First Indochina War

From 1946 to 1954 the French Union was locked in mortal combat with the forces of the Viet Minh. The prize was control of the French colony of Indochina (to include Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos). The final Viet Minh victory has profound implications for the wider Cold War. There are numerous lessons to be learned in a war which saw the full range of operations from low level insurgency to big battles such as Dien Bien Phu. Chapters will include topics such as Communist insurgency doctrine, mobile group tactics, airborne operations, riverine warfare, airpower, military logistics, elite units such as the Foreign Legion and Viet Minh sappers, and the possibility of both United States and Red Chinese military intervention. Plus profiles of leading military figures such as Vo Nguyen Giap and Marshal de Lattre. The STQ will conclude with how the Indochina War set the stage for the later Vietnam War of 1964 to 1975.