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Battle of Mang Yang Pass
Part of First Indochina War
Date June 24-July 17, 1954 Location Mang Yang, Vietnam Result Viet Minh Victory
Combatants
French Union State of Vietnam	Viet Minh
Commanders
Pierre Chasse	Nguyen Minh Chau
Strength
2,500 troops [citations needed]	2 battalions of 96th regiment + 1 battalion of 120th regiment
Casualties
500 killed [1]	Unknown

The Battle of Mang Yang Pass (also known as Ambush of An Khe) was one of the last battles in the First Indochina War. Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Combatants French Union France State of Vietnam Viet Minh Commanders Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque (1945-46) Jean-Étienne Valluy (1946-8) Roger Blaizot (1948-9) Marcel-Maurice Carpentier (1949-50) Jean de Lattre de Tassigny (1950-51) Raoul Salan (1952-3) Henri Navarre (1953-4) Ho Chi Minh Vo Nguyen... June 24 is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 190 days remaining. ... July 17 is the 198th day of the year (199th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... Established by the French constitution of October 27, 1946, the French Union (French: Union Française) was a political entity created to replace the old French colonial system, the French Empire (Empire français). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_South_Vietnam. ... Motto: None Official language Vietnamese Capital Saigon First Chief Emperor Bao Dai Last Chief Ngo Dinh Diem Rule Area South Vietnam (1954-) Independence  - Provisional  - Declared  - Recognised  - Dissolved From Franch rule May 27, 1948 June 14, 1949 1954 October 26, 1955 Currency Piastre National anthem Call to the Citizens Caution: The... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The Viet Minh (abbreviated from Việt Nam ộc Lập ồng Minh Hội, League for the Independence of Vietnam) was formed by Ho Ngoc Lam and Nguyen Hai Than in 1941 to seek independence for Vietnam from France. ... Combatants French Union France State of Vietnam Viet Minh Commanders Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque (1945-46) Jean-Étienne Valluy (1946-8) Roger Blaizot (1948-9) Marcel-Maurice Carpentier (1949-50) Jean de Lattre de Tassigny (1950-51) Raoul Salan (1952-3) Henri Navarre (1953-4) Ho Chi Minh Vo Nguyen... The military operation codenamed Lèa was an attempt of the french colonial forces in Indochina to capture the communist leaders of the vietnamese movement for independence (Viet Minh), which started on October 7th, 1947 and was unsuccessfully finished at December 22, 1947. ... Combatants France Vietnam Commanders Gen. ... Combatants France Vietnam Commanders Jean de Lattre de Tassigny Võ Nguyên Giáp Strength 9,000 20,000 Casualties Unknown; but light 6,000 dead 8,000 wounded 500 captured The Battle of Vinh Yen, occurring from January 13, 1951 to January 17, 1951, was a major engagement in... Combatants France Vietnam Commanders Jean de Lattre de Tassigny Võ Nguyên Giáp Strength 400 3 destroyers 2 landing craft 10,000 Casualties 40 killed 150 wounded 3,000 The Battle of Mao Khe, occuring from March 23, 1951 to March 28, 1951, was a significant engagement in the... Combatants France Vietnam Commanders Gen. ... Combatants France Vietnam Commanders Raoul Salan Vo Nguyen Giap Strength 15,000  ??? Operation Lorraine was a French military operation of the First Indochina War. ... Combatants French Union Viet Minh Commanders Louis Berteil Vo Nguyen Giap Strength - - Casualties - 3,000 casualties The Battle of Nan Sanh was a conflict between French Union forces and Viet Minh forces of the First Indochina War. ... The Battle of Dong Khe was a major battle of the First Indochina War. ... Combatants France, Vietnam (loyalist) Vietnam (Viet Minh) Commanders Christian de Castries Vo Nguyen Giap Strength As of March 13: 10,800 (Davidson, 224) As of March 13: 49,000 combat personnel, 15,000 logistical support personnel (Davidson, 223) Casualties 2,293 dead 2 dead (USA) 5,193 wounded 11,800... Combatants France, Vietnam (loyalist), Hmong mercenaries Viet Minh, Chinese and possibly Japanese[1] consultants Commanders Christian de Castries, Pierre Langlais # Vo Nguyen Giap Strength As of March 13: 10,800[2] As of March 13: 48,000 combat personnel, 15,000 logistical support personnel[3] Casualties 2,293 dead, 5... Combatants French Union France State of Vietnam Viet Minh Commanders Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque (1945-46) Jean-Étienne Valluy (1946-8) Roger Blaizot (1948-9) Marcel-Maurice Carpentier (1949-50) Jean de Lattre de Tassigny (1950-51) Raoul Salan (1952-3) Henri Navarre (1953-4) Ho Chi Minh Vo Nguyen...

The failure of the outposts strategy

Anxious about a second disaster like the one of the Dien Bien Phu outpost, the French commandment ordered for leaving this outpost hence the GM 100's hurried departure.

Ambushes

Shortly after the French Union defeat at Dien Bien Phu the composite Groupe Mobile 100 of the French Expeditionary Corps in the Far East was ambushed and practically destroyed by Viet Minh forces united in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. Dien Bien Phu (Điện Biên Phủ) is a small town in northwestern Vietnam in the province of Điện Biên. ... Municipality of Central Highlands The Municipality of Central Highlands is a local government area of Tasmania. ...

June 24: An Khe (Operation Églantine)

On June 24, 1954 Groupe Mobile 100 received orders to abandon their positions at An Khe and fall back to Pleiku, some 50 miles away over Route Coloniale 19. But on that day, the French Union forces were ambushed at kilometer marker 15 ("PK15") by two Viet Minh main force battalions from the 803th Regiment. June 24 is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 190 days remaining. ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... An Khe is episode 102 of The West Wing. ... Pleiku is a town in central Vietnam seated in the central highland region. ... The Viet Minh (abbreviated from Việt Nam ộc Lập ồng Minh Hội, League for the Independence of Vietnam) was formed by Ho Ngoc Lam and Nguyen Hai Than in 1941 to seek independence for Vietnam from France. ...

June 28: Dak Ya-Ayun, Plei Bon

Suffering heavy losses and desertion of the Truong Doan Kuin Quan (TDKQ) Vietnamese battalion,^[2] GM 100 broke through, only to be ambushed again on June 28 at Dak Ya-Ayun by the Viet Minh 108th Regiment. The survivors finally reached Pleiku the following day. June 28 is the 179th day of the year (180th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

July 17: Chu Dreh (Operation Myosotis)

Groupe Mobile, which made up of the 1st Korea Battalion, the 2nd Korea Battalion, and the 43rd Batallion de Marche which numbered about 830 men each, was now mustered at roll call with 452, 497, and 345 men respectively. The 2nd Group of the 10th Colonial Artillery, reduced to fighting as infantry after the loss of all of their guns, had shrunk from 475 men to 215 men during the fighting.

But the ordeal for GM 100 was not over. The 1st Korea Battalion was ordered to take part in Operation Forget-Me-Not ^{[citations needed]} to open Route Coloniale 14 between Pleiku and Ban Me Thuot. On July 17, the 450-man unit, which also mustered 47 vehicles including a few tanks, was ambushed at Chu Dreh Pass by local Viet Minh regulars and militia. The survivors, who entered Ban Me Thout the following day, now numbered only 107 men, 53 of whom were wounded. The 1st Korea Battalion had ceased to exist. ... July 17 is the 198th day of the year (199th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

The end

The ambush and destruction of GM 100 was considered the last battle of the First Indochina War ^{[citations needed]}. Three days later on July 20, 1954, a battlefield ceasefire was announced, and on August 1, the armistice that was to end the war went into effect, sealing the French defeat in Indochina. July 20 is the 201st day (202nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 164 days remaining. ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... August 1 is the 213th day of the year (214th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

In fiction

Although not explicitly indicated, a part of the Battle of Mang Yang Pass was shown as the opening scene of the film We Were Soldiers. The clues being that the scene took place in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, and the fact that it depicted a French column being ambushed by the Viet Minh. We Were Soldiers is a 2002 war film that dramatized the Battle of Ia Drang which took place in November 1965, the first major engagement of American troops in the Vietnam War. ...

Sources

References

• Fall, Bernard. B(1961)Street Without Joy: The French Debacle in Indochina. Stackpole Military History ISBN 0-8117-3236-3
• Summers Jr., Harry G. Historical Atlas of the Vietnam War. 1995 ISBN 0-395-72223-3

External links

• "Dossier" in French Marine Troops' official website