The Battle of Vinh Yen, occurring from January 13, 1951 to January 17, 1951, was a major engagement in the First Indochina War between France and the Viet Minh. The French forces, led by World War II hero Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, inflicted a decisive defeat on Vietnamese forces, which were commanded by Vo Nguyen Giap. The victory marked a turn in the tide of the war, which was previously characterized by a number of Vietnamese victories. Combatants French Republic Viet Minh Commanders 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) was fought in Southeast Asia from 1946 through 1954 between the nation... January 13 is the 13th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... January 17 is the 17th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... Vinh Yen is the capital of Vinh Phuc Province, Vietnam. ... 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... Võ Nguyên Giáp General Võ Nguyên Giáp (born 25 August 1911) is a Vietnamese four-star general, who was the military leader of the Viet Minh guerrilla group under Hồ Chí Minhs political leadership, and of the Peoples Army of Vietnam (PAVN) in the Democratic... January 13 is the 13th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... January 17 is the 17th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Combatants French Republic Viet Minh Commanders 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) was fought in Southeast Asia from 1946 through 1954 between the nation... 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 Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II... 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... Võ Nguyên Giáp General Võ Nguyên Giáp (born 25 August 1911) is a Vietnamese four-star general, who was the military leader of the Viet Minh guerrilla group under Hồ Chí Minhs political leadership, and of the Peoples Army of Vietnam (PAVN) in the Democratic...

Prelude

By October 1950, the Viet Minh had seized the initiative from the French. Operating from basis in Communist China, Viet Minh troops under Giap constantly raided French outposts along Route Coloniale 4. At the end of the attacks on October 17, the French had lost 6,000 troops, stunning the French government into action: the high commissioner for Indochina, Leon Pignon, and the commander-in-chief of the French Expeditionary Corps, General Georges Carpentier, were both recalled. Paris replaced them with General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, widely considered one of the greatest French commanders after his spectacular leadership of the French First Army in the Second World War. The Peoples Republic of China (PRC) is a communist state, comprising most of the cultural, historic, and geographic area known as China. ... Route Coloniale 4 (RC4, also known as Highway 4) is a road in Vietnam, bordering the Chinese border from Hanoi to Cao Bang. ... French First Army was a field army that fought during World War I and World War II. At the beginning of WWI the First Army was put in charge of General Auguste Dubail and took part, along with the French Second Army, in the Invasion of Lorraine. ...

De Lattre came to Hanoi on December 17 and assumed both military and political control of Indochina. The French Expeditionary Corps numbered some 190,000, including 10,000 serving in the French Air Force and 5,000 in the French Navy. The French occupied most of the country, but the Viet Minh held considerable portions of the countryside that allowed quick and easy access to various crucial points should the need arise. Giap had five divisions, all armed and equipped by the Chinese, composed of about 10,000 troops each. Four of the five Vietnamese divisions were roughly 150 miles north of Hanoi, stationed around the Viet Bac region near the Chinese border. The 320th Division was located southwest of the Red River delta, which was controlled by the French. Hanoi (Vietnamese: Hà Ná»™i; Han tu: 河内), estimated population 3,083,800 (2004), is the capital of Vietnam and was the capital of North Vietnam from 1954 to 1976. ... The French Air Force is the air force branch of the French Armed Forces. ... The French Navy (Marine Nationale) is the maritime arm of the French military and is the largest Western European navy with 45,600 personnel (the United Kingdoms Royal Navy has 43,530). ... Flowing from China through Vietnam to the South China Sea, the Red River (Vietnamese Sông Hồng, Chinese Hónghé) is also known as the Yuan Jiang (元江, pinyin yuan2jiang1), which means Primary River. ...

The dawn of 1951 heralded tremendous prospects for Vietnamese success. Giap and Communist Party strategists planned for a massive offensive which would drive the French out of their homeland. Giap decided to strike straight for Hanoi and chose Vinh Yen, 30 miles northwest of the capitol and the tip of the French defensive triangle, for the main blow. Vinh Yen is the capital of Vinh Phuc Province, Vietnam. ...

Battle

Dispositions

Vinh Yen was defended by two French mobile groups (GM) of 3,000 men each. GM 3 guarded the town itself whereas GM 1 held a series of key blocking positions to the east. Giap hoped to drive a wedge between the two forces by pinning GM 3 against the Dam Vac lake to the south and then defeating the French in detail. In late December, Giap had moved the 308th and 312th divisions from the Viet Bac into position along the Tam Dao ridge. On January 13, 1951, he attacked.

The battle

The 308th Division made a diversionary attack on Bao Chuc, a small outpost about two miles north of Vinh Yen. GM 3 quickly moved north to relieve the beleaguered 50-man garrison, but they were ambushed by forces from the 312th Division at Dao Tu. A series of heavy air strikes and artillery barrages eventually allowed GM 3 to disengage and return to Vinh Yen, but not before it had lost an entire battalion and had another severely damaged. Viet Minh forces followed their success by taking a string of hills in front of Vinh Yen.

On January 14, de Lattre arrived in Vinh Yen to take personal command of the fighting. He ordered GM 2 to come from Hanoi as a reserve, GM 1 to attack west and break through to the town, and also called for heavy air strikes along with more reinforcements. GM 1 managed to successfully advance along Route 2 and joined GM 3 for a number of attacks which drove the Viet Minh out of the hills they had recently captured. On January 16, however, the Viet Minh launched a massive human-wave assault with the entire 308th division. De Lattre replied by ordering the largest French air strike of the entire war, in which napalm was used for the first time on a large scale. Giap's troops initially fled, only to come back and continue fighting. In the early hours of the 17th, French soldiers on Hill 101 ran out of ammunition and withdrew, soon followed by the Viet Minh capture of Hill 47. Giap now had control of the center while the French controlled hills 210 and 157 on the flanks. At dawn, the 308th Division attacked again. A napalm airstrike during the Vietnam War Napalm, or jellied gasoline, is a flammable liquid fuel weapon first used in World War I by the Germans, with the Central powers quickly following suit. ...

De Lattre used GM 2, his last reserve, to support Hill 47 while GM 3 was sent to the isolated French position on Hill 210. More air and napalm strikes followed both attacks. Finally, French aerial forces proved decisive. The 308th Division began to retreat and the 312th launched one more desperate attack to reverse the decision, but it was too late. By noon on the 17th, both Viet Minh divisions scrambled for the mountains.

Aftermath

Although the impressive French victory did not provide any short-term reprieve-Giap would try to breach the line again shortly-it was a morale booster for French forces and confirmed that Paris had made the right decision in picking de Lattre to lead the effort against the communists. Strategically, the battle meant that the war would go on and ultimate victory would not be easy for either side.

Sources

Setting the Stage in Vietnam