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Lang Son
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lạng Sơn, pronunciation a city in far northern Vietnam, is the capital of Lang Son Province. It is accessible by road and rail from Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital.
Serving due to its geography as China's gateway to Vietnam, the city and its ancient citadel have been in the path of many invasions, and were the site of three French defeats uring the colonial era. Occupied by Qing forces during the military buil-up that preceded the Sino-French War, the city was occupied by France during the Sino-French War in January 1885. However, the brigade there conducted a hasty retreat after a failed attack through Zhennan Pass into China; the "retreat from Lang Son" became the most controversial aspect of the war and led to the fall of the Jules Ferry ministry in France.
French Colonial forces clashed with the Japanese 5th Division in the Battle of Lang Son during the Japanese Indochina Expedition in September, 1940. The French were again compelled to retreat hastily.
After the end of the Pacific War, the French colonial army established a permanent garrison there, which served as the logistics hub for the French border fortresses. It was captured in 1950 during Vo Nguyen Giap's offensive against the French border forts, considered a turning point in the Indochina War.
The city was the center of fighting during the Sino-Vietnamese War of 1979, and sustained extensive damage.
- Battle of Zhennan Pass (1885)
- Pingxiang