Operation Hirondelle took place during the

First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vi ...

in July 1953. It was an airborne raid on

Viet Minh The Việt Minh (; abbreviated from , chữ Nôm and Hán tự: ; french: Ligue pour l'indépendance du Viêt Nam, ) was a national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1941. Also known as the Việt Minh Fro ...

supply depots near

Lạng Sơn Lạng Sơn () is a city in far northern Vietnam, which is the capital of Lạng Sơn Province. It is accessible by road and rail from Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital, and it is the northernmost point on National Route 1. History Due to its ge ...

, involving

parachute A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, who ...

units of the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

and

Vietnamese National Army The Vietnamese National Army or Vietnam National Army ( vi, Quân đội Quốc gia Việt Nam, lit=Army of the State of Vietnam, french: Armée Nationale Vietnamienne, lit=Vietnamese National Army) was the State of Vietnam's military force create ...

. Raids near the junction of Route Coloniale 4 and Route Coloniale 1 revealed supply caches hidden in caves, which were photographed and destroyed. The attack forces then retreated over land through

Loc Binh LOC, L.O.C., Loc, LoC, or locs may refer to: Places * Lóc, a village in Sângeorgiu de Pădure, Mureș County, Romania * Lócs, a village in Vas county, Hungary * Line of Contact, meeting place of Western and Eastern Allied forces at the en ...

, where other French units had been dropped on July 17 to repair and hold a river crossing for the retreating units; and then to form a rearguard for 20 miles. The entire force rendezvoused with Groupe Mobile Five, and was then extracted by sea on July 19, suffering from

heat exhaustion Heat exhaustion is a severe form of heat illness. It is a medical emergency. Heat exhaustion is caused by the loss of water and electrolytes through sweating. The United States Department of Labor makes the following recommendation, "Heat illness ...

. The average weight loss was 11 pounds.Windrow, p. 195.

Notes

References

Online * Printed * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hirondelle, Operation Battles involving Vietnam Military operations involving France Battles and operations of the First Indochina War Conflicts in 1953 1953 in French Indochina Vietnamese independence movement 1953 in Vietnam July 1953 events in Asia History of Lạng Sơn Province