Escape From Huguette 6 CBI (id:#57153)

Critical Hit (Dien Bien Phu ID: DBP4)   [next]   [previous]

Positions at 'Huguette 6', Dien Bien Phu, French Indochina 1954-04-18 (0 others)

Overview:

French attempts to break through to the beleaguered strongpoint of 'Huguette 6' on the night of April 17th had fallen short. For a week, nightly breakthroughs had been made to keep Captain Bizard and his polygot garrison supplied. Now the Viet Minh ring around the strongpoint had been too tight to pass even patrols through and Bizard was told he was on his own. Bizard chose to break out. On Easter morning, the mixed bag of Vietnamese and French paratroopers and Foreign Legionnaires lined up in their trenches, slung partially filled sandbags over their chests to protect themselves from grenade fragments, and began their advance. The early morning fog that usually covered the valley was again present. Under cover of automatic weapon fire from a wounded French sergeant, who died at his post, the men were able to dash across and sometimes over the Viet Minh in their trenches and make it to friendly lines. ---- A trench fight with a difference. Mist covers the playing area reducing the effectiveness of most IFT attacks. The French need to leave one Trench network in a hurry, break through or over PAVN lines and gain the safety of another trench network.

Defender: PAVN (Viet Minh 308th Division)  

Errata (source)