Battle of Route Coloniale 4 - Aftermath

Aftermath

Of the more than 6,000 French soldiers and civilians involved in the operation, only 700 reached French lines. Lang Son, the next French base to the south, was abandoned on 17 October and on 18 October the French command evacuated posts south of Lang Son on RC4. Panic spread in French-controlled Hanoi and there was talk of an evacuation. Ultimately, however, General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny replaced Carpentier as commander in chief of French Indochina in late 1950 and restored French morale.