Word: phoumi
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...years of halfhearted jungle warfare. Kong Le and his Pathet Lao allies fled north into the jungle last week, dragging their Russian-supplied howitzers behind them over primitive roads. Into the city rolled Prince Boun Oum, 53, the new Premier, along with Laos' real strongman, General Phoumi Nosavan...
...further aid to his good friend, Russian Ambassador Aleksandr Abramov. Helpfully, Abramov flew in six 105-mm. howitzers and eight 120-mm. mortars as well as a batch of North Vietnamese to teach the Laotians how to use their new weapons. At his stronghold to the south, Savannakhet, General Phoumi countered by convening most of the members of the National Assembly. They voted Prince Souvanna out of office and named as the new Premier Boun Oum, a silver-haired, pro-U.S. princeling from Laos' lush southern hill country. Then by river boat, foot and plane, three battalions...
...Phoumi's troops, well equipped with U.S. tanks and weapons, carried the downtown area in their first assault. Kong Le's men fell back to the west and south, but then laid down an artillery barrage that was suspiciously accurate by Laotian standards of gunnery. Shells crashed into the U.S. embassy, setting it afire; under small-arms fire from a cemetery near by, some 30 persons inside crawled out on their bellies. Five shells hit the rickety Constellation Hotel, where women and children crouched in the bar and cried. As the barrage kept up, flash fires raced through...
Changing Flags. For three days the battle lines shifted. Desertions were commonplace and simple to effect; a soldier of uncertain mind had only to change the red arm band of the Kong Le faction for the white band of General Phoumi. Anxious to please, shopkeepers waved red or white flags as the tide of battle wavered...
...which maintained correct relations with Neutralist Souvanna but made no secret of its private preference for anti-Communist Phoumi, quickly offered its support. A State Department spokesman warned that aggression against Laos from Communist North Viet Nam could bring both Thailand and South Viet Nam to the rescue and start a Southeast Asian war. But even without overt aggression, Boun Oum and Phoumi faced bitter days ahead. Though Phoumi declared that all he wanted was "a neutral Laos," the Communists were smarting for revenge, and from the Pathet Lao came an order of the day: "Develop guerrilla warfare powerfully. Destroy...