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 arme ...

for the

Japanese invasion of French Indochina The was a short undeclared military confrontation between Japan and France in northern French Indochina. Fighting lasted from 22 to 26 September 1940; the same time as the Battle of South Guangxi in the Sino-Japanese War, which was the main ...

(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 opposing ...

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 Mo ...

– Lt. Gen. Aketo Nakamura * 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 – Maj. Gen.

Takuma Nishimura was a Japanese army general in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, active in the invasion and occupation of British Malaya. After the Japanese surrender, he was tried and convicted in British Singapore as a war criminal for his r ...

* 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 ** 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 An army corps general or corps general is a rank held by a General officer who commands an army corps. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. Normally, the rank is above the divisional ge ...

Maurice Martin Haiphong * shore defenses Lang Son sector * 2nd Brigade –

Général de brigade Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed to ...

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 is unknown; there were around seventy. Three Potez 63 destined for China were also requisitioned in Haiphong. * 41st Autonomous Air Group (''groupe aérien autonome'') ** 1st Observation Squadron (''escadrille d'observation'') at

Pursat Pursat ( ; km, ពោធិ៍សាត់, ) is the capital of Pursat Province, Cambodia. Its name derived from a type of tree. It lies on the Pursat River The Pursat River ( km, ស្ទឹងពោធិ៍សាត់, Steung Pursat) al ...

— Potez 25 ** 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 Biên Hòa (Northern accent: , Southern accent: ) is the capital city of Đồng Nai Province, Vietnam and part of the Ho Chi Minh City metropolitan area and located about east of Ho Chi Minh City, to which Biên Hòa is linked by Vietnam Hi ...

— six Potez 542 * 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 Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons ( ; vi, Đà Nẵng, ) is a class-1 municipality and the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the East Sea of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is o ...

— 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, 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 the ...

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