During September 1960, a company of 1er BP was flown to reinforce Sam Neua in face of pressure from joint Neutralist/Pathet Lao forces. In the same month, 2e BP parachuted a team near Mahaxay to harass the Royalist forces. During November, another contingent from 1er BP was flown to Luang Prabang to reinforce Royalist elements. Late that month, the Royalists began their offensive to retake Vientiane, and by 8 December 1er BP had advanced to Paksane. Led by Defense Minister Maj. Gen. Phoumi Nosavan, the Royalist forces launched a combined ground and airborne assault on Vientiane. Between 14 and 16 December, during the battle for Vientiane 1er BP was parachuted east of the Laotian capital, linking up with 3e BP and other sympathetic ANL units. Defeated after two days of fighting, Kong Le's Neutralist paratroopers and the Pathet Lao guerrilla forces withdrew north from the capital in an organized fashion, gathering recruits to the neutralist cause along the way. They then veered east, and conquered the strategic Plain of Jars in central Xieng Khouang Province by New Year's Eve. Once established on the Plain, Capt. Kong Le (self-appointed Major general in December 1962) set up a Headquarters at the former Royal Lao Air Force (RLAF) Muang Soui airfield, and on 4 January 1961 he formed the Neutralist Armed Forces (French: "Forces Armées Neutralistes" – FAN). The Neutralists controlled the Plain of Jars from their Muang Soui HQ extending eastwards along Route 7 to the border with north Vietnam. Along with other ex-ANL units, both the 2e BP and the company from 3e BP provided the nuclei of the new force. The original 2e BP, which had swelled to six companies during the Battle of Vientiane in late 1960, was sub-divided, with each of the first five companies becoming a separate Neutralist para battalion – 1er, 2e, 3e, 4e, and 5e BPs – and the sixth company becoming an Airborne Training Centre at Muang Phanh in Xiangkhouang Province. However, because of the lack of transport aircraft, few of the Neutralist paratroopers were airborne-qualified. Once secure in Vientiane, the ANL Command repeatedly delayed an all-out attack to recapture the Plain of Jars.