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Renewed French success (January–June 1951)

A new French commander in chief and high commissioner, General Jean Marie de Lattre de Tassigny, was appointed in December 1950. With him began the construction of a defensive line of fortifications from Hanoi to the Gulf of Tonkin, around the Red River Delta, to protect Tonkin against a possible Chinese invasion and prevent Việt Minh infiltration. It became known as the De Lattre Line. In late 1950 Giáp decided to go on a "general counteroffensive", seeking the final defeat of the French. On January 13, 1951, he moved the 308th and 312th Divisions, with more than 20,000 men, to attack Vĩnh Yên, 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Hanoi, which was manned by 6,000 French troops. Considered the first set-piece battle of the war, the Vietnamese saw initial success, although as the battle progressed, French aerial supremacy proved decisive as reinforcements flew in from the rest of Indochina and all available aircraft capable of dropping bombs was utilized to carry out what would be the largest aerial bombardment of the war. By noon of January 17, Giáp's troops withdrew in defeat. The Vietnamese had suffered 5,000–6,000 deaths and 500 combatants were captured. Giáp tried again to break the French defensive line, this time 20 miles (32 km) north-east of Haiphong in an attempt to cut the French access to the port city. On March 23, the Việt Minh's 316th Division, composed of 11,000 men, with the partly rebuilt 308th and 312th Divisions in reserve, launched an attack on Mạo Khê. With instances of hand-to-hand combat, the French, supported by paratroopers and naval artillery, repelled the attack and the Vietnamese were beaten by the morning of March 28. About 1,500 – 3,000 Việt Minh soldiers were killed. Giáp launched yet another attack, the Battle of the Day River, on May 29 with the 304th Division at Phủ Lý, the 308th Division at Ninh Bình, and the main attack delivered by the 320th Division at Phát Diệm south of Hanoi. The attacks fared no better and the three divisions lost heavily. Taking advantage of this, de Lattre mounted his counteroffensive against the demoralized Việt Minh, driving them back into the forests and eliminating the enemy pockets in the Red River Delta by June 18, costing the Việt Minh over 10,000 killed. Every effort by Võ Nguyên Giáp to break the De Lattre Line failed, and every attack he made was answered by a French counter-attack that destroyed his forces. Việt Minh casualties rose alarmingly during this period, leading some to question the leadership of the Communist government, even within the party. However, any benefit this may have reaped for France was negated by the increasing domestic opposition to the war in France.