Any info on 5e REI Foreign Legion retreat to China?

[GrumpyOldMan]

Hello All

I was looking around for some scenarios that could use the troops I already mostly have and I came across some general information on the retreat of the 5e REI from Tonkin (Vietnam) to China in 1945 after the Japanese took control of Indochina.

Apparently the Foreign Legion along with local Tirailleurs Tonkinois and artillery units retreated over 1500 kms fighting the Japanese and overcoming ambushes to get to China.

I was wondering if anybody had any more information on the campaign?

I found one site http://war.megabaze.com/page_html/085-The%20war%20in%20IndoChina but it is not coming up easily. It's available (as HTML source and in French) at the WayBack site and I'm still working my way through it http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://war.megabaze.com/page_html/085-The%20war%20in%20IndoChina.

I've attached an unedited straight Google Translate of the page

I did find some movies of the troops actually in China:-

http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675020891_French-Foreign-Legion-troops_shell-beans_tend-horses_wash-clothes
http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675020889_French-Colonial-troops_Retreat-ceremony_French-Army-camp_lower-French-flag
http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675020890_French-Colonial-troops_soldiers-play-cards_eat-food_mess-kits

Cheers

GrumpyOldMan

[paulr]

I would be interested if you find out more. I wonder what they did once they got to China...

[GrumpyOldMan]

Hello paulr

I would be interested if you find out more. I wonder what they did once they got to China...

I haven't found out too much more but it appears that the troops took so many casualties that the 5e REI was disbanded and formed the Provisional Battalion of the 5e REI (Bataillon de marche du 5e REI, BM5). They didn't seem to be involved in any operations. They then marched back to Tonkin (Vietnam) in 1946

It looks like the majority of troops were attached Tonkinese Tirailleurs attached to the 5e REI:-

In June 1940, about one third (1/3) of the strength of the 5e REI was made up of Indochinese legionnaires from Cambodia, Cochin-China, Annam and Tonkin. Or to be more precise with numbers the official strength of 5e REI on 22.09.1940 was: 1,526 French Officers and European Legionnaires and 1,067 Indochinese Legionnaires (Tirailleurs), total 3,144 men.

Later during a short Franco-Japanese War in Northern Tonkin in 1940 the regiment was involved in the defence of Lang-Son and suffered heavy casualties with many officers and men being killed or captured. The Japanese divided the Legion POWs into several groups and one of such groups included German and Austrian legionnaires. This group was about 200 men strong. Some men returned later back to their outfit but most of them were sent to Nanking, China.

So taking into considerations a) the losses from Lang-Son battle, b) lost German & Austrian legionnaires and c) legionnaires dead from diseases, wounds and deserters from the 1941-1945 period, one can assume that the Indochinese component of the 5e REI has subsequently risen from 1/3 of the regiment's strength to at least 2/3.

From here https://www.cervens.net/legionbbs123/showthread.php?1437-Question-about-Indochinese-in-5-REI&s=df813383d1fd2097327da226d8b7b9a5

Incidentally I'm using the WW1 British Middle East for French Colonials



Cheers

GrumpyOldMan