Haw wars

The Haw Wars (Thai: สงครามปราบฮ่อ) were triggered by southern Chinese paramilitary refugee gangs invading parts of Northern Thailand, Laos and Tonkin from 1865 to 1890. Forces invading Lao domains were ill-disciplined and freely demolished Buddhist temples. Not knowing these were remnants of secret societies, the invaders were wrongly called Haw (Lao: ຫໍ້; Thai: ฮ่อ; Chinese: Hao). Forces sent by King Rama V successfully fought the various groups, the last of which eventually disbanded in 1890.

Invasion of the flags

During the latter half of the 19th century, bands of Chinese warriors known as "flag gangs" ravaged large areas of northern Laos. Outlaws and freebooters, the Black flag gangs were fleeing the suppression of the Red Turban secret society. Tonkin (now northern Vietnam) was invaded first, when units of the "Black Flags" and the rival "Yellow Flags" crossed the China-Vietnam frontier in 1865 and set up bases in the upper reaches of the Red River Valley.

Vietnamese and Black Flags fight back

Black and yellow flags

Liu Yongfu and Black Flag forces fighting the French acquired a certain legitimacy and fame of the Vietnamese ruler Tự Đức. In contrast, the Yellow Flags, under the leadership of Huang Chung-ying, failed to acquire any legitimacy and, pursued by a combination of the Vietnamese and Black Flag forces, were broken up and defeated. In 1875–1876, following the capture and execution of Huang Chung-ying by the Black Flag-Vietnamese forces, the surviving Yellow Flag remnants fled westwards into the upper part of the Black River Valley where they harassed the townships of the semi-independent Tai-speaking federation of Sip Song Chau Tai (or Sip Son Chu Tai – "Twelve Tai lands"), today part of northwestern Vietnam) and northeastern Laos.