A War Too Far

by David Lee Corley

  As the caravan slowly made its way to the wooden platform that had been constructed at the far end of the square, the crowd erupted in cheers and applause. People wept. Inside one of those cars was their nation’s greatest hope. A man that was willing to sacrifice all for his people.

  Nobody knew how the man that led the Viet Minh looked. He had changed his name, the way he dressed, and even the style of his hair dozens of times during his lifetime on the run from the French and the Japanese. He had traveled across the world to Russia, China, France, Great Britain, and the United States hiding, learning, living. He had become a communist and was a founder of the Indochinese Communist Party. But above all, he was a nationalist and longed to see freedom come to the Vietnamese people. He was sixty-five years old.

  The two sedans rolled to a stop. The Viet Minh dismounted their bicycles and took up defensive positions, leading to the platform. The car doors were opened. Wearing freshly pressed suits, Ho and Giap stepped out along with Hoagland and Dewey, both wearing new khaki uniforms without insignia. Both Dewey and Hoagland were nervous about appearing in public after having served in a clandestine position for so long. But Ho had insisted they accompany him on the stand this historic day. Giap had personally guaranteed their safety. They had disagreements like any allies, but America was their friend, and they would do everything in their power to protect the warriors that had fought by their side.

  They climbed the stairs and sat on the platform, shaded by an awning. It took almost ten minutes for the crowd to calm down to the point where an announcer could speak to them. A prominent Vietnamese civic leader introduced Ho. There was more applause when Ho stood and approached the microphone. A Vietnamese man held an umbrella above Ho to keep him cool from the heat of the day. Ho reached into his pocket and pulled out his speech, retyped to include Dewey’s suggestions.

  Ho began his historic speech with the words of Thomas Jefferson, “All men are created equal. They are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among them are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. This immortal statement was made in the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America in 1776. In a broader sense, this means: All the peoples on the earth are equal from birth, all the peoples have a right to live, to be happy and free. The Declaration of the French Revolution made in 1791 on the Rights of Man and the Citizen also states: All men are born free and with equal rights, and must always remain free and have equal rights. Those are undeniable truths.”

  As Ho continued his speech, several miles away, the French soldiers pulled the convoy of trucks into a long alley and disembarked. They moved to the back door of an abandoned restaurant and formed a line to the first truck. Several men kicked in the back door and went inside the restaurant. Curious, Granier followed. There were two meat lockers in the kitchen. One had a lock on the door. A French soldier went to work picking the lock. Granier opened the second meat locker. The smell of rotten meat was overwhelming. Everyone complained until he shut the door. The French locksmith had tried several times and other soldiers, impatient, were now giving him advice. Granier walked over to a butcher’s block and retrieved the butcher’s steel – a rod used to hone knife blades for carving. He walked over to the locksmith, slid the steel rod into the lock’s ring and gave it a swift wrench against the door. The lock broke open. The French soldiers cheered.

  They entered. Granier followed, curious. The box was empty and smelled of rotten produce and eggs. A commander walked to the back wall. There was a crack in the wall which explained why it had not been in use when the restaurant was abandoned. He took a nail he had removed from one of the vegetable crates and slid it into the crack. He felt carefully until he found the spot he wanted, then lifted the nail. There was a thump, and the back of the wall seemed to move slightly. The commander pushed the wall, and it moved back into a hidden room.

  Granier and the rest of the soldiers entered the dark room. Someone turned on a light overhead illuminating the interior. The room was filled with weapons and ammunition. In addition to hundreds of rifles and pistols, were nine Fusil-mitrailleur Modèle M29 machineguns, five British-made PIAT anti-tank weapons, three Brandt Mle 1935 60mm mortars, and an American-made M2 flame thrower. There were also six wooden crates filled with grenades, three satchel charges, and multiple stacks of wine bottles filled with gasoline – homemade Molotov cocktails. It was enough to equip a small army – a French army.

  Granier moved up beside Laurent as if waiting for an explanation. Laurent gave him one, “When the Nazis surrendered, the provisional government run by French administrators in Vietnam saw the writing on the wall. They knew the Japanese could not let them remain in power now that Germany had fallen. Too much risk of them rejoining France and the Allies. We stored our best weapons in caches all over Hanoi. We knew we would need them again once the Japanese surrendered. It was just a matter of time.”

  “You will fight the Viet Minh?” said Granier.

  “And anyone that stands in our way. We will take back what is ours.”

  The soldiers removed the weapons and ammunition. They passed them like a bucket brigade to the trucks. They would sort through them later.

  Something caught Granier’s eye in the back of the room. A Fusil modèle FR-G2 sitting on a stand on a workbench as if someone had been adjusting it. The French-made FR-G2 was a highly modified MAS-36 rifle equipped with a match barrel with harmonic compensator and telescopic sight. Granier walked over and examined the weapon. It wasn’t an M1 Garand, but it would do in a pinch. He checked to make sure it was properly assembled and fully operational. It was. The action was smooth like it had been well maintained. “Somebody loved you,” he said to the rifle.

  There were fifty rounds in a box sitting on the bench next to the rifle. The shells had been tweaked, the burrs sanded off, just like he would have done. This was a sniper’s weapon. He almost hated to take it, wondering if the soldier who owned it might come back for it. He decided to borrow it until he found the owner or the owner found him.

  With his new rifle in one hand and the box of shells in the other, Granier followed the last French soldier out of the hidden room and back to the trucks.

  The back of the trucks were filled with weapons and ammunition. The men had to sit with their feet propped up. Granier climbed in an found a spot on a bench. He rested his rifle in his lap. He had no interest in letting it bang around with the other weapons. This gun was special. It was his.

  Back in Bo Dinh Square, Ho’s entire speech lasted less than ten minutes, less than one thousand words. But words that would generate two wars, cost millions of lives, and change the course of modern history. People watched in amazement as Ho ended his speech by declaring Vietnam’s independence, “The whole Vietnamese people, animated by a common purpose, are determined to fight to the bitter end against any attempt by the French colonialists to reconquer their country. We are convinced that the Allied nations which at Tehran and San Francisco have acknowledged the principles of self-determination and equality of nations, will not refuse to acknowledge the independence of Vietnam. A people who have courageously opposed French domination for more than eight years, a people who have fought side by side with the Allies against the Fascists during these last years, such a people must be free and independent. For these reasons, we, members of the Provisional Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, solemnly declare to the world that Vietnam has the right to be a free and independent country - and in fact is so already. The entire Vietnamese people are determined to mobilize all their physical and mental strength, to sacrifice their lives and property in order to safeguard their independence and liberty.”

  Concluding his remarks, Ho stood to receive the cheers and applause of the Vietnamese people. They chanted “Uncle” with a deafening roar. After several minutes, Ho was escorted back to the sedan that brought him. Giap was already inside waiting. “This is a great day. A historic day; the birth of our nation,” said Ho as the sed
an pulled away.

  “Now we must hang on to it,” said Giap.

  “You seem concerned, my friend.”

  “We have news. Not good, I am afraid.”

  “Will it get any better by not telling me?”

  “No. The French prisoners that were supposed to be interned by the Chinese Governor-General never arrived at their holding facility. It seems they jumped their Japanese guards and requisitioned the truck transporting them.”

  “Do we have any idea where they might be?”

  “Someplace in Hanoi. We get reports, but by the time we check them out, they are gone.”

  “I see. So this is where the final struggle will begin. The French will attempt to retake Hanoi. We will crush them.”

  “Perhaps.”

  “You doubt we have the will of the people?”

  “No. There is little question the people are on our side and are willing to fight. We vastly outnumber the French. But we are limited to the number of trained troops. To hold Hanoi, we must defend all of the public utilities, government buildings, transportation hubs, and all communication facilities, including the radio stations. Our resources will be stretched thin. If they are patient, the French will be able to consolidate their forces. They can take one facility at a time. They will dig in.”

  “And our people will still retake each facility they capture.”

  “And they will make us pay dearly each time we do. The French do not need to wipe out our forces to win. They just need to demoralize our troops and the militia. I have little doubt that we can put a million civilians in the streets of Hanoi. But we still lack proper weapons even for our trained troops, let alone a militia. Many will be fighting the French with knives, hoes, and spades. How long will our will to fight last once we start taking heavy casualties?”

  “I see your point. But we cannot let them have a foothold. It will encourage the French government to send them reinforcements.”

  “I agree. But we need to be smart about deploying our best-trained troops.”

  “What do you suggest?”

  “We need to focus our best troops on the most valuable assets. The ones we know the French will want to take over first. My best guess is that they will try to secure the radio, phone, and telegraph facilities first. They will attempt to cut off our communications so we cannot call for reinforcements or even talk to our people inside Hanoi. They will attempt to divide us. Once they have control over communications, they will go after the transportation hubs – the airport and train station. They’ll put up roadblocks on the main streets and the highways. They will be careful not to stretch themselves too thin and only go after the main thoroughfares.”

  “Then what?”

  “The power station and waterworks. They will shut off the lights and water.”

  “Why?”

  “Our people have grown soft. They have become accustomed to the advantages of living in a city. Once the lights and power are cut, the city will become unsafe. The sewage system will not work, and disease will spread more easily. The street lamps will go out, and crime will rise. The people will begin to leave the city for the safety of the countryside. And that is exactly what the French want… to reduce our numbers.”

  “Then we must prevent them from accomplishing their purpose.”

  “Of course. I have already begun deploying our forces. We will only use the militia as a support force and to patrol the streets so we can find the French. And when we do, our troops will do most of the fighting. We shall not use our people as cannon fodder.”

  “While I appreciate your aspirations, we must do whatever is required to hold Hanoi, even if it means we must sacrifice some of our people to the French.”

  “I understand. Let’s hope it does not come to that.”

  The Viet Minh were accustomed to fighting in the forests and countryside. They had rarely fought in a city and lacked the skills of urban warfare. Giap knew that his army must master the strategies required to fight in the streets of a city. He turned to the Americans for advice.

  At first, Dewey was reluctant to help, because he knew that Giap would use the information to fight the French – one of America’s allies. But he quickly realized that there was no way not to take a stand in the upcoming conflict. His last instructions from OSS HQ in China were to train the Viet Minh to the best of his ability. Dewey decided that giving Giap information on urban warfare was within his current orders. He knew his decision would be frowned upon, especially since the war with the Japanese was over, but he felt confident that he could support his position. There was a good chance that America would need allies in Southeast Asia and helping the Viet Minh would assure their support later when it was needed once again. He understood that both Ho and Giap were communists, but he found that they valued their relationship with the U.S. more their relationship with the Russians and the Chinese. Dewey felt it was in America’s best interest to keep the relationship with the Vietnamese strong.

  Dewey did his best to explain how to properly defend key positions within a city and the importance of not getting trapped by failing to defend or patrol properly. He instructed Giap on various strategies that the enemy might use to assault fixed defensive positions. He drew layouts that described correct placement of troops and weapons. He even showed him the proper way to fill and stack sandbags so they could withstand an explosion.

  On receiving Dewey’s instruction, Giap realized that his forces were far more lacking in training and experience than he had originally thought. Most of the fighting they had done in the cities were simple terrorist attacks on unsuspecting Frenchmen. But Giap knew there was a big difference between tossing a grenade into a crowded bar filled with French soldiers and holding a defensive position within a city against veteran fighters. In addition to many things, he needed more snipers on rooftops. He temporarily reassigned Spitting Woman back to her old unit as a sniper.

  Like the other Viet Minh soldiers, Spitting Woman was not comfortable fighting in the city. It was all strange to her, and she didn’t understand the simplest things, such as opening a window or climbing up a fire escape stairway on the outside of a building. She was often forced to work outside her comfort zone and constantly felt ill-at-ease. But she always obeyed and worked hard to master the new challenges.

  It was almost noon when the French finished their reconnaissance of Hanoi’s main radio station. From a rooftop overlooking the facility, two French scouts observed a company of Viet Minh troops taking up temporary firing positions in the station’s doorways and windows as 300 militiamen and women filled sandbags and stacked them around the station in a defensive perimeter. “We should attack now before they complete their defenses,” said one of the scouts.

  “You keep watching. I’ll go tell the commander,” said a second scout.

  Giap advised the Viet Minh commander defending the radio station that he should prepare to counter-attack the French once they started their assault. This would throw them off balance and reduce their troops’ effectiveness. They would not expect a counter-attack from a band of guerillas. The commander was low on Viet Minh troops but had an overabundance of militia. He ordered that groups of one hundred militia station themselves inside the buildings surrounding the radio station where they would stay hidden until ordered to attack the French.

  More French scouts were sent to explore the surrounding buildings. They discovered the Vietnamese militia troops in several of the buildings with iron bars on the bottom floor windows. If the French attacked, the Vietnamese were well-positioned to fire down on the French troops from the windows on the higher floors while others could exit the ground floor and assault the French troops in the square. The scouts left quietly, unseen by the Vietnamese, and reported back to the French commander.

  Inside a nearby warehouse, Laurent and the other French soldiers listened to the final assault instructions given by the French commander. Granier stood apart from the group and listened. His sniper rif
le cradled in his lap. He was pondering what to do. As far as he knew, the Americans and Viet Minh were still allies. But he questioned giving his loyalty to his own country that so easily abandoned him to the Japanese. As for the Viet Minh, they had betrayed him and were now his enemy.

  As the planning meeting broke up, Laurent walked over to Granier and said, “So, are you with us?”

  “You will be killing the Viet Minh?”

  “As many as we can find.”

  “Then, I am with you… for now.”

  “Alright,” said Laurent, then pointed to the sniper rifle. “I assume you know how to use that thing?”

  “I do.”

  “Then you will join me on the roof overlooking the radio facility. We will provide fire support once the assault begins.”

  “I didn’t peg you as a sniper.”

  “Good. My disguise is working. I suggest you bring all the ammunition you have. It’s going to be a bloody battle.”

  “I’m ready.”

  Hoagland and Dewey watched as more and more Vietnamese joined the militia and took up arms. Their numbers were growing rapidly by the hour. “They’re going to get slaughtered, you know that?” said Hoagland.

  “I don’t know that, and neither do you. Giap believes their vast numbers will give them the edge they need to beat the French,” said Dewey. “And frankly, I tend to agree with him. Eventually, the French will run out of bullets, and when they do, the tables could very well be turned in the Viet Minh’s favor. But in any case… it won’t be pretty.”

  “Pretty? This isn’t some game, commander. The men we trained and fought beside are going to be killed.”

  “Don’t be overly dramatic, Hoagland. It’s war. Men will die on both sides.”

  “And we’re just going to sit back and watch it happen?”