Operation Left Jab was the first military offensive launched against the Sihanouk Trail extension of the

Ho Chi Minh Trail The Ho Chi Minh Trail (), also called Annamite Range Trail () was a Military logistics, logistical network of roads and trails that ran from North Vietnam to South Vietnam through the kingdoms of Kingdom of Laos, Laos and Cambodia (1953–1970), ...

during the

Second Indochina War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. It was the first battalion-sized operation waged by 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 ...

against the communists in Military Region 4. Carried out between 21 and 26 June 1969, the assault interdicted Route 110 of the Sihanouk Trail for its planned three-day stoppage of military supplies. The Royalist guerrillas of Special Guerrilla Unit 2 then evaded an approaching counterattack and regrouped in friendly territory. Operation Left Jab had cleared the way for Operation Diamond Arrow.

Overview

Located in the southern panhandle of the territory of 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 ...

, the

was the logistics backbone of the communist forces during the

, as it was the main supply route for

Viet Cong The Viet Cong (VC) was an epithet and umbrella term to refer to the communist-driven armed movement and united front organization in South Vietnam. It was formally organized as and led by the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, and ...

and

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 ...

(PAVN) forces fighting in

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

. At the southern end of the Ho Chi Trail was a dirt road, Route 110, and a surrounding network of logistical trails running into Cambodia that comprised the Sihanouk Trail. The Sihanouk Trail connected the Ho Chi Minh Trail with the deep water ocean port of Sihanoukville, the entry point for thousands of tons of communist war materiel. From December 1966 through April 1969, over 21,000 tons of ordnance entered the Sihanouk Trail from the post of Sihanoukville; it was estimated there were sufficient

crew-served weapon A crew-served weapon is any weapon system that is issued to a crew of two or more individuals performing the same or separate tasks to run at maximum operational efficiency, as opposed to an individual-service weapon, which only requires one pe ...

s to equip 240 battalions, and small arms enough for 585 battalions.Ahern, p. 350 note 5. Operation Left Jab was the first of a number of military operations waged against the Trail in southern Laos, including missions such as Operation Maeng Da, Operation Honorable Dragon, and Operation Junction City Jr., that originated in Laos.Conboy, Morrison, pp. 222, 443.Nalty, p. 117.

Operation Left Jab

The

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

(CIA) had trained the first Royalist Lao guerrilla battalions in Military Region 4 (MR 4) of Laos. One of them was selected to undertake MR 4's first battalion-sized operation; they were tasked to temporarily cut Route 110 and clog the logistic network of the Sihanouk Trail leading into Cambodia. A secondary mission was spotting targets for future air strikes. Staging out of

Pakse Pakse (or ''Pakxe''; French: ''Paksé''; Laotian: ປາກເຊ 'mouth of the river') is the capital and most populous city of the southern Laotian province of Champasak. Located at the confluence of the Xe Don and Mekong Rivers, the distri ...

Site 38 on 21 June 1969, 2 SGU Battalion (2 SGU) was helilifted southeastward into the offensive by a mixed fleet of 21st Special Operations Squadron and Air America helicopters. Accompanied by four A-1E Skyraiders for air cover, 2 SGU met no resistance at their landing zone on muddy Route 110. The 350 guerrillas settled in, laying defensive land mines. Only one feasible air target occurred, though, when a communist force of approximately 180 closed in on a Royalist road block. Tactical air strikes scattered that potential counterattack.Conboy, Morrison, p. 222.Castle, p. 118.

Aftermath

After cutting the communist supply lines between

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

and

for three days, 2 SGU withdrew in the face of gathering PAVN forces. Their interdiction having diverted communist offensive pressure from the Royalist garrison at Attopeu, 2 SGU now evaded the PAVN and regrouped there on 26 June 1969. The successful Left Jab cleared the way for the Royalists to launch Operation Diamond Arrow.

Notes

References

* Ahern, Thomas L. Jr. (2006), ''Undercover Armies: CIA and Surrogate Warfare in Laos''. Center for the Study of Intelligence. Classified control no. C05303949. * Castle, Timothy N. (1993). ''At War in the Shadow of Vietnam: U.S. Military Aid to the Royal Lao Government 1955–1975''. . * Conboy, Kenneth and James Morrison (1995). ''Shadow War: The CIA's Secret War in Laos''. Paladin Press. . * Knott, Richard (2013). ''Fire from the Sky: Seawolf Gunships in the Mekong Delta''. Naval Institute Press. ISBNs 1591144477, 978-1591144472. * Nalty, Bernard C. (2005). ''The War Against Trucks: Aerial Interdiction In Southern Laos 1968–1972''. Air Force History and Museums Program. . * Tambini, Anthony J. (2007). ''Wiring Vietnam: The Electronic Wall''. Scarecrow Press. , 9780810866911. {{coord missing, Laos

Left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * ''Left'' (Helmet album), 2023 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relativ ...

1969 in Laos