how's it going folks welcome to another discussion video If you like this video be sure to leave a like afterwards and share it as well as give me your feedback in the comments the focus of this video today is the nation of Lao now let's get into it human rights abuse is bombing campaigns the Forgotten War and the secret army despite a long history and a proud people the nation of Lao remains forgotten by many after the Communists won the Laotian Civil War a Communist dictatorship was imposed upon the people of Lao which remains in power today the Cold War history of Lao has been largely forgotten by many and Lao has long been relegated to the periphery of discussions to understand modern Lao and by extension are what if scenario we must first understand lausch in history Lao has long been a Battleground that saw many wars between neighboring Asian powers on its soil when France arrived in Southeast Asia in the 1800s they were no different and Lao was annexed by the French Empire in 1893 much like its neighbors Cambodia and Vietnam Lao remained a French Colony until the Japanese invaded during World War II and overthrew the French with the French gone Lao Independence was proclaimed at the urging of the Japanese however following the end of World War II in 1945 Japan surrendered and withdrew from Lao Independence movements within Lao coalesced into one larger organization the laoisara the laoisara soon came into conflict with the French who returned to rule Lao once more the ensuing violence saw the Lao isara exiled to Thailand and France regained control over Lao the rest of the 1940s saw France bestow more and more power to the native Lao authorities with self-rule being granted to the kingdom of Lao in 1947. soon after the return of the French the laoisara would experience a Schism which saw the group break apart into a communist faction led by Prince sufanovong and an anti-communist faction led by sufanovong's Brother Prince suvana fuma the Communist laoisara would soon be reformed into the path at Lao which would be the major communist group vying for control of Lao going forwards throughout their struggle the path that Lao fully relied on North Vietnam for fund and support the anti-communist laoisara remnants joined forces with the king of Lao and a major laoisara leader Prince suvana fuma went on to become Prime Minister of the kingdom of Lao in 1951. finally in 1953 Lao gained complete independence from France as the kingdom of Lao unfortunately the new Royal Lao government was crippled by infighting and factionalism as well as weakened by corruption with some officials siphoning French and American Aid to Lao into their own personal bank accounts likewise what Aid money wasn't embezzled was diverted to the Lao military to counter the growing communist path at Lao threat leaving little for economic development or social programs for the Lao people by the time the nation gained full Independence in 1953 a large swath of territory close to the North Vietnamese border was completely controlled by the pathet Lao who'd grown in power due to royalist infighting after French withdrawal from Indochina in 1954 Lao was declared to be an neutral country and a peace deal was created to Cease the conflict between the path that Lao and Royal Lao government however just two months after the signing of the peace deal North Vietnam began to plot the destruction of the kingdom of Lao the path at Lao in line with the North Vietnamese position also refused to work with the Royal Lao government worried by these developments the United States intervened and supplanted France as the main benefactor of the royal Lao government and Military in order to ensure Lao was not simply turned into a staging ground for North Vietnam to attack South Vietnam likewise communist China and North Vietnam began to heavily Aid the papette Lao further peace deals fell through due to Mutual distrust the conflict escalated greatly in December 1958 when North Vietnam invaded Lao in order to infiltrate South Vietnam more easily much as it did with Cambodia later on Lao was drawn into Civil War by the spillover of the second indo-china war as the Royal law government along with many ethnic minorities such as the Hmong people sided with the United States on the other other side the North Vietnamese backed the Communist path at Lao in order to turn Lao into a communist Nation favorable to their interests the path that Lao viewed the kingdom of Lao as little more than a remnant of French imperialism and vowed to destroy the kingdom likewise the kingdom of Lao viewed the pathet Lao as little more than puppets of North Vietnam and vowed to crush the rebels however almost immediately the Royal Lao government fell into extreme infighting about how to respond and this infighting caused the government to become paralyzed and unable to respond to the threat as well as cause the economy to crash from sheer instability foreign aid was suspended as chaos broke out across Lao and a new anti-communist leader fuminosavan seized power and enacted a bloody Purge of the royalist government and apprehended the key leaders of the path at Lao including Prince sufanovang as the laosian Civil War began in Earnest the king of Lao sisavang vong died in July 1959 succeeded by his pro-american son who would be the last king of Lao royalist infighting and dysfunction would only intensify as the war went on a series of coups in the early 1960s rocked the capital of yangchan divided the armed forces and severely undercut The credibility and strength of the royal Lao government in the ensuing chaos the jailed path at Lao leaders convinced the royalist prison guards to become Communists and convince them to Aid in their escape and what turned out to be a colossal embarrassment for the royalist government as the royalists severely faltered aid for the path at Lao from North Vietnam skyrocketed as the royalists proved unreliable the United States turned to the Hmong ethnic minority as an alternative source of anti-communist rebels led by General Vang Pao the Hmong minority formed the secret army which was trained by the CIA and would go on to be one of the most effective branches of the anti-communist military forces during the Laotian Civil War during most of the 1960s the path at Lao even with their increased support and stability still was not in a position to fully defeat the royalist government in fact the main danger to the royalist government was infighting within their own ranks as the 1960s progressed the North Vietnamese continued their attempts to install a communist government in Lao viewing it as a so-called backward country in need of Vietnamese communist guidance in 1968 the North Vietnamese took full command of the war from the path at Lao and during an offensive against a key royalist stronghold in nambach Valley in January of that year delivered a severe blow to the royalist forces effectively knocking the kingdom of Lao out of its own Civil War even though the Royal government's Armed Forces collapsed and the government disengaged from the war it was not yet lost vangpal's secret army fought on against the Communist forces backed by the Royal Thai Army who'd intervened in support of the royalist cause all while supported by a massive United States bombing campaign across communist-controlled Lao in an attempt to stop the North Vietnamese incursion which devastated the country while the North Vietnamese empath Lao controlled the vast majority of the country their territories were sparsely populated the kingdom of Lao propped up by mung Tai Lao and American Military might only controlled the smaller valleys west of the Mekong River that flows through Lao but these areas actually contained around 75 percent of the Lao population most of the fighting concerned control of a series of Upland valleys in Northern Lao known as the plain of jars which changed hands multiple times throughout the Civil War as the Hmong Tai Lao and American forces kept the Communists at Bay corruption soared within the remaining territories under royalist control with many generals and politicians stealing enormous amounts of money from the people after the United States withdrew from Southeast Asia in 1973 the inevitable victory of the path at Lao became clear to most people within the kingdom of Lao in 1974 Prince suvana fuma the long-serving leader of the royalist faction suffered a heart attack and retired from politics leaving the decimated royalist faction without a leader at the same time the path at Lao were reinvigorated and began preparations for a killing blow against the royalists by late 1974 many saw the writing on the wall and began to flee loud for other countries the Hmong fighters of the secret army suffered the most as the collapse of the country began among General Vang Powell renounced his Rank and deserted the Royal Lao Army after being ordered to betray his principles and cooperate with the Communist forces vangpal then organized a mass Exodus of Hmong into Thailand with eventually around 53 000 Hmong fleeing Lao in fear of Retribution in 1975 following the fall of Phnom Penh to the Khmer Rouge on April 17 197 25 and the fall of Saigon to the North Vietnamese on April 30th 1975 the path at Lao With Victory all but certain launched a major offensive against the kingdom of Lao on December 2nd 1975 the Royal capital of Yang Chan fell to the path at Lao the last Lao King sisavang vatana abdicated as the royalist government was disbanded the Lao people's Democratic Republic was proclaimed soon after freedom of the press was curtailed non-communist political parties were banned and the government military and police were purged of non-communists the remaining members of the Hmong ethnicity were severely persecuted by the communist government thousands of laotians were sent to government-run re-education camps where they were either murdered or imprisoned until the late 1980s King sisavang vatana himself was murdered by the path at Lao to ensure he could not lead a resistance movement against them Lau became an isolated communist state with deep ties to communist Vietnam which allowed the Vietnamese to have a large degree of influence on the Lao government and economy as well as allowing Vietnamese communist soldiers to be stationed in Lao despite some reforms in the 80s and 90s Lao remains a communist state to this day with a murky human rights record and ever-present persecution of the Hmong minority some of whom still violently resist the government to this day the Laotian Civil War although forgotten and overshadowed by the Vietnam War had major impacts for the people of Lao today we asked the question what if the kingdom of Lao had won the lausanne Civil War our point of Divergence for this what if much like the prior South Vietnam and khamai Republic what ifs is the 1960 South Vietnamese coup which unlike in our timeline where it failed instead succeeds and stabilizes the country under authoritarian president Wen Chun thi because of a stable South Vietnam the United States never needs to intervene in the second Indochina War ensuring South Vietnam and by extension the Khmer Republic are able to survive but with Lao the situation was different the United States was already involved in Lao in the 1950s years before the 1960s South Vietnamese coup so as a result much of Laos history remains unchanged the path at Laos still manages to take control of most of Lao the kingdom of Laos still suffers the collapse of its armed forces and vangpao's secret army in the Royal Thai Army still fight alongside the royalists to keep the kingdom afloat aided by a U.S bombing campaign in this timeline much like Cambodia the North Vietnamese presence in Lao was only more intense because of South Vietnam become stability which meant that Lau was even more crucial in attempts to attack and infiltrate the South the United States wishes to intervene but because the nation is enjoying an unprecedented period of peace and social harmony President Johnson followed by President Humphrey both decide not to intervene as long as the kingdom of Laos still controls enough territory to survive another reason that the United States does not intervene is for fear of escalating the conflict and possibly provoking North Vietnam into a full-scale invasion of the South or China increasing Aid to North Vietnam and so from the 1950s into the 1970s Lao history is largely unchanged in the year 1975 the kingdom of Lao is in Dire Straits just as in our timeline 1975 is not the year the kingdom collapses but is much the same as past years as Lao hmong and Thai Forces fight valiantly to repel the path that allows incursions with his armed forces and shambles King sisavangbatana decides that his best bet for survival is obtaining allies willing to militarily intervene in favor of the royalist cause on December 2nd 1975 with the Cambodian and Vietnamese Civil Wars having ended an anti-communist victories as well as North and South Vietnam signing a peace treaty King sisavangbatana is emboldened to seize on this momentum and act King savang vatana dissolves the corrupt royalist government to Paralyzed by infighting to combat the path at Lao and assumes emergency Powers as the absolute monarch of the kingdom of Lao King sisavangwatana then proclaims Vang Pao as the prime minister of the kingdom of Lao viewing him as the most capable leader left in the Royal traction vangpao is entrusted by the king to win the war and save the kingdom the rest of December is spent by Vang Pao preparing for a major counter-attack to come in the following year on January 5th 1976 celebrations are held across the Khmer Republic following Pol pot's execution and with the Khmer Republic now in total control vangpal makes his move contacting lawn null and Phnom Penh and wenchanti in Saigon to plead for their assistance in retaking Lao Wing Chun thi has spent 15 years building up his military forces and is resolutely confident in their abilities Lon Knoll and sanapthan's Khmer Republican Army although led by Elite veterans and while disciplined is still weakened from the Civil War but agrees to participate if South Vietnam commits troops as well will not immediately committing to help winchon the Inland null agreed to Vang Palace offer to me and discuss possible courses of action on January 20th 1976 Vang Pao Wing Chun thi and Lon nol meet in Saigon for talk on forming a coalition to crush the path at allow Vang Pao speaks to the other leaders about how his nation has been badly damaged because of the path that allows aggression and that even though North Vietnam and South Vietnam have now signed a peace treaty the North Vietnamese imperialists still occupy his country for no reason propping up path at loud Bandits to destroy his beloved Kingdom and destroy the Hmong people General vangpao delivers an impassioned plea to martial lawn Knoll and president Wing Chun thi my friends in today's civilized world countries have no right to invade their neighbors for this is the way of imperialism the way of the past for too long the Communists have bled My Country Dry we ask for a coordinated counter-attack to restore the Kingdom's stolen lands please give us the same opportunity for Freedom the Kamai and Vietnamese republics have had after vangpal's rousing speech win Jonathan Lon Knoll both agreed to a limited Military operation in Lao their agreement brings tears to the General's eyes as he now knows that the kingdom of La will be saved on January 21st 1976 the kingdom of Lao Republic of Vietnam and Khmer Republic issue a joint communique declaring the path at Laos occupation of the kingdom of Lao to be illegal the three nations also declared the formation of the United league for democracy in Lao or uldl for short which will be a temporary military coalition to support the kingdom of Lao in its fight against the rebels likewise the uldl assures the world that it will limit its scope only to Lao and will respect North Vietnam sovereignty The Joint communique is heard across the world the U.S and People's Republic of China meet to discuss the issue while there is some hesitancy China is pragmatic in realizing that North Vietnam is not in any position to advance the cause of Communism in Southeast Asia and concedes that as long as North Vietnam is not invaded it will not intervene on January 29 1976 China pressures the North Vietnamese to honor their treaty commitments with the South and withdraw from Lao this order sets off as sino-vietnamese political split but is obeyed after China says that if the north refuses then China will cease Aid the fledgling Nation as the North Vietnamese withdraw from Lao Prince sufanovong rallies the pathet Lao telling them that they have survived the U.S bombs for all these years and so too will they survive the invasion by the Western puppet States on February 11 1976 Kamai and South Vietnamese gunboats in the Mekong River Cross into laoshian Waters Kamai and South Vietnamese soldiers march across the border into Lao and Kamai and South Vietnamese gunships soar across the ocean Skies the Thai government orders a troop surge in Lao as the secret army prepares to go on the offensive at last the 1976 invasion of Lao has begun The Invasion is Swift and Resolute and although the uldl encounters Fierce gorilla resistance in southern Lao where the path that Lao presence is strongest uldl forces managed to overwhelm the gorillas through their numerical advantage and the superiority of their training and Equipment although casualties begin to sharply rise as the path that Lao become desperate with a multitude of ambushes and bombings being committed by the gorillas against uldl forces by June 1976 the laoshin Panhandle where much of the Ho Chi Minh trail network was located has been pacified by uldl forces who managed to fight to the outskirts of royalist-controlled territory where they link up with Thai and hmong secret army forces from there the Vietnamese Kamai Lao Tai and hmong forces all make a final push in Northern Lao to deliver a killing blow to the path at Lao their success inspiring many allow civilians to take up arms in support of the uldl's cause on July 27 1976 the city of luang namtha which the Communists captured in a decisive victory years ago is retaken by uldl forces and sees the Royal flag flown across the city once more furthermore major path at Lao leader Quezon foambihane is killed during the Second Battle of luang namtha General Wing Powell then launches an encirclement campaign over the path that allow forces which results in the path that Lyle remnants Falling Back To The Valleys surrounding the plain of jars Prince sufanovong and the path that Lao remnants make a valiant Last Stand but are crushed by uldl forces whose intense artillery shelling and gunship air support make Escape impossible as the uldl ground forces close in and annihilate the remaining troops at the Battle of the plaintiff jars on September 1st 1976. Prince zufanovong dies by his own hand in the chaos as the path at Lao is crushed for good immediately after the battle Vang Pao orders the secret army to stabilize the newly reconquered regions as king sisavang batana surprised yet relieved at his victory relinquishes his emergency powers to Vang Pao who assumes control of the post-war Administration usaid which had been curtailed after corruption stole most of the financial aid the U.S sent resumes under vangpal's leadership of Lao while uldl forces are still in the country bang Pao launches a massive Purge of politicians and Military figures in bianchon found to have engaged in corruption and thus contributed to the dire situation the kingdom had faced while the issue is not erased in a day The Purge significantly reduces corruption and Lao going forward uldl forces withdraw from now on December 2nd 1976 as winchon thi and Lon Knoll enjoy a massive propaganda Victory back home some Kamai and South Vietnamese military advisers stay behind in Lao to help train the next generation of Lao troops the secret army itself is elevated to the role of lao's official standing army while the lausanne Air Force and navy are put under the secret Army's command with much of the Laotian military and political leadership debt or purged King sisavongwatana consents to vangpal becoming military dictator of Lao until the country is stabilized using the secret army to maintain order going into the 1980s as the kingdom of Lao enters the 1980s it is unfortunately just as devastated as in our timeline but is not internationally isolated and surrounded by stable and friendly neighbors except for North Vietnam General vangpal focuses the nation's resources on the Reconstruction of Laos devastated infrastructure the creation of new infrastructure and the removal of leftover explosive ordinance from the war all using cheap labor contracted from Thailand the Khmer Republic and South Vietnam as well as loans and aid from the United States although there is no economic Miracle the Kingdom's financial situation is stable with moderate growth each year King sisavang batana dies aged 88 on December 1st 1995 and as the nation Mourns the loss of their King who shepherded the nation through the cataclysmic War they also welcomed his successor his son bong savang as he assumes the throne as king of Lao by 2000 General Vang Pao is confident that Lao is ready for democracy and calls for a general election stating that he will not be standing for any office the 2000 Lao general election is won by campfet mukhtarath who becomes the first prime minister of the kingdom of Lao after the Civil War and restoration of democracy General vangpal retires from politics after leaving office dying peacefully in his home in vien Chan on January 6 2011 with his Nation mourning the death of the great General whom many credited with saving the kingdom as well as breaking down barriers from among people within Lao Society within years of vangpal's death Hmong Community organizations erect dozens of vangpal statues across Lao funded by donations from the eternally grateful Hmong community wrath governs Lao as a champion of parliamentary democracy alongside King vong savang and together the two men established a true constitutional monarchy within Lao as democracy flourishes in Lao and the last messages of the war are swept aside the world sends its congratulations to the Lao nation and people the night of prime minister Kam fat mukdarath's re-election celebrating that Lao has come so far after having experienced unimaginable suffering and tribulations the kingdom of Lao along with all of its struggles and all of its achievements is forgotten no more