Skirmishes for Nghia Lo
During the Indochina War , there were several significant battles over Nghĩa Lộ , a small town in the northeastern highlands of Tonkin . At the first encounter between the Viet Minh and French forces , often referred to as the Battle of Nghĩa Lộ , the French managed to defend themselves successfully in one-week battles. A year later the garrison was overrun in a night attack. The subsequent withdrawal movement led to heavy losses.
Successful defense in 1951
The Viet Minh planned the attack on Nghia Lo under the propaganda designation after a general of the Ly Dynasty named Ly Thuong Kiet campaign. This was a center of the minority of the Tai peoples who wanted to get the French to cooperate. The conquest of Nghia Los should weaken this cooperation. Likewise, the city was to become the starting point for a guerrilla-controlled corridor between Tonkin and Annam in the highland region that was difficult to control for the colonial troops. For the execution of the operation forces of the 312nd Infantry Division of the Viet Minh were entrusted. The operation began on September 29, 1951. The attack began on the night of October 2-3. The defending Tai battalion, under the command of French officers, was able to hold out. The defense could be stabilized by bringing parts from three parachute battalions. The Viet Minh gave up the attacks on October 10, 1951.
French defeat in 1952
After a regiment of the 312nd Division had eliminated a small outpost in Gia Hoi on October 15, 1952, the French leadership feared that the Viet Minh could now try to break up the French base chain in the highland region via Nghia Lo. Therefore, on October 16, they set the 6th BPC over Tu Le near Nghia Lo. On October 17, however, the garrison at Nghia Lo was attacked by two regiments of the 308th Division. The garrison was destroyed by the nightly attack and lost around 700 men. The 6e BPC was instructed to cover the withdrawal of the troops from the surrounding bases. The battalion was assigned the role of a rearguard to be sacrificed by the French leadership. Nevertheless, some soldiers of the battalion around their commander Marcel Bigeard managed to save themselves in a fighting retreat on French lines. Numerous wounded had to be left behind.
In response to the loss of Nghia Los and the forced abandonment of large parts of the highland region, the French leadership responded with the Opération Lorraine, which had the goal of weakening the infrastructure of the Viet Minh in Tonkin. Likewise, the breakdown of the chain of bases moved the Commander-in-Chief Raoul Salan to strengthen the Na San base, which resulted in a successful defensive battle.
Individual evidence
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↑ Christopher E. Goscha : Historical Dictionary of the Indochina War (1945-1954) , Copenhagen, 2011, p. 312
Martin Windrow: The Last Valley - Dien Bien Phu and the French Defeat in Vietnam , Cambridge 2004, p. 117 - ↑ Frederick Logevall: Embers of War - The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America's Vietnam , New York 2013, pp. 322–323
- ↑ Christopher E. Goscha: Historical Dictionary of the Indochina War (1945-1954) , Copenhagen, 2011, p. 312