Operation Hirondelle

Operation Hirondelle

Lang Son Province within which lies Lang Son

Date	July 17-19, 1953
Location	French Indochina
Result	Viet Minh caches destroyed; French withdrawal
Territorial changes	Lang Son

Belligerents

French Union

Viet Minh

Commanders and leaders

Marcel Bigeard

Strength

~2,000^[1]

First Indochina War

Masterdom Hanoi Cao Bằng Papillon Lea Ceinture Dong Khe RC4 Vĩnh Yên Mạo Khê Đáy River Hòa Bình Lorraine Nà Sản Bretagne Adolphe Muong Khoua Atlante Camargue Hirondelle Brochet Mouette Castor Điện Biên Phủ Condor Mang Yang Pass

Operation Hirondelle took place during the French Indochina War in July 1953. It was an airborne raid on Viet Minh supply depots near Lang Son, involving parachute units of the French and Vietnamese National Armies.^[2] Raids near the junction of Colonial Road's Four and One revealed caches hidden in caves, which were photographed and destroyed.^[1]

The attack forces then retreated over land through Loc Binh, where other French units had been dropped on July 17 to repair and hold a river crossing for the retreating units; and then to form a rearguard for 20 miles.^[2] The entire force rendezvoused with Mobile Group Five,^[1] and was then extracted by sea on July 19, suffering from heat exhaustion. The average weight loss was 11 pounds.^[2]

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c Windrow, p. 215.
^ ^a ^b ^c Windrow, p. 195.

References

Online

Fall, Bernard B. (December 1956). "Indochina: The Last Year of the War. The Navarre Plan". The Military Review. http://calldp.leavenworth.army.mil/eng_mr/txts/VOL36/00000012/art8.pdf. Retrieved 2009-07-23.

Printed

Fall, Bernard B. (1966). Hell in a Very Small Place. The Siege of Dien Bien Phu. London: Da Capo Press. ISBN 9780306811579.
Fall, Bernard B. (1961). Street Without Joy. The French Debacle in Indochina. New York: Stackpole Military History. ISBN 9780811732369.
Fall, Bernard B. (1967). The Two Vietnams. A Political and Military Analysis (Second Edition ed.). New York: Frederick A. Praeger, Inc..
Roy, Jules (1963). The Battle of Dien Bien Phu. New York: Carroll and Graf Publishers. ISBN 9780786709588.
Windrow, Martin (2004). The Last Valley. Dien Bien Phu and the French Defeat in Vietnam. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. ISBN 9780304366927.