The twenty clashes that changed the world bantam, 478 pp. Intelligence as a classified document, followed by two additional. In hindsight, it is perfectly clear that the french at dien bien phu betrayed a fatal flaw, probably the most fatal flaw of all. Battle of dien bien phu vietnam veterans of america. The french defeat at dien bien phu was a game changer, ending french colonial rule in. It lies approximately 300 kilometers due west from hanoi and roughly 160 kilometers east from the present day border of laos. The final result of the battle of dien bien phu was the following. During this time dien bien phu, surrounded by 2000 ft hills and thus difficult to resupply by air as the french had intended, became the scene of fearful contests between the locally savvy men of general giap and the hapless french forces who, losing one strongpoint after another, were finally trapped in dien bien phu garrison. Dien bien phu is the definitive account of the great, climactic battle in french indochina that led to the american commitment to. A revised edition of that book with considerable additional material, especially on u. No american is better qualified to tell the tale of dien bien phu and its significance than howard simpson.
American sigint arrives in the republic ofvietnam, 19611964 ii. The game covers the critical period of viet minh assaults and french counterattacks of march to may, 1954. Bien phu marked the end of the first indochinese war and left the french decimated and embarrassed. This article appeared on wikipedia s main page as todays featured article on january, 2009. Thus, fighting broke out between the french and vietminh in 1946. The vietminh wanted to be recognized as an independent country.
Dien bien phu lies in the remote nam yum river valley 450 kilometers northwest of hanoi and 50 kilometers from the laotian border. Remembering vietnams battle of dien bien phu on this day in 1954, an epic battle ended in vietnam. It was the french defeat at dien bien phu that led directly to americas involvement in vietnam. Bien phu was a symbol throughout the world that small guerrilla forces like the viet minh could turn away even the largest of imperial powers. The battle of dien bien phu would mark the end of french domination in vietnam and inadvertently, the beginning of a more involved effort by the united states. You can kill ten of my men for every one i kill of yours, but even at those odds, you will. Simpson, 9780028810478, available at book depository with free delivery.
It was fought between the french far east expeditionary corps and the viet minh forces, commanded by vo nguyen giap, from march to may 7, 1954. I am well aware, of course, that the real heroes arent film actors. It was fought between the french unions french far east expeditionary corps and viet minh communist. The french paras demonstrated exemplary camaraderie in the face of death and perceived abandonment, living in the mud and blood of the fallen, enduring the most inconceivable hardships while struggling to defend against the vietminh. The battle of dien bien phu was the biggest and most ferocious battle that took place during the french indochina war. Dien bien phu is the definitive account of the great, climactic battle in french indochina that led to the american commitment to vietnam. The village was in a valley approximately 16 km long by 9 km wide. Battle for dien bien phu prelude to the vietnam war dvd. The epic battle america forgot geography dienbienphu, is a small crossroads village in the northwestern corner of what is today vietnam. This welllaidout museum, contained in a spaceagey modern structure, features an eclectic collection that commemorates the 1954 battle.
Dien bien phu, vietnam 1954 ad the battle of dien bien phu was the penultimate engagement of the indochina war in which vietnam, and ultimately laos and cambodia, gained their independence from the frence. 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. The battle of dien bien phu was fought from march to may 7, 1954, and was the decisive engagement of the first indochina war 19461954, the precursor to the vietnam war. The epic battle america forgot and millions of other books are. See all 1 dien bien phu museum tours on tripadvisor. Stanley karnow, pulitzerprizewinning author of vietnam.
Results of the battle of dien bien phu the battle of dien bien phu, and the international peace conference that began in geneva the day after the battle, brought the war to an end on july 20, 1954. This major confrontation occurred at dien bien phu, a large heartshaped valley located in northwestern part of vietnam, near the border with laos. The epic battle america forgot history of war simpson, howard r. How could the french have prevailed at the battle of dien. They met with giap for several hours, and dien bien phu was a large part of the discussion. How dien bien phu led to americas war in vietnam in the trenches in 1953, a hard fought battle between french and vietnamese forces finished off france as a colonial power and eerily presaged. The vietnamese viewpoint of dien bien phu supplies some much needed balance to the accounts of the battle written by western soldiers and historians. We recommend booking dien bien phu museum tours ahead of time to secure your spot.
The fighting continued until the decisive battle of dien bien phu. The battle of dien bien phu was one of the most influential battles in military history. Dien bien phu is a wargame covering the decisive battle of the first indochina war in which elite french expeditionary force units defended an airland base against the communist viet minh. The history guy remembers how decolonization led to proxy war and the battle of dien bien phu in what is now known as vietnam. Like midway and stalingrad, the battle for dien bien phu ranks as one of the most decisive and seminal military battles of the twentieth century. If you book with tripadvisor, you can cancel up to 24 hours before your tour starts for a full refund. Source for airplane crash at dien bien phu knights of the legion of honor to seven cat pilots at dien bien phu us secret involvement made official french ambassy in usa cat pilots to be honored by france.
Henri navarre assumed command in vietnam in may 1953, french forces in indochina were on the defensive. 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 prowest. Meanwhile the vietminh had a staggering 23,000 dead. Moment of battle by james lacey and williamson murray. Even so, if you can update or improve it, please do so. It is the decision of lieutenant torrens, after learning that dien bien phu has fallen meaning the war is lost to have his men attack. Dien bien phu was a french garrison located 175miles inside the jungles of the vietminh territory. Simpson, 9781574888409, available at book depository with free delivery. This led to the end of the first indochina war 19461954 and the surrender of french claims in indochina and the division of vietnam. It was also the last battle waged with forces drawn from other parts of the french empire which had been reorganized as the french union in 1946. This is one of the bloodiest, most horrific battles ive read about to date.
Dien bien phu quotes showing 11 of 1 underestimation of nonconventional units or a guerrilla enemy by regular forces is a cardinal military sin. The french has a loss of 2,293 killed, 5,195 wounded, and 10,998 were captured. Dien bien phu and the crisis of francoamerican relations, 19541955 america in the modern world by lawrence s. 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. The episode discusses and presents historical photographs and film. The base was wellfortified and defended by crack troops, but it could only be reached by air. The battle of dien bien phu ranks with agincourt, waterloo, and gettysburg as one of the great military engagements of history. The last valley dien bien phu and the french defeat in vietnam. They brought a bunch of bulldozers and a few bags of cement to a valley in the middle of nowhere, constructed. Britain knew that all was lost unless the united states joined.
The battle was fought at the village of dien bien phu in northern vietnam in indochina and became the last battle in the indochina war which had begun in 1947 dien bien phu was the location of a major french garrison in the middle of a bowlshaped river valley. Dien bien phu was a disaster for france but today little is left of the key sites that were so bitterly contested. Battle of dien bien phu french foreign legion information. Dien bien phu, vietnamforty years ago, men fought, bled and died here in an epic battle that changed the course of recent world history over the years the trenches and bomb craters have given way to the gentleness of the land, save for some battle sites with small decaying stone memorials that hint at the events that took place. Thus, your challenge is to develop a battle plan that will turn the tables on the french and give the viet minh, not france, a decisive victory at dien bien phu. One of the largest postcolonial battles anywhere in the world, it ranks with the battle of vertieres in haiti in terms of. Professional reading list defense intelligence agency. Giap told them that he had risked execution by not complying with orders, after the initial attack was repulsed, to continue with human wave assaults, but instead to trust the shovel and turn the battle into a siege. A historian of the ottoman empire and modern turkey, he is a publisher of popular history, a podcaster, and online course creator.
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