[93] The garrison constituted roughly one-tenth of the total French Union manpower in Indochina,[94]and the defeat seriously weakened the position and prestige of the French; it produced psychological repercussions both in the armed forces and in the political structure in France. Thanh Bin. The French garrison came under sporadic direct artillery fire from the Viet Minh for the first time on 31 January 1954 and patrols encountered the Viet Minh troops in all directions around them. [80][81] The Viet Minh repeated the isolation and probing attacks against Huguette 1, and overran the fort on the morning of 22 April. A few minutes later, Lieutenant colonel Jules Gaucher, commander of the entire central subsector, was also killed by artillery fire. Dien Bien Phu Translation Project. .mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}, De Castries: "The Viets are everywhere. [19], Navarre began searching for a way to stop the Viet Minh threat to Laos. The Viet Minh repeatedly attacked Eliane 2, only to be beaten back. "[46], The last radio transmission from the French headquarters reported that enemy troops were directly outside the headquarters bunker and that all the positions had been overrun. Further information on Dien Bien Phu order of battle: War reports (Picture galleries and captions). Dien Bien Phu Translation Project. Deals. Nam Thanh. [112] Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden refused, but agreed on a collective security arrangement for the region which could be agreed at the Geneva conference. The attacks were repeated on the nights of the 14–15 and 16–17 April. [86] This barrage defeated the first assault wave, but later that night the Viet Minh detonated a mine under Eliane 2, with devastating effect. Types of Things to Do in Dien Bien Phu Sights & Landmarks (7) Tours (4) Nature & Parks (2) Transportation (2) Outdoor Activities (2) Shopping (1) Museums (1) Commonly Searched For in Dien Bien Phu Navarre selected Điện Biên Phủ for Berteil's "hedgehog" operation. They told him he would retain the appearance of command, but that Langlais would exercise it. [33] Navarre rejected the criticisms of his proposal and concluded a 17 November conference by declaring that the operation would begin three days later, on 20 November 1953. This was very effective and stunned the defenders. [92], Dien Bien Phu was a serious defeat for the French and was the decisive battle of the Indochina war. [14] Max Hastings stated that "In 2018 Hanoi has still not credibly enumerated its Dien Bien Phu losses, surely a reflection of their immensity."[103]. [110], The United States did covertly participate in the battle. [39], Operations at Điện Biên Phủ began at 10:35 on 20 November 1953. "[57] Two days later, the French artillery commander, Colonel Charles Piroth, distraught at his inability to silence the well-camouflaged Viet Minh batteries, went into his dugout and committed suicide with a hand grenade. Following a failed attempt to link up, on 18 April, the defenders at Huguette 6 made a daring break out, but only a few managed to make it to French lines. Freigegeben / keine Freigabe erforderlich. Following a massive artillery barrage on 30 March, the Viet Minh began employing the same trench warfare tactics that they were using against the central camp. The next phase of the battle saw more massed Viet Minh assaults against French positions in central Điện Biên Phủ – particularly at Eliane and Dominique, the two remaining outposts east of the Nam Yum River. But Điện Biên Phủ would require a commander adept at World War I-style trench warfare, something for which de Castries was not suited. Dien Bien Phu is located in the valley bordering Laos and Vietnam. Google Arts & Culture features content from over 2000 leading museums and archives who have partnered with the Google Cultural Institute to bring the world's treasures online. [95] Militarily there was no point in France fighting on, as the Viet Minh could repeat the strategy and tactics of the Dien Bien Phu campaign elsewhere, to which the French had no effective response. ~600 aircraft, 1,571[8]–2,293 dead1,729 missing[9] The Viet Minh assault began in earnest on 13 March 1954 with an attack on the northeastern outpost, Béatrice, which was held by the 3rd Battalion, 13th Foreign Legion Demi-Brigade. The holdouts on Beatrice-1 were eliminated by 22:30, and the 141st Regiment's 11th and 16th Battalions finally broke into Beatrice-2 an hour later, though the strong point was not entirely taken until after 01:00 on 14 March. [64], De Castries' seclusion in his bunker, combined with his superiors' inability to replace him, created a leadership vacuum in the French command. [29] Third, the aerial resupply lines at Nà Sản were never severed, despite Viet Minh anti-aircraft fire. While they did succeed in getting some supplies through, the French suffered heavy casualties, which convinced Langlais to abandon Huguette 6. The President felt that, along with the political risks, airstrikes alone would not decide the battle, and did not want to escalate U.S. involvement by using American pilots. The IBM strategic repository for digital assets such as images and videos is located at dam.ibm.com. Giap himself and senior officers who fought alongside him took a patrol into the past on a pre-anniversary visit to Dien Bien Phu in early April. During the fighting at Eliane 1, on the other side of camp, the Viet Minh entrenchments had almost entirely surrounded Huguette 1 and 6. Navarre chose de Castries, a cavalryman in the 18th-century tradition,[46] because Navarre envisioned Điện Biên Phủ as a mobile battle. Also, the same runway used by the French during the battle remains to this day and is still in active use, but is made of concrete. The Generalship of General Henri E. Navarre during the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. The Geneva conference actually opened on 26 April 1954, discussed Korea, and reached the second agenda item, Indo-China, on 8 May. French defense of Hanoi rested on holding the Red River Delta, making it a key battleground. Mayer had given Navarre a single order—to create military conditions that would lead to an "honorable political solution". As a result, when the battle finally began, the Viet Minh knew exactly where the French artillery pieces were, while the French did not even know how many guns Giáp possessed. Within a month the government of Laniel resigned, and the new Prime Minister, Pierre Mendès, formed a government with Communist Party support. Repeated attempts to reinforce the French garrison by parachute drops were made, but had to be carried out by lone planes at irregular times to avoid excessive casualties from Viet Minh anti-aircraft fire. [7] Various types of artillery and anti-aircraft guns (mainly of Soviet origin), which outnumbered their French counterparts by about four to one,[7] were moved into strategic positions overlooking the valley and the French forces based there. They were landed at three drop zones: "Natasha" (northwest of Điện Biên Phủ), "Octavie" (to the southwest), and "Simone" (to the southeast). However, after due deliberations with his men, Gen Giap rejected this advice and decided on a siege campaign, to strike surely and advance cautiously. 7 May: ~14,000;~12,000 combat personnel~2,000 logistics and support personnel In 1954, French forces in French Indochina sought to cut the Viet Minh's supply lines to Laos. Dien Bien Phu Episode From Ten Thousand Day War Documentary, Archive footages of Colonel Sassi and his 2,000 strong Hmong partisans en route to Dien Bien Phu for a rescue mission in April 1954 (2000), "U.S. Pilots Honored For Indochina Service", "Breakdown of losses suffered at Dien Bien Phu", "French fall to Viet Minh at Dien Bien Phu – May 07, 1954", "Battle of Dien Bien Phu | Chemins de Mémoire – Ministère de la Défense – Ministère de la Défense", "The Final Declarations of the Geneva Conference July 21, 1954", "An Analysis Of The French Defeat At Dien Bien Phu", https://phimhay.co/duong-len-dien-bien-2539/, "Ðiên Biên Phú – The "official and historical site" of the battle", An Analysis of the French Defeat at Dien Bien Phu, Airlift's Role at Dien Bien Phu and Khe Sanh, "Peace" in a Very Small Place: Dien Bien Phu 50 Years Later, Vietnam War Bibliography: The End: Dien Bien Phu and the Geneva Conference, Field Guide to ..Dien Bien Phu for Historians, Wargamers and the More Discerning Type of Tourist by Peter Hunt 2002, The News Magazine of the Screen (May 1954), U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles on the fall of Dien Bien Phu (May 7th, 1954), English subtitled (Closed Captions) scene from the "Dien Bien Phu" docudrama by Schoendoerffer (1992), Archive radio calls between General Cogny & Colonel de Castries (1954) + 2 commented scenes from Schoendoerffer's docudrama (1992), Testimonial of General Giáp, 50 years after the battle (May 7th, 2004), Testimonial of General Bigeard, 50 years after the battle (May 3rd, 2004), Testimonial of Corporal Schoendoerffer, 50 years after the battle (May 5th, 2004), Provisional Central Government of Vietnam, French assistance to Nguyễn Ánh (1777–1820), Proclamation of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Dien_Bien_Phu&oldid=996970557, Battles and operations of the First Indochina War, Battles involving the French Foreign Legion, Articles containing Vietnamese-language text, Articles with French-language sources (fr), Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Decisive Democratic Republic of Vietnam victory, The last battle was depicted in 2011 Vietnamese first person shooter video game. Nice winter watch. (Each was said to be named after a former mistress of de Castries, although the allegation is probably unfounded, as the eight names begin with letters from the first nine of the alphabet, excluding F.) The fortified headquarters was centrally located, with positions Huguette to the west, Claudine to the south, and Dominique to the northeast. War of Indochina : Dien Bien Phu battle, 1954 : Viet-Minh soldiers crossing moutains and forests with cannons … It was fought between the French Union's French Far East Expeditionary Corps and Viet Minh communist revolutionaries. Small hillocks, typically 50 to 100 … Today, the former battlefield is one large historical site. Asia ; Vietnam ; Dien Bien Province ; Dien Bien Phu ; Dien Bien Phu Hotels ; Family Hotels in Dien Bien Phu; View map. This would enable superior French artillery, armor, and air support to decimate the exposed Viet Minh forces. Dien Bien Phu or DBP has become an acronym or shorthand symbol for defeat of the West by the East, for the triumph of primitive.... Dien Bien Phu resulted in severe political consequences. In late November and early December 1952, Giáp had attacked the French outpost at Nà Sản, which was essentially an "air-land base", a fortified camp supplied only by air. Dien Bien Phu Airport (IATA: DIN, ICAO: VVDB) (Vietnamese: Sân Bay Điện Biên Phủ) is located at Điện Biên Phủ in Vietnam Contents 1 Airlines and destinations Review by Cameron Wayne Johnson ★★★½ . Artillery as well as ten US M24 Chaffee light tanks (each broken down into 180 individual parts, flown into the base, and then re-assembled) and numerous aircraft (attack and supply types) were committed to the garrison. Able-bodied soldiers were force-marched over 600 km (370 mi) to prison camps to the north and east,[97] where they were intermingled with Viet Minh soldiers to discourage French bombing runs. The French lost around 1,000 men defending Gabrielle, and the Viet Minh between 1,000 and 2,000 attacking the strongpoint. [52], After much debate, due to the French knowledge of the battle plan and along with other complications, the assault was canceled on 26 January, and Giáp went away and designed a new plan with a new start time. [56] Navarre wrote that, "Under the influence of Chinese advisers, the Viet Minh commanders had used processes quite different from the classic methods. Vive la France!" For the Americans, in particular Dulles, this wasn't enough. Oh, for a minute - which is to say 27 years - there, I thought Pierre … Stop to take some photos at Dien Bien Phu victory monument, A1 cemetery and A1 Hill Battlefield before getting back to the hotel. [48], The fall of Dien Bien Phu was a disaster not just for France but also for the United States who, by 1954, were underwriting 80% of French expenditures in Indochina. The massive explosion crater at the top of Eliane 2, created by Viet Minh sappers who successfully blew up the fortified outpost during the battle. 3,707 3k. [61] Although some elements of the counterattack reached Gabrielle, most were paralyzed by Viet Minh artillery and took heavy losses. Leavenworth, KS: Command and General Staff College, 3 June 1994. They based this on their successes in Korea. 3 years ago. Nevertheless this start date was delayed to 26 January, because on 21 January Việt Minh's intelligence indicated that the French had grasped this plan. The wounded were given basic first aid until the Red Cross arrived, extracted 858 prisoners, and provided better aid to the remainder. Those wounded who were not evacuated by the Red Cross were sent into detention. The garrison was overrun in May after a two-month siege, and most of the French forces surrendered. [55] The French artillery fired a "TOT" (time on target) mission, so that artillery rounds fired from different positions would strike on target at the same time. Worse still, the Viet Minh lacked advanced medical treatment and care, with one captured fighter stating that, "Nothing strikes at combat-morale like the knowledge that if wounded, the soldier will go uncared for". "Of the 2,100 men who left Lai Chau on 9 December, only 185 made it to Điện Biên Phủ on 22 December. BROWSE SIMILAR CONCEPTS. [87], On 7 May, Giáp ordered an all-out attack against the remaining French units with over 25,000 Viet Minh against fewer than 3,000 garrison troops. They were going home, not as victors or heroes, but then, not as clear losers either. [49], In comparison, altogether the Viet Minh had moved up to 50,000 regular troops into the hills surrounding the French-held valley, totalling five divisions, including the 351st Heavy Division, which was an artillery formation equipped with medium artillery, such as the US M101 105mm howitzer, supplied by the neighbouring People's Republic of China (PRC) from captured stocks obtained from defeated Nationalist China as well as US forces in Korea, together with some heavier field-guns as well as anti-aircraft artillery.