Operation Counterpunch

Operation Counterpunch
Part of the Laotian Civil War and the Vietnam War
Date26 September 1970 – 7 January 1971
Location
Plain of Jars in northern Laos
Result North Vietnamese communist offensive forestalled for month
Belligerents
Laos
Thailand
Supported by
United States
North Vietnam
Supported by:
Soviet Union
People's Republic of China
Commanders and leaders
Units involved

Groupements Mobile 22
Bataillon Guerrier 227
Auto Defense Choc militia
Groupement Mobile 23
A battalion-sized Special Guerrilla Unit
Commando Raiders Forces Armées Neutralistes Bataillon Infanterie 17
United States 21st Special Operations Squadron

15th Infantry Bataillon
Six companies plus scattered garrisons

Operation Counterpunch, waged 26 September 1970 to 7 January 1971, was a military offensive of the Laotian Civil War. Royalist General Vang Pao's guerrilla army regained the vital all-weather forward fighter base at Muang Soui on the Plain of Jars from the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN). The preemptive Counterpunch was credited with delaying an imminent PAVN wet season offensive for a month. The guerrilla army survived, though still heavily outnumbered by the PAVN.