A brief look at history:

RC 4 is a road which snakes its way along the Chinese border in the midst of limestone mountains of north TONKIN. The often drizzly and misty road connects LAO KAY to the China sea through CAO-BANG, DONG KHÉ, LANGSON and MONKAY. Before the French-Indochinese war the road was the 4th of the Colonial Roads (RC). During the French-Indochinese war it became the “bloody road” where men met their deaths.

In 1944 the CAO-BANG revolutionary committee led by VÔ NGUYÊN GIAP opted for the launch of armed rebellion of NORTH VIETNAM in this very region.

In 1949, Marshal LIN PIAO’s troops reached the Sino-Vietnamese border; this was the beginning of the agony of RC4 that lasted for a year.

What a strange year 1950 was. STALINE was at the peak of his power while RUSSIA managed to build its first nuclear weapon. What a strange mid century when war was blowing hot and cold.

In October 1950, the Vietminh, following the advice of Chinese general CHEN GENG, set up a huge ambush for the expeditionary corps which withdrew. 5000 men were lost in the battle and more than 6000 were made prisoners by the Vietminh.

On September 2nd 1950, following an French government order, High Commissioner Léon PIGNON and General CARPENTIER had to resign themselves to leaving CAO-BANG. On October 1st 1950 Lieutenant-Colonel CHARTON who was in command of CAO-BANG was the first one to receive an order telling him of the date of the evacuation : October 3rd at midnight.

Many battles were lost because of bad timing ; lieutenant-colonel LEPAGE failed to enter DONG KHÉ and to break through the Vietminh stopper that blocked the way to CAO-BANG. The troops got stuck and awaited death.

During those days 2000 French soldiers died. More than two thirds of the remaining 3000 others who had been captured died of a slow death in Vietminh camps.

The project

The project of building a cenotaph to the memory of our soldiers killed in action between 1945 and 1954 on former colonial Road 4 (RC4) is important to all ANAPI members. The project has been in the hands of the French presidential team since November 2001. It was submitted again to the current government in October 2002. An official demand will be filed with the French President in 2004.

This project has been at the top of ANAPI’s agenda for two years already. Building a cenotaph on RC4 to the memory of our soldiers who died on this road that connects LANGSON to CAO-BANG, in 1944, and between 1947 to 1950 and to the memory of our soldiers who died in the camps until 1954 Indeed most of the camps were located on either side of RC4.

Key personalities of CAO-BANG and LANGSON all agree on the principle but we also need a decision from the Vietnamese government.

This government has been informed of ANAPI’s project for two years, and in a more official manner the war veterans’ minister made an official request in Mach 2003. But apparently our project will only be of importance to him once the Presidential team itself requests him to take care of it.