Book Review of
France’s War in Indochina
Vol. 1: The Tiger Versus the Elephant, 1946-1949
Author: Stephen Rookes
Asia at War Series no. 45
Helion Books
Copyright: 2023
MSRP: $29.95
By Ray Mehlberger
Helion Books
Copyright: 2023
MSRP: $29.95
By Ray Mehlberger
HISTORY:
Undoubtedly, America’s attempt to push back communism in Vietnam is the most well-known war fought in Asia since 1945. However, it was preceded by a conflict between French and Vietnamese forces that resulted in the deaths of over 75,000 members of France’s armed forces from December 1848 to July 1854.
The first Indochina War was a particularly brutal conflict fought by the French for similar reasons as the United States in later years.
Led by Ho Chi Minh, Vietnamese forces sought to impose communist doctrines in Vietnam. A move that France deemed unacceptable and warranted a large-scale military engagement. Vietnam was considered an integral part of Indochina and France itself, and the spread of communism in the region was not to be permitted, nowhere Ho Chi Minh’s attempts to gain independence for Vietnam through these means.
This volume, the first in a three-part series, examines the first phase of the first Indochina War, which lasted from 1948 to 1949. Drawing on a variety of historical documents, this book provides readers with a comprehensive historical perspective on the French presence in Vietnam, the United States’ support for France, the ideology and tactics of the insurgents in Vietnam, as well as a detailed account of the battles, strategies, machinery and personnel employed by both sides to achieve their objectives during the conflict.
Consist and insightful text, original photography and unique color artworks, examining the conflict throughout Asia in the 20th century and beyond.
The cover art shows a color photo of two Japanese A6M2 “Zeke” fighters, that are flying. They were captured in Malaya from the 381st Kokutai. They are both overall olive-green with black cowlings. The one in the foreground has a large white ATAIU followed by a British roundel and white SEA on it’s fuselage sides. A small white B1-05 high on it’s rudder sides.
The second Zero has the same fuselage markings and a small white B1-12 on the rudder. Technical Air Intelligence Units (TAIU) were joint Allied military intelligence units formed during World War II to recover Japanese aircraft to obtain data regarding their technical and tactical capabilities.
The first such unit, known later as Technical Air Intelligence Unit–South West Pacific (TAIU–SWPA), was formed in November 1942 by the United States Navy (USN), United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) at Eagle Farm Airbase, Brisbane, Australia, in November 1942.
During 1943–44, three other TAIUs were formed in the other Allied theatres of the Pacific War.
South East Asia: ATAIU–SEA; British Royal Air Force (RAF)/USAAF
Pacific Ocean Areas: TAIU–POA; USN
China: Republic of China Air Force
A proposed joint U.S. Army-U.S. Navy research unit in the continental United States was never established, as neither service was prepared to work with the other. Some Japanese aircraft were tested in the US, at various bases, by pilots from the Naval Air Test Center, the USAAF Test Training Unit (which was established with the assistance of RAF technical intelligence units in Europe) and the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics.
Crashed and captured aircraft were located, identified, and evaluated (often in or near the front lines), before being recovered for further tests. Aircraft that were not too badly damaged were rebuilt for test flights that revealed vulnerabilities that could be exploited. Examination of the materials used in the construction of aircraft allowed the Allies to analyse Japanese war production.
The unit also absorbed a small team who developed the code name system for Japanese aircraft, and produced aircraft recognition charts and photographs.
Helion Books is based in the UK.
The book contains 74 pages (one page is blank).
CONTENTS
ABBREVIATIONS
INTRODUCTION
6 Chapters
BIBLIOGRAPHY
NOTES
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
6 pages of data lists.
There are 105 black and white photos. The only color photo is the cover art.
There is a black and white poster and illustration of an old sailing ship.
Six illustrations of unit badges.
Six maps (a line drawing of China and surrounding countries), black and white maps of Cambodia, BurmA, China, Tonkin, Siam, Laos, Cambodia. A map of the battle of Koh Chang A color map of Cambodia and surrounding countries. Battle map of Operation Lea. Two line drawings of watch towers and a black and white photo of one.
Three photos of ships, a photo of an old cannon, 28 photos of aircrafts, 6 photos of a tank and 5 vehicles, a photo of civilians, 47 photos of combatants, officers and leaders, 3 photos of barges and a photo of Maiphong on fire.
The color profile section of the book holds:
A French Coventry armored car, that is overall olive-drab with a insignia of a blue triangle with a yellow eagle on it on the sides of the hull.
An unmarked Humber armored car in overall olive-drab.
An unmarked T30 HMC half-tracked truck in overall olive-drab,
A Japanese Type 89 Chi Ro medium tank, captured by the French. It has white Bugeaud on the sides of the turret, a French flag and unit markings on the sides of the hull. It is overall olive-drab with a wavy, vertical yellow bar up its side.
A Japanese Type 95 Ha Go light tank, captured by the French. It has white DUPLEIX on the side of the turret and the French flag and unit markings on the sides of the hull. It is overall olive-drab.
A small landing craft that is unmarked and is overall grey. Used by France,
Three large landing-crafts, that are overall medium-grey with black water-lines and flying French flags.
A French Legionnaire, wearing a tan uniform, that has a short-sleeved shirt and trunks. Canvas leggings over low brown shoes. A white hat with black bill. He is holding a rifle, that has a flag on its barrel atop a small railing pillar and has his left foot atop it. He has ammo pouches on his belt and a rolled canvas slung across his chest.
A French Females-Auxiliary Group woman in a tan dress with a black field cap and shoes and purse.
A British soldier in an olive-drab uniform and cloth field cap, with a white belt.
A Second Lieutenant, with the Japanese Army. Wearing a tan shirt, black trousers and cloth field cap with a bill and ear-flaps. Wearing white gloves and holding a bayonet in his left hand.
Two French infantrymen. One is wearing a white jacket, black steel helmet, tan trousers and black shoes. He is armed with a rifle and has a large backpack on his back and field gear on his belt,
The second infantryman wears a white steel helmet, O-D uniform and tan pouches on his belt.
A French mountaineer trooper, with a beard, wearing a large black beret and light tan uniform.
A black French infantryman in a dark green uniform, with a straw hat. Armed with a sub machine-gun resting on his right shoulder.
A Potez 542 bomber, in olive-drab over grey bottom.
A Loire T-30 flying boat, in medium-grey, over black water-line. With fuselage code of a roundel and a black BS-15.
A Mitsubishi G4M “Betty” bomber, captured and marked by the ATAIU. In overall O-D, with yellow FI-II on the rudder sides.
Two Zeros. One that is the one on the cover art (already described above). The second one is in the same colors, but with a French roundel on the fuselage sides and a white ATAIU on the rudder.
A Kokusai Ki-86 Japanese biplane, captured by the ATAIU. It has ATAIU roundel SEA on its fuselage sides. It is overall O-D.
A Mitsubishi Ki-21 Type 97 heavy Japanese bomber. Marked by a USAAF roundel on the fuselage sides and a black 19 on the rudder sides.
A Showa/Nakajima L203 “Tabby” in Japanese markings of a red roundel on the fuselage sides and yellow Japanese letter -901 on the rudder sides.
An Aichi E13A “Jake” floatplane. That is overall O-D, with a black cowling and pale grey fuselage code BS-11 French roundel on fuselage sides and tri-color on the rudder.
A Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa “Oscar”, that is overall O-D, with a black cowling and French roundel and white letter A on the fuselage sides and a red, white and blue vertical bars on the rudder flap.
A second Ki-43 that is overall bare metal, with a French roundel and black letter D on the fuselage sides and a black arrow on the rudder and the vertical bars on the flap.
A Mitsubishi Ki-46 “Dinah” that is overall O-D, with French roundel on the fuselage sides.
A Junkers 52 tri-motor in overall medium-grey, with French roundel on fuselage sides, a black circle with white letter D on it on the rudder with the vertical bars on the flap.
A Douglas C-47 Skytrain transport in bare metal with a black nose.
French roundel on fuselage sides, black circle with white H on it, over black 315984 on the rudder, with a square divided into red, white and blue bars.
A De Havilland Mosquito VI fighter. Shown once in a camouflage of grey and green wave pattern, with a black nose, French fuselage roundel followed by a white no. 3 and the square with red, white and blue bars on it on the rudder sides.
The nose of a second one is shown. It is light tan with a black nose top and a sharks-mouth on it,
A Supermarine Spitfire LF.MK. IX that is in a camouflage wave pattern of 2 shades of green over a light grey bottom. It has an illustration of a white bat in flight on its nose. French roundel followed by white letter P and a wide white fuselage band with black 202 on it and 3 color stripes on the flap.
Another Spitfire in the same camouflage scheme, with a white propeller spinner. French roundel followed by a white letter K and a wide white fuselage band with black 716 on it and the rudder stripes.
This is a neat book about this war. It will be of great interest to modelers and historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample.
Casemate is the N. American distributor of Helion Books and all their titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
Undoubtedly, America’s attempt to push back communism in Vietnam is the most well-known war fought in Asia since 1945. However, it was preceded by a conflict between French and Vietnamese forces that resulted in the deaths of over 75,000 members of France’s armed forces from December 1848 to July 1854.
The first Indochina War was a particularly brutal conflict fought by the French for similar reasons as the United States in later years.
Led by Ho Chi Minh, Vietnamese forces sought to impose communist doctrines in Vietnam. A move that France deemed unacceptable and warranted a large-scale military engagement. Vietnam was considered an integral part of Indochina and France itself, and the spread of communism in the region was not to be permitted, nowhere Ho Chi Minh’s attempts to gain independence for Vietnam through these means.
This volume, the first in a three-part series, examines the first phase of the first Indochina War, which lasted from 1948 to 1949. Drawing on a variety of historical documents, this book provides readers with a comprehensive historical perspective on the French presence in Vietnam, the United States’ support for France, the ideology and tactics of the insurgents in Vietnam, as well as a detailed account of the battles, strategies, machinery and personnel employed by both sides to achieve their objectives during the conflict.
Consist and insightful text, original photography and unique color artworks, examining the conflict throughout Asia in the 20th century and beyond.
The cover art shows a color photo of two Japanese A6M2 “Zeke” fighters, that are flying. They were captured in Malaya from the 381st Kokutai. They are both overall olive-green with black cowlings. The one in the foreground has a large white ATAIU followed by a British roundel and white SEA on it’s fuselage sides. A small white B1-05 high on it’s rudder sides.
The second Zero has the same fuselage markings and a small white B1-12 on the rudder. Technical Air Intelligence Units (TAIU) were joint Allied military intelligence units formed during World War II to recover Japanese aircraft to obtain data regarding their technical and tactical capabilities.
The first such unit, known later as Technical Air Intelligence Unit–South West Pacific (TAIU–SWPA), was formed in November 1942 by the United States Navy (USN), United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) at Eagle Farm Airbase, Brisbane, Australia, in November 1942.
During 1943–44, three other TAIUs were formed in the other Allied theatres of the Pacific War.
South East Asia: ATAIU–SEA; British Royal Air Force (RAF)/USAAF
Pacific Ocean Areas: TAIU–POA; USN
China: Republic of China Air Force
A proposed joint U.S. Army-U.S. Navy research unit in the continental United States was never established, as neither service was prepared to work with the other. Some Japanese aircraft were tested in the US, at various bases, by pilots from the Naval Air Test Center, the USAAF Test Training Unit (which was established with the assistance of RAF technical intelligence units in Europe) and the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics.
Crashed and captured aircraft were located, identified, and evaluated (often in or near the front lines), before being recovered for further tests. Aircraft that were not too badly damaged were rebuilt for test flights that revealed vulnerabilities that could be exploited. Examination of the materials used in the construction of aircraft allowed the Allies to analyse Japanese war production.
The unit also absorbed a small team who developed the code name system for Japanese aircraft, and produced aircraft recognition charts and photographs.
Helion Books is based in the UK.
The book contains 74 pages (one page is blank).
CONTENTS
ABBREVIATIONS
INTRODUCTION
6 Chapters
BIBLIOGRAPHY
NOTES
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
6 pages of data lists.
There are 105 black and white photos. The only color photo is the cover art.
There is a black and white poster and illustration of an old sailing ship.
Six illustrations of unit badges.
Six maps (a line drawing of China and surrounding countries), black and white maps of Cambodia, BurmA, China, Tonkin, Siam, Laos, Cambodia. A map of the battle of Koh Chang A color map of Cambodia and surrounding countries. Battle map of Operation Lea. Two line drawings of watch towers and a black and white photo of one.
Three photos of ships, a photo of an old cannon, 28 photos of aircrafts, 6 photos of a tank and 5 vehicles, a photo of civilians, 47 photos of combatants, officers and leaders, 3 photos of barges and a photo of Maiphong on fire.
The color profile section of the book holds:
A French Coventry armored car, that is overall olive-drab with a insignia of a blue triangle with a yellow eagle on it on the sides of the hull.
An unmarked Humber armored car in overall olive-drab.
An unmarked T30 HMC half-tracked truck in overall olive-drab,
A Japanese Type 89 Chi Ro medium tank, captured by the French. It has white Bugeaud on the sides of the turret, a French flag and unit markings on the sides of the hull. It is overall olive-drab with a wavy, vertical yellow bar up its side.
A Japanese Type 95 Ha Go light tank, captured by the French. It has white DUPLEIX on the side of the turret and the French flag and unit markings on the sides of the hull. It is overall olive-drab.
A small landing craft that is unmarked and is overall grey. Used by France,
Three large landing-crafts, that are overall medium-grey with black water-lines and flying French flags.
A French Legionnaire, wearing a tan uniform, that has a short-sleeved shirt and trunks. Canvas leggings over low brown shoes. A white hat with black bill. He is holding a rifle, that has a flag on its barrel atop a small railing pillar and has his left foot atop it. He has ammo pouches on his belt and a rolled canvas slung across his chest.
A French Females-Auxiliary Group woman in a tan dress with a black field cap and shoes and purse.
A British soldier in an olive-drab uniform and cloth field cap, with a white belt.
A Second Lieutenant, with the Japanese Army. Wearing a tan shirt, black trousers and cloth field cap with a bill and ear-flaps. Wearing white gloves and holding a bayonet in his left hand.
Two French infantrymen. One is wearing a white jacket, black steel helmet, tan trousers and black shoes. He is armed with a rifle and has a large backpack on his back and field gear on his belt,
The second infantryman wears a white steel helmet, O-D uniform and tan pouches on his belt.
A French mountaineer trooper, with a beard, wearing a large black beret and light tan uniform.
A black French infantryman in a dark green uniform, with a straw hat. Armed with a sub machine-gun resting on his right shoulder.
A Potez 542 bomber, in olive-drab over grey bottom.
A Loire T-30 flying boat, in medium-grey, over black water-line. With fuselage code of a roundel and a black BS-15.
A Mitsubishi G4M “Betty” bomber, captured and marked by the ATAIU. In overall O-D, with yellow FI-II on the rudder sides.
Two Zeros. One that is the one on the cover art (already described above). The second one is in the same colors, but with a French roundel on the fuselage sides and a white ATAIU on the rudder.
A Kokusai Ki-86 Japanese biplane, captured by the ATAIU. It has ATAIU roundel SEA on its fuselage sides. It is overall O-D.
A Mitsubishi Ki-21 Type 97 heavy Japanese bomber. Marked by a USAAF roundel on the fuselage sides and a black 19 on the rudder sides.
A Showa/Nakajima L203 “Tabby” in Japanese markings of a red roundel on the fuselage sides and yellow Japanese letter -901 on the rudder sides.
An Aichi E13A “Jake” floatplane. That is overall O-D, with a black cowling and pale grey fuselage code BS-11 French roundel on fuselage sides and tri-color on the rudder.
A Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa “Oscar”, that is overall O-D, with a black cowling and French roundel and white letter A on the fuselage sides and a red, white and blue vertical bars on the rudder flap.
A second Ki-43 that is overall bare metal, with a French roundel and black letter D on the fuselage sides and a black arrow on the rudder and the vertical bars on the flap.
A Mitsubishi Ki-46 “Dinah” that is overall O-D, with French roundel on the fuselage sides.
A Junkers 52 tri-motor in overall medium-grey, with French roundel on fuselage sides, a black circle with white letter D on it on the rudder with the vertical bars on the flap.
A Douglas C-47 Skytrain transport in bare metal with a black nose.
French roundel on fuselage sides, black circle with white H on it, over black 315984 on the rudder, with a square divided into red, white and blue bars.
A De Havilland Mosquito VI fighter. Shown once in a camouflage of grey and green wave pattern, with a black nose, French fuselage roundel followed by a white no. 3 and the square with red, white and blue bars on it on the rudder sides.
The nose of a second one is shown. It is light tan with a black nose top and a sharks-mouth on it,
A Supermarine Spitfire LF.MK. IX that is in a camouflage wave pattern of 2 shades of green over a light grey bottom. It has an illustration of a white bat in flight on its nose. French roundel followed by white letter P and a wide white fuselage band with black 202 on it and 3 color stripes on the flap.
Another Spitfire in the same camouflage scheme, with a white propeller spinner. French roundel followed by a white letter K and a wide white fuselage band with black 716 on it and the rudder stripes.
This is a neat book about this war. It will be of great interest to modelers and historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample.
Casemate is the N. American distributor of Helion Books and all their titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
Highly recommended.