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89-789: The CEFEO was largely made up of voluntarily-enlisted indigenous tirailleurs from the French Union colonial or protectorate territories, one exception being the French Foreign Legion , which consisted mainly of volunteers from Europe and the rest of the world. Metropolitan conscripts did not serve in the CEFEO unless they volunteered to do so. Less than half of the total personnel of the Corps were French professional soldiers, mostly serving with paratrooper, artillery and other specialist units. "The French Far East Expeditionary Corps

178-570: A Croix de Guerre (Cross of War) with attachments on the ribbon depending on the degree of citation: the lowest being represented by a bronze star (for those who had been cited at the regiment or brigade level) while the highest degree is represented by a bronze palm (for those who had been cited at the army level). A unit can be mentioned in Despatches. Its flag is then decorated with the corresponding Croix. After two citations in Army Orders,

267-647: A Fourragère (at least 2 citations in Army Orders). Only one regiment of Senegalese Tirailleurs were awarded a Fourragère in 1919. As colonial subjects, tirailleurs were not awarded the same pensions as their French (European) counterparts after World War II. The discrimination led to a mutiny of Senegalese tirailleurs in Dakar at Camp Tiaroye in December 1944. The tirailleurs involved were former prisoners of war who had been repatriated to West Africa and placed in

356-399: A committee of fifteen to examine administrative reform, legislation, and finance; and a committee for educational reform. For the first time, leaders from southern regions were invited to join these committees. Other developments in southern Vietnam in early July were seen as preparatory Japanese steps towards granting territorial reunification to Vietnam. In early July, when southern Vietnam

445-694: A focal point of political agitation. By May and June, there was evidence that communist Cadres of the Viet Minh front, had infiltrated the university's youth and famine relief associations. In the face of the rising Viet Minh front, the Japanese attempted to contact its leaders, but their messengers were killed by the Viet Minh. The Kempeitai (Japanese MP and also secret police) retaliated, arresting hundreds of pro-communist Vietnamese youths in late June. The most notable achievement of Kim's Empire of Vietnam

534-541: A guerilla army using guerrilla warfare , then in the 1950s support—using conventional warfare. The First Indochina War officially lasted from November 20, 1946 until July 20, 1954 and was settled by the Geneva Agreements . After withdrawal of the last CEFEO troops from the independent Vietnam , Laos and Cambodia in 1956, the corps was disbanded by General Pierre Jacquot . Among the French ground forces in

623-597: A holding camp awaiting discharge. They demonstrated in protest against the failure of the French authorities to pay salary arrears and discharge allowances. French soldiers guarding the camp opened fire killing between thirty-five and seventy African soldiers. The provisional government of Charles de Gaulle , concerned at the impact of the Tiaroye incident on serving tirailleurs, acted quickly to ensure that claims for back pay and other money owed were settled. When France's African colonies achieved independence between 1956 and

712-500: A mass demonstration organised by the General Association of Civil Servants. The rally was originally aimed at celebrating independence and territorial reunification and supporting Kim's government. Two days later, Nguyễn Xuân Chữ was forced to hand over authority to the Viet Minh. Combined with the official cease-fire of the Japanese army on August 21, this threw Kim's government into disarray and it collapsed. On August 23,

801-518: A metropolitan light infantry unit — the 1er bataillon de tirailleurs de Vincennes which disembarked in Algiers in early 1840. This unit subsequently became the chasseurs d'Orléans but the title of tirailleurs was allocated the next year to newly raised regiments of indigenous Algerian infantry recruited from the Arab and Berber communities. The tirailleurs from Algeria subsequently served in

890-559: A more practical khaki uniform from 1915 onwards, in common with the other units of the (North African) 19th Military District . The West African and Madagascan tirailleurs wore a dark blue parade dress with red sash and fez while the Indochinese regiments wore an indigenous style of blue, white or khaki uniform with a flat "salacco" headdress. Khaki had been widely worn as a hot-weather field dress in Indo-China and Africa during

979-618: A national center for the Advanced Front Youth ( Thanh niên tiền tuyến ) in Huế. It was inaugurated on June 2, with the intention of being the centrepiece for future officer training. In late July, regional social youth centers were established in Hanoi, Huế, and Saigon . In Hanoi, the General Association of Students and Youth ( Tổng hội Sinh viên và Thanh niên ) was animated by the fervor of independence. The City University in Hanoi became

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1068-623: A new flag for Vietnam. Kim's government strongly emphasised educational reform, focusing on the development of technical training, particularly the use of Vietnamese alphabet ( chữ Quốc Ngữ ) as the primary language of instruction. After less than two months in power, Kim organized the first primary examinations in Vietnamese , the language he intended to use in the advanced tests. Education minister Hoàng Xuân Hãn strove to Vietnamese public secondary education. His reforms took more than four months to achieve their results, and have been regarded as

1157-628: A new government. Meanwhile, Interior Minister Nam, cited the communist uprisings in Thanh Hóa and Quảng Ngãi in central Vietnam to discourage Kim from traveling to Saigon. The acceptance of the handover of the South (Cochinchina) was thus temporarily placed at the feet of the Council of the South. On August 14, Bảo Đại appointed Nguyễn Văn Sâm, former president of the Journalists' Syndicate, to

1246-687: A number of independent battalions remained in French service. Two battalions of Algerian Tirailleurs formed the bulk of the Détachement Français de Palestine et de Syrie that participated in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign from 1917 onwards. In 1884, the 4th Regiment of Tirailleurs was created in Tunisia. Except for minor distinctions of insignia and uniform (their numbering was based on the figure "4" and its multiples, plus light blue tombeaus or false pockets on their full dress zouave jackets)

1335-498: A series of decrees transferring some of the duties of the government (including customs, information, youth, and sports) to the governments of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, effective July 1. Bảo Đại then issued imperial orders establishing four committees to work on a new regime: the National Consultative Committee ( Hội đồng Tư vấn Quốc gia ); a committee of fifteen to work on the creation of a constitution;

1424-423: A stepping stone for the successor Viet Minh government's launch of compulsory mass education. In July, when the Japanese decided to grant Vietnam full independence and territorial unification, Kim's government was about to begin a new round of reform, by naming a committee to create a new national education system. The Justice minister Trịnh Đình Thảo launched an attempt at judicial reform. In May 1945, he created

1513-562: A transitional force locale at the end of the Algerian War in 1962. The six remaining Algerian tirailleur regiments ( RTA ) were disbanded or transformed into metropolitan infantry units between 1962 and 1964. The last Moroccan regiment in the French Army was the 5th RTM ( Regiment de Tirailleurs Marocain ), stationed at Dijon until it disbanded in 1965. The modern French Army still has one tirailleur regiment, descended from

1602-662: A unit of mostly Vietnamese tirailleurs (" le Commando d'Extreme Orient Dam San ") continued to serve with the French Army in Algeria until 1960. Most tirailleur regiments were disbanded as French colonies and protectorates achieved independence between 1956 and 1962 . In Morocco, Tunisia and the new African states most serving tirailleurs transferred directly from the French armed forces to the new national armies. In Algeria locally recruited tirailleurs who remained loyal to France were given an option to transfer to units in France, or join

1691-586: The 1st Tirailleur Regiment . This regiment was known as the 170th Infantry Regiment between 1964 and 1994. Prior to 1964, it was known as the 7th Algerian Tirailleur Regiment , but changed its name after it moved to France as a result of Algerian independence . In the wars of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic periods, the designation "tirailleur" was a French military term used at first to refer generically to light infantry skirmishers. The first regiments of Tirailleurs so called were part of

1780-720: The Annam (Middle Vietnam) and Cochinchina (South Vietnam), all states being protectorates excluding the latter which was a colony with Saigon as its capital. In 1946, they would become associated states within the French Union and by 1949 Tonkin, Annam and the Republic of Cochin China would merge as the State of Vietnam . The communist Viet Minh led by Ho Chi Minh overwhelmed its rival nationalist movements and organized itself as

1869-857: The Crimean War , the Second Italian War of Independence , the French intervention in Mexico and the Franco-Prussian War (1870), as well as in French colonial campaigns in Tunisia, Indochina, Morocco, Madagascar and Algeria itself. During the Crimean War the Algerian tirailleurs acquired the nickname of "Turcos" (Turks) by which they were widely known over the next hundred years. The name reportedly arose from comparisons between

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1958-689: The Imperial Guard of Napoleon I . By the fall of the Empire, some 16 regiments had been created. The Guard Tirailleurs were usually grouped as part of the Young Guard, along with their sister Voltigeur regiments. The Guard Tirailleur regiments were disbanded during the reorganization of the French Army in 1814 by the new royal government. On 28 March 1815, during Napoleon I's short-lived return to power (the Hundred Days ), Regiments 1-8 of

2047-685: The Japanese Southern Expeditionary Army Group during the March coup . After the 1944 Liberation of France and the fall of Nazi Germany in Europe the following year, the French authorities wanted to "free" the last Axis powers occupied territories in Southeast Asia , these included the newly established Empire of Vietnam , which was a Japanese colony. On June 7, 1945, Leclerc was nominated commander of

2136-528: The Napoleonic era , was a type of light infantry trained to skirmish ahead of the main columns. Later, the term " tirailleur " was used by the French Army as a designation for indigenous infantry recruited in the French colonial territories during the 19th and 20th centuries, or for metropolitan units serving in a light infantry role. The French army currently maintains one tirailleur regiment,

2225-691: The Rif War of the 1920s . Before and during World War II (1939–45), tirailleurs were recruited from the Maghreb (Algerian, Moroccans , and Tunisians ), from French West Africa and Madagascar ( Tirailleurs malgaches ). Regiments were recruited from the regions of French Indochina : Annam , Tonkin , and Cambodia . The regiments were named after the territory in which they were recruited. Thus "tirailleurs Annamites", " tirailleurs Tonkinois " and "tirailleurs Cambodgiens". During World War I (1914–18) tirailleurs from North African territories served on

2314-577: The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki took place; on August 8, 1945, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan and invaded Manchuria , and Japan's resistance to the Allies was quickly ended. Japan decided to give Kim and Vietnamese nationalists the full independence and territorial unification that they had sought for decades. Kim was urged many times to come to Saigon to officially accept control of Nam Bộ. Multiple factors prevented Kim from leaving

2403-705: The fall of France and establishment of Vichy France , the French had lost practical control in French Indochina to the Japanese, but Japan stayed in the background while giving the Vichy French administrators nominal control. Following the Liberation of France , Japan openly took over on 9 March 1945. To gain the support of the Vietnamese people, Imperial Japan declared that it would return sovereignty to Vietnam. On 11 March 1945, Emperor Bảo Đại

2492-627: The 17 French regiments that won the Fourragère in the colors of the Légion d'honneur (at least six citations in Army Orders), nine of them were from the Army of Africa including four regiments of North African Tirailleurs (2nd, 4th, 7th Tirailleurs and 4th Zouaves and Tirailleurs). By the end of the war, all the 16 North African Tirailleur regiments existing as of August 1918 (12 Algerian/Tunisian, 2 Moroccan and 2 Zouaves and Tirailleurs), were awarded

2581-480: The 28th Bomber Flotilla, and F4U Corsairs that went to 14th Carrier Fighter Flotilla (on Belleau Wood on May 1, 1954). At the beginning of April 1954, Lt. General Earle E. ("Pat") Partridge, Commander of the U. S. Far East Air Force (FEAF), had arrived in Saigon and begun talks with his French counterpart, Gen. Lauzin, as well as with Gen. Navarre. He had brought with him Brigadier General Joseph D. Caldara, then

2670-463: The Algerian tirailleurs. While these troops are now all French, items of the traditional North African uniform are still worn on ceremonial occasions to commemorate the Algerian "Turcos" who served France for over 130 years. The traditions of the tirailleurs Senegalais are maintained by the 21eme Regiment d'infanterie de marine stationed in Fréjus , via the 4e Régiment de Tirailleurs Sénégalais of

2759-500: The Algerian troops and the Turkish allies serving alongside the French and British forces at the siege of Sevastopol. First raised in 1841 as battalions of tirailleurs indigenes , the locally recruited Algerian infantry were organised into three regiments of Algerian Tirailleurs by a decree dated 10 October 1855. The number of such units fluctuated over the next hundred years until in the early 1960s eight regiments of tirailleurs plus

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2848-561: The B-17. The overall plan was simple enough; the two wings of B-29s from Okinawa and the one from Clark Air Base would rendezvous east of the Laotian capital of Vientiane , head for their target; and exit from Indochina via the Gulf of Tonkin. The French at the highest levels seemed to have no idea of the power of the 98 Superfortresses. This bombing mission was never approved as Winston Churchill

2937-666: The CEFEO. On June 22, Leclerc transferred command of the 2nd Armored Division ( 2ème D.B. ) -the famous unit which had liberated Paris in August 1944- to Colonel Dio. Leclerc received command of the Far East French Forces ( Forces Françaises en Extrême-Orient ) on August 15. In 1946, nationalist, then communist popular rebellion movement rose up against established colonial rule in the French Indochina federation then including Laos , Cambodia , Tonkin (North Vietnam),

3026-563: The Committee for the Reform and Unification of Laws in Huế, which he headed. His ministry reevaluated the sentences of political prisoners, releasing a number of anti-French activists and restoring the civil rights of others. This led to the release of a number of Communist cadres who returned to their former cells, and actively participated in the destruction of Kim's government. One of the most notable changes implemented by Kim's government

3115-405: The Empire of Vietnam was proclaimed, the Japanese retained direct control of Cochinchina, in the same way as their French predecessors. Thuận Hóa , the pre-colonial name for Huế, was restored. Kim's officials worked to find a French substitute for the word "Annamite", which was used to denote Vietnamese people and their characteristics as described in French literature and official use. "Annamite"

3204-888: The Far East was the 6th Engineers Regiment (6 RG). Among the aircraft supplied to the French in Indochina in 1950-51 were B-26 Marauders that went to Bomber Group 1/25 Tunisie , B-26 Invaders , P-63 Kingcobras , C-47 Dakotas that went to Transport Group 1/64, 2/64, 2/63 which had both C-47s and C-119 Packets (but these were only operated by US civilian pilots of Civil Air Transport ), former U.S. Navy F6F Hellcats that went to 11th Carrier Assault Flotilla (on Arromanches until April 30, 1954), SB-2C Helldivers that went to 3rd Carrier Assault Flotilla (on Arromanches until April 30, 1954), F8F-1B Bearcats that went to Groupe de Chasse (Fighter Group) 1/22 Saintonge and Group de Chasse 2/22 Languedoc , PB4Y2 Privateers that went to

3293-626: The French Union CEFEO and sailed from Incheon to Vietnam. They would be later involved in the battle of Mang Yang Pass of June and July 1954. The CEFEO was created in early 1945 as a replacement for the older Far East French Expeditionary Forces ( Forces Expéditionnaires Françaises d'Extrême-Orient , FEFEO). Its purpose was to support Saigon-based General Gabriel Sabattier , divisional commander of colonial "Indochina French Forces" ( Forces Françaises d'Indochine ) and Free French Forces resistance small groups C.L.I. then fighting with

3382-955: The Guard Tirailleurs were officially re-raised. Only the 1st and 3rd Regiments actually took the field for the Waterloo campaign. All regiments of Imperial Guard Tirailleurs (along with the rest of the Guard) were disbanded following the Emperor's second abdication. In addition to the regiments within the Imperial Guard, several foreign battalions of tirailleurs were raised, included the Italian Tirailleurs du Po and Corsican Tirailleurs Corses . The first tirailleurs employed in French North Africa were

3471-647: The Italian campaign. The Indo-Chinese tirailleur regiments were destroyed or disbanded following the Japanese coups against the French colonial administration in March 1945. Algerian, Moroccan and Senegalese tirailleurs served in Indo-China until the fall of Dien Bien Phu and subsequently as part of the French forces during the Algerian War of Independence (1954–62). Even after the French withdrawal from Indochina,

3560-567: The Japanese discouraged many possible supporters of Kim. His ministers and public servant corps began to dwindle in number. The Imperial Commissioner of the North (Tonkin), Phan Kế Toại, accompanied by his son and other Viet Minh sympathisers and secret communists such as Nguyễn Mạnh Hà and Hoàng Minh Giám, submitted his resignation. Nguyễn Xuân Chữ, a leader of the Vietnamese Patriotic Party (Viet Nam Ái quốc Đảng) and one of

3649-474: The Japanese in Hanoi for the transfer of the three cities to Vietnamese rule, but the Japanese stalled because Hanoi and Haiphong were seen as strategic points in their war effort. It was only in June and July that the Japanese allowed the process of national unification to take place. On June 16, Bảo Đại issued a decree proclaiming the impending reunification of Vietnam. On June 29, General Yuitsu Tsuchihashi signed

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3738-535: The North always mentioned Đại Việt (Great Việt), the name used before the 15th century by the Lê dynasty and its predecessors, while those in the South used Vietnam, and the central leaders used An Nam (Peaceful South) or Đại Nam (Great South, which was used by the Nguyễn Lords , precursor of Nguyễn dynasty ). Kim also renamed the three regions of the country—the northern (former Tonkin or Bắc Kỳ) became Bắc Bộ,

3827-410: The Second World War. Until 1914 the Algerian and Tunisian tirailleurs wore zouave style uniforms of light blue with yellow braiding (see photographs on this page). White turbans (for parade), red fezzes and sashes were worn with this tenue orientale . A white field dress of similar loose cut was worn for North African campaigning and in France during the early months of World War I. They adopted

3916-440: The Tunisian tirailleurs regiments had the same appearance as their Algerian counterparts. It was only in 1921 that the French government decided to name them officially "Tunisian Tirailleurs Regiments". In 1914, during World War I, the 1st Regiment of Moroccan Tirailleurs was created. At the end of the period of French rule in 1956 six regiments of Moroccan tirailleurs were still in existence. The recruitment of Muslim tirailleurs

4005-418: The Viet Minh seized power in Huế. Two days later on August 25, Bảo Đại officially abdicated , and Nguyễn Văn Sâm handed over power to the Viet Minh in Saigon. The Empire of Vietnam had fallen along with Japan's Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere . Kim and his ministers spent a substantial amount of time on constitutional matters at their first meeting in Huế on 4 May 1945. One of their first resolutions

4094-469: The Viet Minh, releasing Communist political prisoners, arming the Viet Minh front, and even volunteering their services. Others, including senior military officers, wanted to use their forces to support Kim's government and to crush the communists. Amid the political confusion and power vacuum engulfing the country, a race to power by diverse Vietnamese political groups took place. On the eve of Japan's surrender, Kim and his supporters tried to take control of

4183-456: The Western Front, Salonika and in the Levant , incurring heavy losses. In spite of its title, the Moroccan Division (France) which fought on the Western Front contained Tirailleur battalions from all North African regions. The Great Mosque of Paris was constructed afterwards in honour of the Muslim tirailleurs who had fought for France. Tirailleurs from North and Central Africa fought with distinction in Europe during World War II, notably in

4272-490: The apex was the National Youth Council, a consultative body, which advised the minister. Similar councils were to be organised down to the district level. Meanwhile, young people were asked to join the local squads or groups, from provincial to communal levels. They were given physical training and were charged with maintaining security in their communes. Each provincial town had a training centre, where month-long paramilitary courses were on offer. The government also established

4361-409: The capital. From August 8 onward, Phạm Khắc Hòe, Bảo Đại's office director, was instructed by Tôn Quang Phiệt (the future chairman of the Viet Minh's Revolutionary Committee in Huế) to persuade the Emperor to abdicate voluntarily. In order to carry out his mission, Hòe persistently disrupted Kim's activities, particularly by citing Kim's failure to call the most influential figures to Thuận Hóa to form

4450-437: The central government in Thuận Hóa, but they were apprehended en route by the Viet Minh. Even though Bảo Đại's messengers were cut off, non-communist leaders in northern and southern Vietnam attempted to challenge the Viet Minh. In Bắc Bộ, Nguyễn Xuân Chữ obtained Kim's approval to form the Committee for National Salvation, and he was appointed by Kim as chairman of the Political Directorate of Bắc Bộ. In Nam Bộ, on August 17, it

4539-501: The central region (former Annam or Trung Kỳ) became Trung Bộ, and the southern areas (former Cochinchina or Nam Kỳ) became Nam Bộ. Kim did this even though at the time the Japanese had only given him direct authority over the northern and central regions of Vietnam. When France had finished its conquest of Vietnam in 1885, only southern Vietnam was made a direct colony under the name of Cochinchina. The northern and central regions were designated as protectorates as Tonkin and Annam. When

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4628-448: The chief of the FEAF Bomber Command—the man who would fly and command the "Vulture" missions (bombing the area around Dien Bien Phu with 98 B-29 Superfortresses ). The Americans had arrived at Saigon's Tan Son Nhut Airport in a discreet B-17 , so as not to alert hostile eyes to the unfamiliar configuration of the B-29 Superfortress. From the beginning, the Americans were appalled at the total lack of French preparedness for anything like

4717-581: The colonies had gained independence and sixty years after World War II had ended, many of the veterans had already died. The Spanish Army of Africa included an indigenous light infantry force under European officers, designated as the Tiradores de Ifni . In existence from 1934 to 1969, this corps was modelled on the North African tirailleurs of the French Army. Empire of Vietnam The Empire of Vietnam ( Vietnamese : Đế quốc Việt Nam ; Literary Chinese and Contemporary Japanese : 越南帝國 ; Modern Japanese : ベトナム帝国 , Betonamu Teikoku )

4806-457: The colors of the Médaille militaire . It is one of the rarest unit awards in the French military. The Order is the highest decoration in France. In the case of a regiment, its flag is decorated with the insignia of a knight, which is a different award than the fourragère in the colors of the Légion d'honneur . Only 34 French Infantry Regiments were decorated with the Légion d'honneur including seven Regiment of North-African Tirailleurs. Among

4895-418: The control of a major saturation bombardment operation. French Col. Brohon later said that this project involved the use of "several A-bombs" in the Dien Bien Phu area. Caldara decided to judge the situation for himself. On April 4, 1954, in the dead of the night, he flew his B-17 with an American crew over the valley of Dien Bien Phu, repeated the mission later with a French C-47 Dakota; and then once more with

4984-446: The early 1960s, the military pensions of veterans who became citizens of the new nations were frozen. By contrast their French counterparts, who might have served in the same units and fought in the same battles, received pensions that were adjusted for inflation in France itself. While the imbalanced situation was widely deplored, successive French governments did not act on the complaints of former French Army soldiers. One rationale for

5073-427: The end of World War II, as the tirailleur units became increasingly mechanized. France made extensive use of tirailleurs in its colonial campaigns. The most numerous of these, after the "tirailleurs algériens" noted above, were the "tirailleurs sénégalais" (who were recruited from all of the French possessions in West and Central Africa). Both played an important role in the occupation of Morocco (1908–14) as well as in

5162-428: The end of generations of frustration among Vietnamese intelligentsia and revolutionaries. On 12 June 1945, Kim selected a new national flag—a yellow, rectangular banner with four horizontal red stripes modeled after the quẻ Ly (☲, one of bagua ) in the Book of Changes —and a new national anthem, the old hymn Đăng đàn cung ( The King Mounts His Throne ). This decision ended three months of speculation concerning

5251-451: The five members of Cường Để 's National Reconstruction Committee, refused the offer of replacing Toại. Returning to Thuận Hóa, Kim arrived to find increasing conflict among his ministers. Chương wanted credit for arranging the integration of the three ceded cities and southern Vietnam to Kim's government and was regarded as having Prime Ministerial designs himself. The government meetings of August 5 and 6 were headlined by personal disputes and

5340-460: The freezing of the pensions was that increased levels would have created an income gap between the former soldiers and the rest of the populations in African countries where the cost of living was significantly lower than in France. It was only in 2006 that President Jacques Chirac , reportedly moved by Rachid Bouchareb 's movie Indigènes , gave instructions to increase the pensions of former colonial soldiers. However, more than forty years after

5429-409: The ground forces (excluding indigenous Vietnamese). Most of the professional airborne units (BPC) and the entire Chief of Staff were metropolitan French, as were some artillery and specialist units. From September 1945 to the cease-fire in July 1954, a total of 488,560 men and women served in Indochina: In early November 1953, the French U.N. volunteers returning from the ended Korean War joined

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5518-453: The interim office of Imperial Commissioner and appointed Kha Vạn Cân, the Vanguard Youth leader, commander of Saigon and Chợ Lớn . Nguyễn Văn Sâm's arrival in Saigon on August 22 provided the National Unified Front with the official declaration of national independence and territorial reunification. Nevertheless, the Viet Minh prevailed in the power struggle with their August Revolution . On August 17, Viet Minh cadres in Hanoi took control of

5607-408: The men of the unit concerned are all entitled to wear a fourragère . Regiments of North African Tirailleurs were, together with regiments of Zouaves , amongst the most decorated units in the French Army, ranking after only the Colonial Infantry Regiment of Morocco and the Foreign Legion March Regiment . As for the Légion d'honneur , this unit award should not be confused with the fourragère in

5696-406: The new mayor of Hanoi , Trần Văn Lai, ordered the demolition of French built statues in the city parks in his campaign to Wipe Out Humiliating Remnants . Similar campaigns were enacted in southern Vietnam in late August. Meanwhile, the freedom of the press was instituted, resulting in the publication of the pieces of anti-French movements and critical essays on French collaborators. Heavy criticism

5785-466: The one hand, the Allies began to put into effect their postwar plans for Vietnam, which included the disarmament of Japanese troops and the division of Vietnam into spheres of influence. The Japanese military and civilian personnel in Vietnam were hamstrung by the unconditional surrender of their government and the possibility of Allied retribution. With respect to the Vietnamese, the Japanese were split psychologically and ideologically. Some Japanese favoured

5874-441: The post of Imperial Commissioner of the South. Sâm left Thuận Hóa for Saigon. However, he was delayed en route as the Viet Minh had taken advantage of the military power vacuum caused by the Japanese surrender to launch a general insurrection with the aim of seizing control of the country. In August, Vietnam went through a period regarded as one of its most eventful phases, amidst the backdrop of rapid change in global politics. On

5963-429: The resignation of the ministers of interior, economy, and supplies. Hồ Tá Khanh, the economic minister, went further and demanded the resignation of the government. Khanh proposed that the communist Viet Minh be given a chance to govern because of its strength. The government resigned on August 7. Bảo Đại asked Kim to form a new government, but the end of the war made this impossible. On 6 and 9 August 1945, respectively,

6052-440: The situation. On August 12, Kim's outgoing government was retained as "Provisional Government" to oversee the day-to-day running of the country. Kim asked Bảo Đại to issue an imperial order on August 14 repealing the treaties of Saigon of 1862 and 1874 , thus removing the last French claims to sovereign rights over Vietnam. Messengers were sent from the central capital to northern and southern Vietnam to reunify diverse groups under

6141-453: The territorial unification of Vietnam. However, after the formation of Kim's cabinet in April, Japan quickly agreed to transfer what was then Tonkin and Annam to Kim's authority, although it retained control of the cities of Hanoi, Hải Phòng , and Đà Nẵng . Meanwhile, southern Vietnam remained under direct Japanese control, just as Cochinchina had been under French rule. Beginning in May 1945, Foreign Minister Trần Văn Chương negotiated with

6230-427: The years before the outbreak of World War I and thereafter became the norm. The North African tirailleurs however resumed their colourful full dress uniforms between 1927 and 1939 to assist recruitment. After World War II they were retained until the present day for wear by the noubas (regimental bands). In France, citations made during World War I, World War II or colonial conflicts were accompanied with awards of

6319-493: Was a short-lived puppet state of Imperial Japan between March 11 and August 25, 1945 . It was a member of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere . It was led by the Nguyễn dynasty and created when Emperor Bảo Đại declared independence for Vietnam from French protection. The empire did not recognize French colonial sovereignty over Cochinchina and at the end of its rule, the empire also successfully reclaimed Cochinchina as part of Vietnam. During World War II , after

6408-596: Was abuzz with the spirit of independence and mass political participation due to the creation of the Vanguard Youth organizations in Saigon and other regional centres, Governor Minoda announced the organization of the Hội nghị Nam (Council of "the South", i.e. Cochinchina) to facilitate his governance. This council was charged with advising the Japanese based on questions submitted to it by the Japanese and for overseeing provincial affairs. Minoda underlined that its primary aim

6497-484: Was against it. Late that month on 29 April 1954 C-124 Globemasters from the 322nd Air Division were in the process of air-lifting into Indochina the brand-new 7th BPC (Bataillon de Parachutistes Coloniaux), en route from Europe to Vietnam via Colombo, Ceylon. Thus U. S. Air Force aircraft and personnel were actively involved in Vietnam in 1954. Tirailleurs A tirailleur ( French: [tiʁajœʁ] ), in

6586-687: Was announced that all non-Viet Minh factions, including Trotskyists and the southern religious sects of Cao Đài and Hòa Hảo , had joined forces to create the Mặt trận Quốc gia Thống nhất (National Unified Front). Trần Quang Vinh , the Cao Đài leader, and Huỳnh Phú Sổ , the founder of the Hòa Hảo, also issued a communique proclaiming an alliance. On August 19 in Saigon, the Vanguard Youth organised their second official oath-taking ceremony, vowing to defend Vietnamese independence at all costs. The next day, Hồ Vân Nga assumed

6675-449: Was appointed to be his deputy. On July 13, Kim arrived in Hanoi to negotiate directly with Governor-General Tsuchihashi. Tsuchihashi agreed to transfer control of Hanoi, Hải Phòng, and Đà Nẵng to Kim's government, taking effect on July 20. After protracted negotiation, Tsuchihashi agreed that the south (Cochinchina) would be united with the Empire of Vietnam and that Kim would attend the unification ceremonies on August 8 in Saigon. After

6764-435: Was considered derogatory, and it was replaced with "Vietnamien" (Vietnamese). Apart from Thuận Hóa , these terms have been internationally accepted since Kim ordered the changes. Given that the French colonial authorities emphatically distinguished the three regions of "Tonkin", "Annam", and "Cochinchina" as separate entities, implying a lack of national culture or political integration, Kim's first acts were seen as symbolic and

6853-470: Was designed to fight a conventional battle against the Japanese Army , but under one of two scenarios: either as part of a reconquest of Indochina or, to placate American desires, as part of a follow-on wave of assault troops in the upcoming invasion of Japan’s home islands. The early fall of Japan obviated the need to invade Japan, but it also meant that American logistical and transportation support

6942-458: Was even extended to Nguyễn Hữu Độ, the great-grandfather of Bảo Đại who was notable in assisting the French conquest of Đại Nam in the 1880s. Kim put particular emphasis on the mobilisation of youth. Youth Minister Phan Anh, attempted to centralise and heavily regulate all youth organizations, which had proliferated immediately after the Japanese coup. On May 25, an imperial order decreed an inclusive, hierarchical structure for youth organizations. At

7031-533: Was immediately overshadowed by external pressure and domestic infighting. On July 26, the leaders of the Allies issued a declaration demanding the unconditional surrender of Japan. Japan was on the defensive and quickly losing ground, and its aim was no longer to win the war, but simply to find an honorable ceasefire. On the Vietnamese front, the possibility of future punishment by the Allied forces for collaboration with

7120-616: Was intended as the amphibious assault element of the corps. Mostly organized and equipped along American lines, this was a powerful conventional force that could assault and fight Japanese divisions in the vicinity of Saigon, Hanoi, or the Japanese home islands." The CEFEO was largely made up of voluntarily-enlisted indigenous tirailleurs from the French Union 's colonial or protectorate territories in Northwest Africa Maghreb (Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia), sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar , and South-East Asia. An exception

7209-676: Was lost. This corps was at first organized with two Colonial Far East Infantry Divisions composed of Senegalese soldiers, but upon more detailed consideration the [corps] was composed of the 3d and 9th Colonial Infantry Divisions with mostly European soldiers, the 2d Armored Division, the Far East Brigade composed of colonial troops in Madagascar, and the Far East Marine Brigade which had two infantry battalions, an armored battalion, and an artillery battalion and

7298-524: Was mainly voluntary with enlistment for three year periods (five for NCOs), although a limited form of conscription by ballot was introduced in Algeria in 1913 and continued until the end of French rule in North Africa. Prior to 1939 up to 90% of the rank and file of each battalion had been indigenous. The proportion of French European (both metropolitan and pied-noir settlers) to Maghrébin (North African) personnel had however increased to about 30% by

7387-514: Was organised to select a list of national heroes for induction into the Temple of Martyrs ( Nghĩa Liệt Tử ). City streets were renamed. In Huế, Jules Ferry was replaced on the signboards of a main thoroughfare by Lê Lợi , the founder of the Lê dynasty who expelled the Chinese in 1427. General Trần Hưng Đạo , who twice repelled Mongol invasions in the 13th century, replaced Paul Bert. On August 1,

7476-478: Was permitted to announce the Vietnamese "independence", this declaration had been prepared by Seiko Yokoyama, Minister for Economic Affairs of the Japanese diplomatic mission in Indochina and later advisor to Bảo Đại. Bảo Đại declared the Treaty of Huế made with France in 1884 void. Trần Trọng Kim , a renowned historian and scholar, was chosen to lead the government as prime minister . Kim's historic achievement

7565-407: Was the French Foreign Legion which consisted mainly of European volunteers. In 1954, the CEFEO included 177,000 men, including 59,000 indigenous people. Colonial soldiers made up the bulk of the ground forces. Between 1947 and 1954, 122,900 North Africans and 60,340 Black Africans landed in Indochina, or 183,240 Africans in total. On February 1, 1954, they represented 43.5% of the 127,785 men of

7654-603: Was the encouragement of mass political participation. In memorial ceremonies, Kim honoured all national heroes, ranging from the legendary national founders, the Hùng kings to slain anti-French revolutionaries such as Nguyễn Thái Học , the leader of the Vietnamese Nationalist Party ( Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng ) who was executed with twelve comrades in 1930 in the aftermath of the Yên Bái mutiny . A committee

7743-420: Was the successful negotiation with Japan for the territorial unification of the nation. The French had subdivided Vietnam into three separate regions: Cochinchina (in 1862), and Annam and Tonkin (both in 1884). Cochinchina was placed under direct rule while the latter two were officially designated as protectorates. Immediately after terminating French rule, the Japanese authorities were not enthusiastic about

7832-441: Was to alter the national name to Việt Nam . This was seen as a significant and urgent task. It implied territorial unity; "Việt Nam" had been Emperor Gia Long 's choice for the name of the country since he unified the modern territory of Việt Nam in 1802. Furthermore, this was the first time that Vietnamese nationalists in the northern, central and southern regions of the country officially recognized this name. In March, activists in

7921-416: Was to make the Vietnamese population believe that they had to collaborate with the Japanese, because "if the Japanese lose the war, the independence of Indochina would not become complete." At the inauguration of the Council of the South on July 21, Minoda implicitly referred to the unification of Vietnam. Trần Văn An was appointed as the president of the council, and Kha Vạn Cân, a leader of the Vanguard Youth,

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