BATTLE FOR SKYLINE RIDGE: The CIA Secret War in Laos

For more than 100 days the Long Tieng valley, northeast Laos, was fought over by a North Vietnamese force of over 27,000 facing a small ragtag CIA army formed of Thai irregulars and Laos hill tribesmen. Despite the overwhelming odds, the battle did not go to plan, and in the end it all came down to Skyline Ridge. Photos, most in color.