Battle of Muong Khoua
1953 CE.
Shown on the map at 21.078°, 102.505°.
The Battle of Muong Khoua took place between April 13 and May 18, 1953, in northern Laos during the First Upper Laos Campaign in the French Indochina War. A garrison of a dozen French and 300 Laotian troops occupied a fortified outpost in the hills above the village of Muong Khoua, across the Vietnamese border from Điện Biên Phủ. Muong Khoua was among the last French outposts in northern Laos following the decision of the French High Command to string isolated garrisons through the region in order to buy time to fortify the major Laotian cities against Việt Minh attack. Many of these garrisons were given orders by radio to dig in and resist the approaching Việt Minh forces. Following the fall of a satellite strong point at Sop-Nao, the troops at Muong Khoua under Captain Teullier fought off a Việt Minh siege force for thirty-six days while supported by air-dropped supplies and air strikes. The small defending force repelled several direct attacks and endured a series of artillery bombardments.
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