Meanwhile , taking advantage of the temporary absence of French authority in the towns , the Lao Issara government armed itself to defend the Laotian independence it had claimed on behalf of the people . For the most part , the effective components of the Lao Issara armed forces consisted of Vietnamese residents of the towns of Laos , who either had received weapons given them by the surrendering Japanese troops — sold by the Chinese Nationalist soldiers who occupied northern Laos under the 1945 Potsdam Conference agreements — or looted from French arsenals . In the Battle of Thakhek ( Khammouan ) in March 1946 , which decided the issue of sovereignty in Laos in favor of the French , the Lao Issara used mortars and light machine guns against French armored vehicles and planes . One of the main preoccupations of the members of the Lao Issara government , exiled in Bangkok between 1946 and 1949 , was to procure weapons to fight against the French
Potsdam Conference
Potsdam Conference
Military history of Laos