Chapter 71: Invasion of Indochina (1)
In October 1941, the expedition to Indochina began.
It was the first time since the Great War that the Korean Empire had sent an expeditionary force such a long distance in its history.
The citizens gathered at the event felt their hearts swell with pride.
“Ah, the glorious Korean Empire.”
“The sons of the Korean Empire with its 5,000-year history are finally taking up the burden of the yellow race.”
A man in a ceremonial marshal’s uniform entered, stepping on the red carpet, accompanied by the resounding sound of military music.
“His Excellency the Prime Minister is entering.”
“Everyone, present, arms!”
The selected military police held a splendid ceremony during the prepared inspection.
Lee Sung Joon walked, receiving salutes from the soldiers who were moving with discipline.
With each step, his dignity as a man in power was felt.
It was as if a tiger was walking.
The man at the pinnacle of the Empire, Lee Sung Joon, ascended to the podium, and people finally exhaled.
Although Lee Sung Joon wasn’t the type to fire a saluting cannon just for taking a breath, one had to be careful even with a single breath in front of a man of such power.
“Commander of the Expeditionary Force, Colonel Baek Dong-seok, and 58,000 soldiers dispatched to Vietnam report that they are entering the Indochina Liberation Operation as of now.”
Lee Sung Joon lightly raised and lowered his hand.
There was Kim Sung-joo’s own political calculation in appointing Baek Dong-seok, one of the big shots of the National Salvation Military Committee, to this operation.
The war in China is a fight without notable battles anyway, so we should put our people in Indochina, where it’s easier to gain military exploits and attract more attention than here.
It was a typical camp logic, but Lee Sung Joon also acquiesced to it.
No matter how much control he had over the military, it was necessary to prevent the emergence of uncontrollable variables as much as possible.
“I will approve the operation. I believe you will bring victory to the Korean Empire.”
“I, Colonel Baek Dong-seok, will live up to the expectations of Your Excellency the Prime Minister.”
The inspection lasted for an hour.
The Korean Army openly displayed and showed off various equipment such as tanks, vehicles, and self-propelled guns that would be mobilized(?) for this attack.
The mobilized troops alone amounted to two divisions.
Of course, it couldn’t be answered affirmatively if asked whether it was possible to carry all this enormous equipment to Indochina.
Compared to its huge naval fleet, the Korean Army had a deformed structure with an excessively weak logistics support fleet to support it.
With the Korean Army’s logistics capacity, at best, it could only transport one fully equipped armored regiment.
“Those militarist bastards. How far are they trying to carry out their invasion this time?”
But it was enough to intimidate foreigners who were unaware of the situation.
In fact, the expression of Charles Arsène-Henry, the French ambassador who was watching this scene, was half rotten.
“The Koreans are really going to devour Indochina whole.”
Officially, Korea and France were not in a state of war.
However, to the militaristic Koreans, such a fact seemed to be of no problem at all.
From the beginning, international law in Pyongyang was worse than chewed gum.
Those fellows are like the Prussia of the Far East.
The idea of trampling on neutral countries for strategic convenience was something that only Germany and Korea were capable of putting into practice.
As soon as he returned to the embassy, the French ambassador lodged a protest with the Korean Foreign Ministry.
The Korean Foreign Ministry gave the following response:
“It is doubtful whether France is truly free from the influence of the fascists. As evidence, despite having the obligation to maintain strict wartime neutrality, the French Indochina colonial government committed the outrage of intervening in the Sino-Korean War. If it was something the French authorities did not want, whose coercion would there have been?”
This was Korea’s claim.
Since Germany was ‘using’ French Indochina, Korea would go and ‘liberate’ it.
They would go and protect the colonial governing apparatus and the property of the local French without touching them.
It was a preposterous logic.
The Koreans spewed out this nonsense while firmly believing that they were abiding by international law.
What was even more absurd was the reaction of the Anglo-Americans, who should have been outraged by this.
“Korea’s actions should be interpreted as an exercise of the right to self-defense.”
“Didn’t Korea say they would only blockade the Hanoi route and leave the colonial governing apparatus intact? If Korea goes further, that’s a problem to think about when the time comes.”
“You’re going to lose anyway if you fight, so let’s just end it in a good way.”
The Anglo-Americans took a stance of acquiescing to Korea’s expansion in Southeast Asia following China.
No, is Hitler really that scary?
Come to think of it, he was indeed scary.
Wasn’t it the fault of those German bastards that the home country was still in a vegetative state?
Ambassador Henry decided to report this situation in the Far East to his home country.
The French government was furious at Henry’s report.
“We must never submit to the Koreans!”
As it was, Marshal Philippe Pétain’s government had already suffered considerable damage to its legitimacy by capitulating to the Nazis and taking office.
If, in this situation, they had their colony ‘liberated’ by Korea, who knew what humiliation they would suffer?
There was also a risk that the attitude of the Germans would become even colder.
To gain respect, they had to show their strength.
The order that the Pétain government would give to Indochina was predetermined from the beginning.
“Fight against Korea to the last soldier and the last warship!”
The Indochina Governor-General’s Office was greatly bewildered upon receiving what was essentially a siege order.
Jean Decoux, the Governor-General of the Indochinese Federation, thought the government had gone mad.
If we had proper troops, that would be one thing, but what on earth are we supposed to fight the Koreans with?
Realistically, it was a suicidal act for the forces of the Indochinese Federation to stand against Korea.
The Indochinese side had slightly more troops, but considering the qualitative level, there was no comparison.
The gap in naval power was even more severe.
The number of destroyers or corvettes possessed by the Indochinese Navy was less than the number of battleships possessed by the Korean Navy’s combined fleet, so what kind of battle could possibly take place?
Nevertheless, the French Army steeled its will to fight.
Brigadier General Gabriel Sabattier, the commander-in-chief of the French forces stationed in Indochina, conveyed to the Governor-General his intention to faithfully carry out the government’s order to fight to the last man.
“This is an absurd thing to do, General.”
“I know it’s reckless too, Your Excellency the Governor-General.”
“Then why?”
Sabattier recalled the day when France surrendered helplessly.
How deeply was he stung by the humiliation of that day when they collapsed without even properly fighting the German army?
On that day, he learned that living was more shameful than dying.
That’s why Sabattier wanted to fight.
It was the only way to restore the honor of the fallen motherland.
The world was not polite enough to respect cowards who gave up their territory for free.
Someone had to shed blood to defend the dignity of the motherland.
“It is a soldier’s duty.”
At Sabattier’s calm words, the Governor-General let out a deep sigh.
“I don’t think such sacrifices have meaning. I believe it’s important for as many people as possible to survive.”
“That is Your Excellency’s path. My path is to serve the motherland with my life.”
“Do as you wish.”
The Governor-General tentatively abandoned his plan to surrender without resistance.
It was a plan that was impossible from the beginning without the cooperation of the French military.
Through British Hong Kong, the Governor-General conveyed the message that Indochina would obey Paris’ orders.
The resistance of France.
This was a reaction that the Korean government did not expect.
“This has become a bit of a difficult situation. His Excellency will be very uncomfortable.”
Kim Sung-joo was more worried about Lee Sung Joon’s mood being soured than about things going awry.
“Colonel Kim. Don’t worry too much. I’ll clean it up nicely. The situation won’t change just because those snails are wriggling a bit. Look at the military power we have.”
Colonel Baek Dong-seok reassured Kim Sung-joo with a confident attitude.
Well, Colonel Baek’s words aren’t wrong either.
Considering the overwhelming superiority of the Korean Navy, the expeditionary force had practically started a fight they couldn’t lose even if they wanted to.
“Casualties must be kept to a minimum no matter what. If we shed a lot of blood, the people will definitely want land.”
“Do you think I don’t know that?”
Baek Dong-seok was fully prepared for that.
“We can outsource it, just like we did in China.”
“Outsource it? Do we have a friend who can do that?”
“Ho Chi Minh.”
At Baek Dong-seok’s words, Kim Sung-joo was a little startled.
It was a name he knew, but he wasn’t that important a figure.
“Isn’t he the head of the Indochinese Communist Party? Even so, he must be a has-been who has lost all his power by now. What use is such a person?”
While they may be in a better position than the fragmented Vietnamese Kuomintang, the Indochinese Communist Party’s power was also in decline.
“His Excellency said to try using him.”
“If that’s the case, there shouldn’t be any problems.”
Using Ho Chi Minh to defeat the French colonial forces.
In the process, it’s okay if the Reds gain power or whatnot.
After all, would His Excellency have made a move without considering that much?
The Korean military decided to adopt the strategy of using the Communist Party to crush the resistance of the French, a tit-for-tat approach.
Once this policy was decided, the Korean Foreign Ministry also took action.
Soon, a message was sent to Ho Chi Minh through several lines.
“Mr. Ho. Korea would like to have a conversation with you.”
“Korea? Those imperialists?”
Ho Chi Minh did not have very good feelings about Korea.
Despite being the only great power in Asia with its position and national strength, Korea was a race that endlessly waged wars to satisfy its greed, let alone fighting for the cause of Asians.
In some ways, they were traitors to the yellow race, more detestable than Western imperialists.
“Yes. What would you like to do?”
Emotionally, the Koreans were a race not even worth talking to.
However, as the leader of the Indochinese Communist Party, which had begun real politics, it was impossible to ignore Korea.
“Where did they say to meet?”
Ho Chi Minh decided to have a conversation with the Koreans.
Footnotes
1. French ambassadorBorn: May 8, 1881Died: November 14, 1943 (age 62 years)2. Henri Philippe Bénoni Omer Joseph Pétain, better known as Philippe Pétain and Marshal Pétain, was a French general who commanded the French Army in World War I and later became the head of the collaborationist regime of Vichy France, from 1940 to 1944, during World War II.3. Jean Decoux was a French Navy admiral who was the Governor-General of French Indochina from July 1940 to 9 March 1945, representing the Vichy French government.4. Camille Ange Gabriel Sabattier (2 August 1892 – 22 May 1966) was a French general in Indochina during World War II. The highest rank he attained was lieutenant-general. Sabattier was born in Paris on 2 August 1892 and entered the academy of Saint-Cyr in 1913.5. Hồ Chí Minh, colloquially known as Uncle Ho, and by other aliases and sobriquets, was a Vietnamese communist revolutionary and politician. He served as prime minister of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam from 1945 to 1955, and as president from 1945 until his death in 1969.
