Dien Bien Phu

Edmond, you post this up and the first thing that popped in my mind was a recent show on History Channel about "Children Soldiers"
I thought when the thread ran here re the Spanish Civil War we would never again see such a variety of arms used in one conflict but that series proved me wrong - I've never seen so many different arms, so many different types of weapon! And in the series you posted we see a plethora of MAT 49 SMG's and a lot of GI carbines - that little gun had to be the most popular arm ever for small statured people.
What a war!
And BTW, I dug out my copy of "Last Reflections on a War" by Bernard Fall, ghosted by Dorothy Fall after his death. And the more I read, the more I learn, the less I can believe exactly what they did to us. Damn all politicians!

Did you watch "la 317eme section"?
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=9sScRTGRdVI

in the pictures above, you see mainly MAS 36 CR 39 (CR,crosse repliable, folding stock)and MAT 49.
There is a very rare picture of the prototype of MAS 48 that was tested against MAT 49, the one the magazine looks like a MP 40 mag, in fact it is a Hotchkiss magazine.

quote:

Originally posted by Edmond:
Did you watch "la 317eme section"?
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=9sScRTGRdVI

in the pictures above, you see mainly MAS 36 CR 39 (CR,crosse repliable, folding stock)and MAT 49.
There is a very rare picture of the prototype of MAS 48 that was tested against MAT 49, the one the magazine looks like a MP 40 mag, in fact it is a Hotchkiss magazine.

Mais qui - and a question for you; at about 1:30 or 1:40 I swear the pouli is whistling the Marine Corps hymn - what gives here?
And towards the end of the clip, someone keeps shouting what sounds like "une mousse quoi, une mousse quoi" which I think would mean 'some foam' or 'that foam?" What am I hearing, or what is he saying?

The radio operator has two habits if I remember correctly, whistling military marches and talking about drinks. Une mousse means a beer.

quote:

Originally posted by Edmond:
The radio operator has two habits if I remember correctly, whistling military marches and talking about drinks. Une mousse means a beer.

"Damn the French and their Legionnaire slang - it makes the language impossible to know!"

Forgot to say that between 1945 and 1949, the French used French, British, German and American made weapons. in 1949, the soldiers received more new french weapons, MAT 49 SMG, MAS 36 FLG 48 and MAS 49 rifles mainly. but newly developped weapons were mainly kept in Europe to arm french troops participating to NATO, France being a founding member and the second largest participation after USA.
AA52 LMG for example was not seen with colonial troops before the european theater troops were equipped, it appeared late in Algeria.

Really enjoy the photos Edmond!

Great photos, looking back in time always a thought provoker. How many (if any) of the French Foreign Legion were involved in those photos as you show?? I have been reading and collecting data on that group for a number of years now. Someone asked about former SS members in the Legion and have always heard that was a fact, but don't believe the Legion asked or cared about one's past if accepted.
Always liked the idea of one day a year the CO served the troops breakfast in bed!!

There were some SS but the thumb of rule was to not accept former SS, some could hide it when for some reasons, they did not get the blood group tatoo every SS had under the armpit.
From all german veterans I talked to, many had no military past and for those who were soldiers during WW2, more than half from the Infantry, one quarter from Cavalry and the rest was mixed, very few from the Luftwaffe.

Here is the answer I made on another post.

quote:

Originally posted by D Humbarger:
Edmond I have been told that this is the badge of the 3rd corp French foriegn Legion & the 3rd corp was made up of x SS diehards. Educate me please.

There are many myths among Anglosaxons related to the Legion, especially the former SS high number in the Legion. Someone has made lotsa bucks with his fictional account of a totally german unit fighting like some german units did in Russia.

After WW2, there were a lot of german origin soldiers enlisting in the Legion but many were already in the Legion because they were anti nazis and joined before WW2. During WW2, the german armistice commission went to check how many German were part of the Legion and claimed them. Most of them were stationed in North Africa , their nationality was changed and they were sent to Indochina, out of reach of the nazis.
Many German had no military past but there was no future in 1945-1946 Germany and they enlisted. There was a very active recruiting office in Germany.

This insigna is the 3eme Bataillon Etranger de Parachutiste created in 1949, operational in 1950 as Airborne instruction unit of the Legion, disappeared in 1955.
It arrived in Indochina when the fight stopped at DBP where the 2nd BEP almost entirely disappeared.
Airbone units of the Legion usually had less German because they were created late.

Above pictures don't show much Legionnaires, another myth is that Legion had the main share of the fighting, that's simply untrue.
The Marine Infantry, Paratroopers and Colonial infantry behaved vaillantly as well.
The french airborne history is born in Indochina.

I live in a region where Legion Veterans chapter is very active and I met a lot of them during my youth and even now. I learned a lot from them, books I read and writers who were former Legionnaires. During OCS, my captain was a former 2eme REP officer ( another myth is that Germans had NCOs and Officers speaking in German, it may happen between two soldiers but the language of command has always been French)

Enjoy! http://www.dailymotion.com/playlist/x54t0_Munchi_corse/...-1-re-4re2007_family

Trapper, there is something familiar to american veterans around the end of the video.

Home of the 2eme REP in Calvi, Corsica.

Many stories I have read about the French, and "their" German SS troops fighting with/for them, in Indochina, was that their favorite "weapon" was the hand grenade...

It was all about the Rubber...