Posted on May 16, 2017
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In northwest Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh’s Viet Minh forces decisively defeat the French at Dien Bien Phu, a French stronghold besieged by the Vietnamese communists for 57 days. The Viet Minh victory at Dien Bien Phu signaled the end of French colonial influence in Indochina and cleared the way for the division of Vietnam along the 17th parallel at the conference of Geneva.
On September 2, 1945, hours after the Japanese signed their unconditional surrender in World War II, communist leader Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the independent Democratic Republic of Vietnam, hoping to prevent the French from reclaiming their former colonial possession. In 1946, he hesitantly accepted a French proposal that allowed Vietnam to exist as an autonomous state within the French Union, but fighting broke out when the French tried to reestablish colonial rule. Beginning in 1949, the Viet Minh fought an increasingly effective guerrilla war against France with military and economic assistance from newly Communist China. France received military aid from the United States.
In November 1953, the French, weary of jungle warfare, occupied Dien Bien Phu, a small mountain outpost on the Vietnamese border near Laos. Although the Vietnamese rapidly cut off all roads to the fort, the French were confident that they could be supplied by air. The fort was also out in the open, and the French believed that their superior artillery would keep the position safe. In 1954, the Viet Minh army, under General Vo Nguyen Giap, moved against Dien Bien Phu and in March encircled it with 40,000 Communist troops and heavy artillery.
The first Viet Minh assault against the 13,000 entrenched French troops came on March 12, and despite massive air support, the French held only two square miles by late April. On May 7, after 57 days of siege, the French positions collapsed. Although the defeat brought an end to French colonial efforts in Indochina, the United States soon stepped up to fill the vacuum, increasing military aid to South Vietnam and sending the first U.S. military advisers to the country in 1959.
On September 2, 1945, hours after the Japanese signed their unconditional surrender in World War II, communist leader Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the independent Democratic Republic of Vietnam, hoping to prevent the French from reclaiming their former colonial possession. In 1946, he hesitantly accepted a French proposal that allowed Vietnam to exist as an autonomous state within the French Union, but fighting broke out when the French tried to reestablish colonial rule. Beginning in 1949, the Viet Minh fought an increasingly effective guerrilla war against France with military and economic assistance from newly Communist China. France received military aid from the United States.
In November 1953, the French, weary of jungle warfare, occupied Dien Bien Phu, a small mountain outpost on the Vietnamese border near Laos. Although the Vietnamese rapidly cut off all roads to the fort, the French were confident that they could be supplied by air. The fort was also out in the open, and the French believed that their superior artillery would keep the position safe. In 1954, the Viet Minh army, under General Vo Nguyen Giap, moved against Dien Bien Phu and in March encircled it with 40,000 Communist troops and heavy artillery.
The first Viet Minh assault against the 13,000 entrenched French troops came on March 12, and despite massive air support, the French held only two square miles by late April. On May 7, after 57 days of siege, the French positions collapsed. Although the defeat brought an end to French colonial efforts in Indochina, the United States soon stepped up to fill the vacuum, increasing military aid to South Vietnam and sending the first U.S. military advisers to the country in 1959.
French defeated at Dien Bien Phu - May 07, 1954 - HISTORY.com
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Thanks TSgt Joe C. for providing a summary of the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu in the former French Indochina on May 7, 1954. Former US WWII ally, Ho Chi Minh’s Viet Minh forces decisively defeated the French foreign legion forces.
The hubris of the French leaders at Diene Bien Phu is legendary. "French built a large airstrip with fortifications, called firebases, on eight hills named after French General Henri Navarre's former mistresses."
The carnage throughout the extensive distribution of forts at Dien Bien Phu is still remembered in Vietnam today.
The French had learned many lessons from WWII but they did not develop sufficient capabilities to deal with a well-trained fanatical insurgency.
1. As the French were surprised by the German bypassing of the Maginot line through the Argonne in WWII, "he Viet Minh had managed to transport scores of anti-aircraft guns and mortars through heavily-forested terrain previously dismissed by the French as “impassable."
Images: 1954 Dien Bien Phu camp, French paratroopers in a trench; 1954 French Paratroop Corpsmen treating wounded at Dien Bien Phu; Map of the valley of the River Nam Youm, showing the separate strongholds which, together, made up the French base at Dien Bien Phu; 1954 Viet Mihn assault Dien Bien Phu
Background:
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
By ousting a colonial power from within its borders, the communist forces of Ho Chi Minh returned some of the country’s pride, as well as some of its land, to the Vietnamese people. The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was the final, defining conflict of the First Indochinese War, and led to the Geneva Accords, which divided Vietnam at the 17th parallel into communist North Vietnam and pro-west South Vietnam.
Nearly 7,000 French soldiers eventually lost their lives in a "sitting target" battle between November 20, 1953, and May 7, 1954, with the final, decisive siege beginning on March 13.
Background
The French presence in Indochina began when Roman Catholic missionaries arrived in the early- to mid-1800s. After Emperor Napoleon III heard that some of the missionaries had been killed, he sent an expedition to avenge the murders.
Through a series of treaties beginning in the mid- to late 1800s, France began a colonization of Vietnam. As the French presence in Indochina increased, they set up protectorates in Cochin China (southern Vietnam), Annam (central Vietnam), and Tonkin (northern Vietnam).
By 1893, France had set up protectorates, first in Cambodia (1863) and then in Laos (1893).
When France surrendered to Germany in 1940, the Japanese arrived in an attempt to sway Vietnamese leadership toward sympathizing with Japan.
At the end of World War II, British forces eliminated the remaining Japanese influence in the southern portion of the country. Forces directed by Ho Chi Minh, the Viet Minh, rooted out the Japanese from the northern territory.
The French persuaded leaders from Laos and Cambodia to declare themselves as self-governing and joined the French Union.
At the same time, another independent government, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV), led by Ho Chi Minh, was organized.
Despite trying to work out their differences, France and the Viet Minh failed to reach an agreement, and war between the two factions broke out in December 1946.
France and the communists clashed during frequent, guerrilla-style skirmishes, which the French had difficulty defending or retaliating against, until 1953.
Prelude to the end
On March 13th, 1954, as both sides ostensibly readied for peace talks, the French selected Dien Bien Phu, a village in northwestern Vietnam, near the Chinese and Laotion borders, as the place for a showdown with the Viet Minh.
The French built a large airstrip with fortifications, called firebases, on eight hills named after French General Henri Navarre's former mistresses. Troops numbered between 13,000 and 16,000.
During the buildup, in a maneuver that astounded the French leaders, the Viet Minh had managed to transport scores of anti-aircraft guns and mortars through heavily-forested terrain previously dismissed by the French as “impassable."
The end
From March 13, Viet Minh General Vo Nguyen Giap conducted a “tactic of combined nibbling and full-scale attack," gaining ground in the 10-mile-long, six-mile-wide river valley. Firebases were overrun, and a constant shelling of the French ensued.
Viet Minh forces destroyed the airstrip and forced resupply planes to a higher altitude, affecting the accuracy of the resupply effort to such an extent that food, ammunition, and vital intelligence information often landed in areas controlled by the Viet Minh.
Compounding the difficulties for the French were the monsoon rains pelting the area. As the casualties overflowed the garrison’s hospital, conditions became intolerable and forced a surrender."
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1861.html
LTC Stephen C. LTC Ivan Raiklin, Esq. Capt Seid Waddell Capt Tom Brown SFC William Farrell SSgt Robert Marx SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4" SSgt (Join to see) TSgt Joe C. SGT John " Mac " McConnell SP5 Mark Kuzinski SPC (Join to see) SrA Christopher Wright Maj Marty Hogan PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SP5 Robert Ruck SCPO Morris RamseyCPL Eric Escasio CPT Gabe Snell MSG Andrew White
The hubris of the French leaders at Diene Bien Phu is legendary. "French built a large airstrip with fortifications, called firebases, on eight hills named after French General Henri Navarre's former mistresses."
The carnage throughout the extensive distribution of forts at Dien Bien Phu is still remembered in Vietnam today.
The French had learned many lessons from WWII but they did not develop sufficient capabilities to deal with a well-trained fanatical insurgency.
1. As the French were surprised by the German bypassing of the Maginot line through the Argonne in WWII, "he Viet Minh had managed to transport scores of anti-aircraft guns and mortars through heavily-forested terrain previously dismissed by the French as “impassable."
Images: 1954 Dien Bien Phu camp, French paratroopers in a trench; 1954 French Paratroop Corpsmen treating wounded at Dien Bien Phu; Map of the valley of the River Nam Youm, showing the separate strongholds which, together, made up the French base at Dien Bien Phu; 1954 Viet Mihn assault Dien Bien Phu
Background:
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
By ousting a colonial power from within its borders, the communist forces of Ho Chi Minh returned some of the country’s pride, as well as some of its land, to the Vietnamese people. The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was the final, defining conflict of the First Indochinese War, and led to the Geneva Accords, which divided Vietnam at the 17th parallel into communist North Vietnam and pro-west South Vietnam.
Nearly 7,000 French soldiers eventually lost their lives in a "sitting target" battle between November 20, 1953, and May 7, 1954, with the final, decisive siege beginning on March 13.
Background
The French presence in Indochina began when Roman Catholic missionaries arrived in the early- to mid-1800s. After Emperor Napoleon III heard that some of the missionaries had been killed, he sent an expedition to avenge the murders.
Through a series of treaties beginning in the mid- to late 1800s, France began a colonization of Vietnam. As the French presence in Indochina increased, they set up protectorates in Cochin China (southern Vietnam), Annam (central Vietnam), and Tonkin (northern Vietnam).
By 1893, France had set up protectorates, first in Cambodia (1863) and then in Laos (1893).
When France surrendered to Germany in 1940, the Japanese arrived in an attempt to sway Vietnamese leadership toward sympathizing with Japan.
At the end of World War II, British forces eliminated the remaining Japanese influence in the southern portion of the country. Forces directed by Ho Chi Minh, the Viet Minh, rooted out the Japanese from the northern territory.
The French persuaded leaders from Laos and Cambodia to declare themselves as self-governing and joined the French Union.
At the same time, another independent government, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV), led by Ho Chi Minh, was organized.
Despite trying to work out their differences, France and the Viet Minh failed to reach an agreement, and war between the two factions broke out in December 1946.
France and the communists clashed during frequent, guerrilla-style skirmishes, which the French had difficulty defending or retaliating against, until 1953.
Prelude to the end
On March 13th, 1954, as both sides ostensibly readied for peace talks, the French selected Dien Bien Phu, a village in northwestern Vietnam, near the Chinese and Laotion borders, as the place for a showdown with the Viet Minh.
The French built a large airstrip with fortifications, called firebases, on eight hills named after French General Henri Navarre's former mistresses. Troops numbered between 13,000 and 16,000.
During the buildup, in a maneuver that astounded the French leaders, the Viet Minh had managed to transport scores of anti-aircraft guns and mortars through heavily-forested terrain previously dismissed by the French as “impassable."
The end
From March 13, Viet Minh General Vo Nguyen Giap conducted a “tactic of combined nibbling and full-scale attack," gaining ground in the 10-mile-long, six-mile-wide river valley. Firebases were overrun, and a constant shelling of the French ensued.
Viet Minh forces destroyed the airstrip and forced resupply planes to a higher altitude, affecting the accuracy of the resupply effort to such an extent that food, ammunition, and vital intelligence information often landed in areas controlled by the Viet Minh.
Compounding the difficulties for the French were the monsoon rains pelting the area. As the casualties overflowed the garrison’s hospital, conditions became intolerable and forced a surrender."
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1861.html
LTC Stephen C. LTC Ivan Raiklin, Esq. Capt Seid Waddell Capt Tom Brown SFC William Farrell SSgt Robert Marx SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4" SSgt (Join to see) TSgt Joe C. SGT John " Mac " McConnell SP5 Mark Kuzinski SPC (Join to see) SrA Christopher Wright Maj Marty Hogan PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SP5 Robert Ruck SCPO Morris RamseyCPL Eric Escasio CPT Gabe Snell MSG Andrew White
The role of Battle of Dien Bien Phu in the history of the United States of America.
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Excellent reference for this battle I've found is Bernard Fall's "Hell in a very small place" I have read this situation gave President Johnson nightmares,especially when the Marines were in Khe Sanh and Con Thien
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