Transition period

At the 1954 Geneva Conference, Vietnam was temporarily partitioned at the 17th parallel. Ho Chi Minh had wished to continue the war in the south, but was restrained by his Chinese allies who convinced him that he could win control by electoral means.

23Jan

By Vietnam PortalNo Comments

Transition period

The battle of the Route Coloniale 4

The Battle of Route Coloniale 4 (RC4), a major defeat for the French Expeditionary Force in Indochina along with Dien Bien Phu. Secret Indochina has been developing programs in the area of the former RC4 between Cao Bang and Ha Giang for some time, and to mark the anniversary we take a look back on this famous battle and the regions of northeastern Vietnam where it took place. The first major offensive of the First Indochina War took place on July 25, 1948 on the RC3 during an attack on the Phu Tong Hoa post. More than 3,000 Viet Minh infantry troops launched a nighttime attack on the post, which was located near Bac Khan at the crossing of the Ba Be Road. At dawn, the Legionnaires were still resisting, and the attackers withdrew. After this attack, French generals decided t...

THE DISASTERS BEFORE DIEN BIEN PHU: IN 1950, THE VIETNAMESE ROUTED THE FRENCH IN CHINESE BORDER BATTLES

23Jan

By Vietnam PortalNo Comments

Transition period

THE DISASTERS BEFORE DIEN BIEN PHU: IN 1950, THE VIETNAMESE ROUTED THE FRENCH IN CHINESE BORDER BATTLES

When the smoke cleared, the French had suffered their greatest colonial defeat since 1749, wrote French historian Bernard Fall. The young soldiers of Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap’s newly formed 308th Division, freshly trained and equipped by the communist Chinese, showed off their skills in stealth operations against the French in May 1950. Four of Giap’s infantry battalions scaled steep limestone heights surrounding the town of Dong Khe in northeast Tonkin, the northernmost region of Vietnam, without being detected even though they were hauling five American-made 75 mm pack howitzers. At dawn on May 25, they opened fire with a devastating sustained barrage on the French defenses and the 800-man garrison, consisting mostly of Moroccan riflemen under French officers. Giap, commander in chi...