Atlas of Battles

campaign, Cold War

Operation Mouette

Operation Mouette was a campaign fought in 1953 at French Indochina, in what is now Vietnam. Its exact site is not recorded; the atlas places it at French Indochina. It was part of First Indochina War, which ran from 1946 to 1954. The recorded result: French Union victory; Area temporarily occupied before French withdrawal. Recorded strength: 21,000–24,500 supported by Chaffee tanks against 320th Division (Vietnam) + regional forces.

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Fought1953
WhereFrench Indochina, Vietnam21.033N, 105.850E, placed at the location, approximate
OutcomeFrench Union victory; Area temporarily occupied before French withdrawal.
BelligerentsFrench Union; France; French Indochina; State of VietnamagainstNorth Vietnam; Việt Minh
Part ofFirst Indochina War1946 to 1954

Where it sits in First Indochina War

Battle of Hanoi, 1946Operation Papillon, 1947Operation Léa, 1947Battle of Phu Tong Hoa, 1948Battle of Cao Bang, 1949Battle of Dong Khe, 1950Battle of Route Coloniale 4, 1950Battle of Vinh Yen, 1951Battle of the Day River, 1951Battle of Nghia Lo, 1951Battle of Hoa Binh, 1951Battle of Nghĩa Lộ, 1952Operation Lorraine, 1952Battle of Na San, 1952Operation Hirondelle, 1953Operation Adolphe, 1953Battle of Muong Khoua, 1953Operation Camargue, 1953Operation Mouette, 1953Operation Castor, 1953Battle of Mang Yang Pass, 1954Operation Atlante, 1954Battle of Dien Bien Phu, 195419461954Operation Mouette, 1953
23 placed engagements of First Indochina War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date1953 (year precision)
to 1953
PlaceFrench Indochina, Vietnam
21.033N, 105.850E
KindCampaign, Cold War
Strength21,000–24,500 supported by Chaffee tanks320th Division (Vietnam) + regional forces
Casualties and lossesFrance: 113 killed; 505 wounded; 151 missing; State of Vietnam: unknown1,000 killed; 2,500 wounded; 182 captured; (French estimates).
Commanders
  • Christian de Castries
  • Jean Gilles (French general)
Operation MouetteOperation MouetteBattle of HanoiSiege of SongpingSiege of Đông QuanBattle of Cầu GiấyBắc Ninh CampaignBattle of HanoiBattle of Cầu GiấyBắc Ninh CampaignHaiphongThái NguyênNam ĐịnhViệt TrìNinh BìnhHoa BinhPingxiangLạng Sơn100 km21.033N, 105.850E
Placed at French Indochina; the exact site is not recorded. with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1953

Operation Mouette is one of 4,429 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 269 in present-day Vietnam.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q3354775, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Operation Mouette, revision 1371207652, read 2026-11-15, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.