Invasion of French Indochina

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Date	September 1940
Location	French Indochina
Result	Japanese victory

Combatants

Imperial Japanese Army, Japan

French Army, Vichy France

Commanders

Lt. Gen. Akihito Nakamura, Major Gen. Takuma Nishimura

Lt. Gen. Maurice Martin

Strength

34,000 men

Casualties

Second Sino-Japanese War
Major engagements in bold Mukden - Manchuria -(Jiangqiao - Nenjiang Bridge - Chinchow - Harbin) -Shanghai (1932) -Pacification of Manchukuo - Operation Nekka - ( Rehe - Great Wall) - Suiyuan - Marco Polo Bridge - Beiping-Tianjin - Chahar - Shanghai (1937) (Sihang Warehouse) - Beiping-Hankou Railway - Tianjin-Pukou Railway - Taiyuan - (Pingxingguan) - Xinkou - Nanjing - Xuzhou- Taierzhuang - N.-E.Henan - (Lanfeng) - Amoy - Wuhan-(Wanjialing)- Canton - (Hainan) - (Xiushui River) - Nanchang - Suixian-Zaoyang - (Swatow) - 1st Changsha - S.Guangxi- (Kunlun Pass) - Winter Offensive -(Wuyuan) - Zaoyang-Yichang - Hundred Regiments - French Indochina - C. Hupei - S.Henan - W. Hopei - Shanggao - S.Shanxi - 2nd Changsha - 3rd Changsha - Yunnan-Burma Road-(Yenangyaung)- Zhejiang-Jiangxi - W.Hubei - N.Burma-W.Yunnan - Changde - C.Henan - 4th Changsha - Guilin-Liuzhou - W.Henan-N.Hubei - W.Hunan- 2nd Guangxi edit

The Invasion of French Indochina, also known as the Indochina Expedition was an attempt by the Empire of Japan, during the Second Sino-Japanese War to blockade China and prevent it from importing arms and materials. Control of Vichy-controlled French Indochina would make the blockade of China more effective and made continuation of the drawn out Battle of South Guangxi province unnecessary.

1 Background
2 Fighting breaks out
- 2.1 See also
3 Sources
4 External links

[edit] Background

While the Japanese operation to seize Longzhou was going on in Guangxi, France had signed an armistice with Germany on June 22, 1940, leading to the establishment of the Vichy government in the unoccupied part of France. Vichy France also controlled most of French overseas possessions, including Indochina, one of the last access points for China to the outside world. With the capture of Lanzhow the highway was now closed but a rail line still permitted shipment of material from Haiphong to Yunnan. Dispite bombing by the Japanese the Yunnan railway remained open.

Japan began pressuring the Vichy government to close the railway and on September 5th, South China Front Army organized the amphibious Indochina Expeditionary Army under its command to be the Japanese garrison in Indochina. Led by Maj. Gen. Takuma Nishimura, it was supported by a flotilla of ships, and planes from aircraft carriers and air bases on Hainan Island.

On September 22, Japan and Vichy Indochina signed an accord which granted basing and transit rights, but limited to 6000 the number of Japanese troops which could be stationed in Indo-China, and set an overall cap of 25,000 on the total number of troops that could be in the colony at any given time. In addition, the final article of the agreement barred all Japanese land, air, and naval forces from Indo-Chinese territory except as authorized in the accord.

[edit] Fighting breaks out

Within a few hours columns from the 5th Division under Lt. General Akihito Nakamura moved over the border at three places and closed in on the railhead at Lang Son. This contravened the new agreement and fighting ensued with a brigade of French Indochinese Colonial troops and Foreign Legionaries that lasted until the 25th when Lang Son was captured. This opened the way to Hanoi. Still Vichy had defenders in the north, south, and fresh battalions barring the route from Lang Son to Hanoi were in position.

On September 23, Vichy France had approached the government in Tokyo to protest breach of the agreements by the South China Front Army forces.

Meanwhile Japanese aircraft, from the Japanese task force offshore from Haiphong in the Gulf of Tonkin, began sorties on the morning of September 24. A Vichy envoy came to negotiate, but meantime shore defenses remained under orders to open fire against any attempt to force a landing.

On September 26, Japanese forces came ashore at Dong Tac, south of Haiphong, and began moving on the port. A second landing put tanks ashore and Haiphong was bombed, causing some casualties. By early afternoon the Japanese force of some 4,500 troops and a dozen tanks was outside Haiphong.

By the evening of September 26 fighting had died down. Japan took possession of the airfield at Gia Lam outside Hanoi, rail marshalling yard on the Yunnan border at Lao Kay, and Phu Lang Thuong athwart the railway from Hanoi to Lang Son near the border of Guangxi province, and stationed 900 troops in the port of Haiphong and a further 600 in Hanoi. These positions effectively completed the blockade of China except through the route from Burma.

[edit] See also

Order of Battle for Indochina Expedition

[edit] Sources

Hsu Long-hsuen and Chang Ming-kai, History of The Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) 2nd Ed. ,1971. Translated by Wen Ha-hsiung , Chung Wu Publishing; 33, 140th Lane, Tung-hwa Street, Taipei, Taiwan Republic of China. Pg. 317