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Withdrawal/Retreat

Foreign Legion paratroopers in Indo-China.Route Coloniale No. 4 was a single-lane road like this, bordered by jungle and rugged terrain for most of its length.

⚔️🔒Battle of Route Coloniale 4,
(Cao Bang Ridge Disaster),
16 Sep-18 Oct 1950

The Battle of Route Coloniale No. 4 (Cao Bang Ridge Disaster) was one of the worst military defeats in the history of colonial wars, with a French force of ~6,000 troops destroyed. The battle took place along a 137km section of RC4 between Lang Son in the south and Cao Bang in the north. The French attempted to evacuate the Cao Bang garrison with support from a relief column. Both forces were destroyed in the jungle-covered mountains around Dong Khé.

⚔️🔒Operation HIRONDELLE, (Raid on Lạng Sơn), Vietnam,
17-21 July 1953

Operation HIRONDELLE, 17 July 1953. The French High Command in Indo-China, acting on time-sensitive intelligence, deployed 2000 paratroopers more than 100km behind enemy lines, destroyed a major Viet Minh logistic hub, then deployed another parachute battalion, a mechanised brigade, and a Naval task force to get them out again. All in the space of 72 hours. The operation did not change the course of the war, but demonstrated the decisivenes and agility of the French Far East Expeditionary Corps

French With Guns During Fighting Break

⚔️ Battle for Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam,
13 March – 7 May 1954

It is difficult to understand the French decision in November 1953 to insert a divisional-sized force into the remote highlands of northern Vietnam. Although the force comprised only about 5% of the French expeditionary forces in Indo-China, it was the best 5%, and ultimately included most of the available parachute battalions from the strategic reserve.