Operation Counterpunch

Operation Counterpunch
Part of Laotian Civil War; Vietnam War
Date 26 September 1970 – 7 January 1971 Location Plain of Jars in northern Laos Result North Vietnamese communist offensive forestalled for month
Belligerents
Laos  Thailand Supported by  United States	North Vietnam Supported by:  Soviet Union  People's Republic of China
Commanders and leaders
Units involved
Groupements Mobile 22 Bataillon Guerrier 227 Auto Defense Choc militia Groupement Mobile 23 A battalion-sized Special Guerrilla Unit Commando Raiders Forces Armées Neutralistes Bataillon Infanterie 17  United States 21st Special Operations Squadron 15th Infantry Bataillon	Six companies plus scattered garrisons

Operation Counterpunch, waged 26 September 1970 to 7 January 1971, was a military offensive of the Laotian Civil War. Royalist General Vang Pao's guerrilla army regained the vital all-weather forward fighter base at Muang Soui on the Plain of Jars from the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN). The preemptive Counterpunch was credited with delaying an imminent PAVN wet season offensive for a month. The guerrilla army survived, though still heavily outnumbered by the PAVN.