The Mðá»Âng Autonomous Territory (; ; Muong: ), or the Mðá»Âng Country (French: Pays Muong; Vietnamese: Xứ Mðá»Âng) or the Mðá»Âng Federation (French: Fédération Muong), abbreviated as TAM, was an autonomous territory created by the French during the First Indochina War as a homeland for the Mðá»Âng people in an effort to get indigenous support against the Kinh-dominant, Viá»Ât Minh-led Democratic Republic of Vietnam. The Mðá»Âng Autonomous Territory was an autonomous homeland within the French Union and covered the Hòa Bình Province. The French hoped that granting the Mðá»Âng more autonomy would allow them to recruit more soldiers to fight against the Democratic Republic of Vietnam as the French did not have enough French soldiers in their Indochina to maintain control over the territory. The Mðá»Âng Autonomous Territory became a part of the Domain of the Crown within the State of Vietnam in 1950, this area consisted of autonomous territories made up of ethnic minorities that nominally were under the direct control of the Nguyá» n dynasty Emperor Bảo ÃÂại.
Despite the French efforts to hold back the Communist Viá»Ât Minh, the Hòa Bình Province was reconquered by the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1952 and the Mðá»Âng Autonomous Territory was dissolved. Despite the loss of their territory to the Viá»Ât Minh, Mðá»Âng battalions could continue to serve for the French for the remainder of the First Indochina War.
The Mðá»Âng people are indigenous to the hilly areas in the South-west of the Red River Delta and share an ethnic roots to the Vietnamese (Kinh) people. The Mðá»Âng polities had a special autonomous status within the Nguyá» n dynasty, unlike other Vietnamese provinces which had a Tá»Âng ÃÂá»Âc (總ç£) or a Tuần phủ (å·¡æ«) the Hòa Bình Province was governed by a hereditary mandarin titled the Quan-Lang (å®ÂéÂÂ), the Quan-Lang was an indigenous Mðá»Âng rather than a Kinh. Unlike the Confucian meritocratic system where government officials were selected through centralised examination, the Mðá»Âng communities were under the jurisdiction of hereditary lords. The lord held both legal authority and religious authority over his subjects, as the lords oversaw both local legal affairs as well as the ancestor worship ceremonies of the Mðá»Âng tribes. The colonial French government also regarded them as "Montagnards" and created a separate province for them where they retained more autonomy.
After the end of World War II with the surrender of Japan, the French lost control of French Indochina and attempted to regain it from the Viá»Ât Minh-led Democratic Republic of Vietnam. In order to counter the calls for unification of Vietnam, the government of French Indochina established the Mðá»Âng Autonomous Territory in the Hòa Bình Province in 1947.
From the start of the First Indochina War, two problems arose for the French, first was dealing with the lack of personnel and second was involving the local populations in order, among other things, benefit from their knowledge. In the year 1946, General Leclerc called on the colonial French Indochinese government and proposed to incorporate the ethnic minority population into the French Expeditionary Force of the Far East (Corps Expéditionnaire Français dâÂÂExtrême-Orient or CEFEO). Thus, thousands of men, coming mainly from ethnic minorities in the mountains of Tonkin, hostile to the aims of the Communist partisans, enlisted in this French army, and formed Companies of Military Supplements. They were not the only colonial troops serving on this front as the French used Algerians, Moroccans, and Senegalese as well. At this time the Lords of the Mðá»Âng sent their legions to aid the French in their struggle against the Communists forming the Mðá»Âng Battalions.
In 1948, the Mðá»Âng country obtained a certain level of independence within the framework of the new Vietnamese state. A flag was selected for the territory, this was depicted a white five-pointed star on a green background. The colour white was meant to symbolise purity and the five-pointed star symbolised the five "Châu" (å·Â, Districts) of the Mðá»Âng country.
In 1948 the Viá»Ât Minh began setting up camps made from straw huts in the Hòa Bình Province and began attacking the French in minor skirmishes.
On 15 April 1950 it was nominally placed under the authority of the Domain of the Crown with the enactment of the Dụ sá» 6/QT/TG decree by Chief of State Bảo ÃÂại.
In mid-November 1951 the Mðá»Âng country's defenses began being tested by constant offenses by the Viá»Ât Minh following a battle at Nghéa Lá»Â, the French and Mðá»Âng forces were starved of cash and were dependent on financial aid from the United States to keep their military equipped to continue handling the Communist advance. The Viá»Ât Minh had much trouble holding on to occupied lands in Hòa Bình as the Mðá»Âng populace largely remained loyal to the French. The Viá»Ât Minh captured Hòa Bình, but on 14 November 1951 three French battalions landed in Hòa Bình by parachute commanded by Colonel Clément and a day later the Mðá»Âng country was under French control again. Despite the French efforts to hold back the Communist Viá»Ât Minh, the Hòa Bình Province was reconquered by the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in February 1952 and the Mðá»Âng Autonomous Territory was de facto dissolved while continuing to exist on paper. After the loss of their territory to the Viá»Ât Minh, Mðá»Âng battalions could continue to serve for the French for the remainder of the First Indochina War until the French officially recognised Viá»Ât Minh control over North Vietnam with the Geneva Accords in 1954.