A five-year war between Đại Việt and Lan Xang that ended in a strategic Lao victory and strengthened ties among Lan Na, Lan Xang, and Ming China.
Key Facts
- Duration
- Approximately five years (1479–1484)
- Also known as
- White Elephant War
- Lao capital captured
- Luang Prabang seized by Đại Việt forces
- City destroyed
- Xiang Khouang (Muang Phuan) destroyed
- Key technology
- Early gunpowder weapons used by Đại Việt
- Outcome
- Strategic victory for Lan Xang
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Emperor Lê Thánh Tông of Đại Việt launched an invasion of the Lao kingdom of Lan Xang as a continuation of his expansionist policy, which had already resulted in the conquest of Champa in 1471. This aggression was facilitated by early gunpowder weapons that gave Vietnamese forces a significant military advantage.
Đại Việt invaded Lan Xang beginning in 1479, capturing the Lao capital of Luang Prabang and destroying the city of Xiang Khouang. The conflict expanded to involve the Ai-Lao people, the Tai kingdoms of Lan Na and Sip Song Pan Na, and peoples along the upper Irrawaddy River, eventually threatening the southern border of the Ming Chinese province of Yunnan.
Lan Xang, aided by Lan Na and Ming China, forced a Vietnamese withdrawal, achieving a strategic victory. The war fostered closer political and economic ties among Lan Na, Lan Xang, and Ming China. Lan Na in particular experienced a period of political and economic expansion described as a golden age for the kingdom.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Lê Thánh Tông.
Side B
3 belligerents