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7/3/2012 14 Comments

How much time and resources did the French waste building forts?

Vietnam

THE FRENCH BUILT many forts in Vietnam when it was their colony. Most were built along the borders and the coasts. The one our division occupied was intended to prevent enemy warships from using the Saigon River to access the colony's principal city.

French Fort (click to enlarge)

It was situated about 10 miles from the confluence of the Saigon River and the South China Sea. Any ship entering the river would be under its guns during its transit from the mouth of the river to a sharp bend where speed would have to be severely reduced.

Click to enlarge map

Like all other units that occupied forts built by the French, we named ours French Fort. It looked like a gun position transplanted from the Maginot Line in France. It was squat, solidly built with steel-reinforced concrete, and was topped by a turret mounting two coastal battery guns able to lob large caliber shells at ships far at sea. The barrels had been removed long before we arrived.

Artillery at French Fort (click to enlarge)

Like the Maginot Line, it was, as George Patton once said, "A monument to man's stupidity." For all their forts, France lost their nation in less than six weeks to the Nazis, and they lost Vietnam to the Japanese shortly thereafter. After World War II, the French returned to reclaim their colony and again their forts failed them as they lost to the Viet Minh.

Like Camp Bearcat, French Fort had an antenna array that served the Viet Cong well as an aiming stake to help them direct mortar and rocket fire on our position.

14 Comments

Caleb Pirtle link

7/4/2012 12:57:29 am

In my opinion, the French wasted far too much money and lives building the forts, and we wasted far too much money and lives defending them.

skidsteer barrie link

8/23/2012 09:21:31 am

Thanks for the nice blog. It was very useful for me. Keep sharing such ideas in the future as well. This was actually what I was looking for, and I am glad to come here! Thanks for sharing the information with us.

Jack Durish link

8/23/2012 10:03:57 am

Glad to be of help.

Bill Stoner

3/9/2013 01:37:26 am

Jack - just returned from VN, where I tried to find the French fort/base my ARVN Bn (18th ARVN Div which was headquartered in Xuan Lac/Loc) used in '68/69. It was actually an old French ammunition supply depot down in the Rung Sat area south of Saigon (15-20km?).

No joy....the whole area has changed dramatically, so possibly later this year I'll go back with better research info in hand.

Do you have any info/suggestions? Many thanks, Bill

Jack Durish

3/9/2013 03:17:02 am

Can't think of anything to help you. I hope you have better pictures than what I posted here. Mine are 35mm color slides and I didn't too good a job of digitizing them. I'll try again and repost.

Bill

6/29/2013 01:14:30 am

Thanks Jack....unfortunately I don't have a single picture from that time. As it now stands I may go back in October. Will keep you posted.

ronny

4/9/2014 06:30:57 pm

If you find the general area, look for a patch of graves, small above ground, with French names, usually outside the Forts. They buried their enlisted men in Nam. Also there will be some concrete igloo looking structures, usually grown over, as these were used for forward positions observation, listening post. Most all the forts have fallen in, but the graves and the listening post are still around. Good Luck.

Michael J Canney

4/16/2015 12:46:10 pm

I think this is the French Fort that units of the 9th ID rotated in and out of. I was stationed in Rach Kien in '68 with C/3/39 and never spent time at the fort. A/3/39 and B/3/39 took turns using it in the 1st half of the year, before the battalion moved to FSB Moore in June.

Jack Durish

4/21/2015 01:38:10 am

That sounds about right.

Thanks for stopping by and commenting.

Glad you made it back...

David Hagen

7/13/2015 05:36:39 am

Hello Jack and all who served at "The Fort":
I was a Medical Entomologist (3315) with the 61st Medical Detachment, attached to 9th Inf Div at Dong Tam 1967-68. We got a request from the 155 self-propelled artillery unit at the French Fort to remove bats, of all things, from the turrent at the fort. We flew in from Dong Tam by chopper, tried smoke grenades, tried shooting them with our .410/.22 survival weapon, without success. Finally we just screened in the openings after the bats left that evening. I have nine excellent aerial and ground photos of the fort, our visit, and the M109s. Happy to share them.

Jack Durish

7/20/2015 08:28:03 am

David and I have corresponded privately, and he has provided me with the photographs that he mentioned. They are a lot better than the ones I posted originally. I'll post them in a new article as soon as possible.

Michael Hjelmstad link

8/25/2017 08:14:44 pm

Thank you for providing this great information. I'm writing a story about the reunion of three Vietnam veterans who spent some time at the French Fort in 1968 and just this week got together after all those years. I was fascinated to learn their stories and now even more about this interesting time and place in history. I'm an Iraq War vet and I thank you all for doing your part so I could do mine. It's an honor to share the story of these great men and other like them. Thank you all for your service.

Frank Lewanovich

4/5/2018 05:28:11 pm

I spent quite a bit of time at the French Fort with A Co and E Co 4/47th 9th Inf Div in spring and summer 1967. Had many a fine boat ride thanks to the Navy guys on the canals and rivers, we were first on the boats and had to learn fast. Fired our 4.2 mortars from there in support of 2nd Brigade operations. Most notably19June1967 when 42 of our brothers were KIA and close to 100 wounded at Can Guioc. Thanks for sharing the pictures and map, I often wondered exactly where it was in relation to Saigon and Dong Tam.
Sgt Frank Lewanovich
A Co and E Co 4/ 47th Jan - Sept 967

Mike Crowell

6/13/2019 05:38:19 am

My Dad was 3rd/39th/9th in 1968 and occasionally mentioned a French Fort while in Vietnam. I have a shaky hand written note that my Dad sent to my Mom. APO 96373. Is this the same french Fort? Thanks,

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How much time and resources did the French waste building forts?

Vietnam

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