From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Invasion of French Indochina
Invasion of French Indochina
Invasion of French Indochina Background
Part of the Second Sino-Japanese War See also: Order of Battle for Indochina Expedition
In early 1940, troops of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA)
moved to seize Longzhou in south Guangxi, where the
eastern branch of the railroad from Hanoi reaches the
border, and also tried to move west to cut the rail line
to Kunming. Chinese resistance, supplied from Indochi-
na, was tough.
Then on 22 June 1940, France signed an armistice
with Germany, Japan’s Axis ally. This established the neu-
tral but pro-Axis Vichy France government in the unoc-
cupied part of France. Vichy France also controlled most
French overseas possessions, including Indochina.
The IJA captured Longzhou, closing one route, but the
Japanese troops entering Saigon.
rail line to Yunnan was still open. Japanese aerial bomb-
Date 22–26 September 1940 ing did not close it.
Japan pressured the Vichy government to close the
Location French Indochina railway, but the French did not agree.
Result Japanese victory; On 5 September the South China Front Army of the
Japanese occupation of Northern Vietnam IJA organized the amphibious Indochina Expeditionary
Army to move into Indochina. Led by Major-General
Belligerents Takuma Nishimura, it was supported by a flotilla of ships,
and planes from aircraft carriers and air bases on Hainan
Japan Vichy France
Island.
• French Indochina
Faced with this invasion threat, Vichy France yielded.
Commanders and leaders On 22 September, Japan and Vichy Indochina signed an
accord which granted Japan the rights to station troops
Akihito Nakamura Maurice Martin in Indochina, and to move troops and supplies through
Takuma Nishimura Indochina. The accord allowed up to 6,000 Japanese
troops to be stationed in Indochina, with no more than
Strength
25,000 troops stationed or in transit at any given time.
36,000 men 3,000 men In addition, all Japanese land, air, and naval forces were
Casualties and losses barred from Indochinese territory except as authorized
in the accord.
? 900
Fighting breaks out
The Japanese Invasion of French Indochina (仏印進駐,
Futsu-in shinchū), also known as the Vietnam Expedition
Expedition, Within a few hours, columns from the IJA 5th Division
was a move by the Empire of Japan in September 1940, under Lieutenant-General Akihito Nakamura moved over
during the Second Sino-Japanese War, to prevent China the border at three places and closed in on the railhead
from importing arms and fuel through French Indochina, at Lang Son, near Longzhou. This contravened the new
via the Sino-Vietnamese Railway from the port of agreement. In the Battle of Lang Son, a brigade of French
Haiphong through Hanoi to Kunming in Yunnan.[1] Japan Indochinese colonial troops and Foreign Legionaires op-
occupied northern Indochina, which tightened the posed the IJA until 25 September. The Japanese victory
blockade of China, and made continuation of the drawn opened the way to Hanoi. Still the Vichy French had de-
out Battle of South Guangxi unnecessary. fenders in the north and south, and fresh battalions in
position on the route from Lang Son to Hanoi.
On 23 September, Vichy France protested the breach
of the agreements by the IJA to the Japanese government.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Invasion of French Indochina
Hanoi to Lang Son, and stationed 900 troops in the port
of Haiphong and 600 more in Hanoi. Japanese forces re-
mained in Indochina until the end of World War II.
See also
• Organization of the Imperial Japanese Army
Indochina Army Garrison
• Second French Indochina Campaign
Sources
• Hsu Long-hsuen, and Chang Ming-kai, History of The
Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) 2nd Ed. ,1971. Translated
Insigna of the Free French Forces in the Far East (Langlade by Wen Ha-hsiung, Chung Wu Publishing; 33, 140th
Mission). Lane, Tung-hwa Street, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of
China. Pg. 317
Media links
• Conflict in Indochina, French newsreels archives (Les
Actualités Mondiales), January 15, 1941
References
[1] L’Indochine française pendant la Seconde Guerre
mondiale, Jean-Philippe Liardet
External links
• Prisoners of the Japanese
• (French) French Indochina during World War II
(dossier), Dr. Jean-Philippe Liardet
• "Occupation of French Indochina", Nippon News, No.
18. in the official website of NHK.
Japanese guard cap, from the internment camp of Martin-des-
Pallières in Saigon.
On the morning of 24 September, Japanese aircraft
from aircraft carriers in the Gulf of Tonkin attacked
French positions on the coast. A Vichy envoy came to ne-
gotiate; in the meantime, shore defenses remained under
orders to open fire on any attempted landing.
On 26 September, Japanese forces came ashore at
Dong Tac, south of Haiphong, and moved on the port.
A second landing put tanks ashore, and Japanese planes
bombed Haiphong, causing some casualties. By early af-
ternoon the Japanese force of some 4,500 troops and a
dozen tanks was outside Haiphong.
By the evening of 26 September fighting had died
down. Japan took possession of Gia Lam Airbase outside
Hanoi, the rail marshalling yard on the Yunnan border
at Lao Cai, and Phu Lang Thuong on the railway from
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Invasion_of_French_Indochina&oldid=457508798"
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Invasion of French Indochina
Categories:
• Invasions
• Military history of Japan
• Battles of the Second Sino-Japanese War
• World War II Southeast Asia Theatre
• Military battles of Vichy France
• French Indochina
• Conflicts in 1940
• Military history of Vietnam during World War II
• 1940 in Japan
• 1940 in Vietnam
• Wars involving Vietnam
• France–Japan relations
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