Background
During the First Indochina War the Viet Minh constructed a pathway in neighbouring Laos in order to transport vital military supplies to southern Vietnam. Over time that pathway, now known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail, grew in importance as the government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam sought to topple the rival government in the south, the Republic of Vietnam.
In the late 1950s, the Ho Chi Minh Trail was expanded to support the Viet Cong (VC)'s increasing military activities in southern Vietnam. To protect this vital lifeline, North Vietnamese forces were deployed to take control of various areas in eastern Laos adjacent to the Demilitarized Zone. The increasing Communist activities in those parts of Laos did not go unnoticed, as the governments of South Vietnam and Laos began working together to establish a small outpost at Ban Houei Sane for the purpose of monitoring Communist movements in 1959.
In April 1961, the newly created 33rd Elephant Battalion (BV-33) of the Royal Laotian Army arrived at Ban Houei Sane, after it was forced to retreat from Tchephone by North Vietnamese and Pathet Lao forces. At Ban Houei Sane, the Laotians constructed new defensive positions with assistance from the Army of the Republic of Vietnam's 1st Infantry Division. One year later, BV-33 began monitoring North Vietnamese movements along the Vietnam-Laotian border.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Ban Houei Sane
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