Looking back, one could say that Laos was in an interesting place during World War II. The country was occupied by two forces, both allied and axis powers while simultaneously fighting off Thai forces near the border, underwent internal struggles due to the conflicting ideals of members of the royal family, and the country was involved in one of the most disastrous bombing tactics in the History of the World. Yet, despite these incident, the country still managed to fight their way towards eventual independence in the late 1970s.
​Beginning in 1940, an agreement called the Matsuoka-Henry Pact was enacted by the French government under the Vichy regime and Imperial Japan. Wanting to retain their colony in Southeast Asia but also recognizing their growing weakness in the region, the French government came up with a proposition to present to the Japanese: France would retain their sovereignty over Indochina and in exchange, Japanese forces were allowed to station troops within Indochina, including Laos.