Battle of the Day River
Encyclopedia
The Battle of the Day River (French: bataille du Day) took place between late May and early June 1951, around the Day River
Delta in the Gulf of Tonkin
. Part of the First Indochina War
, the battle was the first conventional campaign of Vo Nguyen Giap
, and saw his Viet Minh
forces tackle the Catholic
-dominated region of the Delta in order to break its resistance to Viet Minh infiltration. On the back of two defeats at similar ventures through March and April that year, Giap led three divisions in a pattern of guerilla and diversion attacks on Ninh Binh
, Nam Dinh, Phu Ly and Phat Diem beginning on May 30. The French army
, under Jean de Lattre de Tassigny
, who lost his son in the first day of the battle at Ninh Binh, mobilised several armoured brigades, and the ebb and flow of captured and retaken positions continued until Giap's supply lines were cut around June 6. His forces, moving in large numbers and during daylight, were vulnerable to French fire-power and to French ground forces supported by friendly local militia. The Viet Minh were forced into withdrawing between June 10 and June 18, leaving 1,000 prisoners to the French and 9,000 casualties.
Day River
The Day River is a river in Vietnam. It was formerly known as Sông Hát or Hát Giang. The river is a distributary of the Red River, draining into the Gulf of Tonkin....
Delta in the Gulf of Tonkin
Gulf of Tonkin
The Gulf of Tonkin is an arm of the South China Sea, lying off the coast of northeastern Vietnam.-Etymology:The name Tonkin, written "東京" in Hán tự and Đông Kinh in romanised Vietnamese, means "Eastern Capital", and is the former toponym for Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam...
. Part of the First Indochina War
First Indochina War
The First Indochina War was fought in French Indochina from December 19, 1946, until August 1, 1954, between the French Union's French Far East...
, the battle was the first conventional campaign of Vo Nguyen Giap
Vo Nguyen Giap
Võ Nguyên Giáp is a retired Vietnamese officer in the Vietnam People’s Army and a politician. He was a principal commander in two wars: the First Indochina War and the Vietnam War...
, and saw his Viet Minh
Viet Minh
Việt Minh was a national independence coalition formed at Pac Bo on May 19, 1941. The Việt Minh initially formed to seek independence for Vietnam from the French Empire. When the Japanese occupation began, the Việt Minh opposed Japan with support from the United States and the Republic of China...
forces tackle the Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
-dominated region of the Delta in order to break its resistance to Viet Minh infiltration. On the back of two defeats at similar ventures through March and April that year, Giap led three divisions in a pattern of guerilla and diversion attacks on Ninh Binh
Ninh Bình
Ninh Bình is a city in the Red River Delta of northern Vietnam. It is the capital of Ninh Binh province.-Geography:Ninh Binh city located in the southernmost plains north Vietnam...
, Nam Dinh, Phu Ly and Phat Diem beginning on May 30. The French army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
, under Jean de Lattre de Tassigny
Jean de Lattre de Tassigny
Jean Joseph Marie Gabriel de Lattre de Tassigny, GCB, MC was a French military hero of World War II and commander in the First Indochina War.-Early life:...
, who lost his son in the first day of the battle at Ninh Binh, mobilised several armoured brigades, and the ebb and flow of captured and retaken positions continued until Giap's supply lines were cut around June 6. His forces, moving in large numbers and during daylight, were vulnerable to French fire-power and to French ground forces supported by friendly local militia. The Viet Minh were forced into withdrawing between June 10 and June 18, leaving 1,000 prisoners to the French and 9,000 casualties.