France Ground Forces in Indochina, May 1, 1940
v.1.0 July 28, 2002
#2-2

Nowfel Leulliot

http://france1940.free.fr/oob/indo.html
This page is based on M. Leulliot’s page given above, with his permission.

The orbat is of intrinsic interest in its own right. It also, however, provides a tiny piece of the jigsaw to anyone trying to understand the United States and Second Indochina. For example, it is immediately evident that for the French, all Indochina was one military area. When the United States became involved, it saw four different countries on the map, whereas, of course, North and South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia were still – from a geostrategical viewpoint – one area.

The orbat also shows the effect of post-World War II nationalism in the region. The French comfortably held down the entire region with the equivalent of a reinforced division’s worth of infantry, a good proportion of whom were locally recruited troops. Just a few years later this would have been an impossibly tiny number.

The French Army in Indochina was organized into two divisions and a brigade:

Tonkin Division [Division du Tonkin DDT]

Cochinchina-Cambodia Division [Division de Cochinchine-Cambodge DCC]

Annam-Laos Brigade [Brigade d'Annam-Laos BAL] 

The motorized detachments were reconnaissance units.

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DDT

Tonkin Motorised Detachment (DMT)

Foreign Legion Motorised Detachment (DML)

 

9th Colonial Infantry Regiment

19th Mixed Colonial Infantry Regiment

5th Foreign Legion Infantry Regiment

1st Tonkinese Tirailleurs Regiment

3rd Tonkinese Tirailleurs Regiment

4th Tonkinese Tirailleurs Regiment

 

4th Colonial Artillery Regiment

 

DCC

Cochinchina Motorised Detachment (DMC)

11th Colonial Infantry Regiment

Annam Tirailleurs Regiment

Second Annam Tirailleurs Regiment

Cambodian Tirailleurs Regiment

 

5th Colonial Artillery Regiment ()

 

BAL

Annam Motorised Detachment (DMA)

10th Colonial Infantry Regiment

16th Mixed Colonial Infantry Regiment

South Annam Montagnard Tirailleurs Battalion

Air Units

Groupe Aérien Autonome 41
E.R. 1/41	9 Potez 25	Pursat [Cambodia]
E.R. 2/41	4 Farman 221	Tong [Tonkin]
Groupe Aérien Autonome 42
E.R. 1/42	10 Potez 25	Pursat [Cambodia]
E.B. 2/42	6 Potez 542	Tan-Son-Nhut [Cochinchina]
Groupe Aérien Mixte 595
E.O. 1/595	7 Potez 25	Dong-Hoi [Annam]
Groupe Aérien Mixte 596
E.O. 1/596	6 Potez 25	Tourane/Da Nang [Annam]
Esc. 1/C.B.S.	8 Loire 130  + 4 CAMS 37 & 55	Cat-Lai [Cochinchina]

 

Please note that the French Escadrille actually corresponds to the word Flight. Escuadron, or Squadron, was used for army units. The Groupe is the equivalent of a traditional air squadron. The French system allowed the mixing-and-matching of units within a squadron, whereas usually a squadron is all one type of aircraft. Commandement des Bases du Sud - Southern Bases Command (Indochina)

Groupe Aérien Mixte - Composite Squadron (usually Fighter / Reconnaissance)

E.R. – Escardrille Reconnaissance

E.O. – Escadrille Observation

E.B. – Escadrille Bombardement