the PAVN 9th Regiment as it marched to Khe Sanh village. The PAVN 66th Regiment paid a heavy price for their victory with 154 killed and 496 wounded. On the evening of 23 January, one day after the fall of Khe Sanh village, the PAVN 304th Division moved against their next target, the small Laotian outpost at Ban Houei Sane. Prior to 1968, Laotian forces at Ban Houei Sane had played an important role in the war, watching PAVN infiltration into South Vietnam from a section of the Ho Chi Minh Trail running through Laos. The outpost was manned by 700 Laotian soldiers of BV-33 "Elephant" Battalion, Royal Laos Army, led by Lieutenant Colonel Soulang Phetsampou. As night fell, the PAVN 3rd Battalion, 24th Regiment attacked the outpost. The 198th Tank Battalion, which was tasked with supporting the 24th Regiment, was delayed as their tank crews tried to navigate their PT-76 amphibious tanks through the rough local terrain. However, confusion quickly descended on the Laotian defenders as the PT-76 tanks turned up outside their outpost. After three hours of fighting, Lt. Col. Phetsampou decided to abandon his outpost, so he radioed the Lang Vei Camp and requested helicopters to evacuate his men and their families. However, as helicopters were unavailable, the Laotians decided to move eastward by foot along Highway 9, in an attempt to reach Lang Vei just across the border in South Vietnam. Following the loss of both Khe Sanh village and Ban Houei Sane, thousands of civilian refugees made their way towards Lang Vei village and the Special Forces camp. With an estimated 8,000 non-combatants within a thousand meters of his camp, Willoughby radioed Da Nang for assistance. This arrived on 25 January in the form of food and medical supplies, along with a six-man Special Forces augmentation team. The Laotian soldiers of BV-33, with assistance from the new Special Forces team, were given materials to restore the old Lang Vei Camp, where they would remain until further orders were issued from Da Nang. The Laotian soldiers and their families brought with them stories of a PAVN attack supported by tanks, which was a cause for concern for Willoughby, because Ban Houei Sane was only away across the border. On 30 January Willoughby's fears were confirmed when a PAVN deserter, Private Luong Dinh Du, surrendered himself to the U.S. Special Forces in Lang Vei. Under interrogation, Private