communist sides. Communist political strategy focused on fostering Neutralist hatred of Americans, with the aim of cutting off U.S. aid while co-opting the Neutralist movement. On 22 November 1962, while Kong Le was in Hanoi for surgery, an Air America transport plane was shot down while landing on the Plain of Jars, killing the pilots. Antiaircraft gunners of the pro-communist Phetsarath Artillery Battalion were responsible. Then, on 12 February 1963, the anti-communist FAN commander of Military Region 2, Colonel Kettsana Vongsouvanh, was murdered with a bullet to the brain. Deuane was blamed for both fatal incidents; a series of assassinations were sparked by Kettsana's death, leading to a split in the Neutralist movement.


Founding of the Patriotic Neutralists

When the Pathet Lao forced FAN to retreat on 6 April 1963, Deuane split the ''Forces Armee Neutraliste'' movement by splintering off a pro-communist faction, the Patriotic Neutralists. At a conference mediated by former Souvanna Phouma allies Khamsouk Keoka and Heuan Mongkholvilay the three battalions of neutralists under Brigadier General Khamouane Boupha in Military Region 1's far northern Phongsali Province opted to join him.Stuart-Fox, pp. 79-80 So did ''Battalion Parachutistes 1'' (Parachute Battalion 1) and the Phetsarath Artillery Battalion in MR 2. By November 1963, nearly all of ''Battalion Infanterie 4'' (Infantry Battalion 4) in Xepon in the Laotian southern panhandle swung over to the new Neutralist organization. Laotian Route 9 from Khe Sanh to Xepon was open to the communists.
''Google maps Laos.'' Retrieved: 7 February 2015.
The Patriotic Neutralists would ally themselves with the communists, and serve to occupy localities that had been communist held at the time of the 1962 International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos.Dommen, p. 499. Colonel Deuane would maintain a low profile into the 1970s.


Later life

As the communists gained power toward the end of the
Laotian Civil War The Laotian Civil War was waged between the Communist Pathet Lao and the Royal Lao Government from 23 May 1959 to 2 December 1975. The Kingdom of Laos was a covert Theatre (warfare), theater during the Vietnam War with both sides receiving heavy ...
, Deuane Sunnalath was appointed as Deputy Minister for Education in the Provisional Government of National Union on 9 April 1974. In 1978, he would transition to Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Irrigation. While on an official mission to Moscow, Deuane Sunnalath died of a stroke in 1978.


Notes


References

* Anthony, Victor B. and Richard R. Sexton (1993). ''The War in Northern Laos''. Command for Air Force History. . * Conboy, Kenneth and James Morrison (1995). ''Shadow War: The CIA's Secret War in Laos''. Paladin Press. . * Dommen, Arthur J. (2002) ''The Indochinese Experience of the French and the Americans: Nationalism and Communism in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam: The Indochinese Experience of the French and the Americans''. Indiana University Press. ISBNs 0253109256, 9780253109255. * Stuart-Fox, Martin (2008) ''Historical Dictionary of Laos''. Scarecrow Press. ISBNs 0810864118, 978-0-81086-411-5. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sunnalath, Deuane People of the Laotian Civil War 1927 births 1978 deaths People from Vientiane