Photographs of Thomas Jones/jones4 |
Bridge 26 located West of Camp Radcliff and approximamtely 8 kilometers East of the infamous Mang Yang Pass. Night Vision "Starlight Scope" on top of the bunker. The Battle of Mang Yang
Pass was the last official battle of the First Indochina War. It was one of
the bloodiest defeats of the French Union together with the battle of Dien
Bien Phu in 1954. In five days of fighting, French Groupement Mobile #100
lost 85 percent of vehicles, 100 percent of artillery, 68 percent of signal
equipment and 50 percent of crew-served weapons. The Headquarters Company
had only 84 men left out of an original 222. The 43rd Colonial, the 1st and
the 2nd Korea Battalion which numbered about 834 men each, was now mustered
at roll call with 452, 497, and 345 men respectively. The 2nd Group of the
10th Colonial Artillery, reduced to fighting as infantry after the loss of
all of their guns, had shrunk from 475 men to 215 men during the fighting.
Colonel Barrou and several men were taken as prisoners of war. The Viet
Minh 96th Regiment suffered more than 100 KIAs in comparison. Most of the photos in this collection were taken of or near Bridge 26 on Highway (QL) 19 in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. |