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33-701: It is a market town for timber, and the Lào Cai Railway Station is located on the Hải Phòng railway to Yunnan Province in China. The town was invaded by China in 1979 and the border was closed until 1993. The town has a carbide factory. Lào Cai has a dry-winter humid subtropical climate ( Köppen Cwa ), similar to most of Northern Vietnam. The city has diverse topographical and geological features, including hill, mountainous, half mountainous, coastal plains and coastal sand dunes. The hilly region

66-510: A Battalion from Regiment 176 accompanied the 308th Division on a probe towards Luang Prabang , capturing Muong Khoua on 1 February. Hampered by French airpower, the airdrop of the 1st Colonial Parachute Battalion on Muong Sai and the deployment of Groupe Mobile 7 to Luang Prabang, the Viet Minh force withdrew towards Điện Biên Phủ on 20/21 February. During the Battle of Điện Biên Phủ ,

99-624: A French air-land base on the Plain of Jars . From September–November 1953 Regiment 176 from the 316th engaged French GCMA teams in the Song River valley and that were blocking Route Provinciale 41. On 15 November the remainder of the 316th was ordered to move into the T'ai Highlands . The 316th harassed the T'ai Federation forces as they retreated from Lai Châu to Điện Biên Phủ , capturing Lai Chau on 12 December and by 17 December they were deployed east of Điện Biên Phủ. In January 1954,

132-544: A combat division, took responsibility for defending Bảo Thắng , while the elite 316th was garrisoned in the Bình Lư area. The two regular divisions were backed up by some 20,000 troops from regional and militia units. The battle began before the dawn of 17 February by a Chinese artillery barrage against Vietnamese positions. The first objectives for the PLA were the towns of Bát Xát , Mường Khương, and Pha Long. 20,000 troops from

165-557: A high cost for themselves. 316th Division (Vietnam) The 316th Division or Bông Lau Division (Vietnamese: Sư đoàn Bông Lau , literally: Silvergrass Division) was a division of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN). One of the 6 original "Steel and Iron Divisions", it was created in 1951 and consisted of some 10,000 to 15,000 men. The 316th Division was formed in February/March 1951 from various ethnic minorities in

198-537: A situation which had not ended until 27 February. On 24 February, the PLA decided to supplement their reserves, the 149th Division, to the fight against the VPA 316th Division. Chinese efforts now concentrating on cutting off the retreat of the VPA 316th Division, as the PLA 447th Regiment skirted around Mount Phan Xi Pang through the Hoang Lien Son Pass and maneuvered toward the direction of Bình Lư, which

231-698: Is in the west, stretching from north to south (in parts of communes: Dong Son, Thuan Duc) with an average elevation of 12–15 m, with total area of 64.93 km, 41.7% of the city total area. Residents here live on agriculture, forestry, farming. The soil in this area is poor in nutrition, infertile and subject to continuous erosion due to its slope of 7-10%. The half hilly region surrounds a plain with an average elevation of 10 m from north-east - north to north-west – south-west and south – south-east. This region covers communes and wards of Bắc Lý, Nam Lý, Nghĩa Ninh, Bắc Nghĩa, Đức Ninh, Đức Ninh Đông, Lộc Ninh and Phú Hải with total area of 62.87 km, or accounts for 40.2% of

264-441: Is officially divided into 17 commune-level sub-divisions, including 10 wards (Bắc Cường, Bắc Lệnh, Bình Minh, Cốc Lếu, Duyên Hải, Kim Tân, Lào Cai, Nam Cường, Pom Hán, and Xuân Tăng) and 7 rural communes (Cam Đường, Cốc San, Đồng Tuyển, Hợp Thành, Tả Phời, Thống Nhất, Vạn Hòa). Battle of Lao Cai 11th Army 13th Army 14th Army 50th Army The Battle of Lào Cai was fought between Chinese and Vietnamese forces during

297-630: The Battle of Ban Me Thuot on 10 March the Division's 174th Regiment attacked and captured the Mai Hac De district in western Ban Me Thuot, they were forced back by an Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) 23rd Division counterattack and airstrikes, but the Division counterattacked an by the morning of 11 March controlled most of the city. On 29 March 1975 the PAVN formed 3rd Corps comprising

330-601: The Battle of Luang Namtha . In December 1967 the Division was sent back to Laos to assist Pathet Lao forces fighting in the Battle of Nam Bac and by mid-January 1968 they had succeeded in forcing the RLA from Nam Bac. In September 1969 the Division together with the 312th Division took part in Campaign 139 on the Plain of Jars in support of the Pathet Lao dry season offensive. From 2 February to 30 April 1971

363-659: The Sino-Vietnamese War . Though the Chinese sustained heavy losses in fighting, they were successful in capturing and occupying the city of Lào Cai and the surrounding towns. The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Kunming Military Region took responsibility for Chinese operations in Lào Cai direction, which involved the 11th and 13th Armies from the Kunming Military Region itself, and

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396-508: The 14th Army from the Chengdu Military Region , totaling about 125,000 troops. The three armies was followed by the reserve 149th Division of the 50th Army , as well as many support units. The invasion comprised three prongs of advances: while the 11th Army was assigned to attack Phong Thổ before hooking up to Sapa and Lào Cai from the west, the 14th Army was ordered to take Mường Khương and move against Lào Cai from

429-572: The 316th's first action was on 15 March 1954 probing the French strongpoints at Dominique 5 after the capture of Strongpoint Beatrice by the 312th Division. Further south Battalion 888 of Regiment 176 was tasked with isolating Strongpoint Isabelle from the central French position in the valley. On 27 March the 98th and 174th Regiments were assigned the task of capturing the Eliane 1 and 4 strongpoints. The attack on Eliane commenced at 5pm on 30 March and

462-414: The 320th succeeded in capturing Eliane 1 within 3 hours, but were unable to secure Eliane 2 in a fierce battle. Eliane 1 was recaptured by a French counterattack on 31 March but had to be abandoned again that day and was recaptured by the French on 10 April. On 31 March Regiment 98 was relieved by Regiment 102 of the 308th Division. On the night of 31 March Regiment 102 again attempted to take Eliane 2 but

495-522: The Central Highlands down Route 14 towards Saigon By 15 April the Division occupied positions near Dầu Tiếng Base Camp in preparation for the assault on Saigon. By late April the Division blocked Route 1 and Route 22 to fix the ARVN 25th Division in place. On 29 April the Division attacked the ARVN 46th and 49th Regiments, 25th Division at Phuoc Hiep, Trảng Bàng and Go Dau Ha. In

528-477: The Chinese block at Thay Nai, but failed to break through and secure its way to Cam Đường. Two PLA divisions from the 13th Army, the 37th and 38th, were deployed against the VPA 345th Division, which was defending a narrow area north of Cam Đường. By 25 February, the Chinese had seized Cam Đường, yet were still struggling to exterminate pockets of Vietnamese resistance in Lào Cai and other towns under their control,

561-598: The Chinese claimed to have inflicted 13,500 Vietnamese casualties, while suffering 2,812 killed out of 7,886 casualties of their own. On the other hand, the Vietnamese claimed to have inflicted 11,500 Chinese casualties. Similar to the fighting in other fronts, during the Lào Cai campaign, the " human wave " tactic was thoroughly applied by the PLA for every smallest objective, according to a Vietnamese soldier in an interview by French journalist Jean-Pierre Gallois: "The Chinese infantry advance shoulder to shoulder to make sure

594-624: The Division launched Campaign 74B and temporarily gained control of the Plain of Jars. From 17 December 1971 to 30 January 1972 the Division and the 312th Division participated in Campaign Z in Laos. In 1973/4 the Division was ordered to return from Laos to North Vietnam and was stationed in Nghệ An and Hà Tĩnh Provinces . In early 1975 the Division was moved by truck from Nghệ An Province to Darlac Province to take part in Campaign 275 . During

627-493: The Division, 10th and 320th Divisions , the 675th Artillery Regiment, the 312th Anti-aircraft Regiment, 198th Sapper Regiment, 273rd Tank Regiment, 545th Engineer Regiment and the 29th Signal Regiment under the command of Major General Vũ Lăng . Following the Vietnamese Politburo decision to capitalise on the opportunity presented by the collapsing ARVN, in early April the 316th was ordered to move out of

660-466: The PLA 13th Army crossed the Red River into Bát Xát using pontoon bridges, quickly overrunning the Vietnamese defense held by the VPA 192nd Regiment, as well as the independent 2nd and Lào Cai Battalions. No attack was staged against Phong Thổ on the first day. The brunt of Chinese assaults fell on the VPA 345th Division, which resisted toughly. Two Chinese regiments were held off at Mống Xến and in

693-415: The VPA 316th Division was mobilized eastward to Sapa. Having taken Lào Cai, the PLA then sent troops, presumably from the 13th Army, to Cam Đường to the south, and another group (probably from the 14th Army) advancing along Highway 4D to Sapa, which was 38 km to the southwest. The Kunming Military Region Command used fresh elements from the 149th Division and the 11th Army to reinforce the 13th Army in

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726-586: The area south of Chu Dang and west of Nhạc Sơn, which forced the PLA to change their plan into a mop-up operation against the Vietnamese strongholds. By the dusk of 18 February, the Vietnamese defenders in Bảo Thắng and Cốc Lếu had been completely encircled. At 14:00 on 19 February, the PLA captured Lào Cai City. In response to the loss of the provincial capital, the VPA 345th Division command sent one battalion from its 118th Regiment to reinforce its 121st Regiment's positions at Coc Tha, Dien Na, Dung Ha and Chan Uy, while

759-414: The city total area. Residents here lives on industrial, handcraft, trading and a small percentage lives on farming. This region is not very fertile, subject to alum. However, thanks to the heavy distribution of rivers and lakes, ponds and pools, it's better for agriculture than the hilly region. The plain with the average of 2.1 m, with little slope, accounting for 0.2% of the city area (5.76 km). Most of

792-462: The city's commercial, administrative and main streets concentrate in this narrow regions. Coastal sand dune area is on the east of the city, with an area of 21.98 km, making up 14,3% of the total area. As of 2020 the city had a population of 130,671, covering an area of 282.13 km. Ethnic minorities in Lào Cai used to speak Southwestern Mandarin and Vietnamese to each other when their languages were not mutually intelligible. Lào Cai City

825-636: The east; the central thrust was undertaken by the 13th Army, targeting Lào Cai itself, as well as the township of Cam Đường to the south. For the Vietnamese side, historians believe that the defense of the Hoàng Liên Sơn Province (modern-day Lào Cai and Yên Bái provinces ) was conducted by several regiments of the Vietnam People's Army (VPA), some of which consisted of the regular 345th and 316th Divisions. The 345th, which had originally been an economic construction unit transformed into

858-455: The efforts against Cam Đường. A blocking position was established by four companies from the PLA 39th Division of the 13th Army on Highway 10 at Thay Nai to cut the VPA 345th Division from supply. The VPA 316th Division was then dispatched from Sapa to meet the approaching Chinese forces, and ran into contact on the secondary road between Lào Cai and Sapa on 22 February. From 22 to 25 February, its 148th Regiment launched repetitive attacks against

891-477: The high region bordering Laos and first saw action in April 1951 at the Battle of Mạo Khê . In October 1952 the 316th took part in the attack on Nghia Lo as part of a Viet Minh offensive against French positions on the Red River and in the high region near Laos. In April 1953 the 316th moved towards Xam Neua which was abandoned as indefensible by the French, by 23 April the 316th and 308th had surrounded

924-421: The minefields are cleared... When they moved out of Lào Cai they were as numerous and close together as rice in the paddy fields." As Sapa was a town possessing almost no strategic value, the Chinese campaign in the western front did not end with a notable victory. The PLA did, however, succeed in at least one of their key goals – engaging a considerable Vietnamese regular force and inflicting heavy losses, even at

957-551: The night and the French were finally overrun at 9:30am on 7 May. Total estimated losses among the 316th Division at the Battle of Điện Biên Phủ are 1250 killed. In 1961 the 316th Brigade was brought up to strength and assigned to the PAVN Northwest Military Region. In March 1962 two battalions from the 316th Brigade deployed to Luang Namtha in northwest Laos to engage Royal Lao Army (RLA) forces in

990-467: The town, thus successfully blocking the supply route to the VPA 316th Division from Lai Châu ; the blocking position was at least 40 km from the Sino-Vietnamese border, becoming the deepest Chinese penetration in the war. The 316th Division finally ceased fighting on 5 March. On the same day, the Chinese government announced the withdrawal of troops from Vietnam. At the end of the battle,

1023-593: Was 44 km west of Sapa. In meantime, the rest of the 149th Division pushed toward Sapa along two roads parallel to Highway 10. Despite showing excellent combat performance, the VPA 316th Division was finally forced to retreat due to the lack of manpower. At 14:45 on 1 March, Sapa fell to the PLA. On the eastern wing of the offensive, Khoc Tiam succumbed to a night assault raging from 20:00 on 2 March to 14:45 on 3 March. At 19:00 on 3 March, all roads that connected Phong Thổ with Bình Lư and Pa Tần had been under Chinese control. On 4 March, Chinese forces eventually captured

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1056-427: Was beaten back and then replaced by Regiment 98 on 3 April. On 11 April Regiments 98 and 174 attempted to recapture Eliane 1 but were forced back. Following the failure of these attacks the Viet Minh resorted to choking off the French strongpoints by digging trenches and saps and, in the case of Eliane 2 a mine gallery under the hill. For the final assault on the French positions on the night of 6/7 May, Regiment 174

1089-540: Was tasked with taking Eliane 4 while Regiment 98 would make another attempt to take Eliane 2. At 6:45pm Regiment 98 began their attack and were held back by French artillery fire from Strongpoint Isabelle until Viet Minh counter-battery fire took effect. At approximately 9:30pm the Viet Minh exploded a mine under Eliane 2 and after some hesitation Regiment 98 renewed its attack at 11pm and by 5am on 7 May had finally succeeded in capturing Eliane 2. The 174th Regiment's attack on Eliane 4 commenced at 9:30pm and lasted throughout

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