French Airborne Operations in Indochina

The full title of the thesis written by Gordon A. Cromley B.A., The Ohio State University is "Using Digital & Historical Gazetteeers to Geocode French Airborne Operations during the French Indochina War." - "The French Indochina War has been given many nicknames but perhaps one of the most insightful was “the war of the vast empty spaces” which was memorialised in Bernard Fall’s (1961) book The Street Without Joy. Another historian, Douglas Porch also characterised the War as the “Paratrooper’s War” (Porch, 1991). However, there are very works in English that discuss this aspect of the French Indochina War in any systematic detail. It is the purpose of this thesis to provide a spatial understanding of French Paratroop Operations (Operations Aeroporte) or OAPs by developing a spatial database of airborne operations so that future research can examine the nature of airborne operations during the French Indochina War and how the spatial experiences of those involved in it influenced counterinsurgency doctrine used by militaries across the globe."

CS Vietnam | Battle of Mao Khé

In the second attack of his general counter-offensive, Vietnamese General Vo Nguyen Giap targets a French outpost near Haiphong in what becomes known as the Battle of Mao Khé. After days of bloody, sometimes hand-to-hand, fighting Giap withdraws.

The Tightrope | French Colonial Collapse

... and the Shaping of Cold War Europe, a Master's Thesis by Major Donald J. Thompson, U.S. ARNG. From the introduction of this amazingly interesting read... At the end of World War II, France was much weaker than it had been before the start of the war; however, France still had a role within the U.S.-dominated Western alliance standing against Soviet expansion. Nevertheless, the French leadership chose to engage what remained of their national power in the reestablishment of their overseas colonial empire. France's preoccupation with the reestablishment of its colonial empire was strategically important to the structure of the post-World War II security environment because it amounted to a direct competition to its obligations for the defence of Europe.

The French-Algerian War and FM 3-24 | Counterinsurgency: A Comparison

Many aspects of counterinsurgency (COIN) operations in today's contemporary operating environment suggest that historical reviews of previous COIN experiences can provide critical insight. However, the results of such reviews tended to fail to be incorporated into military doctrine as the passage of time reduced the perceived relevance of previous experiences.

Trinquier and Galula | French COIN Theories in the Algerian War

This thesis, by Charles F. Waterfall, Special Agent, FBI  is "An examination of counterinsurgency methods used by the French in the Algerian War can lead to a better understanding of today's insurgencies... - From 1954 to 1962, France fought a bitter and brutal counterinsurgency war in Algeria. In the wake of defeat in Indochina (Vietnam), France was determined not to lose in Algeria. Unlike its other overseas territories, Algeria was regarded as being part of France proper and not simply as a colony. Roger Trinquier and David Galula served as officers in the French Army and were posted to Algeria during the conflict known in France as the Algerian War. Both officers documented their first hand observations and actions in their attempts to counter the insurgents. Examinations of their works shed light on today's insurgencies."

Counterinsurgency - The Hogard Doctrine

An interesting publication (in French) about a perhaps underrated (or forgotten?!) French COIN expert - "The concept of subversive warfare has once again come to resemble the one that had been paradoxically advocated by many leaders of the 18th century: to defeat the enemy without fighting,” according to Jacques Hogard. This French military officer belongs to the generation of lieutenants and captains who had fought against the already well-established phenomenon that reached its climax during the Cold War and has since been, in his words, “adopted by all modern barbarians.” To his credit, he reviewed the subject coldly and in its entirety, in order to better defeat it."

The First Helicopter War | Campaign Series Middle East

The First Helicopter War | Logistics and Mobility in Algeria, 1954-1962  is yet another interesting read I literally bumped into! Most of us automatically think about the Ia-Drang Valley in Vietnam, 1st Air Cavalry and lots of 'choppas' dropping GIs at LZs there. But... it was the French who first tried to utilise this new way of transport. At the end, despite of this revolutionary concept, it neither helped the French in Algeria nor the US Americans in Vietnam to win... 

The “Unquiet” Allies

French and American Intelligence Relations During the First Indochina War, 1950–54 by Jean-Marc LePage, PhD, and Elie Tenenbaum. French-American intelligence relations were famously presented in literature through the prism of Graham Greene’s brilliant novel, The Quiet American. The book portrays Alden Pyle, a soft-spoken, intellectual, serious, and idealistic CIA officer meddling in badly corrupt French colonial affairs. The rest of this less known affair - here.

Detailed French OOB | The French-Algerian War 1954-1962

The rest of this amazing find (Thanks FZS-Eagle!) can be found here at the forum. More details about how the French organised their forces and why Algeria was the first real helicopter war, check them out at this and that link.

Street without joy

About the author - Bernard B. Fall was a prominent war correspondent, historian, political scientist, and expert on Indochina during the 1950s and 1960s. Born in Austria, he moved with his family to France as a child after Germany's annexation, where he started fighting with the French Resistance at age 16, and later the French Army during World War II.

Dinassaut Operations in Indochina: 1946-1954

Yet another interesting read! This study, in fact a master thesis by Major Paul J. Kennedy, USMC, takes a look at the French Riverine Forces in Indochina. The unclassified study is part of the United States Marine Corps Command and Staff College collection.  Snippets of how the French organised their Dinassaut can be found here.

French Operations in Indo-China

This 71-page bachelor thesis by Alexander Hagelkvist, tutored by  Stéphane Taillat from the Écoles de Saint-Cyr Coëtquidan, should give those, who are interested about the struggle in Indochina, a comprehensive, yet very analytical inside of the French operations in that particular theatre. Again, a nice find during my nightly research hours...

Revolutionary Warfare | Indochina and Algeria

The full title of this interesting study from the USMA West Point is - Revolutionary Warfare | Volume V - French Counterrevolutionary Struggles: Algeria and Indochina. 

The French in Indochina, their control weakened by wartime concessions that strengthened Vietnamese nationalism, were unable either to meet the postwar political threat of a capable, determined Communist leadership that perfectly exploited the indigenous desire for independence, or to defeat the revolutionary forces in the field - Introduction by Bernard B. Fall.

Lessons From the Indo-China War | Part II

... issued by the Supreme Command, Far East, May 31, 1955. In retrospect a very detailed study (nearly 400 pages!). This paper itself leads to the correct conclusions, but nobody seems to have cared reading it. Hindsight 20/20 ... Still. A must read for those of you who want to know more detailed background information about the struggle in French-Indochina.

Dien Bien Phu Myths | 5th Edition

"Historian Bernard Fall, still a leading authority on the French Indochina War even 70 years later, wrote about this pervading myth in his work, Hell in a Very Small Place: The Siege of Dien Bien Phu, effectively riposting any claims to the contrary through French Legionary archives and personal interviews." The following article, originally published in the UNRV Ancient Roman Empire Forums by User Sassinid Azatan, debunks the ten most common myths about the last major battle in French Indochina.  

The year 1950 in Indochina

The original title of this study - L’année 1950 en Indochine- Le désastre de Cao Bang. Understanding a bit of French helps, though sometimes one should never be too shy to use available Online translation tools. For me, this study got me interested to look at the various battles and ambushes along RC 4 in more detail. I also found a French Newsreel of that time and theatre. 

Back to the Street without Joy

In 1961, Bernard Fall, a scholar and practitioner of war, published a book entitled The Street Without Joy. The book provided a lucid account of why the French Expeditionary Corps failed to defeat the Viet Minh during the Indochina War, and the book’s title derived from the French soldiers’sardonic moniker for Highway 1 on the coast of Indochina—“Ambush Alley,” or the “Street without Joy.” - Those are the opening words of yet another fascinating study from Robert M. Cassidy.

The Destruction of Groupement Mobile 100

Another recommended read for those who can't wait to re-fight the battles of the French or the Viet-Minh in Indochina. The upcoming Campaign Series Vietnam will offer quite a collection of the 'less known battles' in Indochina prior to the US Involvement. Read here all about the the Destruction of Groupement Mobile 100. Those of you, who'd like the read an interesting report about GM 100, here's one in French - Derniers combats -5 jours en enfer, ou la fin du GM 100 en Indochine - 24-28 juin 1954. 

The French campaign against the FLN

Yes... yet another study about the 'struggle' in Algeria. Nevertheless, a very interesting one that sheds some light on how the French intended to 'pacify' one of their most crucial North African possessions. Read all about it at Constantin Melniks's paper.

The French Participation in the Korean War

and the Establishment of a “Path of Memory” in South Korea, by Laurent Quisefit.  Another interesting read you might have never even heard about. Since I've started my particular research about the more or less 'not-well-know' and 'obscure' facts about France's role in the Far East (Indochina however in particular), I constantly seem to stumble upon some real interesting reads! The open access study can be downloaded from this site.