Battle of Vĩnh Yên
| Battle of Vĩnh Yên | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the First Indochina War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Jean de Lattre de Tassigny |
Võ Nguyên Giáp Hoàng Văn Thái Vương Thừa Vũ Chu Văn Tấn | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 9,000 French Union troops | 22,000 Viet Minh troops | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
43 killed 545 missing/captured 160 wounded |
Western estimate: 6,000–9,000 killed 8,000 wounded 500–600 captured Viet Minh figures: 815 killed or missing 2,048 wounded | ||||||
The Battle of Vĩnh Yên (Vietnamese: Trận Vĩnh Yên) which occurred from 13 to 17 January 1951, was a major engagement in the First Indochina War between the French Union and the communist Việt Minh. The French Union forces, including the French Armed Forces and Vietnamese National Army, led by World War II hero Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, inflicted a decisive defeat on the Việt Minh forces, which were commanded by Võ Nguyên Giáp. This victory of the French Union (France and State of Vietnam) against the communists marked a turn in the tide of the war, which was previously characterized by a number of Việt Minh victories.