Battle of Hoa Binh

The Battle of Hoa Binh took place in northern Vietnam, during the French Indochina War. It was fought between French Union forces, commanded by Jean Lattre de Tassigny, and the Viet Minh, under Nguyen Giap, from November 10, 1951, to February 25, 1952. Although the French managed to take Hoa Binh and to secure Colonial Route 6, it was only a temporary victory, because the Viet Minh, reinforced with fresh units, would force them to withdraw all the colonial troops from that region after three and a half months of fierce fighting.

After the French victory at the battle of Dong Trieu in the first half of 1951, the French commander, General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, had drawn up a plan to go on the offensive again, attacking Viet Minh units operating in northern Vietnam. Located 62 km from Hanoi, Hoa Binh, capital of the Muong tribe, was selected for the offensive. Strategically, Hoa Binh was a very important area for many reasons. For the Viet Minh, the control of Hoa Binh would allow them free movement in the valleys north of Hanoi and would allow them to keep the supply lines from China open. As part of his plan, de Lattre’s forces would take Hoa Binh, where Giap’s regular divisions would be forced to confront superior French firepower and eventually be destroyed.

Summary

The Battle of Hoa Binh was initiated on November 10, 1951, when the French commander launched Operation Tulipe with the objective of capturing Cho Ben Pass and extend French control beyond Provincial Route 21. Once the French Task Force North and the 1st Foreign Parachute Battalion had linked up west of Cho Ben, they both continued to advance while other mobile groups were moving in from the south and the east. Fierce fighting broke out when the Viet Minh were forced to abandoned Cho Ben, with the French inflicting severe damage on the Viet Minh 64th and 164th Regional Battalions.

After the first phase had successfully been completed, de Lattre divided the French Union armies into three operational groups. Together they would capture Hoa Binh by land, sea and air. By the early hours of November 14, the French Operational Group North and South had reached their initial objectives, capturing Hoa Binh with ease against little or no resistance from the Viet Minh. Nevertheless, Vietnamese General Vo Nguyen Giap decided to launch a counter-atack to recapture Hoa Binh.

Between December 10 and December 14, French Union forces fought fiercely against Viet Minh units which seemed to fall upon the French from all sides. After the French had thrown back several Vietnamese attacks, on January 11, 1952, Vo Nguyen Giap started to concentrate fresh troops around Hoa Binh, capturing in the process Colonial Route 6. But the new commander of French Union forces, General Gonzales de Linares, planned to take back the vital Colonial Route 6 piece by piece.

Between January 12 and January 29, French Union elements managed to clear Dong Ben, Xom Pheo, Bai Lang, Xuan Mai, Kem Pass and Ao Trach under stiff Viet Minh resistance. French forces relied upon artillery and close air support to inflict damages on their enemy. However, the Viet Minh went back on the offensive at Suc Sich on January 30, 1952, attacking the 8th Colonial Parachute Battalion’s positions. Thus, reinforced with fresh units, the Giap’s insurgent forces would constantly harass the French with surprise attacks, causing a lot of casualties on both sides. As a result, the French commander took the decision to withdraw all their troops from the area.

Viet Minh’s troops, fierce fighters in their war for independence

Below, a map of northern Vietnam, region of Tonkin. Marked by an arrow, you can see the location of Hoa Binh, as well as the neighboring countries.