Operation Lea
Encyclopedia
Operation Léa was French Union
military operation between 7 October and 22 December 1947 during the First Indochina War
. It was an attempt by the French General Valluy to crush the Viet Minh
. An airborne force would capture the Viet Minh leadership and three French columns would strike into the Viet Minh heartland.
The parachute assault surprised the Viet Minh, nearly capturing Ho Chi Minh
and General Giap
, but it soon recovered and began ambushing the three French columns.
The operation was soon called off and the French forces withdrew to the lowlands. It was a tactical success, inflicting severe casualties on the Viet Minh, but strategically indecisive, because it failed to capture the Viet Minh leadership or seriously cripple its military forces.
, Hanoi
, Lang Son
, Cao Bang as well as nearly the complete western and southern region of Tonkin
, which was the stronghold of the Viet Minh movement. The reasons for the fast advance were the superior firepower, naval and air support of the French forces. The major forces of the Viet Minh were nearly surrounded by the French in the eastern part of Tonkin. There remained only a greater gap between the towns Cao Bang in the north and Yên Bái in the south. During April 1947 Ho Chi Minh
made a last attempt to achieve a ceasefire and to continue the negotiations with the French government about Vietnamese independence from 1946. But the French only demanded his surrender, because the position of the Vietnamese forces seemed to be desperate. But on April 26, he refused the French, offering: "In the French Union is no place for cowards. I would be one, if I would accept." During the rest of the spring and the summer, the French made assaults to the bases of the Viet Minh troops in Tonkin but could not force them to a conventional battle. Instead the Viet Minh returned when the French moved on.
The French supreme command in Indochina under General Jean-Etienne Valluy
realized that the recent tactics of minor assaults to locate the headquarters of the Viet Minh would not lead to an end of the war. From their intelligence department, they received some information that the location of the headquarters of the Viet Minh was in the city Bac Can. They planned to capture Ho Chi Minh and the staff of the Viet Minh and to gain a complete victory over the Vietnamese independence movement.
At the same time, other French troops (strength est. 15,000 men) started moving from the city Cao Bang in the north of Tonkin to Yên Bái to the south. The primary target of this action was to cut off the Vietnamese forces from any supplies which could probably reach them from China. The second objective was to surround the Vietnamese forces completely and destroy them during a battle. Despite the French reaching the designated town of Yên Bái, they were not able to destroy the forces of the Viet Minh. The greatest part of the 40,000 Vietnamese guerrilla troopers slipped through gaps in the French lines. Among them were the leader Ho Chi Minh and his staff with General Vo Nguyen Giap
. On November 8, it was called off. At the end of the operation, French claimed the Vietnamese forces had suffered a loss of 9,000 men.
French 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:...
military operation between 7 October and 22 December 1947 during 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...
. It was an attempt by the French General Valluy to crush the 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...
. An airborne force would capture the Viet Minh leadership and three French columns would strike into the Viet Minh heartland.
The parachute assault surprised the Viet Minh, nearly capturing 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...
and General 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...
, but it soon recovered and began ambushing the three French columns.
The operation was soon called off and the French forces withdrew to the lowlands. It was a tactical success, inflicting severe casualties on the Viet Minh, but strategically indecisive, because it failed to capture the Viet Minh leadership or seriously cripple its military forces.
Background
After the outbreak hostilities on 19 December 1946, the French Union forces had made significant progress by capturing the major cities HaiphongHaiphong
, also Haiphong, is the third most populous city in Vietnam. The name means, "coastal defence".-History:Hai Phong was originally founded by Lê Chân, the female general of a Vietnamese revolution against the Chinese led by the Trưng Sisters in the year 43 C.E.The area which is now known as Duong...
, Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
, Lang Son
Lang Son
Lạng Sơn , sometimes Langson, is a city in far northern Vietnam, is the capital of Lang Son province. It is accessible by road and rail from Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital, and it is the northernmost point on National Road 1A.-History:...
, Cao Bang as well as nearly the complete western and southern region of 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"...
, which was the stronghold of the Viet Minh movement. The reasons for the fast advance were the superior firepower, naval and air support of the French forces. The major forces of the Viet Minh were nearly surrounded by the French in the eastern part of Tonkin. There remained only a greater gap between the towns Cao Bang in the north and Yên Bái in the south. During April 1947 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...
made a last attempt to achieve a ceasefire and to continue the negotiations with the French government about Vietnamese independence from 1946. But the French only demanded his surrender, because the position of the Vietnamese forces seemed to be desperate. But on April 26, he refused the French, offering: "In the French Union is no place for cowards. I would be one, if I would accept." During the rest of the spring and the summer, the French made assaults to the bases of the Viet Minh troops in Tonkin but could not force them to a conventional battle. Instead the Viet Minh returned when the French moved on.
The French supreme command in Indochina under General Jean-Etienne Valluy
Jean-Étienne Valluy
Jean Etienne Valluy was a French general .He was born in Rive-de-Gier, Loire, on 15 May 1899 to Claude Valluy and Jeanne, Adrienne Cossanges. In 1917 he entered the military academy of Saint-Cyr...
realized that the recent tactics of minor assaults to locate the headquarters of the Viet Minh would not lead to an end of the war. From their intelligence department, they received some information that the location of the headquarters of the Viet Minh was in the city Bac Can. They planned to capture Ho Chi Minh and the staff of the Viet Minh and to gain a complete victory over the Vietnamese independence movement.
Operation Léa
The operation started on 7 October with the airborne landing of 1,100 paratroopers at the city of Bac Can. The paratroopers took over the control of the city swiftly, but could not capture Ho Chi Minh or any other of the Vietnamese leaders.At the same time, other French troops (strength est. 15,000 men) started moving from the city Cao Bang in the north of Tonkin to Yên Bái to the south. The primary target of this action was to cut off the Vietnamese forces from any supplies which could probably reach them from China. The second objective was to surround the Vietnamese forces completely and destroy them during a battle. Despite the French reaching the designated town of Yên Bái, they were not able to destroy the forces of the Viet Minh. The greatest part of the 40,000 Vietnamese guerrilla troopers slipped through gaps in the French lines. Among them were the leader Ho Chi Minh and his staff with General 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...
. On November 8, it was called off. At the end of the operation, French claimed the Vietnamese forces had suffered a loss of 9,000 men.