French Far East Expeditionary Corps
Encyclopedia
The French Far East Expeditionary Corps was a colonial expeditionary force of the French Union Army
sent in French Indochina
in 1945 during the Pacific War
.
resistance small groups C.L.I.
then fighting with the Japanese
Southern Expeditionary Army Group
during the Second French Indochina Campaign
. After the 1944 Liberation of France
and the fall of Nazi Germany
in Europe the following year, the French authorities wanted to "free" the last Axis powers
occupied territories in Southeast Asia
, these included the newly established Empire of Vietnam
, which was a Japanese colony. On June 7 1945, Leclerc was nominated commander of the CEFEO. On June 22, Leclerc transferred commanding of the 2nd Armored Division (2ème D.B.) -the famous unit who liberated Paris
in August 1944- to Colonel Dio. Leclerc received command of the Far East French Forces (Forces Françaises en Extrême-Orient) on August 15.
In 1946, nationalist, then communist popular rebellion movement rose up against established colonial rule in the French Indochina federation then including the Kingdom of Laos
, the Kingdom of Cambodia
, Tonkin
(North Vietnam), the Empire of Annam (Middle Vietnam) and Cochinchina
(South Vietnam), all states being protectorate
s excluding the latter which was a colony with Saigon as its capital. In 1946, they would become associated states within the French Union and by 1949 Tonkin, Annam and the Republic of Cochin China would merge as the State of Vietnam
. The communist Viet Minh
led by Ho Chi Minh
overwhelmed its rival nationalist movements and organized itself as a revolutionary army using guerrilla warfare
, then in the 1950s—due to a massive Chinese
support—using conventional warfare. The First Indochina War officially lasted from November 20 1946 until July 20 1954 and was settled by the Geneva Agreements
.
, Laos
and Cambodia
in 1956, the corps was disbanded by General Pierre Jacquot.
colonial territories in Maghreb
, Africa
, Madagascar
, Overseas
(future Dom-Tom) and South-East Asia with the notable exception of the French Foreign Legion
gathering mostly Europe
an troops (French, Spaniards, Poles
, etc.).
Most of the professional colonial airborne units (BPC) and the entire Chief of Staff were metropolitan French though.
In early November 1953, the French U.N. volunteers
returning from the ended Korean War
joined the French Union CEFEO and sailed from Incheon
to Vietnam. They would be later involved in the battle of Mang Yang Pass
of June and July 1954.
(North Vietnam Ground Forces)
(South Vietnam Ground Forces)
Among the French ground forces in the Far East was the 6th Engineers Regiment
(6 RG).
(Far East Naval Direction)
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...
sent in French Indochina
French Indochina
French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
in 1945 during the Pacific War
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
.
Pacific War (1945)
The CEFEO was created in 1945 as a replacement for the older Far East French Expeditionary Forces (Forces Expéditionnaires Françaises d'Extrême-Orient, FEFEO). Its purpose was to support Saigon-based General Gilbert Sabattier, divisional commander of colonial "Indochina French Forces" (Forces Françaises d'Indochine) and Free French ForcesFree French Forces
The Free French Forces were French partisans in World War II who decided to continue fighting against the forces of the Axis powers after the surrender of France and subsequent German occupation and, in the case of Vichy France, collaboration with the Germans.-Definition:In many sources, Free...
resistance small groups C.L.I.
Corps Léger d'Intervention
The Corps Léger d'Intervention was a Pacific War interarm corps of the Far East French Expeditionary Forces commanded by Général de corps d'armée Roger Blaizot and using guerrilla warfare against the Imperial Japanese Army who occupied French Indochina since 1941...
then fighting with the Japanese
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
Southern Expeditionary Army Group
Southern Expeditionary Army Group
The was a army group of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. It was responsible for all military operations in South East Asian and South West Pacific campaigns of World War II....
during the Second French Indochina Campaign
Second French Indochina Campaign
The Second French Indochina Campaign, also known as the Japanese coup of March 1945, was a Japanese military operation in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, then a French colony and known as French Indochina, during the final months of the Second World War. Vietnam was not a real colony at this time. The...
. After the 1944 Liberation of France
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
and the fall of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
in Europe the following year, the French authorities wanted to "free" the last Axis powers
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
occupied territories in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
, these included the newly established Empire of Vietnam
Empire of Vietnam
The Empire of Vietnam was a short-lived puppet state of Imperial Japan governing the whole of Vietnam between March 11 and August 23, 1945.-History:...
, which was a Japanese colony. On June 7 1945, Leclerc was nominated commander of the CEFEO. On June 22, Leclerc transferred commanding of the 2nd Armored Division (2ème D.B.) -the famous unit who liberated Paris
Liberation of Paris
The Liberation of Paris took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the surrender of the occupying German garrison on August 25th. It could be regarded by some as the last battle in the Battle for Normandy, though that really ended with the crushing of the Wehrmacht forces between the...
in August 1944- to Colonel Dio. Leclerc received command of the Far East French Forces (Forces Françaises en Extrême-Orient) on August 15.
First Indochina War (1946–1954)
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, the Kingdom of Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, Tonkin
Tonkin
Tonkin , also spelled Tongkin, Tonquin or Tongking, is the northernmost part of Vietnam, south of China's Yunnan and Guangxi Provinces, east of northern Laos, and west of the Gulf of Tonkin. Locally, it is known as Bắc Kỳ, meaning "Northern Region"...
(North Vietnam), the Empire of Annam (Middle Vietnam) and Cochinchina
Cochinchina
Cochinchina is a region encompassing the southern third of Vietnam whose principal city is Saigon. It was a French colony from 1862 to 1954. The later state of South Vietnam was created in 1954 by combining Cochinchina with southern Annam. In Vietnamese, the region is called Nam Bộ...
(South Vietnam), all states being protectorate
Protectorate
In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
s excluding the latter which was a colony with Saigon as its capital. In 1946, they would become associated states within the French Union and by 1949 Tonkin, Annam and the Republic of Cochin China would merge as the State of Vietnam
State of Vietnam
The State of Vietnam was a state that claimed authority over all of Vietnam during the First Indochina War, and replaced the Provisional Central Government of Vietnam . The provisional government was a brief transitional administration between colonial Cochinchina and an independent state...
. The communist 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...
led by Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh
Hồ Chí Minh , born Nguyễn Sinh Cung and also known as Nguyễn Ái Quốc, was a Vietnamese Marxist-Leninist revolutionary leader who was prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam...
overwhelmed its rival nationalist movements and organized itself as a revolutionary army using guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
, then in the 1950s—due to a massive Chinese
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
support—using conventional warfare. The First Indochina War officially lasted from November 20 1946 until July 20 1954 and was settled by the Geneva Agreements
Geneva Conference (1954)
The Geneva Conference was a conference which took place in Geneva, Switzerland, whose purpose was to attempt to find a way to unify Korea and discuss the possibility of restoring peace in Indochina...
.
Dissolution (1956)
After withdrawal of the last CEFEO troops from the independent VietnamVietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
and Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
in 1956, the corps was disbanded by General Pierre Jacquot.
Composition
The CEFEO was made of enlisted and volunteer troops from the French UnionFrench Union
The French Union was a political entity created by the French Fourth Republic to replace the old French colonial system, the "French Empire" and to abolish its "indigenous" status.-History:...
colonial territories in Maghreb
Maghreb
The Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. It includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
, Overseas
Overseas departments and territories of France
The French Overseas Departments and Territories consist broadly of French-administered territories outside of the European continent. These territories have varying legal status and different levels of autonomy, although all have representation in the Parliament of France , and consequently the...
(future Dom-Tom) and South-East Asia with the notable exception of the French Foreign Legion
French Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion is a unique military service wing of the French Army established in 1831. The foreign legion was exclusively created for foreign nationals willing to serve in the French Armed Forces...
gathering mostly Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an troops (French, Spaniards, Poles
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
, etc.).
Most of the professional colonial airborne units (BPC) and the entire Chief of Staff were metropolitan French though.
In early November 1953, the French U.N. volunteers
French Battalion in the Korean War
The French Battalion in the Korean War was a battalion of volunteers made up of active and reserve French military personnel sent to the Korean Peninsula as part of the UN force fighting in the Korean War.-Korea:...
returning from the ended Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
joined the French Union CEFEO and sailed from Incheon
Incheon
The Incheon Metropolitan City is located in northwestern South Korea. The city was home to just 4,700 people when Jemulpo port was built in 1883. Today 2.76 million people live in the city, making it Korea’s third most populous city after Seoul and Busan Metropolitan City...
to Vietnam. They would be later involved in the battle of Mang Yang Pass
Battle of Mang Yang Pass
The Battle of Mang Yang Pass was the last official battle of the First Indochina War. It was one of the bloodiest defeats of the French Union together with the battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954 and the battle of Cao Bang in 1950.-Background:Groupement Mobile No. 100 The Battle of Mang Yang Pass...
of June and July 1954.
CEFEO commanders
- Philippe Leclerc de HauteclocquePhilippe Leclerc de HauteclocquePhilippe François Marie, comte de Hauteclocque, then Leclerc de Hauteclocque, by a 1945 decree that incorporated his French Resistance alias Jacques-Philippe Leclerc to his name, , was a French general during World War II...
(1945–46) - Jean Etienne Valluy (1946–48)
- Roger BlaizotRoger BlaizotRoger Charles André Henri Blaizot was a French military leader, who commanded French forces during the World War II and the First Indochina War. Blaizot served in Indochina through the last two years of the World War II, having been sent to command the Far East French Expeditionary Forces by...
(1948–49) - Marcel Carpentier (1949–50)
- Jean de Lattre de TassignyJean de Lattre de TassignyJean 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:...
(1950–51) - Raoul SalanRaoul SalanRaoul Albin Louis Salan was a French Army general and the fourth French commanding general during the First Indochina War. Salan was one of four generals who organized the 1961 Algiers Putsch operation and then founded the Organisation de l'armée secrète....
(1952–53) - Henri NavarreHenri NavarreHenri Eugène Navarre was a French Army general. He fought during World War I, World War II and was the seventh commander of French Far East Expeditionary Corps during the First Indochina War...
(1953–54) - Paul Ély (1954-55)
- Pierre Jacquot (1955-56)
Groupe d'Opération Nord-Ouest (GONO)
(North West Operation Group)- GONO commander: General Christian de CastriesChristian de CastriesChristian Marie Ferdinand de la Croix de Castries was the French commander at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954. Castries was born into a distinguished military family and enlisted in the army at the age of 19. He was sent to the Saumur Cavalry School and in 1926 was commissioned an officer but...
(1954)
Forces Terrestres en Extrême-Orient (FTEO)
(Far East Ground Forces)- FTEO commander: -
- Forces Terrestres du Nord Vietnam (FTNV)
(North Vietnam Ground Forces)
- FTNV commander: General René CognyRené CognyRené Cogny was a French Général de division, World War II and French Resistance veteran and survivor of Buchenwald and Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camps. He was a commander of the French forces in Tonkin during the First Indochina War, and notably during the Battle of Dien Bien Phu...
(1954)- Forces Terrestres du Sud Vietnam (FTSV)
(South Vietnam Ground Forces)
- FTSV commander: -
Among the French ground forces in the Far East was the 6th Engineers Regiment
6th Engineers Regiment
6th Engineers Regiment , is a French engineer regiment created under the French Third Republic in 1894. Its garrison is in Angers, where it has been located since 1946....
(6 RG).
Forces Maritimes en Extrême-Orient (FMEO)
(Far East Naval Forces)- FMEO commander:
- Georges Thierry d'ArgenlieuGeorges Thierry d'ArgenlieuGeorges Thierry d'Argenlieu, in religion Louis de la Trinité was a priest, diplomat and French Navy officer and admiral; he became one of the major personalities of the Free French Forces and the Forces navales françaises libres...
(1946–47) - Emile Bollaert (1947)
- Vice-Admiral Auboyneau (1952–54)
- Direction Navale d'Extrême-Orient (DNEO)
(Far East Naval Direction)
- DNEO commander: Contre-Admiral Bosvieux (1952)
Notable personnel
- Jacques MassuJacques MassuJacques Émile Massu was a French general who fought in World War II, the First Indochina War, the Algerian War and the Suez crisis.-Early life:Jacques Massu was born in Châlons-sur-Marne to a family of military officers; his father was an artillery officer...
(10e DP) - Marcel BigeardMarcel BigeardMarcel "Bruno" Bigeard was a French military officer who fought in World War II, Indochina and Algeria. He was one of the commanders in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu and is thought by many to have been a dominating influence on French 'unconventional' warfare thinking from that time onwards...
(6e BPC) - Roger TrinquierRoger TrinquierRoger Trinquier was a French Army officer during World War II, the First Indochina War and the Algerian War, serving mainly in airborne and Special forces units...
(GCMA) - Jean SassiJean SassiJean Sassi was a French Army colonel and intelligence service officer, former "Jedburgh" of France and Far East. Commando chief of the SDECE's 11th Shock Parachutist Regiment...
(GCMA) - Pierre SchoendoerfferPierre SchoendoerfferPierre Schoendoerffer is a French film director, a screenwriter, a writer, a war reporter, a war cameraman, a renowned First Indochina War veteran, a cinema academician and since 2001 the President of the Académie des Beaux-Arts.-Family:...
(SCA) - Raoul Coutard (SPI)