Undercover Armies - CIA FOIA - Central Intelligence Agency

C05303 94 9
THE HIGH WATER ~MR
enabled the FAR battalions at Nam Bac to mount an effective defen se, and on
14 January 1968, a massive North Vietnamese assault shattered the garrison.
The effort to link government forces in Luang Prabang and Xieng Khouang
Provinces ended with the loss of all of the government's reserves in the worst
defeat of the war. ,.~
The enem y had already turned its attention to Phou Pha Thi (Site 85) and in
mid-December, the station had committed one of its new SO U battalions to
retake some ground and reinforce other SOU elements east of Route 6. One of
several efforts designed to "throw the enemy off balance," this drew North
Vietnamese counterattacks, including an assault in battalion strength. The
inexperienced Hmong unit began [0 break, and the station withdrew it to Na
Khang, hoping to replace it with two other, more battle-hardened , SOUs. S9 O
Meanwhile, the three sheer cliffs of Phou Pha Thi meant that an attack in
\
t
Phou Pha 711; (Silt' R5J
force would be a costly one, if the Hmong put up a vigorous defense of the
one slope that offered access to the top. On 12 January, clearly hoping to find
a more econom ical way to disable the radars at the top, the North Vietnamese
launched a bizarre air raid. Two antiquated AN-2 "Colt" biplanes made sev-
" Bill Lair; CIA Information Cable, 30 January 1968, FRUS 1964- 1968, 649-50; [ ]
I :
"1L _
SEr/"ETllM Il.
r;91