| Royal Army of Laos | |
|---|---|
The Royal Flag of Laos |
|
| Active | 1952- 2 December 1975 |
| Country | Kingdom of Laos |
| Size | 35,000 |
| Engagements | Laotian Civil War Vietnam War |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Kong Le |
The Royal Lao Army (French: Armée Royal du Laos - ARL) was the armed forces of the Kingdom of Laos. Its predecessor was the National Laotian Army - NLA (French: Armée Nationale Laotienne - ANL) of the French Union, created in 1947 from 'maquis', or guerrilla units gathered by French commandos. It was created in 1954 after the French granted Laos complete autonomy. By July, 1959, it was known as Forces Army Laotienne, and in September, 1961, was renamed Royal Armed Forces (French: Forces Armées du Royaume - FAR).[1]
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The chain of command of the Royal Lao Army was placed under the Ministry of Defense in Vientiane. The country was divided into five military regions.
To meet the threat represented by the Pathet Lao, the Royal Lao Army depended on a small French military training mission, headed by a general officer, an exceptional arrangement permitted under the Geneva conventions. Military organization and tactical training reflected French traditions. Most of the equipment was of United States origin, however, because early in the First Indochina War, the United States had been supplying the French with matériel ranging from guns to aircraft.
In 1970 the combat elements of the Royal Lao Army were organized into fifty-eight infantry battalions and one artillery regiment of four battalions. The largest tactical unit was the battalion, which was composed of a headquarters, a headquarters company, and three rifle companies. Royal Lao Army units were devoted primarily to static defense and were stationed near population centers, lines of communication, depots, and airfields. These units were complemented by military police and armored, engineer, and communications units. Between 1962 and 1971, the United States provided Laos with an estimated US$500 million in military assistance, not including the cost of equipping and training irregular and paramilitary forces.
During the 1971-1975 period, it added about seventy-five T-28 Trojan light-strike or training aircraft, about twenty C-47s in both transport and gunship configurations, fewer than ten H-34 helicopters, and some small U-1 and U-17 aircraft.