Operation Léa

Operation Léa
	Part of First Indochina War
	; The French military operation Léa in autumn 1947
Date	7 October – 8 November 1947
Location	Việt Bắc area, Vietnam
Result	French operational failure
Belligerents
French Union	Việt Minh
Commanders and leaders
Jean Étienne Valluy	Võ Nguyên Giáp
Strength
15,000	20,000
Casualties and losses
242 killed; 586 wounded; 43 missing or drowned; Vietnamese claims:; 3,300 killed; 3,900 wounded; 270 surrendered; 18 aircraft destroyed; 54 riverine crafts destroyed; 255 tanks/APCs destroyed; 25 artillery pieces captured	260 killed; 168 wounded; Western estimate:; 7,200 killed; 1,000 captured

Operation Léa was a French Union military operation between 7 October and 8 November 1947 during the First Indochina War. It is also known as the Việt Bắc campaign (Chiến Dịch Việt Bắc) by the Viet Minh. It was an attempt by the French General Valluy to crush the Việt Minh. An airborne force would capture the Việt Minh leadership and three French columns would strike into the Việt Minh heartland.

The parachute assault surprised the Việt Minh, nearly capturing Ho Chi Minh and Võ Nguyên Giáp, but it soon recovered and began ambushing the three French columns. The operation was soon called off and the French forces withdrew to the lowlands. It was a tactical success, inflicting severe casualties on the Việt Minh but was strategically inconclusive because it failed to capture the Việt Minh leadership or seriously cripple its military forces.