COC XA: en remontant vers le col de Nguom Kin .... (forumsactifs.net)
Wednesday, December 27, 2023
Coc Xa: going up to the Nguom Kin pass...
Another option to go up from Coc Xa towards Dong Khê is to go due north along the Quang Liet valley to the former RC 4 and return via the Nguom Kim pass.
The route along the Quang Liet valley is much less beautiful than the one heading southeast (see previous post) but it is also simpler. The original trail, which can be used by motorbikes, is being developed into a motorable track. On the 1:50,000 map dating from the 1950s, the section joining the outlet of the track on the former RC 4 (415 - 836) to the hamlet of Quang Liet-Ban Tran (420 - 815) is not drawn but it is now an excellent forest track.
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The Coc Xa - Nguom Kim pass section at 1:50,000
Just like the southern route, it is impossible to get lost on this route: the track runs along the rocky bar on the right and the ridge line of Qui Chan on the left. It takes about eight kilometers to reach the asphalt track that goes down from the former RC 4 to the hamlet of Quang Liet and then allow about fifteen kilometers to return to Dong Khê...
Here too, it can be useful to be picked up at Quang Liet by a motorcycle or a vehicle in order to avoid the tedious climb (especially in bright sun or rainy weather) of the Nguom Kim pass.
As this route is not very interesting from a historical point of view, this post will be limited for the most part to a presentation of photographs of the site.
Let's go north this time...
A valley wedged between the Qui Chan and the rocky bar
A still very rural setting... and always friendly
A look back at the images... for Christophe
To the slow pace of the buffalo not to be jostled under any circumstances....
Anthony... sceptical... Straight ahead!!!!
Last Looks at the Coc Xa Cliff
As we progress northwards, we approach a fault in the rock bar on the right. This fault, which is located at the level of the hamlet of Tan Bé (435 - 795), offers a possibility of descent from the cliff to the Quang Liet valley. Le Page's column could no doubt have exploited it to avoid the assault on the gully, but this would have required, on the one hand, that the encirclement of the basins by the northern heights had not been completed, and on the other hand to find a practicable path along the rocky bar. The difficulties of progress mentioned by Second Lieutenant de Pirey during the descent of the 1st Tabor towards the basins give an idea of what this attempt could have been... Moreover, while the salute of the two columns was in a southerly direction, it was tantamount to climbing a little further into the trap.
On October 6, 1950, Captain Morichère, at the end of what seems to have been a confusion or mutual misunderstanding with Lieutenant-Colonel Charton, left with his auxiliaries the valley located to the east of the ridge followed by Cao Bang's column that he was guarding to try to climb up through this fault in order to make contact with Le Page's units... His attempt failed because he came up against the Vietminh elements who, after outflanking Dong Khê from the north, began to descend to the west to close the trap on the two columns. The auxiliary company then had great difficulty in breaking contact and moving up the flanks of Ridge 477...
A rift in the cliff... possible "escape door" for the Le Page column
Spotlight on the Rift
In this Quang Liet valley, populated by rural populations, the flat areas are traditionally reserved for rice cultivation and the houses on stilts are built on the first foothills of the slope...
The outskirts of Quang Liet
For the past year, work has been underway to open up the upper part of the valley: as can be seen below, public works machines are now extending the initially laid out track.
A track that will soon be passable
Quang Liet School: Concrete Track Now Replaces Grassy Path
From Quang Liet you can easily go up to the RC 4 by a forest track in much better condition than three years ago. If time is of the essence, the best thing to do is to be picked up there by motorbike so that you can travel the fifteen or so mostly asphalted kilometres to Dong Khê without worry.
The surest way to get home quickly for Antoine and Tony... Lham's motorcycle
Once you reach the former RC 4, you are once again on an "authentic" stretch of road... Indeed, the current QL 4 which comes from Dong Khê, instead of going up towards the Nguom Kim pass, now goes due north. This part of the former RC 4, very narrow, winding and steep-sided, has hardly changed since the 50s and is little frequented. Kilometre markers, bridges... are always in their place... and his route at least up to km 22 (PK 22 from Cao Bang), the point where Charton left the main axis to plunge into nature, is full of memories... Only the tarmac, the widening of the track and the disappearance of the Nguom Kim Pass tunnel have changed its appearance.
A vintage bollard from RC 4 to PK 33 in characters engraved on the stone
As for the old tunnel that we had hoped to see and which is located at the level of the pass, according to our friends in Dong Khê it was destroyed by the Chinese in 1979. Already quite damaged by the Vietminh to prevent movement between Cao Bang and Dong Khê, this tunnel must have been a hindrance for the Chinese troops during their offensive because of the narrowness of the road. It is also possible that the Chinese, before crossing the border again, decided to destroy it, thus obstructing the way, as they did elsewhere (cf. Cao Bang or Langson).
Today, all that remains is the sabre stab in the ridge line and the memory that French soldiers were installed there in caves around the tunnel... Finally, let us remember that it was in this tunnel and in the vicinity that the enemy, after the fall of Dong Khê in May 1950, came to hide the artillery pieces they had taken from us... At the end of the jump of the 3° BCCP on the airfield and the reconquest of the post, the elements of the "Lumière group" commanded (already!) by Lcl Le Page found this equipment...
The location of the former tunnel substation
Bernard seems disappointed not to have found any traces of the tunnel... Me too...
The tunnel station in 1949
@ Indo - Editions
(Photo Constans Collection)
In the photo below, you can see the last hairpin bend of the RC4 before it rushes under the tunnel. This hairpin bend that still exists is easily identifiable because the road has not changed its appearance since the 50s... Only the tunnel has disappeared.
Enlarge this imageClick here to see it in its original size.
The last hairpin bends of the RC4 before passing under the tunnel coming from Dong Khê
(Photo taken from the ridge above the tunnel)
Between the outlet of the Quang Liet runway on the former RC 4 and Dong Khê, different berths existed: PK 38 and PK 40 which, like the tunnel substation and the substations located further north of it, were evacuated in the summer of 1949 (Operation "Lucien").
This Google Eart view gives the (approximate) positioning of the different posts on either side of the Guom Kim Pass:
A section of road abandoned by the diversion of the QL 4
The RC 4's décor has remained virtually unchanged since 1950
In the vicinity of the PK 38 post
After a winding descent, the road gradually joins the current layout of the QL 4...
The intersection of the old route (left) and the road to Cao Bang (right)
Now it's time to take the road to the Chinese border to see Talung...
Posted by Jean luc Martin at 01:43 5 comments: Labels:
[url=http://indochine-images.blogspot.com/search/label/Coc Xa]Coc Xa[/url]
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