The Dinassaut (, ''Division Navale d'Assaut'', "Naval Assault Division") was a type of riverine military unit employed by the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

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, and alternatively internationally as the French-Indochina War) was fought between France and Việt Minh ( Democratic Rep ...

. It's an example of Riverine artillery. The 'Dinassaut' were created by General Leclerc in 1947 in order to replace the ''flottilles fluviales'' created by Jaubert in 1945–1946. Ten groups were created.

Organization

Each Dinassaut consisted of approximately 12 craft, often American landing craft modified with armour and using tank turrets as weapons. Other craft carried 81mm mortars to be employed as riverine artillery. The ships were converted LCVP && Armored Troop Carrier (LCM): *

Landing Craft Infantry The Landing Craft Infantry (LCI) were several classes of landing craft used by the Allies to land large numbers of infantry directly onto beaches during World War II. They were developed in response to a British request for seagoing amphibious as ...

(LCI) ; *

Landing Craft Tank The Landing Craft, Tank (LCT) (or tank landing craft, TLC) was an amphibious assault craft for landing tanks on beachheads. They were initially developed by the Royal Navy and later by the United States Navy during World War II in a series of ver ...

(LCT) ; * Landing Craft Mechanized (LCM) ; * Landing Craft Vehicle & Personnel (LCVP) ; *

Landing Craft Support The Landing Craft, Support (Large) were two distinct classes of amphibious warfare vessels used by the United States Navy (USN) in the Pacific and the Royal Navy in World War II. The USN versions, which were later reclassified Landing Ship Supp ...

(LCS) ; *

Landing Craft Assault Landing Craft Assault (LCA) was a landing craft used extensively in World War II. Its primary purpose was to ferry troops from transport ships to attack enemy-held shores. The craft derived from a prototype designed by John I. Thornycroft & Com ...

(LCA) ; * Landing Ship Supply Large (LSSL) for fire power The ten naval assault divisions were located in the

Mekong Delta The Mekong Delta ( or simply ), also known as the Western Region () or South-western region (), is the list of regions of Vietnam, region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong, Mekong River River delta, approaches and empties into the sea th ...

(Cochinchina) and the

Red River Delta The Red River Delta or Hong River Delta () is the flat low-lying plain formed by the Red River and its distributaries merging with the Thái Bình River in Northern Vietnam. ''Hồng'' (紅) is a Sino-Vietnamese word for "red" or "crimson". T ...

(Tonkin) as follows: * Dinassaut 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10, in Cochinchine; * Dinassaut 1, 3, 5, 12 and Haiphong Dinassaut in

Tonkin Tonkin, also spelled Tongkin, Tonquin or Tongking, is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain '' Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, including both the ...

. Each one has a company of

Commandos Marine The Commandos Marine, nicknamed ''Bérets Verts'' (Green Berets), are the special operation forces (SOF) of the French Navy, headquartered in Lorient, Brittany in western France. They operate under the Special Operations Command (COS), FOR ...

(created off Fusiliers Marins) attached to it.

Operations

They were notably involved in: * Operation Léa * Operation Ceinture * Battle of the Day River * Operation Lorraine * Operation Brochet * Operation Mouette

Notable people who served in Dinassaut

The following people have served there: * :fr:François Gabriel Pierre Jaubert who created the initial unit and whose name was given one French Special Unit, the Commando Jaubert * Pierre Guillaume (French Navy officer) (which was the source for Le Crabe-tambour movie) * :fr:Maurice-Raymond de Brossard, a French naval officer, historian and painter. * :fr:Jean-Louis Delayen, a French general * :fr:Philippe Ausseur, a French naval officer who served in the General Staff of General de Gaulle, then as Major General of the Navy, then vice-admiral of the wing, member of the Superior Council of the Navy.

Second Indochina War

Dinassaut 6 & 8 had been transferred to the

Republic of Vietnam Navy The Republic of Vietnam Navy (RVNN; - ''HQVNCH''; was the naval branch of the South Vietnamese military, the official armed forces of the former Republic of Vietnam (or South Vietnam) from 1955 to 1975. The early fleet consisted of boats f ...

(VNN) in 1953. The concept was reused by the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. This leads to the creation of the Mekong Delta Mobile Afloat Force later named

Mobile Riverine Force In the Vietnam War, the Mobile Riverine Force (MRF) (after May 1967), initially designated Mekong Delta Mobile Afloat Force, and later the Riverines, were a joint US Army and US Navy force that comprised a substantial part of the brown-water n ...

(MRF) after May 1967.

References

External links