| Operation Hirondelle | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theFirst Indochina War | |||||||||
 Lạng Sơn Province within which liesLạng Sơn | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Marcel Bigeard | |||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| ~2,000[1] | |||||||||
Operation Hirondelle took place during theFirst Indochina War in July 1953. It was an airborne raid onViet Minh supply depots nearLạng Sơn, involvingparachute units of theFrench Army andVietnamese National Army.[2] Raids near the junction of Route Coloniale 4 and Route Coloniale 1 revealed supply caches hidden in caves, which were photographed and destroyed.[1]
The attack forces then retreated over land throughLoc Binh, where other French units had been dropped on July 17 to repair and hold a river crossing for the retreating units; and then to form a rearguard for 20 miles.[2] The entire force rendezvoused with Groupe Mobile Five,[1] and was then extracted by sea on July 19, suffering fromheat exhaustion. The average weight loss was 11 pounds.[2]
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