Laotian Chronicle 3/6
By Lt. Colonel (Ret.) Antoine Marquet
January 31, 1954
7:30 a.m.
Commander Cabaribère's detachment leaves Mouang Khouei in the following order: 3rd Company of the 2nd BCL, 6th Company, CCB personnel, and 7th Company.
8:15 a.m.
The Menigoz detachment leaves Kouang Rip after Commander Vaudrey and the 5th Tabor departed an hour before them.
9:00 a.m.
The scouts of the lead section of the 3rd Company of the 2nd BCL encounter a section of Viet Minh regulars marching towards Mouang Khouei. The Laotians react first and open fire, killing the three lead Viet Minh.
The enemy retaliated, and after half an hour of fighting, Lieutenant Banlier reported that his fire unit was almost exhausted. The commanding officer then ordered the 6th Company to advance past him.
Meanwhile, the enemy steadily reinforced its position, and the Debret, Bondietete, and Ducati sections, deployed on either side of the track, had to repel four successive assaults. During these attacks, the enemy left behind about fifty dead and a significant amount of weaponry. The 6th Company suffered one killed, six missing (including Lieutenant Debret), and twelve wounded, plus three wounded in the CCB (Combat Support Battalion).
The enemy was able to replace its losses, while the 6th Company, already reduced to 80 legionnaires when it left Mouang Khoua, felt the full force of the reduction, which represented a quarter of its strength, including two section leaders. It would be reinforced by the 7th Company.
The combined efforts of these two companies failed to force the enemy to withdraw, nor did they prevent them from attempting an encirclement.
Alerted by the sounds of fighting, the Menigoz detachment notified the GNMK command. They received orders to remain in place and monitor the radio. Nevertheless, Menigoz returned to Kouang Rip and established a position there.
9:50 a.m.
Barely settled in, the Menigoz detachment was attacked by Viet Minh units using automatic weapons and 81mm mortars. Under these conditions, they were unable to set up their C9 radio, and the range of the SCR 300 radio did not allow communication with Cabaribère.
11:00 a.m.
Commander Cabaribère decided to return to Kouang Khouei. The 3rd Company of the 2nd BCL, tasked with initiating this withdrawal, encountered Viet Minh units already deployed after one kilometer. The detachment was then caught in the crossfire.
12:00 PM
Laotian ground forces, alerted via the security network, promised air support by 4:30 PM.
2:00 PM
A Morane reconnaissance aircraft flew over the combat zones. The observer advised Commander Cabaribère to push south, referring to the Viet elements in contact as the "spur" and warning that the main body of the enemy was approaching from the northeast.
2:30 PM
The Menigoz detachment, severely weakened and reduced to two companies – the auxiliary company having broken up – was forced to retreat to avoid complete encirclement. Already badly battered, they managed to reach the rearguard of the 5th Tabor, when the enemy, surging forward again in force, attacked them brutally and reduced the survivors to scattered in small groups into the bush.
5:00 PM
After waiting in vain for the promised air support, the Cabaribère detachment avoided being cut into sections by making a series of small withdrawals, but without managing to dislodge the southern blockade formed by Captain Fontlupt's 7th Company.
No longer expecting any outside assistance, the commander decided to disengage westward through the bush, counting on the approaching nightfall to use a ravine and thus escape this situation. The 3rd Company of the 2nd BCL, relieved by two sections of the 7th Company, was tasked with opening a track, reaching the ravine before nightfall, and then waiting at the first gap for the rest of the detachment.
6:00 PM
The CCB elements, preceded by the wounded, already numbering 20, in turn set out on this newly established track and were followed by the 6th Company, reinforced by the two remaining sections of the 7th Company. Under the command of Lieutenant Riou, they would fulfill the rearguard mission.
7:00 PM
The last elements, pursued by the enemy, left the main track, attempting to erase the traces of the entrance to the new one, which was actually a narrow path.
Lieutenant Baulier was unable to complete his mission because, caught in the crossfire from the northern ridge of the ravine, he chose to continue along the opposite ridge, believing he was being followed by the rest of the column. Thus, the CCB marched all night and part of the morning in the ravine without reaching Lieutenant Baulier.
February 1, 1954
9:00 AM
The first shots rang out; the enemy had infiltrated between the head of the column and the rearguard. The fighting then proceeded as a battle between formed units. The CCB, attacked from the ridges and pressed by an enemy unit descending behind it into the ravine, was gradually decimated.
The 6th Company, clashing head-on with an enemy unit and pursued by another Viet Minh element that had taken a different route, was also engaged in combat the escape route had no other option but to climb the southern ridge. Its sections sacrificed themselves one after another until noon on February 3rd, after attempting to march southwest.
Lieutenant Riou, slightly wounded, and five legionnaires reached Muong Xai on February 10th.
Following these battles, the battalion was practically annihilated. Only Lieutenant Lahat's 5th Company, which was not part of the Cabaribère group, escaped this destruction. However, sent from Muong Xai towards Muong La to relieve the 5th Tabor, it too suffered losses.
The total losses, including those of the 5th Company, amounted to 228 legionnaires killed, missing, or captured.
A few survivors joined Muong Xai:
On February 6, Lieutenant Gansard and 8 legionnaires;
On February 8, Commander Cabaribère, who had been taken prisoner on February 3, managed to escape;
On February 10, Lieutenant Riou and 5 legionnaires.
This brings the total to 16 survivors out of an initial force of 325.
To be continued...
The CCB elements, preceded by the wounded, already numbering 20, in turn set out on this newly established track and were followed by the 6th Company, reinforced by the two remaining sections of the 7th Company. Under the command of Lieutenant Riou, they would fulfill the rearguard mission.
7:00 PM
The last elements, pursued by the enemy, left the main track, attempting to erase the traces of the entrance to the new one, which was actually a narrow path.
Lieutenant Baulier was unable to complete his mission because, caught in the crossfire from the northern ridge of the ravine, he chose to continue along the opposite ridge, believing he was being followed by the rest of the column. Thus, the CCB marched all night and part of the morning in the ravine without reaching Lieutenant Baulier.
February 1, 1954
9:00 AM
The first shots rang out; the enemy had infiltrated between the head of the column and the rearguard. The fighting then proceeded as a battle between formed units. The CCB, attacked from the ridges and pressed by an enemy unit descending behind it into the ravine, was gradually decimated.
The 6th Company, clashing head-on with an enemy unit and pursued by another Viet Minh element that had taken a different route, was also engaged in combat the escape route had no other option but to climb the southern ridge. Its sections sacrificed themselves one after another until noon on February 3rd, after attempting to march southwest.
Lieutenant Riou, slightly wounded, and five legionnaires reached Muong Xai on February 10th.
Following these battles, the battalion was practically annihilated. Only Lieutenant Lahat's 5th Company, which was not part of the Cabaribère group, escaped this destruction. However, sent from Muong Xai towards Muong La to relieve the 5th Tabor, it too suffered losses.
The total losses, including those of the 5th Company, amounted to 228 legionnaires killed, missing, or captured.
A few survivors joined Muong Xai:
On February 6, Lieutenant Gansard and 8 legionnaires;
On February 8, Commander Cabaribère, who had been taken prisoner on February 3, managed to escape;
On February 10, Lieutenant Riou and 5 legionnaires.
This brings the total to 16 survivors out of an initial force of 325.
To be continued...