The My Trach Massacre ( vi, Thảm sát Mỹ Trạch) was a
war crime by the
French Army against
Vietnamese civilians in the
First Indochina War. French soldiers committed the massacre in Mỹ Trạch village,
Mỹ Thủy
Mỹ Thủy a town and rural commune (''xã'') in Lệ Thủy District, Quảng Bình Province, North Central Coast region of Vietnam. This commune is located on the right bank of Kiến Giang River. The commune contains villages: Mỹ Trạch ...
commune,
Lệ Thủy District,
Quảng Bình Province,
Vietnam from 5 am to 8 am on November 29, 1947. The French Army burned 326 houses and murdered more than half of the village's residents. French soldiers raped many women before murdering them. The French Army murdered over 300 civilian residents in Mỹ Trạch, including 170 women and 157 children.
The location of the massacre was in the foot of Mỹ Trạch Bridge, a bridge on the
North–South Railway
The North–South railway (German: ''Nord-Süd-Strecke'') is an amalgamation of several railway lines in Germany that came to significant importance in West Germany and are therefore commonly regarded as a single entity. During the division of Ge ...
, next to Mỹ Trạch Railway Station. French soldiers forced the victims to the foot of the bridge and lined them up before murdering them with
machine gun fire.
Every year, residents of Mỹ Trạch mourn November 29 as "Hatred Date."
On December 27, 2001, The
Ministry of Culture of Vietnam classified the memorial park in which the memorial site is located as one of the
National Historical Relics of Vietnam.
[Sources: Information on the Memorial Stele and on Official Website of Quảng Bình Provincial Government]
References
Citations
External links
Quảng Bình Provincial Government
{{DEFAULTSORT:My Trach massacre
1947 in Vietnam
Anti-Vietnamese sentiment
First Indochina War
Massacres committed by France
Massacres in 1947
Massacres in Vietnam
Murdered Vietnamese children
November 1947 events in Asia
Quảng Bình province
Rape in Vietnam
Torture in Vietnam
Violence against women in Vietnam
Wartime sexual violence