page_title: Operation Lea
section_title: Operation Léa
hierarchical_section_title: Operation Lea / Operation Léa
context_page_description: Operation Léa was French Union military operation between 7 October and 8 November 1947 during the First Indochina War. It is also known as the Viet Bac Campaign by the Viet Minh. It was an attempt by the French General Valluy to crush the Việt Minh. An airborne force would capture the Việt Minh leadership and three French columns would strike into the Việt Minh heartland.
  The parachute assault surprised the Việt Minh, nearly capturing Ho Chi Minh and General Giap but it soon recovered and began ambushing the three French columns. The operation was soon called off and the French forces withdrew to the lowlands. It was a tactical success, inflicting severe casualties on the Việt Minh but was strategically inconclusive, because it failed to capture the Việt Minh leadership or seriously to cripple its military forces.
context_section_description: Operation Léa began on 7 October, with the landing of 1,100 paratroopers at the city of Bắc Kạn. The paratroopers swiftly took control over the city but failed to capture Ho Chi Minh and the other Vietnamese leaders. Losing the opportunity to neutralize the Việt Minh leadership, the French paratroopers found themselves fighting for survival as the Việt Minh counter-attacked and surrounded them.
  Ten French battalions of French troops (about 15,000 men) had started moving at the same time from the city of Lạng Sơn to Cao Bằng in the north and then down through Nguyen Binh to Bắc Kạn, to cut off supplies to the Việt Minh from China. The second objective was to surround the Vietnamese forces and destroy them in battle. Delayed by bad roads, mines and ambushes, it took the French column until 13 October to reach the vicinity of Bắc Kạn, where the Việt Minh put up a strong resistance. The French broke through on 16 October and relieved the paratroops. A four battalion riverine force that was supposed to assault up the Clear and Gam rivers encountered so many delays that they played no useful part in the battle. The French were unable to destroy the Việt Minh forces and most of the 40,000 guerrillas escaped through gaps in the French lines, including Ho Chi Minh and his staff with General Võ Nguyên Giáp. On 8 November, the operation was called off.
caption: The French military operation Léa in autumn 1947
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