Street Without Joy: The French Debacle in Indochina by Bernard B. Fall

Author:Bernard B. Fall [Fall, Bernard B.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: on-the-nook, History, bought-and-paid-for, Non-Fiction, War
ISBN: 0811732363
Google: -CBoFavAMToC
Amazon: B001GIPFD2
Barnesnoble: B001GIPFD2
Goodreads: 113488
Publisher: Stackpole Books
Published: 2005-01-02T05:00:00+00:00

This entailed faster traveling, less roadside security and greater convoy discipline, but, under the circumstances, Barrou felt that the game was worth the gamble, the more so as Mobile Group No. 42, recruited mostly from local mountaineers, had reached Mang Yang Pass and was soon to be reinforced there by Airborne Group No. 1.

The evacuation began at 0300 on June 24, 1954, with the various elements of the G.M. pulling back from the outposts to Road 19 west of Ankh6. The battle-tested Cambodians and Frenchmen of the 43d Colonial again led the way, followed by the 2d Korea, with the 1st Korea closing the column. All three battalions had dismounted and were forming a screen around the vehicles of the Group, with the 43d also screening the 520th TDKQ, which was not included in the infantry screen. Each of the battalions also received an artillery battery. Headquarters Co. and the Group's rolling command post were placed in the convoy behind the rear elements of the 520th, and the march began in the early dawn. By the time the column reached the open road, the first French B-26's arrived over the now deserted post of Ankh6 and began bombing the ammunition dumps which had been left behind. Black billows of smoke rose over the mountains, but barely anyone in the column bothered to look back, save perhaps the last remaining civilians-300 perhaps-who followed the military column at a brief distance. They had not found space on the last departing airplanes when the decision was made to evacuate Ankh6 prematurely, and now they had decided to stay with the column in spite of strict orders by Zone Headquarters not to allow civilians to follow the troops. Too many movements had been betrayed by "refugees" and other camp followers.

In the case of G.M. 100, however, there was no question of maintaining secrecy. The Viet-Minh had seen the stream of aircraft, had been informed of the evacuation of all heavy equipment and of the civilians, and had drawn its own conclusion. The operation simply became a footrace between the 803d and the Group as to which would be able to hold Road 19 in required strength at the right moment. The French still had one ace up their sleeve-the jungle-trained tough Bahnar tribesmen of Captain Vitasse and his commando still held out in the brush to the north of Road 19. Any Communist unit which would try to cut across Road 19 from the north would have to cross their path sooner or later and give the French a small measure of advance warning. As it turned out, Vitasse and his men did their job admirably.

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