Battle of Mang Yang Pass

Battle of Mang Yang Pass
Part of the First Indochina War
Date June 24 - July 17, 1954 Location Mang Yang, Vietnam Result Viet Minh victory; French forces managed to escape with heavy casualties
Belligerents
French Union France State of Vietnam	Viet Minh
Commanders and leaders
Pierre Chasse	Nguyen Minh Chau
Strength
2,500 troops[citation needed]	2 battalions + 2 weapon companies of 96th Regiment, 1,000 - 1,500 troops
Casualties and losses
500 killed[1], 600 wounded, 800 captured	147 killed[2], 200 wounded

The Battle of Mang Yang Pass (also known as Battle of An Khe) was the last official battle of the First Indochina War. It was one of the bloodiest defeats of the French Union together with the battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954 and the battle of Cao Bang in 1950.

Background

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

Groupement Mobile No. 100 ("Mobile Group 100" or G.M. 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 in the Korean War at Chipyong-ni, Wonju and Arrowhead Ridge. Anxious to avoid a second disaster like the siege at Dien Bien Phu, the French Chief of Staff ordered G.M. 100 to abandon their isolated position in the Central Highlands.

Ambushes

On June 24, 1954, G.M. 100 received orders to abandon its defensive positions at An Khe and fall back to Pleiku, some 80 kilometers away over Route Coloniale 19. At the road marker 'Kilometer 15' the column was ambushed by Viet Minh troops belonging to the 803rd Regiment and suffered heavy losses. The remains of G.M. 100 managed to break through the ambush.^[3]The remnants of G.M. 100, now with G.M. 42 and the 1st Airborne Group had to brave 55 kilometers more of enemy road and was ambushed on June 28 and 29 at Dak Ya-Ayun by the Viet Minh 108th Regiment. The survivors finally reached Pleiku the following day.

In five days of fighting, G.M. 100 lost 85 percent of vehicles, 100 percent of artillery, 68 percent of signal equipment and 50 percent of weapons. The Headquarters Company had only 84 men left out of an original 222. The 43rd Colonial, the 1st and the 2nd Korea Battalion which numbered about 834 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. Colonel Barrou and several men were taken as prisoners of war^[4]. The Viet Minh 96th Regiment suffered more than 100 KIAs in comparison^[5][3].

On June 29, the remains of 1st Korean Battalion was ordered to take part in Operation Forget-Me-Not to open Route Coloniale 14 between Pleiku and Ban Me Thuot which was over 96 kilometers away. On July 17, the column was ambushed at Chu Dreh Pass by local units of the Viet Minh 96th Regiment. When the survivors finally arrived at Ban Me Thuot the following day, there were only 107 men remaining out of 452, of those 53 were wounded, in addition a further 47 vehicles were lost.

Aftermath

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^{[citation needed]}. Three days later on July 20, 1954, a battlefield ceasefire was announced, and on August 1, the armistice went into effect, sealing the end of the French Indochina and soon the departure of the French administration and Expeditionary Corps which was completed by 1956.

Order of battle

French Forces

The G.M.s (Groupement Mobile) were designed as self-sustaining motorized regimental task force unit modeled after the U.S. Army’s World War II combat commands. The G.M.s typically consisted of three infantry battalions with one artillery battalion, along with elements of light armor or tanks, engineer, signal and medical assets, totaling 3,000-3,500 soldiers^[4].

Units in the G.M.100 included:

• Korea Regiment, consisting of the 1st and 2nd Korea Battalions formed from the elite veteran UN Battalion de Coreé.

• The Battalion de Marche of the 43rd Colonial Infantry Regiment.

• 2nd Group of 10th Colonial Artillery Regiment.

• 3rd Squadron of 5th “Royal Poland” Armored Cavalry Regiment.

Viet Minh forces

The Viet Minh 96th Regiment included:

• 40th Battalion (three infantry companies).

• 79th Battalion (less) (two infantry companies).

• Two weapon companies (mortars, recoilless guns and bomb-launchers).

In popular culture

The destruction of Groupe Mobile 100 is depicted in the opening scene of We Were Soldiers.

Sources

1. ^ French Marine Troops's official website
2. ^ There was another Dien Bien Phu in 5th Military Region, Binh Dinh Newspaper (Có một Điện Biên Phủ ở Liên khu 5, Báo Bình Định)
3. ^ ^{a b} http://www.troupesdemarine.org/traditions/histoire/gm100_indochine_1954.pdf
4. ^ ^{a b} Luedeke
5. ^ There was another Dien Bien Phu ...

References

• Fall, Bernard.,Street Without Joy: The French Debacle in Indochina. Stackpole Military History, 1961, ISBN 0-8117-3236-3
• Summers Jr., Harry G. Historical Atlas of the Vietnam War. 1995 ISBN 0-395-72223-3
• Kirk A. Luedeke, Death on the Highway: The Destruction of Groupement Mobile 100. Armor Magazine, January–February 2001, pp. 22–29.
• Từ Điện Biên Phủ đến Bắc Tây Nguyên. Trung đoàn 96 - trận tiêu diệt binh đoàn cơ động 100 của Pháp. NXB Quân đội Nhân dân, 1995.(From Dien Bien Phu to Northern Central Highland - The 96th Regiment and the battle which destroyed the French Groupement Mobile 100. People's Army Publishing House, 1995).

External links

• "Dossier" in French Marine Troops' official website
• THE VALLEY OF CROSSES - French and the Mang Yang Pass
• There was another Dien Bien Phu in 5th Military Region, Binh Dinh Newspaper (Có một Điện Biên Phủ ở Liên khu 5, Báo Bình Định)