Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 85



Only Krnovel

#85. I have one question.

It was a month ago that the South Korean government learned that France would carry out an amphibious landing.

This is because Albatross caught the eye of the LSTs that the United States donated while warning them not to use them in the Indochina colony, crossing the Indian Ocean one or two at a time mixed with civilian fleets.

So, in the end, it meant that France was planning a landing operation to overcome the current frustrating situation at once, and the candidate site for the landing operation was obvious without even having to think about it.

The target must have been Haiphong.

It was so close to Hanoi, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, that it was less than 100km away, so if they invaded here, they could immediately strangle Ho Chi Minh.

In addition, since South Korea’s support, which was a thorn in the side, was provided through Haiphong Port, it was believed that even if Ho Chi Minh was lost, it could ultimately put him out of breath.

And, the South Korean government’s guess was soon confirmed as fact through wiretapping.

If things turn out this way, there are two paths the Korean government can take.

Firstly, it is a tell-all.

In other words, it was to inform America.

When the United States donated surplus weapons after the war, it placed various restrictions according to each country’s circumstances, and the condition it placed on France was that it not use American weapons in its Asian colonies.

There was nothing we could do about land-based weapons that had been taken over during World War II, but in the case of new naval ships, there were strict warnings and restrictions placed on them.

The reason why the United States tried to put restrictions on France’s actions was because from the beginning, the United States had a negative view of France’s lingering affection for colonial management of Indochina.

And this was clearly stated by President Roosevelt and General Joseph Stillwell during the war.

“France will not reoccupy French Indochina after the war ends!”

Of course, originally, Roosevelt would have died early, weakening America’s control over France, but now Roosevelt is alive and well.

In addition, Roosevelt was dissatisfied with France’s guaranteed status as a victorious country.

Roosevelt’s idea was that those who had been cut off for six weeks by the German army were talking so loudly about how good they were.

In fact, World War II was a war fought by the United States with Britain, so it was safe to say that France’s contribution was not much, and even Stalin was vehemently opposed to recognizing France’s status as a victor.

Accordingly, France was completely excluded even from the Cairo, Tehran, Yalta, and Potsdam conferences, and was unable to even show its business card after becoming a permanent member of the UN in the first place. Britain did not want to be the only permanent member in Europe, and the Soviet Union did not want to become a permanent member of the UN. Excluding the three countries, the US, China, and the UK, they said they were all in the same group, so they brought France in and took the last train.

And de Gaulle and France did not forget the cold treatment and humiliation they received at that time, and they continued to go against the United States. This was truly absurd, considering that France was saved by the United States in both World War I and World War II.

In any case, the United States was clearly opposed to France’s colonial management of Indochina even before Lee Kang-cheol said it.

It’s funny to think that in the original history, the war with Vietnam started just 10 years later, but the reason the United States fought Vietnam was not because it wanted a colony.

It was a time when the Korean War broke out and the Cold War reached its peak.

Because of this, the madness of communism and McCarthyism was sweeping the entire United States, and we could never stand by and watch Vietnam fall to the communists.

However, that is not the case now, and Ho Chi Minh has already taken down the communist sign.

In the meantime, we know that South Korea, which is emerging as our best ally, is intervening in Vietnam, so of course restrictions were placed.

Among the countries to which the United States supported weapons, the only countries that had no restrictions were the United Kingdom and South Korea, but France had nothing to say, and even if she had something to say, it was not a situation to say it out loud.

All the weapons they have right now are American-made, and if they do not receive the benefits of the Marshall Plan, which will be implemented soon, they will starve to death.

However, the idea of ​​snitching on America was cut short as soon as the word came out.

“Are you embarrassed? “Are you telling me something?”

“…”

Lee Kang-cheol’s words were strangely persuasive.

Now all that’s left is to fight.

If information was given to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, they would fight on their own, and they were capable of doing so.

If done well, it was an opportunity to annihilate the French army in Vietnam.

But there was one problem.

“Heavy cruisers are also in the mix?”

“Yes, it’s an old Chiffreng-class ship, but it’s no different from Lu Bu in the current Southeast Asian seas.”

“Then the main gun?”

“It is 203mm and has a maximum range of 28km.”

“Hmm, then it’s a bit difficult? There’s no way to attack them if they stick close to the shore, right? “Because it’s a naval gun, the rate of fire will be fast.”

“That’s why I’m telling you this.”

In the end, it was decided to dispatch six batteries of K9 self-propelled guns in extreme secrecy and then retrieve them, and one LST was sent as part of the transport fleet.

Since the details were kept secret not only from the Vietnamese locals but also from Ho Chi Minh, they did not use the intact port facilities of Haiphong, but instead landed on a quiet beach in the south at night, wandered around for a while, got suspiciously stuck in the jungle, and killed the French fleet prematurely. will be.

Quack! bang! bang!

105mm and 155mm howitzers blew away French troops pinned down on the beach.

If you somehow tried to escape, the artillery fire would inevitably follow and shatter your body.

“Aaaah!”

“My legs! “My legs!”

As the naval fleet was unable to respond at all due to being battered by the K9 self-propelled guns, mortars and machine guns were added to drive the landing force into a corner.

Cough! Cough!

“Ugh!”

Boom! Boom!

Everyone! Tadang!

General Jean Etienne Valluy, commander of the landing force, saw this terrible scene and realized that it would be difficult to hold out any longer.

If this continued, they would all die.

Even the person who was supposed to command the landing force had already been injured, and the heads of most of the commanding officers had disappeared somewhere.

“Ugh! It’s surrender! “Raise the white flag!”

July 4, 1946, 10:30 (Vietnam time).

The French army, unable to withstand the constant bombardment and barrage of machine guns, raised a white flag.

It was a record-breaking defeat in French history, surrendering to the enemy five hours after the landing operation began.

The damage to the French army was enormous.

Of the 12,000 landing troops, more than 4,000 were killed and more than 3,000 were injured.

Only about 5,000 people were captured intact.

In addition, among the 22 amphibious LSTs, few were intact, many of the crew members were killed or injured, and the remaining crew members became prisoners of war.

There was no way that the escort fleet would be safe.

Just before being attacked by the K9 self-propelled guns, the French fleet stopped its ships for stable ground-to-ground bombardment, and formed a straight formation parallel to the coast to use all of the ship’s guns.

In this situation, we were subjected to concentrated bombardment from a battery of K9 self-propelled artillery under Albatros fire control, so it was strange that we were safe.

The heavy cruiser Chiffrein was subjected to concentrated fire and took over 40 successful bullets before a large fire broke out and the ship was abandoned.

Chiffrein itself was an older ship, commissioned in 1930, with only 50 mm of side armor and 30 mm of turret and bridge armor.

This means that it was a heavy cruiser, but it was originally a light cruiser, so it had no ingenuity to withstand 155mm high explosive bombs.

In addition, the four Hunt-class destroyers donated by Britain had a full load displacement of only about 1,400 tons, so they could not have been armored.

Each ship was hit by anywhere from 10 to as many as 20 successful bullets and was destroyed, causing all of them to abandon ship.

The only thing that survived was a type of communication and patrol ship called Avisos. Although it had a 100mm main gun mounted on the bow, it was a small ship displacing less than 700 tons, so two of the four ships were able to quickly escape, and that’s all they did. It has become.

In conclusion, in France, a total of 18,000 people, including 12,000 landing troops and 6,000 fleet crew members, came, and only 150 crew members of two Abyssos patrol boats escaped, resulting in a catastrophe that will be remembered forever in history.

The fleet commander, including Dargenlieu, all died after a hit on the bridge, which may have been a good thing for them.

If he had survived, he would have had to spend the rest of his life with great shame.

Of course, two days after the battle, the suspicious men quietly disappeared on the LST, as if fleeing at night.

Common sense would allow France to guess that South Korea intervened in some way, but they had no idea how and there was no evidence to openly argue.

Because in battle, the South Korean military never cast even a shadow.

Now, the Haiphong Incident has become known as the ‘Great Battle of Haiphong’, and the aftermath has been enormous.

Above all, the French colonial government and remaining military forces occupying southern Cochinchina were in danger, and there was no hope for France to save them on its own.

This is because most of the elite troops were mobilized to the landing force.

Eventually, the United States and Britain intervened and requested the government of South Korea, the only recognized country in Vietnam, to mediate, and all fighting was temporarily halted.

This was in effect a consideration for France to leave Vietnam safely, and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was essentially achieving independence.

July 22, 1946.

While Cochinchina in southern Vietnam was surrounded by the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, General Leclerc and Jean Sainteny, who were negotiators from France, quickly flew in.

Even if it meant giving in to Ho Chi Minh, the civilians and troops in the South had to be saved.

And Hanoi on July 26th.

With representatives of the United States, Britain, and South Korea looking on, French representative Leclerc signed a document acknowledging Vietnam’s independence and withdrawing all troops from Vietnam.

It was an approval in words, but in fact it was a humiliation that was tantamount to surrender.

If they had let us go in the first place, we would have been able to formally act as a suzerain like the Commonwealth, and we would not have suffered such humiliation…

In this way, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam finally succeeded in becoming independent.

France announced its intention to withdraw not only from Vietnam, but also from the remaining French colonies in Indochina, Laos and Cambodia, and even requested cooperation from the United States and South Korea.

There was no longer any capacity to manage colonies in East Asia.

That evening, the entire Hanoi was in a crucible of enthusiasm, and citizens enjoyed the joy of independence until late at night.

However, after 9 p.m., Ho Chi Minh quietly visited the lodgings where the Korean delegation was staying.

This is to meet the representative, Minister Kim Gyu-sik.

“teacher!”

“Ah, Chairman Ho! What’s going on so late? “Everyone is celebrating and making a fuss?”

“Sir, I am alone. Just call it patriotic. “Speak comfortably.”

“ha ha ha! Is that so? Yes, patriotism, it is magnificent. And once again, congratulations on the true independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.”

“It’s all thanks to the teacher and the help of the Republic of Korea. I will never forget this grace. In particular, please tell the suspicious young men who hid in the jungle and provided crucial help during the Battle of Haiphong. “Thank you so much.”

“Uh, huh? Suspicious young men? “Oh my, who is that?”

“ha ha ha! It appears that he was doing it secretly, but several residents witnessed it. The pants are our Vietnamese style pants, and there are tall, white-skinned young men hiding in the jungle. “With a huge piece of metal.”

“Oh, did you?”

“Yes, even after receiving the report, I remembered what you said in advance that there would be a special operation, so I thought that was it.”

“ha ha ha! But you know what? “No one should know that?”

“I know very well. “No one will ever know.”

“Yeah, I like handling it that way.”

“But I have one question.”

Ho Chi Minh suddenly asked with a serious expression.

“Ask me anything. “If there is anything I can answer, I will tell you.”

“Why on earth did the Republic of Korea help us so much?”

Ho Chi Minh was genuinely curious.