Helion is a UK-based company that produces books on many aspects of Military History from the Late Medieval period through to the present day. Helion was established in 1996, and since then they have published over 1,200 books with 100 or more new titles coming out every year.

Author, Dr. Stephen Rookes, works for the French Air Force as a researcher and lecturer at the Centre de Recherche de l’Armée de l’air et de l’espace (CREA) in Salon-de-Provence, France. Originally from Devon in the UK, he is now a French national. Stephen Rookes is the author of four books published by Helion, and the author of peer-reviewed articles in English and in French. He specializes in the history of Cuban exiles and takes a particular interest in the CIA's covert operations in Central America and in Africa.

Helion’s latest book in the Asia @ War series is a square back soft cover includes 88 gloss paper pages. This is Volume 1 of a three-volume series. This first volume covers the first phase 1946 through 1949. The second will cover the second phase 1950 to 1954. The cover color illustration features two Mitsubishi A6M Zekes being evaluated by the British under the Allied Technical Air Intelligence Unit (ATAIU) while still in South East Asia (SEA). The two A6M aircraft (BI-12 and BI-05) are wearing Royal Air Force markings after they were both captured in Malaya. BI-12 is a A6M2 and BI-05 is an A6M5 and were both originally from the 381^st Kokutai. The center fuselage/wing section of BI-05 is currently in the Imperial War Museum. The color painting is by Pablo Patricio Albornoz. The rear cover features a color illustration of a French Foreign Legion soldier. He is wearing a combination of French, British, and American military attire. This accumulation was primarily leftovers from WWI. The rifle is a MAS Modele 36 7.5mm rifle. I counted 112 black and white photographs. There were no color photographs. There also five armoured fighting vehicle color side profile illustrations from David Bocquelet, four naval color side profile illustrations from David Bocquelet, eight color illustrations of soldiers by Anderson Subtil, and 18 aircraft color side profiles by Jean-.Marie Guillou. You will also find five black and white maps and one color-map by George Anderson.

Stephen Rookes kicks this tome off with the South East Asia colonizing efforts of the major European countries: France, the Netherlands, and the U.K. in the 1850s with France dominating what would become Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. This first phase is dominated by the Viet Minh leader, Ho Chi Minh. Chapter 1 focuses on the impact on the French protectorates during World War 2 and the Japanese invasion of South East Asia. The French protectorate was not well loved prior to World War 2 and tensions were already high when Japan invaded in 1940. A scene from the communist insurrection in Cochinchina (Now Southern Vietnam) is shown on Page 7. The multi-purpose French Potez 25 flying above Indochina which would represent the most numerous aircraft in the Indochina French Air Force with about 70 aircraft. The obsolete biplane Potez 25 would end up facing the newer Japanese monoplane, the Mitsubishi A5M Claude fighter.

The defeat of Japan left the postwar management of Indochina to the British as neither the US, nor the USSR, wanted France to have any part of returning to their former colonies. Eventually, France back into the picture to take up where they left off, but their return saw them blazing a trail of revenge that further distanced the population from them. France’s capability to enforce their presence was left to scavenging equipment left in Indochina. This meant US CCKW 353 trucks, British Humber Scout Cars, and Japanese Type 89 Chi-Ro tanks as seen on Page 23. The British Major General Douglas Gracey noted that the returning French troops were

...leaving a pretty good trail of destruction behind them, which will result in such resentment that it will become more difficult for them to implement their new policy, and I am convinced, will result in guerrilla warfare, increased sabotage and arson as soon as we [the British] leave the country.

Some of the French aircraft in Indochina are shown on Page 49, including the Morane-Saulnier MS 406 fighter, the Farman 221 bomber, and the Potez 540 multi-role aircraft (bomber, transport, reconnaissance, etc.). Page 65 shows an interesting photograph of an Amiot copy of the Junkers Ju 52/3m transport dropping bombs. Amiot manufactured some 200 of the Ju 52/3m as the Amiot AAC.1 Toucan that were transferred from the Luftwaffe to the French Air Force at the end of World War 2.

Chapter Include

• Abbreviations
• Introduction
• Author’s Note
• Chapter 1: Prelude to War in Indochina, 1940-1945
  • The Japanese Invasion on Indochina, September 1940 [Page 07]
  • The Franco-Thai War, 1940-1941
  • Thai Forces in October 1940
  • Vichy French Forces in Indochina, 1940
  • Royal Thai Air Force [Table 1]
  • French Indochina Military Forces [Table 2]
  • France Prepares its Return to Indochina
• Chapter 2: France Returns to Indochina
  • Britain’s War in Vietnam
  • The Arrival of French Forces, September 1945
  • French Army and Navy Forces, Order of Battle, September 1945 – February 1946 [Page 23]
  • Unit Profile: French Navy Riverine Forces
• Chapter 3: The Path to War
  • The Characteristics of the Battlefield
  • The Haiphong Incident, November 1946
  • The People’s War
  • Who Was Ho Chi Minh?
  • The French Reaction to Viet Minh Activities, 1941 – 1945
  • The Rise of the Viet Minh and the August Revolution of 1945
  • The Viet Minh and the OSS
  • An Example of a Viet Minh Operational Zone: Zone D
  • Viet Minh Organization and Strategy
  • Ho Chi Minh Strategy [Table 3]
  • France’s Recruitment of Vietnamese Partisans
  • Weapons Known to Have Been Used by the Viet Minh from 1946 [Table 4]
  • The Viet Minh’s Weapons
  • Color Profiles [Page 36xi]
  • The Battle of Hanoi, December 1946 and its Aftermath
  • Unit Profile: The 1e Regiment Étranger de Cavalerie
  • Vehicle Profile: M29C Weasel (Designated Crabe in French Service)
  • Valluy’s Winter Offensive. 1947
  • A Soldier of the First Indochinese War: Emile Olivier (1921-1959)
  • The My Trach Massacre
• Chapter 4: Meanwhile, in Laos and Cambodia
  • Laos, 1945
  • Laotian Pro-French Military Forces, 1941-1949
  • Cambodia, 1946
  • Thai Battalions
• Chapter 5: The French Air Force (and Other Aviation) in Indochina
  • Escadre, Escadron, or Escadrille? Unit Designation of the French Air Force
  • The French Air Force in Indochina, circa May 1940
  • Fighter Squadrons
  • Organization of French Air Force in Franco-Thai War, September 1940 [Table 5]
  • Summary of Missions Flown by the C.1 to August 1946 [Page 49]
  • EC 2 (July 1946 – October 1947)
  • Summary of Missions Carried By 2 EC
  • The GC I/3 ‘Corse’ (January to June 1947)
  • What Was the Gremlin Task Force?
  • List of Japanese Aircraft Used by the AdA in Indochina, 1945 – 1947
  • The Reorganization of France’s Air Force Operations in Indochina
  • The 4e Escadre de Chasse (September 1947 to January 1949)
  • The 3e EC (September 1948 to April 1950) and 5e EC (July 1949 – 1951)
  • The GC II/6 ‘Normandie-Niemen‘ (October 1949 – 1951)
  • Escadrille de Reconnaissance d‘Outre-Mer (EROM 80) – September 1949
  • Transport/Bomber Groups
  • Groupe de Transport: GT II/15 ‘Anjou’, Then GT II/64 (from July 1946)
  • GT I/34, Then I/64 ‘Bearn’ (From February 1946)
  • GT III/64 ‘Tonkin’ (November 1947 – July 1948)
  • GT II/62 ‘Franche-Comte’ (from August 1949)
  • Liaison Aircraft
  • Army Aviation
  • Pelton d’Avions d’Artillerie (PAA)/Peleton d’Avions 9e DIC (PA), November 1945 - May 1947
  • 1er Groupe d’Aviation d’Observation d’Artillerie (1er GAOA)
  • 2e Groupe d’Aviation d’Observation d’Artillerie (2e GAOA)
  • Naval Aviation
  • Flottille 8F
• Chapter 6: The Ever-Changing Face of the First Indochina War, 1948 - 1949
  • Tactical Developments
  • The Fortification System
  • Portrait of a Soldier of the 13e Demi-Brigade de Legion Étrangère: Zygmunt Jatczak
  • Portrait of a Viet Minh Commander: Huynh Van Nge
  • Operation Vega, February 1948
  • The Battle of La Nga, 1 March 1948 [Page 65]
  • Portrait of a Commander in the First Indochinese War: Roger Trinquier
  • Military Repercussions and the Increase in Airborne Operations
  • The Quest for Peace: The Bao Dai Solution
  • 1949: A Year That Changed the First Indochina War
• Bibliography
• Notes

I learned a lot about the impact Ho Chi Minh had on Vietnam that I was not previously aware of. Perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising, but the US supported Ho Chi Minh in World War 2. This was through the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), arguably to provide support against the Japanese occupation of Vietnam. The OSS provided training and weapons to the Viet Minh and treated Ho Chi Minh for malaria and dysentery. Ho Chi Minh, a devout communist, had appealed to President Harry Truman for support for Vietnam’s Independence from the French, but was ignored. Sometimes stuff just comes back to haunt you.

I really enjoyed this book, especially the detail about the early politics and battles with the French prior to the US entering the war. There are quite a few sidebars providing additional information about the power players during the period up to 1949. There are 14 pages of color illustrations that support the book along with the 112 photographs. The modeling perspective is quite diverse. There are French aircraft, armored vehicles, and ships, along with entries from Britain, Germany, Japan, and the US. I am looking forward to the next two volumes in this series. If you own one of the previous releases in the Asia @ War series, you know what you are getting. If this is your initial entry into this series, you will be quite pleased.

My thanks to Helion & Company, Casemate Publishing, and IPMS/USA for the chance to review this great book.

Highly recommended!