Originally published in 1981. This is a volume in the hard-to-find "Indochina Monographs" series published by the U.S. Army Center of Military History. Volumes in the series were written by officers who held responsible positions in the Cambodia, Laotian and South Vietnamese armed forces during the war in Indochina. This volume was written by Brig. Gen Soutchay Vongsavanh, then Commanding General of Military Region 4. The study reviews and analyzes Royal Lao Government military operations in the Laotion panhandle. Special attention is devoted to the significance of the panhandle for enemy military operations in South Vietnam and Cambodia, the initiation of conventional warfare in southern Laos, lessons learned during the employment of regular and irregular forces and developments following the 1973 cease-fire.