On 27 April 1953 1ére CCL was dropped at the Nam Bac valley, north of Luang Prabang to establish a forward defensive line in face of a Vietminh invasion. The company was decimated, and could not reconstitute its headquarters section and four commando sections until 4 August. On 15 June 1954 the company was transferred from the French Union Army to the Laotian National Army ( – ANL), changing its name to 1st Group of Laotian Para-Commandos ( – 1er GCPL). All French officers left the group by August, after being replaced by hand-picked Laotian officers and NCOs..
