Battle of Mao Khe

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Battle of Mao Khe

Date	23 March-28 March 1951
Location	Mao Khe, Vietnam
Result	French Union victory

Belligerents

French Union

Viet Minh

Commanders

Jean de Lattre de Tassigny

Vo Nguyen Giap

Strength

400
3 destroyers
2 landing craft

10,000

Casualties and losses

40 killed
150 wounded

3,000

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 Mao Khe, occurring from 23 March to 28 March, 1951, was a significant engagement in the First Indochina War between the French Union and the Viet Minh. The French Union forces, led by World War II hero Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, inflicted a defeat on Viet Minh forces, which were commanded by General Vo Nguyen Giap. The French Union victory, however, was not decisive and the Viet Minh would attack again shortly afterwards.

1 Prelude
2 Battle
3 Aftermath
4 Sources

[edit] Prelude

After suffering a heavy setback at the Battle of Vinh Yen, Giap decided to attack the port of Haiphong, the centerpiece of French logistics. Giap planned to breach the French defenses at Mao Khe, which was about 20 miles north of the port. He hoped that the fresh 316th Division, supported by diversionary attacks from the 304th and 320th divisions, would be enough to break the French.

Mao Khe was poorly defended. It was encircled by a series of outposts, with the town itself held by an armored car platoon of the Moroccan Colonial Infantry. The Mao Khe coal mine was located 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) to the north of the town and was garrisoned by a company of partisans commanded by a Vietnamese lieutenant and three French NCOs. To the east of the town, a company from the 30th Senegalese Composite Battalion guarded a fortified Catholic Church. In total, the French had about 400 troops.

[edit] Battle

After diversionary thrusts on 23 March, the 316th Division began to assail Mao Khe's outposts later in the night. They had carried all major positions by the 26 March and prepared for the main attack on the city. At this point, the anticipated Communist attack stalled under heavy pressure from French naval forces, which had managed to approach Mao Khe via a deep channel in the nearby Da Bac River.

De Lattre was uncertain of Giap's intentions, but he did send the 6th Colonial Parachute Battalion (6e BPC) and some artillery batteries to relieve the beleaguered forces at Mao Khe. Early in the morning of the 27 March, the 316th Division launched a massive attack against the coal mine, whose defenders resisted until French B-26s and Hellcats alleviated the pressure. After exhausting their ammunition, the partisans beat a skillful retreat to Mao Khe.

At 02:00 on the 28 March, the Viet Minh opened up a torrent of artillery and mortar fire against the town. They launched a number of human-wave attacks that were repulsed by well-placed French artillery. The Viet Minh eventually entered the town and a bloody hand-to-hand confrontation began, although the momentum of the attack had petered out. The Vietnamese withdrew later in the morning.

[edit] Aftermath

Casualties had been light for the French and, at around 3,000, heavy for the Viet Minh. Although the French had been victorious, Giap's losses were not nearly as bad as at Vinh Yen two months ago. Giap would make another unsuccessful attempt to breach the French lines in late May.