CHAPTER FIVE
FRENCH INDOCHINA
While serving in the French Foreign Legion Chris had learnt that France had at one time ruled over Indochina. Before the Americans eventually became involved. After which it was to become known as South Vietnam. Its history became of great interest for him, and a willingness to learn more took over a lot of his spare time.
Whenever possible he would try to obtain English printed newspapers, and magazines covering the so called Indochina War. While at other times he would ask around his fellow Legionnaires. In fact, the Officers encouraged the learning of their history. As many Legionnaires had been killed during one of Indochina’s biggest battles against the French, that took place at Dien Bien Phu in 1955.
During many conversations with close friends most were fascinated that he was even interested in the subject. He also let it be known that giving the chance he would like to visit the country at some time. Although he did realise that it would not be easy, as it was a war zone, and getting into and out of the country would not be easy.
In those day’s Private Military Companies would not openly advertise for military minded recruits, jobs like that were passed around by word of mouth. Although he did learn that the American military did hire certain civilian companies to undertake and assist them with supplies, and what were known as quite missions.
Over his five-year enlistment with the Legion, Chris had come up with a long interesting documented. The history of France’s domination of what was originally known as ‘French Indochina’. Which wet his appetite for more? He usually carried a small note pad around with him, and whenever possible could usually be seen making notes.
France had started its conquest of Indochina in the late 1850s, and completed pacification by 1896. Although the ‘Treaty of Hue’ formed during 1884 was the basis for French Colonial rule in Indochina for the next seven decades. That was in spite of a military resistance, most notably by the Can Vuong of ‘Phan Dình Phung’.
By 1888 the area of the present day nations of Cambodia and Vietnam were made into part of the Colony of French Indochina, and later Laos was to also join the Colony. Various Vietnamese opposition movements to the French rule existed during this period, such as the Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang, who staged the failed ‘Yen Bai’ mutiny in 1930. However, none were as successful as the Viet Minh Common Front, which was founded during 1941, and controlled by the Indochinese Communist Party. Being funded by America and the Chinese Nationalist Party in its fight against Japanese occupation.
In February 1950 Vietnamese General Giap seized the vulnerable 150 strong French Garrison at ‘Lai Khe’ in ‘Tonkin’ just south of the border with China. Major General Thai attacked ‘Dong Khe’ on the 15th September and it fell on 18th September, while ‘Cao Bang’ finally fell on the 3rd October. As a result, ‘Lang Son’, along with its 4,000 strong French Foreign Legion garrison was attacked immediately after.
The retreating French on Route 4, together with the relief force coming from ‘That Khe’ were attacked all the way by ambushing Viet Minh forces. The French air dropped a Para-troop Battalion South of ‘Cao Bang’ to act as a diversion only to see it quickly surrounded and destroyed. On the 17th October after a week of intense fighting ‘Lang Son’ eventually fell.
By the time the remainder of the garrisons reached the safety of the Red River Delta, 4,800 French troops had been killed, captured or were missing in action and 2,000 wounded out of a total garrison force of over 10,000. Also lost were 13 artillery pieces, 125 mortars, 450 trucks, 940 machine guns, 1,200 submachine guns and 8,000 rifles destroyed or captured during the fighting. While China and the Soviet Union recognised Ho Chi Minh as the legitimate ruler of what was to become Vietnam, and sent him more and more supplies and material aid.
1950 marked the first time that napalm was ever used in Vietnam, after being supplied by the Americans. Having been designed especially for the use of the French Bearcat Naval fighter aircraft.
The military situation improved for France when its new Commander, General Jean Marie de Lattre de Tassigny, built a fortified line from Hanoi to the Gulf of Tonkin, and across the Red River Delta. It was to hold the Viet Minh in place and to use his troops to smash them against this barricade, which became known as the ‘De Lattre Line’. This led to a period of success for the French.
However, on the 13th January 1951 General Giap moved the 308th and the 312th Divisions, made up of over 20,000 men, to attack ‘Vinh Yen’ 20 miles northwest of ‘Hanoi’. Being manned by the 6,000 strong 9th Foreign Legion Brigade. The Viet Minh took the bait and entered a trap. They were caught for the first time in the open and actually forced to fight the French head on, without the ability to quickly hide and retreat, they were mown down by concentrated French artillery and machine gun fire. By the 16th January, the Battle of ‘Vinh Yen’ ended as General Giap was forced to withdraw, with over 5,000 of his troops being killed, 6,000 wounded and a further 400 captured.
On 23rd March General Giap tried again, launching an attack against ‘Mạo Khe’ 20 miles north of ‘Haiphong’. The 316th Division composed of 11,000 men, along with the partly rebuilt 308th and the 312th Divisions in reserve, went forward and were beaten in bitter hand-to-hand fighting against the French troops. General Giap withdrew on the 28th March having lost over 1,000 dead and wounded.
On the 29th May General Giap launched yet another attack, known as the Battle of the Day River, with the 304th Division at ‘Phu Ly’, the 308th Division at ‘Ninh Bình’, and the main attack delivered by the 320th Division at ‘Phat Diem’ south of ‘Hanoi’. The attacks fared no better and the three divisions lost heavily. Taking advantage of this De Lattre mounted a counter offensive against the demoralised Viet Minh. By driving them back into the jungle, and by the 18th June had eliminating the enemy pockets in the Red River Delta. Costing the Viet Minh over 10,000 killed.
Every effort by Vo Nguyen Giap to break the ‘De Lattre Line’ failed and every attack he made was answered by a French counter attack that destroyed his forces. Viet Minh casualties rose alarmingly during this period, leading some to question the leadership of the Communist Government, even within the party. Although, any benefit this may have reaped for France, was negated by the increasing domestic opposition to the war back in France.
On the 31st July the French General Charles Chanson was assassinated during a propaganda suicide attack at ‘Sa De’c in South Vietnam that was blamed on the Viet Minh although it was argued in some quarters that Cao Dai nationalist Trình Minh could have been involved in its planning.
On the 14th November 1951, the French seized ‘Hoa Bình’ 25 miles west of the ‘De Lattre Line’, by a parachute drop to extend their defensive perimeter.
In January 1952, General de Lattre fell ill from cancer and had to return to France for treatment. He died shortly after and was replaced by General Raoul Salanas the overall commander of French forces in Indochina. The Viet Minh launched attacks on ‘Hoa Bình’, forcing the French to withdraw back to their main positions on the ‘De Lattre Line’ by the 22nd February 1952. Each side lost nearly 5,000 men in this campaign, and it showed that the war was far from over.
Throughout the war, the Viet Minh cut French supply lines and began to seriously wear down the resolve of the French forces. There were continued raids, skirmishes and guerrilla attacks, but through the remainder of the year each side withdrew to prepare itself for larger operations.
Starting on the 2nd October the Battle of ‘Na San’ saw the first use of the French Commanders ‘Hedgehog’ tactics. Consisting in setting up a well-defended outpost to get the Viet Minh out of the jungle and force it to fight conventional battles instead of ambushes. At first this strategy was successful for the French Union, but it ended with a fiasco during 1954.
On the 17th October 1952 General Giap launched attacks against the French garrisons along ‘Nghia Lo’ northwest of ‘Hanoi’, and overran much of the Black River valley. Except for the airfield of ‘Na San’ where a strong French garri
son was entrenched. Giap by now had control over most of ‘Tonkin’ beyond the ‘De Lattre Line’. Raoul Salan, seeing the situation as critical, launched ‘Operation Lorraine’ along the ‘Clear River’ to force Giap to relieve pressure on the ‘Nghia Lo’ outposts.
On the 29th October 1952 in the largest operation in Indochina to date, 30,000 French Union soldiers moved out from the ‘De Lattre Line’ to attack the Viet Minh supply dump at ‘Phu Yen’. Salan took ‘Phu Tho’ on the 5th November, and ‘Phu Doan’ on the 9th November by a parachute drop, and finally ‘Phu Yen’ on the 13th November.
General Giap at first did not react to the French offensive. He planned to wait until their supply lines were over-extended and to then cut them off from the Red River Delta. Salan correctly guessed what the Viet Minh were up to and cancelled the operation on the 14th November, beginning to withdraw back to the ‘De Lattre Line’. The only major fighting during the operation came during the withdrawal, when the Viet Minh ambushed the French column at ‘Chan Muong’ on the 17th November. The Indochinese March Battalion eventually cleared the road after a bayonet charge so the withdrawal could continue. The French lost around 1,200 men during the whole operation, most of them during the ‘Chan Muong’ ambush. The operation was partially successful, proving that the French could strike out at targets outside the ‘De Lattre Line’. However, it failed to divert the Viet Minh offensive or seriously damage its logistical network.
On the 9th April 1953, General Giap, after having failed repeatedly in direct attacks on French positions in Vietnam, changed strategy and began to pressure the French by invading ‘Laos’, surrounding and defeating several French outposts such as ‘Muong Khoua’. In May, General Henri Navarre replaced Salan as supreme commander of French forces in Indochina. He reported to the French government "there was no possibility of winning the war in Indo-China," adding that “the best the French could hope for was a stalemate.”
Navarre, in response to the Viet Minh attacking ‘Laos’, concluded that ‘Hedgehog’ centres of defence were the best plan. Looking at a map of the area, Navarre chose the small town of ‘Dien Bien Phu’, located about 10 miles north of the ‘Lao’ border and 175 miles west of ‘Hanoi’ as a target to block the Viet Minh from invading ‘Laos’. ‘Dien Bien Phu’ had a number of advantages, as it was on a Viet Minh supply route into ‘Laos’ on the ‘Nam Yum’ river, it had an old airstrip for supply, and it was situated in the ‘Tai hills’, where the Tai tribesmen who were still loyal to the French lived and operated in the area.
‘Operation Castor’ was launched on the 20th November 1953, with 1,800 men of the French 1st and 2nd Airborne Battalions dropping into the valley of ‘Dien Bien Phu’, and sweeping aside the local Viet Minh garrison. The paratroopers gained control of a heart-shaped valley 12 miles long and 8 miles wide surrounded by heavily wooded hills. Encountering little opposition, the French and Tai units operating from ‘Lai Chau’ to the north patrolled the hills.
The operation was a tactical success for the French. However, General Giap, seeing the weakness of the French position, started moving most of his forces from the ‘De Lattre Line’ to ‘Dien Bien Phu’. By December most of the French and Tai patrols in the hills around the town were wiped out by Viet Minh ambushes. The fight for control of this position would be the longest and hardest battle for the French Far East Expeditionary Corps and would be remembered by the veterans as ‘57 Days of Hell’.
Despite official propaganda presenting the war as a ‘Crusade Against Communism’.
By 1954 the war in Indochina was fast growing unpopular by the French public. The political stagnation of the Fourth Republic meant that France was unable to extract itself from the conflict. The United States initially sought to remain neutral, viewing the conflict as chiefly a decolonisation war.
The Battle of ‘Dien Bien Phu’ occurred in 1954 between Viet Minh forces under General Vo Nguyen Giap, supported by China and the Soviet Union, and the French Union's French Far East Expeditionary Corps, supported by its Indochinese allies. The battle was fought near the village of ‘Dien Bien Phu’ in Northern Vietnam and became the last major battle between the two sides.
The battle began on the 13th March when a pre-emptive Viet Minh attack surprised the French with heavy artillery. The artillery damaged both the main and secondary airfields that the French were using to fly in their supplies. The only road into ‘Dien Bien Phu’ was already made difficult to traverse, was also knocked out by Viet Minh forces. With French supply lines interrupted, the French position became untenable. Particularly when the advent of the monsoon season made the dropping of supplies and reinforcements by parachute difficult. With defeat imminent, the French sought to hold on until the opening of the Geneva peace meeting on the 26th April. The last French offensive took place on the 4th May, but it was ineffective. The Viet Minh then began to hammer the outpost with newly supplied Soviet Katyusha rockets and other weaponry provided by their Communist allies.
During the 6th and 7th May the French fought on but were eventually overrun by a huge frontal assault. General Cogny based in ‘Hanoi’, ordered General de Castries, who was commanding the outpost, to cease fire at 5:30pm and to destroy all weapons and transmissions to deny their use to the enemy. A formal order was given to not use the white flag, so that the action would be considered a ceasefire instead of a surrender. Much of the fighting ended on 7th. However, the ceasefire was not respected on ‘Isabelle’ the isolated southern position, where the battle lasted until 1:00am on the 8th May.
At least 2,200 members of the 20,000 strong French forces died, and another 1,729 were reported missing after the battle. Of the 50,000 or so Vietnamese soldiers thought to be involved, there were estimates of anything up to 8,000 killed and at least 15,000 wounded. Prisoners taken at ‘Dien Bien Phu’ were the greatest number the Viet Minh had ever captured, one third of the total captured during the entire war.
One month after ‘Dien Bien Phu’, the composite Group Mobile 100 (GM100) of the French Union forces evacuated the ‘An Khe’ outpost and was ambushed by a larger Viet Minh force at the Battle of ‘Mang Yang Pass’ from the 24th June to the 17th July. While at the same time, General Giap launched some offensives against the delta, that all failed. The Viet Minh victory at ‘Dien Bien Phu’ heavily influenced the outcome of the 1954 Geneva accords that took place on the 21st July. During August ‘Operation Passage to Freedom’ began, consisting of the evacuation of all Catholic and Loyalist Vietnamese civilians from communist North Vietnamese persecution.
1960 saw the first American Military Advisors arrived in what was then known as French Indochina. Their involvement escalated during the early 1960s, with troop levels tripling in 1961 and again in 1962. Their involvement escalated further following the 1964 ‘Gulf of Tonkin’ incident, in which an American destroyer clashed with North Vietnamese fast attack craft, which was followed by the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. Which gave the American President authorisation to increase its military presence in the area.
The Americans were worried that the Communists would eventually take over many other countries in the area, calling it the ‘Domino Effect’. Regular American combat units were deployed from 1965. Their Operations crossed international borders, into ‘Laos’ and ‘Cambodia’ as the Americans forces heavily bombed them. The American involvement in the war peaked during 1968. That same year the communist side launched the ‘Tet Offensive’, which failed in its goal of trying to overthrow the South Vietnamese government, but became the turning point in the war. Instead, it persuaded a large proportion of the United States population that its government's claims of progress toward winning the war were illusory despite many years of massive American military aid.
The Australian involvement began during July and August 1962. When a small commitment of 30 military advisors known as the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam (AATTV) arrived. However, their numbers were to increase over the following decade. Especially during April 1965 after a decision to upgrade i
ts military commitment to South Vietnam's security was put in to operation. The Australians aim was to make friends with the locals, so they could depend on them for help if and when the communists threatened them. A system that was working well. However once the CIA got involved they were ordered to do it the American way. Bomb whole villages off the map. On the understanding that maybe one communist might be living in the village. And so the locals tuned against them, and in many instances turned to the communist for help. Many of the American troops with tongue in cheek, had nicked named the CIA as ‘Christians in Action’.
The withdrawal of Australia's forces from South Vietnam began in November 1970 when 8 RAR completed its tour of duty and was not replaced. A phased withdrawal followed, and by 11th January 1973 Australian involvement in hostilities in Vietnam had ceased. Nevertheless, Australian troops from the Australian Embassy Platoon remained deployed in the country until 1st July 1973. While other Australian forces were deployed briefly during April 1975, and the Fall of Saigon, to help evacuate personnel from the Australian Embassy.