Battle of Mang Yang Pass

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Battle of Mang Yang Pass
Part of First Indochina War
Date June 24-July 17, 1954
Location Mang Yang, Vietnam
Result Viet Minh Victory, Withdrawal of French forces
Belligerents
French Union
 Viet Minh
Commanders
Pierre Chasse Nguyen Minh Chau
Strength
2,500 troops[citations needed] 2 battalions of 96th regiment + 1 battalion of 120th regiment
Casualties and losses
500 killed [1] Unknown
v • d • e
First Indochina War
Hanoi – Cao Bang – Namdinh – Papillon – Lea – Valentine – Onoine – Pegase – Dong Khe – RC4 – Vinh Yen – Mao Khe – Hoa Binh – Lorraine – Na San – Bretagne – Atlante – Adolphe – Camargue – Hirondelle – Brochet – Mouette – Castor – Dien Bien Phu – Mang Yang Pass

The Battle of Mang Yang Pass (also known as Battle of An Khe) was the last official battle of the First Indochina War. It remains as one of the bloodiest defeat of the French Union together with the battle of Dien Bien Phu.

Contents

[edit] Failure of "the hedgehog" strategy

Further information: Battle of Na San and Battle of Dien Bien Phu

Anxious about a second disaster like the one of the Dien Bien Phu outpost, the French Chief of Staff ordered for a quick leaving from the local outpost hence the GM 100's hurry departure.

[edit] Groupement Mobile

The G.M. 100 (Groupement Mobile No. 100 for "Mobile Group 100") was a regimental task force unit of the French Far East Expeditionary Corps which was assembled as a convoy. It included the elite veteran UN Bataillon de Corée who fought earlier gloriously in the Korean War at Chipyong-ni, Wonju and Arrowhead Ridge. The other units in the G.M. 100 included two Vietnamese companies, the 2d Group of the 10th Colonial Artillery Regiment and the Bataillon de Marche (B.M.) of the 43d Colonial Infantry. Groupement Mobile No. 100 was commissioned on November 15th, 1953. Later on the G.M. is reinforced by the 3d Squadron of the 5th ("Royal Poland") Armored Cavalry.

[edit] Ambushes

Shortly after the French Union defeat at Dien Bien Phu, the Expeditionary Corps' GM100 was ambushed and practically destroyed by Viet Minh forces united in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.

[edit] June 24: An Khe (Operation Églantine)

On June 24, 1954 Groupe Mobile 100 received orders to abandon their positions at An Khe and fall back to Pleiku, some 50 miles away over Route Coloniale 19. But on that day, the French Union forces were ambushed at kilometer marker 15 ("PK15") by two Viet Minh main force battalions from the 803rd Regiment.

[edit] June 28: Dak Ya-Ayun, Plei Bon

Suffering heavy losses and desertion of the Tieu-Doan Kinh Quan (TDKQ) Vietnamese "commando battalion",[2] GM 100 broke through, only to be ambushed again on June 28 at Dak Ya-Ayun by the Viet Minh 108th Regiment. The survivors finally reached Pleiku the following day.

[edit] July 17: Chu Dreh (Operation Myosotis)

Groupe Mobile, which made up of the 1st Korea Battalion, the 2nd Korea Battalion, and the 43rd Battalion de Marche which numbered about 830 men each, was now mustered at roll call with 452, 497, and 345 men respectively. The 2nd Group of the 10th Colonial Artillery, reduced to fighting as infantry after the loss of all of their guns, had shrunk from 475 men to 215 men during the fighting.

But the ordeal for GM 100 was not over. The 1st Korea Battalion was ordered to take part in "Operation Forget-Me-Not" (Myosotis) Template:Page 235 Street Without Joy to open Route Coloniale 14 between Pleiku and Ban Me Thuot. On July 17, the 450-man unit, which also mustered 47 vehicles including a few tanks, was ambushed at Chu Dreh Pass by local Viet Minh regulars and militia. The survivors, who entered Ban Me Thuot the following day, now numbered only 107 men, 53 of whom were wounded. The 1st Korea Battalion had ceased to exist.

[edit] Ceasefire

For more details on this topic, see Geneva Agreements.

The ambush and destruction of GM 100 was considered the last battle of the First Indochina War[citations needed]. Three days later on July 20, 1954, a battlefield ceasefire was announced, and on August 1, the armistice went into effect, sealing the French Union's defeat, the end of the French Indochina and soon the departure of the French administration and Expeditionary Corps which was completed by 1956.

[edit] In Popular Literature

For more details on this topic, see We Were Soldiers.

Although not explicitly indicated, a part of the Battle of Mang Yang Pass was shown as the opening scene of the film We Were Soldiers. The clues being that the scene took place in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, and the fact that it depicted a French column being ambushed by the Viet Minh. The book written by Joe Galloway and Col Harold Moore discusses the battle in some detail

[edit] Sources

  1. ^ French Marine Troops's official website
  2. ^ Arrighi, Jean (1992). Indochine, Les Combats Oubliés. L'Harmattan. ISBN 2-7384-1108-8. 

[edit] References

  • Fall, Bernard. B(1961)Street Without Joy: The French Debacle in Indochina. Stackpole Military History ISBN 0-8117-3236-3
  • Summers Jr., Harry G. Historical Atlas of the Vietnam War. 1995 ISBN 0-395-72223-3

[edit] External links