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Description(U) The War in Northern Laos, 1954-1973, is one of three volumes concerned with the war in Laos that will be published in the Center for Air Force History's United States Air Force in SoutheastAsia series. Two volumes, Aerial Interdiction in Southern Laos, 1960-1968, by Jacob, Van Staaveren, and Aerial Interdiction in Southern Laos, 1968-1972, by Bernard C. Nalty, describe Air Force activities in southern Laos; this.volume covers the north over the total period. The two areas of Laos, north and south, had vastly different types of conflicts. Interdiction of supplies and personnel flowing down the Ho Chi Minh Trail from North to South Vietnam took precedence in the south, while the Air Force, in the north, directly aided the government of Laos with training and military assistance, as well as with missions supporting ground forces engaged in conflict. (U) The war in northern Laos was complex and confusing, with three separate factions contending for power and territory. The 1954 Geneva Agreements on Laos recognized Laos as a neutral state but prohibited it from forming military alliances with other governments. The Royal Laotian Army in 1955 numbered around ten thousand, but the French, who trained the army before 1955, had not allowed Laotian officers in positions of authority. The Laotian Army Air Force, an air force in name only, was a small section of two hundred. As the United States struggled to overcome these deficiencies, because the Geneva accords prevented establishment of bases or even advisory groups, subterfuge and deception became common, and the irregular forces often were the most effective and determined. Finally, because ofthe Geneva restrictions, the U.S. ambassador in Vientiane evolved as the final authority on any overt Air Force action, an inefficient and difficult situation that persisted throughout the entire period of U.S. assistance to Laos. This book describes the triumphs, frustrations, and failures of the Air Force in northern Laos between January 1955, when the United States Operations Mission began to coordinate military aid, and April 1973, when B-52s and F-llls flew the last bombing sorties over northern Laos. (U) Two officers assigned to the Office of Air Force History wrote The War in Northern Laos. Maj. Victor B. Anthony, author of the Introduction and first eight chapters, is a graduate of the Citadel and has an MA in history from Duke University. Major Anthony also wrote the study "Tactics and Techniques of Night Operations in Southeast Asia" during his assignment to the Office of Air Force History. Lt. Col. Richard R. Sexton, a graduate of the Air Force Academy, authored the final eight chapters and the Epilogue. He has an MA in history from the University of California, Davis, and an MA in International Relations from the University of Southern California. Both authors are Master Navigators and both were instructors in the History Department at the Air Force Academy. Following Colonel Sexton's departure in 1979, Col. John Schlight, then Chief.of the Special Histories Branch, Office of Air Force History, combined the two manuscripts and organized the book into its present form. Sharing Widget |