VII. The Contemporary Period, 1945–2000 > F. South and Southeast Asia, 1945–2000 > 2. Southeast Asia, 1941–2000 > b. Mainland Southeast Asia > 4. Laos > 1963, March–May
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  The Encyclopedia of World History.  2001.
 
 
1963, March–May
 
Sporadic fighting between the Pathet Lao and neutralist forces occurred.  1
 
1964, Feb. 27
 
The Pathet Lao captured strategic positions in the Plaine des Jarres.  2
 
March 16
 
Representatives of the neutralist, rightist, and pro-Communist factions agreed to halt “all military activities” in the Plaine des Jarres.  3
 
April 19
 
A rightist coup, led by two generals, sought to expand rightist representation in the cabinet. The Western powers, the USSR, and China protested such a modification of the Geneva agreement of 1962. Premier Souvanna Phouma agreed to reorganize and enlarge the coalition government. The Pathet Lao denounced the revolutionary committee as illegal and refused to recognize any agreement between it and the premier.  4
 
May 16
 
Premier Souvanna Phouma announced that the Pathet Lao, with the aid of the North Vietnamese, had opened a general offensive on the Plaine des Jarres.  5
 
June 1
 
The Pathet Lao withdrew its government officials from Vientiane, thus severing its last ties with the neutralist government of Premier Souvanna Phouma.  6
 
June 12
 
U.S. reconnaissance flights over Laotian territory, approved by the Laotian government, provided photographic proof of the presence of North Vietnamese troops. Laos, despite all recognitions of its neutrality, was deeply involved in the Vietnam War. Pathet Lao and North Vietnamese troops occupied much of the northern section of the country and staged advances on the Plaine des Jarres as required. The eastern section of the country contained the network of trails known as the Hô Chi Minh Trail, over which the North Vietnamese transported most of their supplies to South Vietnam. The U.S. provided the Laotian army with needed supplies and armed and trained the Meo tribesmen, who offered the most effective resistance to the advance of the Pathet Lao.  7
 
 
 
The Encyclopedia of World History, Sixth edition. Peter N. Stearns, general editor. Copyright © 2001 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Maps by Mary Reilly, copyright © 2001 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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