After the attle of dien ien phu the french got out of vietnam. Bernard fall wrote a compelling yet sober book hell in a very small place. An analysis of the french defeat at dien bien phu author major harry d. New perspectives on dien bien phu france, the final deterrent was its eightyear long dirty war sale guerre that ended with the unequivocal victory of vietnamese nationalist forces at dien bien phu in 1954. Vietminh name two of the south vietnamese groups attacked by the vietcongmaking them heroes to the peasants. Dien bien phu, recordando antiguas batallas en vietnam. Battle of dien bien phu french foreign legion information. Bloomer, usa csc 1991 subject area general an analysis of the french defeat at dien bien phu outline thesis statement. Phu bai combat base also known as phu bai airfield and camp hochmuth is a former u. The calculated flying distance from cam ranh to dien bien phu is equal to 769 miles which is equal to 1238 km. If you want a dry factual account of the battle of dienbienphu, this is not the book to read. On may 7th giap ordered an allout attack on the french positions at dien ben phu. During a request to have the us air force bomb outlying hills encircling dien bien phu the french volunteered a unit to be sacrificed in order to communicate to us planes around the valley.
Une visite interessante lors dun passage a dien bien phu. Dien bien phu article and radio feature posted by mike on 7 may 2014 01. For more information on battle of dien bien phu, visit. Instead, general vo nguyen giap, one of the great guerrilla generals, had his viet minh forces besieged the valley base, trapping the french defenders in a brutal. Dien bien phu article and radio feature osprey publishing. And yet the battle of dien bien phu receives rarely more than a passing mention in most history texts. Dien bien phu has happened during the last stage of the first indochina war, where the french is constantly losing ground and losing grip of the whole situation, the prospect of a victory is immensely important for the french, and their prayer got asnwered in a form of battle of na san.
Along which parallel was ommunist north and antiommunist south was vietnam split. Dien bien phu was a bizarre battle the french had an idea that they would establish a forward base on the laotian border, to use to attack viet minh guerrillas in the hinterlands. Dien bien phu sealed the fate of the french in indochina and forced paris to abandon the pursuit of colonial interests. If you want a heartfelt paean to both the french and vietminh soldier, on the stupidity and wastefulness of the whole french effort in indochina, this book is a mustread.
Scenario designers notes for dien bien phu dien bien phu conjures up many images for the average wargamer a bloody, muddy siege, the failure of a colonial empire to hold onto its possessions in the aftermath of world war ii, the legion etrangere holding positions to the end, paratroopers dropping into a doomed situation, the list goes on. The siege of dien bien phu fall was a respected journalist who predicted the failure of french efforts to recolonize indochina after world war ii. The army security agency, operating under cover of the 3rd radio research unit 3rd rru, established a radio facility at phu bai in 1963, 12 km southeast of hu. It was fought between the french unions french far east expeditionary corps and viet minh communist. A short summary on the french defeat at dien bien phu. The french defeat there led to indochina gaining its independence, the division of vietnam into two nations, and ultimately to the ghastly vietnam war, which remains a national trauma for americans. Shortest serious summary possible about the defeat in 1954 please. All the paras with the exception of the 2 battalions of my group were relieved by airborne infantry units from the. Battle of dien bien phu battle of dien bien phu part of the first indochina war french union paratroops dropping from an united states air forcelent flying.
The battle of dien bien phu 19531954, stresses the author, was one of the modern eras most decisive confrontations. First, the battle of dien bien phu was fought between one polity, vietnam, which was. First, the battle of dien bien phu was fought between one. After the attle of dien ien phu the french got out which. He was on the ground with french troops beginning in 1953. Siege at dien bien phu last stand of dien bien phu 1954 ad. The basrelief on the monument to the dead of indochina 1983, frejus 3. Dien bien phutranslated at no cost by al gaudet a qog memberforward on november 21st 1953, at around 0800h, i was suspended under my parachute and looking at the still happy valley of dien bien phu coming up under my feet. Jun 06, 20 the french sent troops after ww2 to restore order in their colony of vietnam.
With the threat of communism, the americans, lent military equipment to oppress them. Although the fall of dien bien phu occurred more than half a century ago, the battle continues to present a compelling metaphor for contemporary australian military strategy. The message was metaphorically the same, but not as literal the 122mm rockets that destroyed the metal runway at polei klang did not leave the message written by the vietminh commandos who destroyed the runway at dien bien phu, written in french and german. Battle of dien bien phu battle of dien bien phu part of the first indochina war french union paratroops dropping from an united states air forcelent flying boxcar. Dien bien phu and the french defeat in vietnam en ingles. The communist rebellion led to a gorilla conflict for several years. Dien bien phutranslated at no cost by al gaudet a qog membermeans at hand were set up progressively during december and january.
Information agency correspondent visited the isolated fre. The calculated flying distance from cam ranh to dien bien phu is equal to 769 miles which is equal to 1238 km if you want to go by car, the driving distance between cam ranh. Then came the decisive battle of dien bien phu in 1954, where the french were defeated. The battle of dien bien phu is seen as the decisive battle of the first indochina war between french troops and the viet minh league for the independence of vietnam, a nationalist, prosoviet union movement of ho chi minh.