Operation Ceinture
| date | November 20 to December 22, 1947 |
|---|---|
| place | Northwest of Hanoi , Vietnam |
| output | French tactical victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
|
unknown |
|
| Troop strength | |
| 18 battalions | 112th Doc Lap Brigade Regiment |
| losses | |
|
unknown |
9,500 men |
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The Opération Ceinture was a French military operation during the Indochina War . The French troops tried from November 20 to December 22, 1947 to smash the Viet Minh guerrilla in an area northwest of Hanoi .
prehistory
As part of the Opération Léa , the colonial troops tried to smash the organization of the Viet Minh in their retreat, the Viet Bac . The operation failed to achieve this goal and most of the guerrillas were able to evade attempts to place them in battle. As a result, the French high command under Jean-Étienne Valluy ordered a similar lockdown and combed operation northwest of Hanoi. The operation focused on a highland area near Hanoi where the Thái ethnic minority was well represented. The area of operation extended from Hanoi via Thái Nguyên to Tuyen Qang .
Course and consequences
On the French side, 18 battalions including amphibious landing vehicles and paratroopers were deployed. The French forces discovered many guerrilla depots. The French authorities claimed to have killed around 9,500 combatants in this operation and Opération Lea, but the proportion of wrongly killed civilians cannot be determined. The majority of the Viet Minh were also able to evade the access of the colonial power during the Opération Ceinture. After the French withdrew their main forces from the area, leaving behind a loose chain of bases, the Viet Minh were able to occupy their positions again within weeks.
Individual evidence
- ^ Martin Windrow : The Last Valley. Dien Bien Phu and the French Defeat in Vietnam. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London 2004, ISBN 0-297-84671-X , pp. 95-96.
- ↑ a b Bernard B. Fall : Street without Joy. 4th edition. Stackpole, Harrisburg PA 1994, p. 30 f.
- ↑ Fredrik Logevall: Embers of War. The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America's Vietnam. Paperback edition. Random House, New York NY 2013, ISBN 978-0-375-75647-4 , p. 203