Operation Ceinture Explained
| Conflict: | Operation Ceinture |
| Partof: | the First Indochina War |
| Date: | 20 November 1947 - 22 December 1947 |
| Place: | North-west of Hanoi, French Indochina |
| Territory: | Viet-Minh expelled from the region of Hanoi, Thái Nguyên and Tuyên Quang, but many escape French cordons. |
| Result: | French victory |
| Combatant1: | French Union
|
| Combatant2: | Viet Minh |
| Commander1: | Jean Étienne Valluy |
| Commander2: | Unknown |
| Strength1: | 18 battalions |
| Strength2: | Regiment 112
Doc Lap Brigade |
Operation Ceinture was a late 1947 military endeavour by the French Far East Expeditionary Corps against the Viet Minh during the First Indochina War. A month-long effort that commenced on 20 November following the cessation of Operation Léa, Ceinture (French: belt) intended to rid the region between Hanoi, Thái Nguyên and Tuyên Quang of Viet-Minh infiltration.[1] The French utilised 18 paratroop battalions and naval landing craft to engage the Viet-Minh's 112 Regiment, however the latter were able to for the most part slip through French cordons, abandoning weapon caches. The cumulative casualties after Operation Ceinture and Operation Lea were 1,000 for the French and 9,500 for the Viet Minh (though some of these may have been civilians).[2] [3]
The French did succeed in securing the region, and they withdrew their forces on 22 December, leaving a scattering of jungle fortifications to hold the region.[4]
References
Printed
- Book: Hammer, Ellen Joy. The struggle for Indochina. 1954. Stanford University Press.
- Book: Buttinger, Joseph. A dragon defiant: a short history of Vietnam. 1972. Praeger.
- Book: Fall, Bernard B.. Hell in a very small place: the siege of Dien Bien Phu. 1967. Lippincott.
- Book: Kedward, Rod. La vie en bleu: France and the French since 1900. 2006. Penguin. 978-0-14-013095-9.
- Book: Roy, Jules. The battle of Dienbienphu. 1963. Pyramid Books.
- Book: Windrow, Martin. The Last Valley: Dien Bien Phu and the French Defeat in Vietnam. 2005-12-26. Da Capo Press. 978-0-306-81443-3.
- Book: Fall, Bernard B.. Street without joy. 1994. Stackpole Books. 978-0-8117-1700-7.
- Book: Devillers. Philippe. Lacouture. Jean. End of a war; Indochina, 1954. 1969. Praeger.
- Book: Fall, Bernard B.. The two Viet-Nams: a political and military analysis. 1963. Praeger.
Notes and References
- Book: Windrow, Martin. The Last Valley: Dien Bien Phu and the French Defeat in Vietnam. 2005-12-26. Da Capo Press. 95. 978-0-306-81443-3.
- Book: Fall . Bernard . Street without joy: The French debacle in Indochina . 2005 . Pen & Sword Military . 9781844153183 . 30 . 4th..
- Book: Waddell . William M. . In the Year of the Tiger: The War for Cochinchina, 1945–1951 . 2018 . University of Oklahoma Press . Norman . 9780806162584 . 6.
- Book: Fall, Bernard B.. Hell in a very small place: the siege of Dien Bien Phu. 1967. 28–31. Lippincott.
