Battle of Suoi Chau Pha
The Battle of Suoi Chau Pha (6 August 1967) was fought during the Vietnam War between Australian troops and the Viet Cong. The battle took place during Operation Ballarat, an Australian search and destroy operation in the eastern Hat Dich area, north-west of Nui Dat in Phuoc Tuy province. Following a covert insertion the day before which had caught a number of Viet Cong sentries by surprise, A Company, 7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (7 RAR) had patrolled forward unaware of the presence of a large Viet Cong main force unit nearby. Clashing with a reinforced company from the Viet Cong 3rd Battalion, 274th Regiment, a classic encounter battle ensued between two forces of roughly equal size. Fought at close quarters in dense jungle amid a heavy monsoon rain, both sides suffered heavy casualties as neither was able to gain an advantage. Finally, after a battle lasting several hours, the Australian artillery proved decisive and the Viet Cong were forced to withdraw, dragging many of their dead from the battlefield after having suffered crippling losses.
Souvanna Banlang
In 1478, Đại Việt forces invaded Lan Xang, destroying the army organized by Chakkaphat Phaen Phaeo and led by Souvanna Banlang’s older brother Prince Kone Keo. The Lan Xang forces which included 200,000 men and 2,000 elephants were routed with the majority of Lao commanders being killed, including Prince Kone Keo who drowned while fleeing the Battle of the Plain of Jars. The Đại Việt took the Lan Xang capital of Muang Sua. King Chakkaphat Phen Phaeo with the royal family fled south toward Muang Dan Sai and Muang Nan, a dependency of Lan Na.