About
Dien Bien Phu
Dien
Bien Phu lies in a 20 km long and 6 km wide heart shaped basin
in the Muong Thanh valley, surrounded by mountains. The Nam Rom River
runs across this very fertile valley.
The 55
Day Battle of Dien Bien Phu
The
55 day battle from March 13 to May 7, 1954, was a climatic battle between
the French and the Viet Minh (Vietnamese Communist forces) that led
to the division of Vietnam into North and South Vietnam. From 1947 until
the Dien Bien Phu battle, the French mastered the skies, but were unable
to stop the flow of supplies reaching the Vietnamese guerilla.
The
French expeditionary corps occupied
Dien Bien Phu in 1954 and set up a group of fortresses equipped
with many state-of-the-art weapons to prevent the Viet Minh from gaining
control of Northern Laos and the middle of lower Mekong River Valley.
The French forces supplied only by air, were defeated when the Viet
Minh overran the base on May 7. The French military leaders had failed
to appreciate the strength and determination of the Vietnamese opposition.
Dien
Bien Phu Casualties
General
de Castries and his entire command were taken, 3000 French troops were
killed, 8000 wounded; and they lost 48 aircrafts during 1 019 sorties.
The Viet Minh suffered a lot worse, with 8 000 dead and 12 000 wounded.
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 led to the end of the First Indochina War (1946-1954)
and the surrender of French claims in Indochina and the division of
Vietnam.
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