The Battle of Route Coloniale 4 was a battle of the First Indochina War. The battle lasted from September 30 to October 18, 1950. Combatants French Colonialists Việt Minh Strength 500,000  ? Casualties 94,581 dead 78,127 wounded 40,000 captured 300,000+ dead 500,000+ wounded 100,000 captured The First Indochina War (also called the French Indochina War, the French War or the Franco-Vietnamese War) was fought in Indochina... September 30 is the 273rd day of the year (274th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... October 18 is the 291st day of the year (292nd in leap years). ... 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Général darmée Marcel-Maurice Carpentier (1895-1977) was a French military officer who served in World War II and French Indochina. ... Vo Nguyen Giap General Vo Nguyen Giap (born 1912) is a Vietnamese four-star general, who was the military leader of the Viet Minh guerrilla group under Ho Chi Minhs political leadership, and of the Peoples Army of Vietnam (PAVN) in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. ... Combatants French Colonialists Việt Minh Strength 500,000  ? Casualties 94,581 dead 78,127 wounded 40,000 captured 300,000+ dead 500,000+ wounded 100,000 captured The First Indochina War (also called the French Indochina War, the French War or the Franco-Vietnamese War) was fought in Indochina... 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. ... Route Coloniale 4 (RC4, also known as Highway 4) is a road in Vietnam, bordering the Chinese border from Hanoi to Cao Bang. ... 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 (loyalist), Hmong mercenaries. ... Combatants French Colonialists Việt Minh Strength 500,000  ? Casualties 94,581 dead 78,127 wounded 40,000 captured 300,000+ dead 500,000+ wounded 100,000 captured The First Indochina War (also called the French Indochina War, the French War or the Franco-Vietnamese War) was fought in Indochina... September 30 is the 273rd day of the year (274th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... October 18 is the 291st day of the year (292nd in leap years). ... 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Route Coloniale 4 (RC4, also known as Highway 4) is a road in Vietnam, bordering the Chinese border from Hanoi to Cao Bang. It is famous for a French military disaster in 1950 in which several units of the French army, including some battalions of the Foreign Legion, were decimated by the Viet Minh and essentially ceased to exist as fighting units. Hanoi (Vietnamese: Hà Ná»™i), estimated population 3,083,800 (2004), is the capital of Vietnam. ... Cao Bằng is a town in northern Vietnam. ... 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Symbol of the Austrian 14th Armoured Battalion in NATO military graphic symbols A battalion is a military unit usually consisting of between two and six companies and typically commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel. ... The French Foreign Legion (French: Légion Étrangère) is a unique unit within the French Army established in 1831. ... 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. ...

RC4 in the First Indochina War

During the French Indochina War (1945 - 1954), French forces attempted to re-establish colonial control of Vietnam, while nationalist forces led by Ho Chi Minh fought for independence. Initially the Vietnamese guerrilla forces, the Viet Minh, were unsuccessful in dealing with the better -trained and -equipped French forces. Their situation improved in 1949 after the Chinese Communist army of Mao Zedong defeated the Nationalist army led by Chiang Kai-Shek. This gave the communist Viet Minh a safe haven for organization and training, as well as an initially sympathetic ally to provide them with arms and logistical support. Combatants French Colonialists Việt Minh Strength 500,000  ? Casualties 94,581 dead 78,127 wounded 40,000 captured 300,000+ dead 500,000+ wounded 100,000 captured The First Indochina War (also called the French Indochina War, the French War or the Franco-Vietnamese War) was fought in Indochina... 1945 (MCMVL) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Nationalism is an ideology that creates and sustains a nation as a concept of a common identity for groups of humans. ... Hồ Chí Minh   (Chinese: 胡志明; May 19, 1890 – September 2, 1969)[1]) was a Vietnamese revolutionary and statesman, who later became Prime Minister (1946-1955) and President (1955-1969) of North Vietnam. ... Look up guerrilla in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 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. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ... Ỹ:Mao redirects here. ... Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887–April 5, 1975) was a Chinese military and political leader who assumed the leadership of the Kuomintang (KMT) after the 1925 death of Sun Yat-sen. ... Logistics is the art and science of managing and controlling the flow of goods, energy and information. ...

Vo Nguyen Giap the military leader of the Viet Minh, launched an offensive against the French in early 1950. From February to April his operation Le Hong Phong I raged through the Red River Valley, largely giving the Viet Minh control of northwestern Tonkin, near the Chinese border. The area became a Viet Minh stronghold, except for the RC4 highway. Vo Nguyen Giap General Vo Nguyen Giap (born 1912) is a Vietnamese four-star general, who was the military leader of the Viet Minh guerrilla group under Ho Chi Minhs political leadership, and of the Peoples Army of Vietnam (PAVN) in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. ... The Red River Valley is a region in central North America that is drained by the Red River of the North. ... Tonkin, also spelled Tongkin or Tongking, is the northernmost part of Vietnam, south of Chinas Yunnan and Guangxi Provinces, east of northern Laos, and west of the Gulf of Tonkin. ...

On May 25 2,500 Viet Minh troops overwhelmed the French fortress at Dong Khé, which lay at the strategic center of RC4, thus cutting the supply line between the French positions at Cao Bang and Lang Son. French parachutists retook Dong Khé on the evening of May 27 and a company of Legionnaires took charge of the fort. The Apollo 15 capsule landed safely despite a parachute failure. ... May 27 is the 147th day (148th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 218 days remaining. ...

Meanwhile the Viet Minh regular army, the Chu Luc, was becoming larger and better trained. By the beginning of September it comprised roughly 100,000 combatants in 70 battalions, with another 33 battalions of regional forces (40,000 men) as well as some 60,000 local support personnel. Giap then began harassing French positions along RC4 in northern Vietnam with mines and ambushes. The French responded by dismantling their small posts along the road and concentrating area forces in the fortified positions at Dong Khé and Cao Bang. Giap planned to launch another assault on French positions in operation Le Hong Phong II. Symbol of the Austrian 14th Armoured Battalion in NATO military graphic symbols A battalion is a military unit usually consisting of between two and six companies and typically commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel. ... Cao Bằng is a town in northern Vietnam. ...

On September 16 five Viet Minh infantry and one heavy weapons battalions attacked Dong Khé. It was then garrisoned by some 300 French troops comprising the 5th and 6th companies of the 2nd battalion of the 3rd Regiment of the French Foreign Legion (3rd REI). On September 18 the fort was overrun after bitter fighting, and only 12 survivors escaped to the nearby post at That Khé. 140 Legionnaires had been taken prisoner, the remainder being killed or missing in action. September 16 is the 259th day of the year (260th in leap years). ... September 18 is the 261st day of the year (262nd in leap years). ...

That Khé was quickly reinforced by the Foreign Legion's 1st Parachute Battalion (1st BEP), which parachuted in on September 17. The 1st BEP waited at That Khe while a force of French colonial troops, the Moroccan 1st and 11th Tabors, assembled at Lang Son. Designated Groupement Bayard the combined force comprised 3,500 men under the command of Colonel Le Page. The task force launched an intelligence raid, capturing prisoners who said a massive Viet Minh offensive was planned. September 17 is the 260th day of the year (261st in leap years). ... In general, the word colonial means of or relating to a colony. In United States history, the term Colonial is used to refer to the period before US independence. ... This is an article on the city of Tabor in the Czech Republic. ... Lang Son, a city in far northern Vietnam, is the capital of Lang Son province. ... Colonel (IPA: or ) is a military rank of a commissioned officer, with the corresponding ranks existing in nearly every country in the world. ...

Meanwhile General Marcel-Maurice Carpentier, the commander in chief of French Indochina, decided to evacuate Cao Bang. The commander of the Cao Bang fort, Colonel Charton, was ordered to destroy his heavy equipment and motor transport and evacuate towards Dong Khé. The plan was that Groupement Bayard would fight its way north from That Khe and retake Dong Khé, holding it long enough to link up with the Cao Bang group. This group comprised 2,600 troops and 500 civilians, the latter mostly pro-French Tho partisans and their families. Général darmée Marcel-Maurice Carpentier (1895-1977) was a French military officer who served in World War II and French Indochina. ... The Tho ethnic group inhabits the mountainous region of Northern Vietnam, chiefly Nghe An province southwest of Hanoi. ... Look up partisan on Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Battle of RC4

On September 30 Groupement Bayard set out from That Khe, led by the 1st BEP. However Giap had concentrated ten battalions around Dong Khé, reinforced by a complete artillery regiment, together with the remaining forces from Le Hong Phong I. The Viet Minh rebuffed the French forces which were forced to pull back and wait for air support. Le Page renewed the attack on October 2, pushing west to bypass Dong Khé as Viet Minh numbers were overwhelming. September 30 is the 273rd day of the year (274th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... A 155 mm artillery shell fired by a United States 11th Marine regiment M-198 howitzer Historically, artillery refers to any engine used for the discharge of projectiles during war. ... A regiment is a military unit, consisting of a group of battalions, usually four and commanded by a colonel. ...

Meanwhile Colonel Charton's group, led by the 3rd Battalion of 3rd REI, left Cao Bang on October 1; contrary to orders he took with him his heavy equipment. The group's movement down RC4 was slowed by Viet Minh ambushes. After bitter fighting they finally abandoned their heavy equipment and linked up with Groupement Bayard in the hills around Dong Khé on October 5. October 1 is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... October 5 is the 278th day of the year (279th in Leap years). ...

The French forces were driven into the Coc Xa gorge, where they were completely annihilated by October 7. In an attempt to support the embattled troops the 1st BEP Replacement Company (120 men) had been merged with 280 men from the 3rd BCCP (Bataillon Colonial de Commandos Parachutistes) and were parachuted into That Khe, but were also destroyed. Only 23 survivors of the 1st BEP managed to escape to French lines: it became the first French parachute battalion lost in combat, followed by the 3rd BCCP. October 7 is the 280th day of the year (281st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Of the more than 6000 French soldiers and civilians involved in the operation only 700 reached French lines. Lang Son, the next French base to the south, was abandoned on October 17 and on October 18 the French command evacuated posts south of Lang Son on RC4. Panic spread in French-controlled Hanoi and there was talk of an evacuation. Ultimately, however, General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny replaced Carpentier as commander in chief of French Indochina in late 1950 and restored French morale. October 17 is the 290th (in leap years the 291st) day of the year according to the Gregorian calendar. ... October 18 is the 291st day of the year (292nd in leap years). ... Jean de Lattre de Tassigny (February 2, 1889 - January 11, 1952) was a French military hero of World War II. Born at Mouilleron-en-Pareds (during the time of Georges Clemenceau, who was also born there), he graduated from school in 1911, and fought in World War I. He specialized...

See also

• History of Vietnam
• Viet Minh
• First Indochina War
• French Foreign Legion

History of Vietnam, according to Vietnamese legends, dates back more than 4,000 years. ... 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 Colonialists Việt Minh Strength 500,000  ? Casualties 94,581 dead 78,127 wounded 40,000 captured 300,000+ dead 500,000+ wounded 100,000 captured The First Indochina War (also called the French Indochina War, the French War or the Franco-Vietnamese War) was fought in Indochina... The French Foreign Legion (French: Légion Étrangère) is a unique unit within the French Army established in 1831. ...

External links

• Voyage Vietnam: Motorbiking, Motorcycling, Motorbike, Motorcycle, 4x4, Fiesta, Trekking & Kayaking Tours, Rental, Ride in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia (Indochina) and China.
• http://rectravel.com/fr/rc4.htm Battle for Colonial Road 4, October, 1950