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Welcome to "French Indochina",
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The
Vietnam war was a direct result of the less know French Indochina war
which took place from the mid 40’s to the mid 50’s in
Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, (all French Colonies acquired in the mid to
late 1800).
The Indochina war was at first sold to the population of France
as a "Police campaign" against communist bandits, but it soon
turns into full scale anti-guerrilla war tying down many French troops in
static positions for the pacification campaign and the protection of
friendly populations.
At
the beginning, the US was quite hostile to the French Indochina war
and regarded it purely as a French colonial war, their attitude
changed after the victory of Mao Tse Tung in China and their involvement in the
Korean war. The US started pouring financial help from 1950 onwards, but with the condition of
the French working towards a Vietnamese independence and towards the creation of a
Vietnamese National Army. It must be said that the French were not too keen on those two
idea specially independence.
The
French war budget was increased from 281 billions in 1951 to 399 billions in
1952 with the US providing for 40% of it,
under various forms. |
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The Indochina tour of duty was two years, only the regular army was allowed to serve in Indochina (no conscript unless volunteers), late in the war, most soldiers were on their second tour with some being on their third tour. The French Union forces had a constant shortage of spare parts for the artillery, vehicles and planes, a shortage of specialist in sappers and artillery as well as NC0 and warrant officers and the ammunition stock was always at a critical level. During the war, the under-manned/under equipped French army was only able to exercise effective French control in the low-lands and in populated areas of Cambodia, Laos, North and South Vietnam, the rest of the country side was dominated by the Viet Minh, apart from very local area around French forts. |
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The
French Union Forces soldiers had fought courageously in Indochina but lack
of equipment, air support, man power, the lack of support
for the war at home and by their own government as well as the indecisiveness of the High
command (except from General Leclerc and De Lattre), doomed the French
Forces to a defeat.
The Viet Minh
is the armed forces of the Vietnam Nationalist/Communist
party led by Ho Chi Minh. It is quite ironic to know that
the Viet Minh received their first military training/weapons from
the US OSS during WWII, they were the only coherent force able to fight our common enemy in those days, the
Japanese. After the
surrender of Japan the Vietnamese communist with the help of the Japanese army
took advantage of the power vacuum left in Indochina and seized Hanoi and proclaimed the Democratic Rebublic of Vietnam. Japan supplied ten of thousands of weapons as well as 2000 deserters
to the Viet Minh which formed the back bone of the new Viet-Minh army. It
is to be noted that VM main strength was its penetration of the
French
Colonial Infrastructure as well as its
Intelligence gathering network (relying on the Vietnamese
population, support often gained by its own terror) After the
return of the French, the VM would at first limit themselves into
harassing French forces and would only engaged battle if greatly
outnumbering the French Troops.
In late 1949, after
the Communist victory in China, a ready source of weapons started flowing towards North Vietnam where the bulk of the VM forces were. By
1952 help from China was in full flow, with trails made into roads leading into the
Tonkin (North Vietnam). Full load of war material was driven by Chinese drivers, in
Chinese trucks into VM controlled area over the border (from
July 51 to July 52, 6.280 tons of military hardware was supplied to
the VM). Doted along the trails/roads were petrol dumps as
well as Chinese anti aircraft guns. In camps in China, Chinese
soldiers were training VM to guerrilla and Blitzkrieg
warfare and were forming sappers, radio operators, artillery
men, officers and political commissars.,
By 1952 the VM has become a formidable regular army well
trained and politically indoctrinated by Chinese communist. The VM
army was able to field light and heavy infantry divisions
including conventional artillery and anti aircraft artillery and
with an estimated 6000 Eastern Block advisors. |
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The Viet Minh army comprises of three main forces:
1)The "VE-QUOC" regular
army was made of divisions comprising of three regiments with
three battalions each
2) The paramilitary army was divided in three main groups.
a) The "TU-VE" was regional defence units
(offensive groups of 100 to 200 men each).
b) Anti paratroopers units made of an observation, a
security and an assault group.
c) The suicide groups made of 10 men teams and
indoctrinated by the political commissars.
3) Political units which mission was surveillance and
assassinations.
Viet Minh estimated to over 500 000 in 1953
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C.E.F.E.O |
1951 |
1952 |
1953 |
Viet Minh |
1947 |
1951 |
1952 |
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French |
51 175 |
50 737 |
59 526 |
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North African |
11 000 |
22 892 |
36 628 |
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African |
2 000 |
13 281 |
19 342 |
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French Foreign Legion |
11 131 |
16 664 |
16 586 |
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Indochinese |
35 000 |
86 000 |
60 000 |
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Total: |
110 306 |
190 592 |
194 263 |
Regular Army |
50 000 |
110 000 |
180 000 |
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National Vietnamese Army |
70 000 |
135 000 |
200 000 |
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National Laotian Army |
4 000 |
10 000 |
15 000 |
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National Cambodian Army |
5 500 |
11 000 |
11 000 |
Regional/Popular forces |
50 000 |
240 000 |
224 400 |
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Total |
79 500 |
156 000 |
226 000 |
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Combined forces total) |
189 806 |
346 592 |
420 263 |
Total |
100 000 |
350 000 |
404 400 |
Note: only the C.E.F.E.O. carried the brunt of the fighting, ie approx 200.000 against 400.000 in 1952, not a favourable ratio to win!
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KIA/MIA |
WIA |
POW taken |
POW returned |
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C.E.F.E.O |
75 867 |
65 125 |
14 500 (known) |
8 516 |
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French Indochinese |
31 716 |
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13 359 (known) |
1 039 |
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Viet Minh |
200 000 (est) |
300 000 (est) |
200 000 (est) |
? |
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Dien Bien Phu French |
2 748 |
4 436 |
11 721 |
3 290 |
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Dien Bien Phu Viet Minh |
7 900 (est) |
15 000 (est) |
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20 000 of the French KIA/MIA
were from main land France
with a very high proportion of NCO and Officers
including 800 St Cyr graduate.
After the fall of France during WWII, the Petain French regime was pressurized into working with Japanese forces in Indochina until March 1945 when the Japanese fearing an Allied invasion decided to eliminate all French Forces and French Administration in Indochina and declare the independence of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam (under their rule). After the surrender of Japan, Ho Chi Minh with the help of the Japanese army proclaimed the Democratic Republique of Vietnam at Hanoi in August 1945 and incited the Vietnamese population to massacre the French residents and the few newly liberated French troops.
In October 1945, the "Corps Expeditionnaire Francais d ‘Extreme-Orient" (CEFEO) led by General Leclerc strong of 75 000 men landed and started re-exerting French authority in the South part of Vietnam. (General Leclerc had asked for 500 000 men)
By February 1946 French troops reentered northern Vietnam and by the end of 1946 most major towns were under French control, but with the country side still under Viet Minh rules.
By
1948 the French started to employ their newly arrived Elite
paratroopers and by the end of 1948 over 40 combat jumps had been
done.
By
Mid 1949 the French Union troops reach 150 000 men with most of them
tied up to static defensive positions. Most of the French offensive
operations were carried by the French Para reaching around 5700 men by
1950.
By 1950 Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh
were recognized by China as the true Government of Vietnam and Chinese help started pouring in.
French Naval troops
reached 12 000 with approx 10 000 assigned to riverine units. In September 1950 Viet Minh forces lead by
General Giap started to attack and over run all the French forts along the
Chinese border, four paratroops battalion were dropped to try to
relieve/rescue French troops but were virtually wiped out by the shear
number of VM ( despite outstanding fighting on the French side), the infamous
RC4 road will be remembered for its slaughter. By the 17 of
December 1950, Marshal De Lattre de Tassigny,
a famous French commander from WWII
took over control of the troops and redressed the situation.
In January 1951 General
Giap forces received their first major defeat at Vinh Yen (leaving
6000 dead), followed by Mao Khe and Ninh Binh. In November
1951, 2000 para jumped and capture Hao Binh, a major Viet
supply center, French ground and riverine forces soon followed.
The Viet Minh tried to encircled and suffocate the French
but the Black River and the Road Colonial No 6 were kept open
at high cost trough out December. 1951 saw the birth
of General De Lattre de Tassigny "jaunissement" program
which was aiming to the creation of a National Vietnamese
Army and of the GCMA (Groupement des Commando Mixtes Aeroportes),
the equivalent of the US Special Forces in Vietnam with a similar
mission. In Mai 1951, the first C.I.P.L.E (Compagnie
Indochinoise Parachutiste de la Legion Etrangere) was created,
this in effect was a fourth (Vietnamese) company added to the BEP (Battalion Etranger
Parachutiste). These company fought very well showing that
Vietnamese Soldiers if well trained and well led could be as
effective as French units (note that NCO and Officers were
experienced Legionnaires) . Late that year, De Lattre was
evacuated back to France dying of cancer.
By the 2nd week of January 1952, the situation deteriorated for
the French in Hao Binh, as the Viet managed to close the Black
River then Road Colonial No 6. After 11 days of fighting
along the road No 6 a rescue column reach the town which
then was evacuated successfully with massive air support and
at high cost due to the usual Viet Minh human wave attacks .
The rest of 1952 saw French troops being bogged down in defensive positions with their controlled territory shrinking. The only significant French victory was on the Parfume River coast were 3000 VM were killed during an amphibious operation. In October, Giap started is offensive in the T'ai hills, strategic ground for his "highway" to the south, ie the Mekong river. In mid October the 6th BCP (Bigeard Battalion) was drop on Tu Le in front of the advancing VM army to slow them down and to allows the evacuations of many threaten small forts in the region. 574 para held up for a night against the 312th VM division (10 000 men) and then accomplished a 72 hours 40 miles fighting retreat with practically no air support due to the low cloud. By November most T'ai hills were under the control of the VM, but it should be noted that the GCMA guerilla would be operating successfully in that area for a long time. In late October to relieve the pressure, a major French offensive "Operation Lorraine "was launch into VM controlled territory around the Red River with 30 000 French Union troops, they penetrated deeply into enemy territory but with no major success as the Viet Minh refused to engage and vanish. Due to the logistical problem of maintaining this spearhead supplied, a withdrawal started with the French forces falling into a well position ambush inflicting them heavy casualty. In November 1952, General Salan decide to create a huge fighting camp in the Na San valley south of the Black river to block the two main invasion routes to the T'ai highlands. This camp will be manned by 12 French battalions, with an air strip and artillery. From the 2nd to the 4th of December, general Giap will through human waves after waves at the camp, (for example the PA 21 and PA 26 (point d'appuis) held by 707 Legionnaire will be assaulted by the TD 209 (3000 Bo Dois) and will hold due to artillery and air support). After two bloody days for the Viet Minh, Giap gave up, and the idea of massive fighting camp to engage and defeat the enemy will be born in the French High Command strategy.
1953 the Viet Minh started moving its forces into northern Laos, French forces already stretched to the maximum were unable to reinforce theirs troops in Laos and all French fort were told to hold as long as possible. In July, in Central Annam, the "Operation Camargue", a combined Amphibious/Airborne/Ground operation was launched to clear the VM from the "Street Without Joy", nicknamed given to Road Colonial No 1 in the costal area north of Hue. French forces once more were spread to thin and the operation missed its main objectify of destroying the VM regiment 95 and only achieved the destruction of one of its company but the VM was flushed out and RC1 was reopen.
Another important factor in late 1953 was the birth of the Groupement mobile 100, which for its main Battalions had the "French battalion de Coree" (which fought in Korea with the 2n US Inf Div). That year the GCMA was also renamed the GMI (Groupement Mixtes D'intervention) and would be controlling 15 000 irregulars by the end of 1954.
On 20th of November
1953, an airborne assault (4525 men) was launched to recapture the old
Japanese air strip
of Dien
Bien Phu,
See Dien Bien Phu page!
(Reference Materials:
Uniforms of the Indo-China War and Vietnam War,Leroy Tomphson; Les 170
Jours de Dien Bien Phu, Erwan Bergot; French Foreign Legion Paratroops
and The French Indochina War 1946-54 Martin Windrow, Une Guerre sans
Fin, Indochine 1945-54, Pierre Ferrari et Jaques M.Vernet)
If you wish to see more photos of Soldats D'Indochine, please visit the Rolling-Thunder website
where a page is dedicated to their exhibition at Beltring 2004
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Any information and photographs
on this site should not be used without prior agreement from the owners. |