Word: thakhek
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...conquerors," said another general officer just before his operation got under way. And the front, such as it is, in IndoChina 's groping guerrilla war, looked suddenly as bright and hopeful as the generals. The French moved slowly north from Seno in the blistering jungle sun; they recaptured Thakhek (pop. 10,000) and knocked out the Communist corridor across southern Laos; they probed north for some 20 miles, and reported the Mekong Valley more or less clear. Then the French put commandos, paratroops and foreign legionnaires ashore at Tuyhoa (see map), thereby breaking into a rich, rice-bearing region...
...pieces. Then the invaders headed west through scraggy hillsides towards the Mekong, using footpath trails to bypass the French defense posts along the main highway. They need not have bothered: the French, hopelessly outnumbered, were already pulling out. The day after Christmas, the Communists entered the center of Thakhek (pop. 10,000) and gazed across the Mekong to the rich land of Siam. They had split Indo-China...
...Theories. At this stage of the battle, Ho's military intentions are not clear. From Thakhek, he could move northwest against Luang Prabang, the Laotian royal capital; he could move south towards Savannakhet and its important nearby airfield. He could dig in at Thakhek and wait for the French to send reinforcements from the decisive delta against him. At Thakhek, too, he could pose a threat to neutral but strongly anti-Communist Siam. The Siamese were taking no chances: they declared nine provinces an emergency zone and moved troops and artillery to the Mekong, directly opposite the Communist positions...