Another Page for the History Books - The Matrix Games version of Rising Sun

At 2200 hrs, 22 September 1940, the Japanese 5th Infantry Division of the Army of Canton, crossed the Indochinese border at three points with the intent of capturing first, Lang Son, and then Hanoi. Such a move would place them firmly in control of the northern half of the colony and make possible the free flow of troops to and from Southern China. But their invasion was in direct violation of a set of accords recently signed between the Vichy French authorities and the Tokyo government, a point that seemed of little consequence to the aggressive Japanese Army leadership. Yet in spite of the chaos that ensued, the French made ready to resist the Japanese actions. The 5th division under General Nakamura consisted of four regiments with a full complement of artillery as well as light and medium tanks. In all, Nakamura's force amounted to roughly 30,000 men divided into three columns. The Northern column, consisting of a single regiment, captured Bi Nhi and continued to advance towards the Indochinese town of That Khe. The Southern Column, consisting of another regiment, crossed the border at Chima, attacked Loc Bihn, and began pushing its way Northwest up Highway 4 seeking to support Nakamura's main effort. In the center, Nakamura, with the majority of his division's support troops, his tanks, and at least two full regiments of infantry, brushed aside a weak native force near the border town of Nam Quam, captured the town of Dang Dong, and began advancing southeast down Highway 4 towards Lang Son. Lang Son was barely fifteen kilometers away, but finding himself the focus of weak French counter-attacks, and perhaps fearing for his flanks, Nakamura left a substantial portion of his main column at Dong Dang and slowed his advance to a cautious crawl. On the Vichy side, the Lang Son sector, under the command of General Mennerat of the 2nd Brigade, included five battalions of infantry, a group of tanks, a group of 75's and a battery of 155's; all told, about 5000 troops representing elements of 3rd Regiment Tirailleurs Tonkinois, 9th Regiment d'Infanterie Coloniale, and 5th Regiment Etrangere d'Infanterie, membors of the famous Foreign Legion. Mennerat had contemplated withdrawal while a route remained open, but he was ordered by his superiors in Hanoi to hold the town and slow the Japanese advance. To support Mennerat the Vichy rushed reserves into 2nd Brigade sector and on the night of the 23rd had brought the IV/3rd RTTup from its frontier posts and attempted an attack towards Dong Dang from Highway 1B. But the attack failed when most of the battalion's native troops had deserted. By now, enemy spearheads were seen approaching Lang Son from the north, the Lang Son airstrip was bombed out in the afternoon, and Lang Son was also threatened from the southeast. Seeking time to organize a proper defense, Mennerat placed the Legionaires of the I/5th REI in a defensive position astride Highway 4 near the village of Dong. The Legionaires were his best troops, and it was the French commander's hope that they could slow Nakamura long enough to allow for a better organized defense of the rail center, and also give the French time to counter the Japanese southern threat. When Nakamura's advance troops encountered the French position, the General halted and began massing his troops for an all out assault. But the Legionaires, well disciplined and with a history of desperate defenses against hopeless odds, took up their arms and made ready to meet their savage foe. By the end of the day it was hoped that they too could write a new and glorious page in the long history of the Foreign Legion.