Battle of Hòa Bình The Battle of Hòa Bình was fought during the First Indochina War . It occurred from 10 November 1951 to 25 February 1952 , when French Union forces attempted to lure the Việt Minh out into the open and to force it to fight on French terms . Prelude . Following the string of defensive victories during the early months of 1951 , the French command under General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny sought to go back on the offensive . After the French victory at the battle of Đông Triều , de Lattre had drawn up a plan to test his offensive strategy . Hòa Bình , capital of the Muong people , located 62 km from Hanoi , was selected by General de Lattre for the offensive . Hòa Bình was an area of strategic significance for many reasons . For the Việt Minh , the control of Hòa Bình would allow them free movement in the valleys north of Hanoi as well as the flow of military supplies . De Lattre ’ s plan was to take Hòa Bình , where Giáp ’ s regular divisions would be forced to confront superior French firepower and eventually be destroyed . Battle . Phase I & II . On 10 November 1951 , Operation Tulipe was launched with the objective of seizing Chợ Bến Pass and extending French control beyond Provincial Route 21 . After the French " Task Force North " and the 1st Foreign Parachute Battalion ( 1er BEP ) had linked up west of Chợ Bến , they both continued the thrust while other mobile groups were moving in from the south and the east . At this point , the Việt Minh were forced to abandoned Chợ Bến , but heavy fighting occurred between the French and elements of the Việt Minh that included the " 64th Regiment " and " 164th Regional Battalion " . By the end of the day , the French Union forces had achieved their objective with " Mobile Group 2 " and 1st Colonial Parachute Battalion ( 1er BPC ) reaching their target north of Chợ Bến . With the completion of the first phase , de Lattre planned his next move . Realizing the difficulty of phase two , de Lattre divided French Union forces into three operational groups , which together would capture Hòa Bình by land , sea and air . " Mobile Group 7 " , as part of Group North , would move southward along the Black River with a riverine unit . Group South , which consists of " Mobile Group 3 " , would link up with paratroop battalions in Hòa Bình . " Mobile Group 2 " would form an operational liaison group for the other two Mobile Groups . By the early hours of 14 November , both Operational Group North and South had reached their initial objectives . On the morning of 14 November , the " 1st Colonial Parachute Battalion " , the 2nd Colonial Parachute Battalion ( 2e BPC ) and the " 7th Colonial Parachute Battalion " ( 7e BPC ) captured Hòa Bình with ease against little or no resistance from the Việt Minh . " Mobile Group 3 " took the lead in the clearing operations along Colonial Route 6 , while " Mobile Group 3 " linked up with the three paratroop battalions after crossing the Black River . By 22 November , the operation was over with the French Union troops having suffered light casualties . Giáp ’ s counterattack . On 21 November , General Võ Nguyên Giáp decided to deal with the French by ordering his " 304th " and " 312th Divisions " from the Red River . The two divisions were ordered to move against French lines of communication leading to Hòa Bình . French bases at Ap Da Chong , Ap Phu To , Dan The , La Phu , Rocher Notre - Dame , Xom Bu and Tu Vu were places where General Giáp ’ s regular divisions would initiate the first challenge . The " 304th " and " 312th divisions " were in position to isolate Ap Da Chong and cut French communication lines and isolate or eliminate strongpoints . Due to the build - up of Việt Minh forces in the area , elements of the " 1st Colonial Parachute Battalion " were ordered to reinforce Thu Phap . Between 10 December and 14 December , there were heavy engagements between the French Union and Việt Minh forces . First , the Việt Minh " 88th Regiment " pounded Tu Vu but was driven off by two Moroccan companies supported by tanks . Then the " 165th " and " 209th Regiments " of the Việt Minh " 312th Division " infiltrated Ba Tri and Ba Vì , where they faced " Mobile Group 4 " . The " 5th Colonial Parachute Battalion " , with support from Sherman tanks , was sent in to remove the Việt Minh . A company from the 5e BPC , however , was ambushed by the " 165th Regiment " and heavy casualties were suffered as a result . On 11 January 1952 , General de Lattre died at the Neuilly military hospital due to cancer . At the same time , Võ Nguyên Giáp began to concentrate his troops on Hòa Bình and Colonial Route 6 as the " 304th " , " 308th " and " 312th Divisions " were being redeployed with fresh reinforcements . From the end of 1951 , the buildup of Việt Minh presence around Colonial Route 6 was noted by French military intelligence . The Việt Minh made no secret of their presence , as they regularly attacked French convoys and conducted sapper attacks on French positions . The new commander of French Union forces , General Gonzales de Linares , planned to take back Colonial Route 6 piece by piece . Between 10 January and 29 January , the French Union armies managed to clear Dong Ben , Xom Pheo , Bai Lang , Xuan Mai , Kem Pass and Ao Trach under heavy Việt Minh pressure . Each time , French forces relied upon artillery and close air support to inflict damages on the Việt Minh . On 30 January , the Việt Minh went back on the offensive at Suc Sich , where they battled with a company from the 8th Colonial Parachute Battalion . Although the French army still held Hòa Bình and Colonial Route 6 , the area under true French control extended only from Hanoi to Xuan Mai . Manning French outposts between Don Goi and Hoa Binh put heavy pressure on French manpower , where 20 , 000 troops were tying down . As a result of this , when the Việt Minh " 316th " and " 320th Divisions " moved in to replace the other divisions , General Salan decided to withdraw the remaining French forces . By 25 February 1952 , the evacuation of French troops from Hòa Bình was completed . Aftermath . From the beginning , French Union forces sought to draw the Việt Minh out to fight on French terms ; however , they subsequently went on the defensive as General Võ Nguyên Giáp continued to put heavy pressure on French positions . Although suffering heavier casualties than the French , the Việt Minh came out victorious .