The dry season of 1952 is heading towards Indochina, which brings another fierce battle season.
As the rain is just beginning to come to an end, and the clouds are drifting, the balance of power between the two sides has changed in the Vietnam battlefield.
For the Vietnamese army, the regular army with Wuyuanjia as the commander-in-chief has 6 infantry divisions, 1 engineer artillery division, 4 independent regiments, and several independent battalions, with more than 120,000 troops.
At the same time, Vietnam also has more than 60,000 local armed forces, and maintained about 150,000 guerrillas and militias in various guerrilla areas, with a total armed force of about 330,000.
Among the regular army, the four infantry divisions and the 351st Artillery Divisions, the 308th, 312th, 316th and 304th Divisions, are strategic mobile units directly under the headquarters of the Vietnamese Army, with a force of about 60,000. The main activities are in northern Vietnam. The Vietnamese troops in the south are mainly engaged in units below regiments and combat in dispersed areas.
The French Army, Navy and Air Force of Indochina, with Sharon as the commander of the Expeditionary Force, has a total of 90,000 troops. Among them, there were more than 51,000 native French soldiers, and the other 40,000 were mainly soldiers of North African , Vietnamese and European. In addition, the Vietnamese government forces had 100,000 troops, and the combined force of the two troops totaled 190,000. In addition, some police and security guards are armed. 
In terms of military personnel comparison, the Vietnamese People's Army led by Ho Chi Minh has a clear advantage.
In early September 1952, Ho Chi Minh presided over a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Vietnam, Luo Guibo attended and finally considered the plan to launch the Northwest Battle.
Wu Yuanjia gave a report on the Northwest Battle Plan at the meeting. In terms of overall dominant thought, he advocated the Northwest Battle, but he was concerned about the second phase of the battle plan that the Vietnamese army entered the Shanluo area for combat. He believed that after extending the supply line, the further the Vietnamese army went, the more difficult the logistics. The
meeting finally unified its thoughts and made the final decision to launch the Northwest Battle.
In early September, Mei Jiasheng began to formulate a battle plan and helped the General Military Commission of the Vietnamese Army organize battlefield reconnaissance. He also spent 8 days to perform sand table deduction homework with Wu Yuanjia, Huang Wentai, , He Wenlou, Chen Wenguang and others.
On September 9, 1952, the Vietnam Army Headquarters held a meeting of officers above the regiment to convey the plan of the Northwest Battle. Ho Chi Minh came to the venue and said to the cadres in front of him in his own unique simple language: "No matter big or small, if we have the determination, we can do things well, and we can also mobilize other people."
Ho Chi Minh talked about the Northwest Battle and said: "The Party Central Committee and the General Military Commission made detailed considerations on the difficult and favorable conditions of the upcoming war, and were determined to win the battle in this battle." Ho Chi Minh pointed out: "The significance and purpose of this battle is to eliminate the enemy's vitality, fight for the people, and liberate the country." 
After Ho Chi Minh delivered a speech, he packed his clothes and went to Beijing secretly, first meet with the Chinese leaders, and then switched to the Soviet Union.
At the end of September, after Ho Chi Minh arrived in Beijing secretly, he met Mao Zedong and Liu Shaoqi. Mao Zedong proposed to Ho Chi Minh in person that the overall strategy of Vietnam War should be to first seize the northwest, and then advance toward the Laos to establish a broad strategic detour, and then advance from the flank to southern Vietnam, pull the main force of the French army to the south, create conditions, and finally capture Red River Delta .
Ho Chi Minh fully accepted Mao Zedong's suggestions.
Whether Ho Chi Minh was in a public gathering of ten thousand people or in a secret conversation with Mao Zedong, he always showed great respect for Mao Zedong, although he was 3 years older than Mao Zedong, accepted Marxism earlier than Mao Zedong, and participated in Communist International earlier.
Ho Chi Minh repeatedly stated that Mao Zedong was the leader of the Asian Revolution and his status was determined within the scope of the Communist International.
htmlOn September 30, Ho Chi Minh, who had just finished his conversation with Mao Zedong, called Luo Guibo from Beijing and said that he had agreed with the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China that the focus of the Northwest Battle was to fight Yilu first, not Shanluo.Once the Vietnamese army conquered Yilu, it would develop into the surrounding areas, and then consolidated it and build a highway from Anpei to Yilu. Ho Chi Minh also told Luo Guibo that Wei Guoqing would set off from Beijing soon and rushed to Vietnam to participate in the Northwest Battle.
received a telegram from Ho Chi Minh from Beijing. The Political Bureau of the Vietnam Workers' Party held a meeting to discuss the plan for the Northwest Battle again. The meeting decided to cancel the original plan for the second phase of the battle in the Shanluo area and concentrate its efforts to attack Yilu according to Ho Chi Minh's telegram.
Wu Yuanjia did not attend the meeting. He had already followed the vanguard of the Vietnamese army to the front line. After receiving a telegram to inform him of the situation after the Long March meeting, Wu Yuanjia replied on October 14, expressing his disagreement to change the plan for the second phase of the battle.
received a telegram from Wu Yuanjia, and the leader of the Vietnam Workers' Party in the central base decided to make the final decision after Wei Guoqing arrived.
On the evening of October 10, 1952, eight main regiments of the Vietnamese army rushed out of the area around the Honghe River basin and advanced northwest. The 308th Division was in the middle and crossed the Honghe River northwest in Anpei. The 312th Division was on the north side and the 316th Division crossed the Honghe River together on the south side. Mei Jiasheng led some military advisers to advance with the Vietnamese command post.
Wei Guoqing (first from left)
On October 16, Wei Guoqing rushed to the central base in Vietnam. On that day, he conveyed Mao Zedong and Peng Dehuai's opinions on the Northwest Battle to the Vietnamese leaders, and also conveyed Ho Chi Minh's opinions. To this end, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Vietnam held a meeting on the 18th to discuss it, and Luo Guibo and Wei Guoqing attended the meeting.
This meeting decided to implement the strategic plan agreed by Ho Chi Minh and the Chinese leaders, first conquering Yilu and Guanghui places, and then consider the second phase of the combat plan based on the casualties and supplementary situation of the Vietnamese army.
If the conditions are indeed met, the troops can continue to fight against Anzhou and Muzhou areas southeast of Shanluo after 10 to 15 days of rest, but they must implement the policy of "full preparation, steady progress, and win if they fight". After the meeting, Wei Guoqing immediately set off and rushed to the front line of Yilu Road.
On the way to the northwest, Mei Jiasheng was in danger twice. Once, when passing through a section of Highway 3, the French Air Force had already dropped a large number of time bombs on both sides of the road. On this section of the road, Mei Jiasheng ordered the guards to follow him through the dangerous area. Just after he passed by dozens of meters, a time bomb exploded on the side of the road. One afternoon shortly after, Mei Jiasheng and others were passing through an open area when four French planes suddenly flew over. The pilot apparently discovered the marching man on the ground, and four planes dived and strafed.
Since there is no hidden object nearby to use, the guard Zhou Hongbo pressed Mei Jiasheng under him, and the machine gun bullet poured towards them, splashing smoke and dust around.
Previously, on October 14, the 174th Regiment of the 316th Division surrounded and annihilated the enemy troops in the Ge Yong stronghold, and the 141st Regiment of the 312th Division drove a small group of French troops from the Chailiang stronghold into the mountains and forests. The main force of the central route, the 308th Division, advanced all the way, completing the siege of Yilu.
The French army in the northwest of Vietnam discovered signs of the main force of the Vietnamese army advancing northwest on October 3. However, due to the Vietnamese army walking at night and hiding in the day, the French army could not determine the specific target of the Vietnamese army.
Moreover, the situation coming from the northwest direction was fragmented and inaccurate. The French commander-in-chief Raoul Siron stared blankly at the map of the northwest in Hanoi, undecided.
Siron is a general in the French army. He was born in 1899 and served in the military during the First World War in in August 1917. In 1924, Sharon, who had just been promoted to captain, came to Indochina and stationed in his army in Laos.
There, he learned a smooth Lao . In World War II , Sharon returned to the European battlefield to fight. In 1945, when the war was about to end, he became the commander of the 14th French division of the army. He fought under the command of Tassini and was highly appreciated.
From 1946 to early 1947, Sharon once again came to Indochina and became the commander of the French Expeditionary Force's troops stationed in northern Vietnam, commanding the French army's large-scale attack on Vietnam. Shortly after the large-scale Vietnam-French War broke out, Sharon returned to his country.
At the end of 1950, when Tassini came to Vietnam to take office, Sharon was selected again and came with him as Tasini's deputy commander. Over the past year, many battles on the Vietnam battlefield have been commanded by Siron.
Perhaps because of his several times in Indochina, Sharon loves Southeast Asian culture and artworks and is familiar with the customs and habits here. He supported the French leader Charles de Gaulle in his early years, and left Charles de Gaulle after the war. Charles de Gaulle was familiar with Siron and once said: "In some aspects of character and ability, Siron is smart and cunning, constructive, and perhaps a bit confusing."
However, as this battle was about to begin, Siron seemed hesitant. He did not make a clear but wrong judgment until October 15: the troops of the Vietnamese army advanced to the northwest were a whole division, with the purpose of mobilizing the main force of the French army in the Red River Delta and then taking advantage of the opportunity to attack the Red River Delta.
htmlOn 16, Sharon ordered an airdrop of a paratrooper camp to the Xiuli County, 49 kilometers northwest of Yi Road, guarding a valley leading to the northwest, and then going to rescue the Ge Yong stronghold. However, he lacked awareness of the dangers of Yi Road, and it was too late to discover it.On October 17, 1952, the 102nd Regiment of the 308th Division occupied the slatted position outside Yilu and was scheduled to launch an attack after dark.
Before the twilight came, the French army discovered the intention of the Vietnamese army. , a bomber that flew out of Hanoi, rushed to Yilu and threw napalm bombs at the Vietnamese position. The thrilling point is that the French Air Force attack hit Mei Jiasheng's shelter, which coincidentally means that Mei Jiasheng had just moved.
For the French army of Yilu, a brief bombing could not save their fate. The Vietnamese army used heavy mortar to violently bombard the Yilu surrounding the mountains at 5 pm, and the infantry immediately launched an attack.
Vietnamese soldiers
The next day, 700 French troops on the Yilu were wiped out, and the French army was destroyed at the support point of the Thai settlement area in the northwest Vietnam.
After dawn, unexpected casualties occurred on the Chinese military advisory group. The smoke of the battle on the charity road had not yet dissipated. Yu Buxu, a Chinese consultant of the 308th Division, led the guard Lu Xianyu to patrol the position.
When they came to a French position by a hill, they saw that the French flag in the center of the position was still standing, the breeze blew, and the flag fluttered. Judging from the position, the Vietnamese army suffered casualties when they captured it, and the attacking passage was covered with blood.
Seeing this scene, the young Lu Xianyu jumped toward the French military flag, ready to pull it out.
Lu Xianyu's impulse came too suddenly, and Yu Buxue called out behind him: "Xiao Lu, come back!" The Vietnamese soldiers behind them also shouted, meaning: "There are mines in front, be careful!"
But, it was all too late. Just as everyone shouted, there was a loud bang, and a mine buried by the French army exploded under Lu Xianyu's feet.
Lu Xianyu
Lu Xianyu, a young Shandong man who was just in his early 20s, fell down and poured his passion on the land of Vietnam. 
While the 308th Division succeeded, the 312th Division also achieved major results in the area north of Yilu. The division attacked Jiahui and Xiuli, smashed the French army's resistance, and occupied two cities after a battle.
The initial battle of the Northwest Battle was won. After receiving the report, the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China sent a telegram to the advisory group on October 22:
learned that it was very comforting to conquer the way of Yi! It is completely correct that the central government of Vietnam decided to continue to attack Guanghui and Wan'an, clear the enemy on the left bank downstream of the Heishui River and , and connect the Yilu and the Peace Corridor together.
The Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China believes that after conquering Yilu, the Vietnamese army should capture Anzhou and Muzhou, open up the road to contact the central and southern guerrillas in Vietnam, and obtain peace and food supplements in the Fuli area. After succeeding in the Yilu battle, the Vietnamese army fought for 13 consecutive days. The 312th Division attacked the northern depth of the west bank of the Red River with the 209th and 165th regiments, and swept the French army's strongholds of mercenaries and mercenary along the way. Along the way, the beautiful French defenders fled to the sight of the wind.
In this direction, the 148th Independent Regiment of the Vietnam Army, commanded by Ping Jiang, commander of the Northwest Theater of the Vietnam Army, headed south from the old street and met with the 312th Division.
After succeeding in the first battle, the 308th Division and the 316th Division continued to march and conquer Fuyan, Wan'an and other places until the Yinma Heishui River.
From October 23, 1952, the first phase of the Northwest Campaign ended. The Vietnamese army captured 35 strongholds of all sizes, killed and wounded 513 enemy soldiers, captured more than 1,200 prisoners, liberated 2,000 square kilometers of land, and 232 people were killed and 947 were injured on the Vietnamese army.
In early November 1952, the main force of the Vietnamese army advanced to the east bank of the Heishui River, and the French northwest defense line was shaken.
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