Operation Castor Totally Explained

Everything about Operation Castor totally explained

Opération Castor was a French airborne operation in the First Indochina War. The operation established a fortified airhead in Dien Bien Province, in the north-west corner of Vietnam. Commanded by Brigadier General Jean Gilles, Castor was the largest airborne operation since World War II. The Operation began at 10:35 on November 20 1953, with reinforcements dropped over the following two days. With all its objectives achieved, the operation ended on November 22.
   The French paratroopers of the 6e Bataillion de Parachutistes Coloniaux (6 BPC) and the 2e Battalion, 1er Régiment de Chasseurs Parachutistes (II/1 RCP) dropped over the Dien Bien Phu hills in order to secure the airstrip built by the Japanese during the occupation of French Indochina by Japan from 1940 to 1945. The operation took 65 of the 70 operational Dakota and all 12 C-119 Flying Boxcar transport aircraft the French had in the area, and still required two trips to get the lead elements into the valley. Also dropped in the first wave were elements of the 17e Régiment de Génie Parachutiste (RGP) ("17th Airborne Engineers Regiment") and the Headquarters group of Groupement Aéroporté 1 (GAP 1), ("Airborne Group 1"). They were followed later that afternoon by the 1er Bataillion de Parachutistes Coloniaux (1 BPC) and elements of 35e Régiment d'Artillerie Légère Parachutistes (35 RALP) and other combat support elements.
   The following day, the second airborne group, "GAP 2" – consisting of 1er Bataillion Etranger de Parachutistes (1 BEP), 8e Bataillion de Parachutistes de Choc (8 BCP), other combat support elements and the entire command and Headquarters group for the Dien Bien Phu operation under Brigadier General Jean Gilles – was dropped in. While on another drop zone, the heavy equipment came down and the engineers quickly set about repairing and lengthening the airstrip.
   On 22 November, the last troops of the initial garrison, the 5e Bataillion de Parachutistes Vietnamiens ("Battalion of Vietnamese Parachutists", 5 BPVN), jumped into the valley. In the same "stick" as the commander of 5 BPVN was Brigitte Friang, a woman war correspondent with a military parachutist diploma, and five combat jumps. General Navarre created the outpost to draw the Viet Minh into fighting a pitched battle. That battle, the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, occurred four months after Operation Castor.

French order of battle

Groupement Aéroporté 1 (GAP 1), (Airborne Group 1) ť *GAP 1 Headquarters staff

   * 1er Bataillion de Parachutistes Coloniaux (1 BPC) (Colonial Parachute Battalion) ť * 6e Bataillion de Parachutistes Coloniaux (6 BPC) (Colonial Parachute Battalion)

   * 2e Battalion, 1er Régiment de Chasseurs Parachutistes (II/1 RCP) (Light Infantry Parachute Regiment) ť * 17e Régiment de Génie Parachutiste (RGP) (Airborne Engineers Regiment)

   * 35e Régiment d'Artillerie Légère Parachutistes (35 RALP) (Light Artillery Parachute Regiment)

Groupement Aéroporté 2 (GAP 2), (Airborne Group 2) ť * 1er Bataillion Etranger de Parachutistes (1 BEP) (Foreign Legion Parachute Battalion)

* 8e Bataillion de Parachutistes de Choc (8 BCP) (Parachute Assault Battalion) ť * 5e Bataillion de Parachutistes Vietnamiens (5 BPVN) (Vietnamese Parachute Battalion}

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