This is the

order of battle In modern use, the order of battle of an armed force participating in a military operation or campaign shows the hierarchical organization, command structure, strength, disposition of personnel, and equipment of units and formations of the armed ...

for the Japanese invasion of French Indochina (22–26 September 1940) during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Japan

Army

5th Division In military terms, 5th Division may refer to: Infantry divisions *5th Division (Australia) * 5th Division (People's Republic of China) *5th Division (Colombia) *Finnish 5th Division (Continuation War) *5th Light Cavalry Division (France) *5th Moto ...

– Lt. Gen.

Aketo Nakamura was a Japanese lieutenant general during World War II. Early life In 1910 he entered the Imperial Japanese Army Academy. Japanese invasion of French Indochina Nakamura participated in the Japanese invasion of French Indochina in 1940 at the he ...

* 9th Infantry Brigade ** 11th Infantry Regiment ** 41st Infantry Regiment * 21st Infantry Brigade ** 21st Infantry Regiment ** 42nd Infantry Regiment * 5th Mountain Artillery Regiment * 5th Cavalry Regiment * 5th Engineer Regiment * 5th Transport Regiment

Indochina Expeditionary Army The was an amphibious army corps of the Imperial Japanese Army formed on September 7, 1940 to coordinate the invasion and occupation of French Indochina during the Second Sino-Japanese War. It was supported by a contingent from the Imperial Japa ...

– Maj. Gen. Takuma Nishimura * Indochina Expeditionary Infantry Group – Maj. Gen. Takeshi Sakurada * 2nd Imperial Guards Infantry Regiment – Col. Kunio Osonoe * Indochina Expeditionary Tank Unit (14th Tank Regiment) * Indochina Expeditionary AA Gun Unit * Signal Unit and others Army Air Force * 1st Hikodan Headquarters ** 59th Sentai ** 90th Sentai ** ground service units * 3rd Hikoshidan Headquarters ** 18th I F Chutai ** 60th Sentai ** ground service units

Navy

2nd Fleet * Destroyer Squadron 3 ** CL ''Sendai'' ** Destroyer Divisions 12 and 20 with DD ''Nenohi'' IJN airforce: * Carrier ''Hiryū'' ** Fighter daitai – Mitsubishi A5M ** Bomber daitai –

Aichi D1A2 The Aichi D1A or Navy Type 94/96 Carrier Bomber ( Allied reporting name "Susie") was a Japanese carrier-based dive bomber of the 1930s. A single-engine, two-seat biplane based on the Heinkel He 50, the D1A was produced by Aichi for the Imperial J ...

** attack daitai – Yokosuka B4Y1 * Seaplane tender ''Kamikawa Maru'' ** 4 Type 94 Kawanishi E7K2 “Alf” reconnaissance float biplanes ** 8 Type 95 Nakajima E8N2 “Dave” reconnaissance float biplanes Japanese warships and transports carrying Expeditionary Force lying off Haiphong in the Gulf of Tonkin.

Vichy France

Army

Hanoi – Général de Corps d'Armée

Maurice Martin Maurice "Mo" Martin (born July 2, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player. He played at Saint Joseph's University from 1982 to 1986 and was an Associated Press honorable mention All-American in his senior year. The 1986 Atla ...

Haiphong * shore defenses Lang Son sector * 2nd Brigade – Général de brigade Germain Mennerat ** five battalions of infantry: *** I/3rd Régiment de Tirailleurs Tonkinois (RTT) *** II/5th Régiment Ėtranger d'Infanterie (REI) *** I/9th Régiment d'Infanterie Coloniale (RIC) *** ? *** ? ** a group of tanks, ** a group of 75 mm artillery ** a battery of 155 mm artillery That Khe – 1 company of II/3rd Régiment de Tirailleurs Tonkinois (RTT)
Nam Quam – 2 companies of II/3rd Régiment d'Infanterie Coloniale (RIC)
Chima – 1 Platoon of a company of II/3rd Régiment de Tirailleurs Tonkinois (RTT)
Loc Binh – bulk of a company of II/3rd Régiment de Tirailleurs Tonkinois (RTT)
Na Dzuong – elements of 9th Régiment d'Infanterie Coloniale (RIC) All told, about 5000 troops representing elements of 3rd Régiment de Tirailleurs Tonkinois, 9th Régiment d'Infanterie Coloniale, and 5th Régiment Étranger d'Infanterie. Reserves: * IV/3rd Régiment de Tirailleurs Tonkinois (RTT) – to counterattack toward Dong Dang * "fresh battalions" – Lang Giai and Lang Nac barring the route from Lang Son to Hanoi

Air Force

This French aerial order of battle is based on Christian-Jacques Ehrengardt, "Ciel de feu en Indochine, 1939–1945", ''Aéro Journal'', 29, 1 (2003), pp. 4–26, augmented by Claude d'Abzac-Epezy, ''L'Armée de l'air de Vichy, 1940–1944'' (Service historique de l'Armée de l'air, 1997). The exact number of

Potez 25 Potez 25 (also written as Potez XXV) was a French twin-seat, single-engine biplane designed during the 1920s. A multi-purpose fighter-bomber, it was designed as a line aircraft and used in a variety of roles, including fighter and escort mission ...

is unknown; there were around seventy. Three

Potez 63 The Potez 630 and its derivatives were a family of twin-engined, multirole aircraft developed for the French Air Force in the late 1930s. The design was a contemporary of the British Bristol Blenheim (which was larger and designed purely as a ...

destined for China were also requisitioned in Haiphong. * 41st Autonomous Air Group (''groupe aérien autonome'') ** 1st Observation Squadron (''escadrille d'observation'') at Pursat —

** 2nd Bombardment Squadron (''escadrille de bombardement'') at Tong — four Farman 221 * 42nd Autonomous Air Group ** 1st Observation Squadron at Pursat — Potez 25 ** 2nd Bombardment Squadron at Biên Hòa— six

Potez 542 The Potez 540 was a French multi-role aircraft of the 1930s. Designed and built by Potez, it served with the French Air Force as a reconnaissance bomber, also serving with the Spanish Republican Air Force during the Spanish Civil War. Although ob ...

* Mixed Air Group (''groupe aérien mixte'') 595 ** 1st Observation Squadron at Bạch Mai — Potez 25 ** 2nd Fighter Squadron (''escadrille de chasse'') at Bach Mai — twelve Morane-Saulnier 406 * Mixed Air Group 596 ** 1st Observation Squadron at Tourane — Potez 25 * Southern Base Command (''Commandement des bases du Sud'') ** 1st Squadron at Cat Lai — ten

Loire 130 The Loire 130 was a French flying boat that saw service during World War II. It was designed and built by Loire Aviation of St Nazaire. Development The Loire 130 originated from a mid-1930s requirement from the French Navy for a reconnaissance s ...

, two

CAMS 37 The CAMS 37 was a French 1920's biplane flying boat designed for military reconnaissance, but which found use in a wide variety of roles. Development It was the first design for Chantiers Aéro-Maritimes de la Seine (CAMS) by their new head de ...

, two

CAMS 55 __NOTOC__ The CAMS 55 was a reconnaissance flying boat built in France in the late 1920s which equipped the French Navy throughout the 1930s. Design and development The CAMS 55 design was derived from the unsuccessful CAMS 51 and followed t ...

In addition to the above forces under the Air Force, the seaplanes of the navy in Indochine were concentrated at

Bãi Cháy Bãi Cháy is a ward in Vietnam. It, along with the eastern part known colloquially as Hòn Gai, together make up the city of Hạ Long. Known as the city's "tourism zone", many hotels, beach resorts and other tourism hotspots are located within B ...

into a new section: * Seaplane Section of the Navy (''Section d'hydravions de la Marine'', SHM) — one

, two

Potez 452 The Potez 452 was a French flying boat designed and built by Potez in response to a French Navy specification for a shipboard reconnaissance machine for use on its battleships and cruisers. Design The design requirements included the ability fo ...

, four Gourdou-Leseurre 832

Sources

* Vichy Indo-China vs Japan, 194

* Sino-Japanese Air War 1937 – 194

Second Sino-Japanese War orders of battle, Japanese invasion of French Indochina South-East Asian theatre of World War II

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...