The invasion in Laos (1971)
After the Congress had passed the plan of Nixon about the vietnamizing the war and the gradual withdrawal, Nixon, cooperating with the South Vietnamese government, strengthened the South Vietnamese Army. At the end of 1970, only 280 thousand Americans were in Vietnam with 70-100 thousand allied forces to assist 700 thousand South Vietnamese. "Nixon had to exploit the military powers to have favourable positions at the presidential election in 1972." The goal of the operation was to cut the Ho Chi Minh trail. It was the most important supply line of the North Vietnamese to South, on which arms, foods, clothes and personnels infiltrated to South. The major part of the trail was on the territory of Laos, the loads joined the Ho Chi Minh trail by the 9th road. The US would have had a great advantage if she could have broken the backbone of the enemy, if she could have controlled this region. The Communist Party of Vietnam said: "It's a desicive battle for the homeland. Not only to keep the supply line, but the victory would be a crucial factor in the vietnamizing war of the US. It would strengthen the revolution, it would free South, protect North, it would achieve our international responsibility and our soldiers would be toughened up ... we must win this battle."
HaNoi got to know of the plan of the US and fortified the strategically important areas. It was hampered by American bombings and adverse weather. In December, a little troop attacked, but the North Vietnamese repelled it.
In January 1971, the invasion started. B-52 bombers and other combat aircrafts performed carpet bombing to weaken the defense and to support ground troops. On 8th February, 600 thousand US and South Vietnamese soldiers crossed the frontier of Laos. The enemy was ready to fight. "Let them come inner!", "Let them come, but don't let them go back!" - sounded the North Vietnamese order.
In spite of the aerial support, landing helicopters were accepted with a fierce fire, making serious loss for the South Vietnamese. Many choppers full of infantrymen were destroyed before landing. On 10th, half past eight the British BBC announced: "The South Vietnamese army that attacked the Ho Chi Minh trail met an unparalleled fire of the North Vietnamese." The North Vietnamese managed to lure the tiger out of the mountains. (to lure the South Vietnamese into a trap). AC-130 was used there that attacked mainly the troops carrying supplies, so the loss increased significantly. AC-130's targeting was precise and the air defense was powerless against it.
During the invasion, the South Vietnamese casualties and prisoners reached the number of 200 thousand (according to North Vietnamese reports), 1138 ground vehicles, 556 aircrafts including 505 choppers were destroyed. North Vietnam lost 2842 vehicles, had 2087 casualties and 4617 injured.
Opinions were different after the battle. Some felt pity that Ho Chi Minh didn't see the total victory of the North Vietnamese over the South Vietnamese and the Americans. The leaders of the South Vietnamese government and the Secretary of State, Kissinger held a different opinion later. According to Kissinger, the plan of the invasion in Laos was born in despair and confusion. Thieu, the president at time time said: "The Laos operation wasn't successful because we had to care about the injured and this slowed down the penetration." His predessor criticised Thieu later: "The Laos operation failed on account of the planning because it was unnecessary."