The Pathet Lao, officially the Lao People's Liberation Army, was a communist political movement and organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The group ultimately conquered the entire country in 1975, after the Laotian Civil War. The Pathet Lao were always closely associated with Vietnamese communists and North Vietnam. During the civil war, it was effectively organized, equipped and even led by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN). They fought against the anti-communist forces in the Vietnam War. Eventually, the term became the generic name for Laotian communists.
Under orders from Mao Zedong, the People's Liberation Army provided 115,000 guns, 920,000 grenades and 170 million bullets, and trained more than 700 of its military officers.
Pathet Lao at Xam Neua in 1953
Pathet Lao soldiers in Vientiane, Laos, 1973
Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. At the heart of the Indochinese Peninsula, Laos is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and southwest. Its capital and largest city is Vientiane.
Pha That Luang in Vientiane is the national symbol of Laos.
Fa Ngum, founder of the Lan Xang Kingdom
Ruins of Muang Khoun, former capital of Xiangkhouang province, destroyed by the American bombing of Laos in the late 1960s
Pathet Lao soldiers in Vientiane, 1972