Wikipedia

French Far East Expeditionary Corps

(Redirected fromCEFEO)

TheFrench Far East Expeditionary Corps(French:Corps Expéditionnaire Français en Extrême-Orient,CEFEO) was a colonialexpeditionary forceof theFrench Union Armythat was initially formed inFrench Indochinain 1945 during thePacific War.The CEFEO later fought and lost in theFirst Indochina Waragainst theViet Minhrebels.

Far East Expeditionary Corps
Corps Expéditionnaire Français en Extrême-Orient
CEFEO insignia bearing the traditionalFrench Navyanchor symbol.
Active1945 – 26 April 1956
CountryFrance
AllegianceFranceFrench Army
TypeExpeditionary Force
Size115,000 (1947)[1]
EquipmentFrench, British, American
EngagementsFirst Indochina War
Commanders
Notable
commanders

The CEFEO was largely made up of voluntarily-enlisted indigenoustirailleursfrom theFrench Unioncolonial or protectorate territories, one exception being theFrench Foreign Legion,which consisted mainly of volunteers from Europe and the rest of the world.Metropolitanconscripts did not serve in theCEFEOunless they volunteered to do so. Less than half of the total personnel of the Corps were French professional soldiers, mostly serving with paratrooper, artillery and other specialist units.

History

edit
Soldiers shooting withFM 24/29in 1952.
Soldiers of1st Foreign Parachute Heavy Mortar Companyc.1954.

Composition

edit

"The French Far East Expeditionary Corps was designed to fight a conventional battle against the Japanese Army, but under one of two scenarios: either as part of a reconquest of Indochina or, to placate American desires, as part of a follow-on wave of assault troops in the upcoming invasion of Japan’s home islands. The early fall of Japan obviated the need to invade Japan, but it also meant that American logistical and transportation support was lost. This corps was at first organized with two Colonial Far East Infantry Divisions composed of Senegalese soldiers, but upon more detailed consideration the [corps] was composed of the3dand9th Colonial Infantry Divisionswith mostly European soldiers, the 2d Armored Division, the Far East Brigade composed of colonial troops in Madagascar, and the Far East Marine Brigade which had two infantry battalions, an armored battalion, and an artillery battalion and was intended as the amphibious assault element of the corps. Mostly organized and equipped along American lines, this was a powerful conventional force that could assault and fight Japanese divisions in the vicinity of Saigon, Hanoi, or the Japanese home islands. "[2]

The CEFEO was largely made up of voluntarily-enlisted indigenoustirailleursfrom theFrench Union's colonial or protectorate territories in Northwest AfricaMaghreb(Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia), sub-Saharan Africa,Madagascar,and South-East Asia. An exception was theFrench Foreign Legionwhich consisted mainly of European volunteers.

In 1954, the CEFEO included 177,000 men, including 59,000 indigenous people. Colonial soldiers made up the bulk of the ground forces. Between 1947 and 1954, 122,900North Africansand 60,340Black Africanslanded in Indochina, or 183,240 Africans in total. On February 1, 1954, they represented 43.5% of the 127,785 men of the ground forces (excluding indigenous Vietnamese). Most of the professional airborne units (BPC) and the entireChief of Staffwere metropolitan French, as were some artillery and specialist units.[3]

From September 1945 to the cease-fire in July 1954, a total of 488,560 men and women served in Indochina:[3]

In early November 1953, theFrench U.N. volunteersreturning from the endedKorean Warjoined the French Union CEFEO and sailed fromIncheonto Vietnam.[4]They would be later involved in thebattle of Mang Yang Passof June and July 1954.

Pacific War (1945)

edit
Main article:Japanese coup d'état in French Indochina

The CEFEO was created in early 1945 as a replacement for the olderFar East French Expeditionary Forces(Forces Expéditionnaires Françaises d'Extrême-Orient,FEFEO). Its purpose was to support Saigon-based GeneralGabriel Sabattier,divisional commander of colonial "Indochina French Forces" (Forces Françaises d'Indochine)[5]andFree French Forcesresistance small groupsC.L.I.then fighting with theJapaneseSouthern Expeditionary Army Groupduring theMarch coup.After the 1944Liberation of Franceand the fall ofNazi Germanyin Europe the following year, the French authorities wanted to "free" the lastAxis powersoccupied territories inSoutheast Asia,these included the newly establishedEmpire of Vietnam,which was a Japanese colony. On June 7, 1945, Leclerc was nominated commander of the CEFEO. On June 22, Leclerc transferred command of the2nd Armored Division(2ème D.B.) -the famous unit which hadliberated Parisin August 1944- to Colonel Dio. Leclerc received command of the Far East French Forces (Forces Françaises en Extrême-Orient) on August 15.

Colonialparatroopers in the delta area of northern Vietnam (1952)

First Indochina War (1946–1954)

edit
Main article:First Indochina War

In 1946, nationalist, then communist popular rebellion movement rose up against established colonial rule in theFrench Indochinafederation then includingLaos,Cambodia,Tonkin(North Vietnam), theAnnam(Middle Vietnam) andCochinchina(South Vietnam), all states beingprotectoratesexcluding the latter which was a colony withSaigonas its capital. In 1946, they would become associated states within the French Union and by 1949 Tonkin, Annam and theRepublic of Cochin Chinawould merge as theState of Vietnam.The communistViet Minhled byHo Chi Minhoverwhelmed its rival nationalist movements and organized itself as a guerilla army usingguerrilla warfare,then in the 1950s support—using conventional warfare. The First Indochina War officially lasted from November 20, 1946 until July 20, 1954 and was settled by theGeneva Agreements.

Dissolution (1956)

edit

After withdrawal of the last CEFEO troops from the independentVietnam,LaosandCambodiain 1956, the corps was disbanded by GeneralPierre Jacquot.

Commanders

edit
CEFEO shoulder patch insignia bearing the "Far East" mark.

Far East Forces

edit

North West Operation Group (Groupe d'Opération Nord-Ouest,GONO)

edit
Commander: GeneralChristian de Castries(1954)

Far East Ground Forces (Forces Terrestres en Extrême-Orient,FTEO)

edit

North Vietnam Ground Forces (Forces Terrestres du Nord Vietnam,FTNV)

edit
Commander: GeneralRené Cogny(1954)

South Vietnam Ground Forces (Forces Terrestres du Sud Vietnam,FTSV)

edit

Among the French ground forces in the Far East was the6th Engineers Regiment(6 RG).

Far East Naval Forces (Forces Maritimes en Extrême-Orient,FMEO)

edit
Commanders:

Far East Naval Directorate (Direction Navale d'Extrême-Orient,DNEO)

edit
Commander: Contre-Admiral Bosvieux (1952)

Far East Air Forces (Forces Aériennes en Extrême-Orient,FAEO)

edit

Among the aircraft supplied to the French in Indochina in 1950-51 wereB-26 Maraudersthat went to Bomber Group 1/25Tunisie,B-26 Invaders,P-63 Kingcobras,C-47 Dakotasthat went to Transport Group 1/64, 2/64, 2/63 which had both C-47s andC-119 Packets(but these were only operated by US civilian pilots ofCivil Air Transport), former U.S. NavyF6F Hellcatsthat went to 11th Carrier Assault Flotilla (onArromanchesuntil April 30, 1954),SB-2C Helldiversthat went to 3rd Carrier Assault Flotilla (onArromanchesuntil April 30, 1954),F8F-1B Bearcatsthat went toGroupe de Chasse(Fighter Group) 1/22Saintongeand Group de Chasse 2/22Languedoc,PB4Y2 Privateersthat went to the 28th Bomber Flotilla, andF4U Corsairsthat went to 14th Carrier Fighter Flotilla (onBelleau Woodon May 1, 1954).[6]

At the beginning of April 1954, Lt. General Earle E. ( "Pat" ) Partridge, Commander of the U. S.Far East Air Force(FEAF), had arrived in Saigon and begun talks with his French counterpart, Gen. Lauzin, as well as with Gen. Navarre.[6]He had brought with him Brigadier General Joseph D. Caldara, then the chief of the FEAF Bomber Command—the man who would fly and command the"Vulture"missions (bombing the area around Dien Bien Phu with 98B-29 Superfortresses).[6]The Americans had arrived at Saigon'sTan Son Nhut Airportin a discreetB-17,so as not to alert hostile eyes to the unfamiliar configuration of the B-29 Superfortress. From the beginning, the Americans were appalled at the total lack of French preparedness for anything like the control of a major saturation bombardment operation.[6]French Col. Brohon later said that this project involved the use of "several A-bombs" in the Dien Bien Phu area.[6]

Caldara decided to judge the situation for himself. On April 4, 1954, in the dead of the night, he flew his B-17 with an American crew over the valley of Dien Bien Phu, repeated the mission later with a French C-47 Dakota; and then once more with the B-17.[6]The overall plan was simple enough; the two wings of B-29s from Okinawa and the one fromClark Air Basewould rendezvous east of the Laotian capital ofVientiane,head for their target; and exit from Indochina via the Gulf of Tonkin.[6]The French at the highest levels seemed to have no idea of the power of the 98 Superfortresses.[6]This bombing mission was never approved as Winston Churchill was against it.[6]Late that month on 29 April 1954C-124 Globemastersfrom the322nd Air Divisionwere in the process of air-lifting into Indochina the brand-new 7th BPC (Bataillon de Parachutistes Coloniaux), en route from Europe to Vietnam via Colombo, Ceylon.[6]Thus U. S. Air Force aircraft and personnel were actively involved in Vietnam in 1954.[6]

Notable personnel

edit

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^Windrow, Martin (1998).The French Indochina War 1946-1954.Osprey Publishing. p. 11.
  2. ^Jackson, Peter D. "French ground force organizational development for counterrevolutionary warfare between 1945 and 1962." Master's dissertation, Fort Leavenworth, KS: US Army Command and General Staff College, 2005.
  3. ^abLes Forces Françaises en Extrême-Orient
  4. ^Departure of the French U.N. Korean battalionArchived2007-09-29 at theWayback Machine,French newsreels archives (Les Actualités Françaises), November 5, 1953
  5. ^Martin Thomas (1997)."Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, Vol. 28, 1997".Archived fromthe originalon 2009-02-18.Retrieved2010-01-02.
  6. ^abcdefghijkFall, Bernard B. (2002).Hell in a very small place the siege of Dien Bien Phu(2nde ed.). New York, N.Y.: Da Capo Press. pp. 293–311.ISBN978-0306811579.
  • Koburger, Charles W. Naval Expeditions: The French Return to Indochina, 1945-1946. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 1997.
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=French_Far_East_Expeditionary_Corps&oldid=1227170975"