Causes and consequences of the battle of dien bien phu bartleby. Causes and consequences of the battle of dien bien phu examine the causes and consequences and consequences of the battle of dien bien phu, 1954, which affected the lives of the vietnamese until the 1960s. Mar 12, 2018 on march, 1954, the battle of dien bien phu began during the first indochina war as communist forces attacked french troops, who were defeated nearly two months later. 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. It ended with victory to the viet minh, the surrender of french colonial forces and eventually, the withdrawal of the french from vietnam. Jan 14, 2017 the vietminh won the battle of dien bien phu due to their advantages in topography and terrain, logistics, artillery and antiaircraft capabilities and political will. The battle of dien bien phu 1953 1954, stresses the author, was one of the modern eras most decisive confrontations. 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. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the battle of dien bien phu 1954. The battle of dien bien phu ranks with agincourt, waterloo, and gettysburg as one of the great military engagements of history. Dien bien phu, in 1954, was the great climactic battle in french indochina that led to the defeat of the french colonial regime by the viet minh nationalists. Battle of dien bien phu french foreign legion information. No american is better qualified to tell the tale of dien bien phu and its significance than howard simpson.
This book is an account of that great battle, by a leading defence analyst who was himself an eyewitness. The french causeto win back indochinalike dien bien phu, was finished. Mar 2, 1946 to may 7, 1954 battle of dien bien phu. John keegan does a masterful job of explaining the battle of dien bien phu. Mar 27, 2015 the french defeat at dien bien phu in 1954 signalled the end of french influence in indochina. 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. Battle of dien bien phu 1954 general henri navarre, the french commander in chief for indochina, was responsible for the decision to build an outpost in the red river delta and its ultimate loss.
Battle of dien bien phu, the decisive engagement in the first indochina war 194654. Battle of dien bien phu summary the battle of dien bien phu french. The battle of dien bien phu was fought from march to may 7, 1954, and was the decisive engagement of the first indochina war 1946 1954, the precursor to the vietnam war. The battle of dien bien phu began in midmarch and ended in early may 1954. Dien bien phu and the crisis of francoamerican relations, 1954 1955 america in the modern world by lawrence s. In 1954, french forces in french indochina sought to cut the viet minhs supply lines to laos.
The garrison constituted roughly onetenth of the total french union manpower in indochina, 91 and the defeat seriously weakened the position and prestige of the french. 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. Called by one officer an unfortunate accident, it ended french military influence in asia. It consisted of a struggle between french and viet minh vietnamese communist and nationalist forces for control of a small mountain outpost on the vietnamese border near laos. John foster dulles on the fall of dien bien phu 1954 guerre dindochine duration.
In fact, the battle of dien bien phu is one of the most significant, not just of the 1950s where supposedly nothing much happened, but of the entire 20th century. On the afternoon of may 6, 1954, six cat c119s departed cat bi airbase for dien bien phu. The battle that ended the first indochina war ebook free. After world war ii, france was able to reinstall its colonial government in what was then known as indochina. The episode discusses and presents historical photographs and film. Amazon and the battle of dien bien phu bonus feature omni talk june 29, 2017 at 1. The battle of dien bien phu began in 1953, when general navarre fortified the valley of dien bien phu, which lay in an isolated corner of northwestern vietnam. A french newspaper from 1954, with the headline dien bien phu is a tomb. More recently, windrow 2004 and morgan 2010 continued in the same vein by adding new perspectives decades after the events.
Four times wounded during the battle, he was deprived of his military medal due to his active participation in the generals putsch in algeria in 1961. French failure to craft a viable strategy for winning the war or this battle against their enemy, the vietnamese communists or viet minh. A conflict between communist viet minh forces and a frenchestablished garrison, it occurred in a town called seat of the border county prefecture or, in vietnamese, dien bien phu. The vietnamese viewpoint of dien bien phu supplies some much needed balance to the accounts of the battle written by western soldiers and historians. In the end, of the 16,000 french troops, fewer than 100 broke through the siege at dien bien phu, with the rest killed, wounded, or captured.
On march 12, 1954, the day before vietnamese nationalist forces attacked the french military base at dien bien phu, viet minh commander vo nguyen giap proclaimed, it. Dien bien phu was a major battle of the first indochina war in which the french fought against the viet minh communists. The time and date were carefully chosenthe hour allowed the artillery to fire in daylight, and the date was chosen because it was a new moon, allowing a nighttime infantry attack. The fighting began in november 1953, when french paratroopers seized a small airstrip in northwestern vietnam. After world war ii, france was able to reinstall its. Sep 29, 2017 the history guy remembers how decolonization led to proxy war and the battle of dien bien phu in what is now known as vietnam. It was, from the french view before the event, a set piece battle to draw out the vietnamese and destroy. The battle of dien bien phu 1954 kindle edition by dinh, long. The battle of dien bien phu began in 1953, when general navarre fortified the valley of dien bien phu, which lay in. It ended in may 1954 with tens of thousands of vietminh troops overrunning the besieged garrison.
On march, 1954, the battle of dien bien phu began during the first indochina war as communist forces attacked french troops, who were defeated nearly two months later. This was a breakthrough for vietnam because this meant that france was no longer involved with vietnam, and the french would then seize fire. Dien bien phu, 1954, was the final battle of the first indochina war. Battle of dien bien phu this article by the late bernard b. Dien bien phu was the decisive battle of the first indochina war. The battle of dien bien phu was the decisive engagement in the first indochina war 194654. Stanley karnow, pulitzerprizewinning author of vietnam. Two of them, fall 1967 and rocolle 1968, were strangely published at the same time on both sides of the atlantic ocean. On that day in may, 1954, it had become apparent by 10 a. Battle of dien bien phu dien bien phu battlefield the. The bloody battle of dien bien phu in vietnam began on this day in 1954. Fall is an account of one of the most significant battles to take place in vietnam.
The french objective had been to support the soldiers at dien bien phu, deep in the hills of northwestern vietnam to cut off viet minh supply lines into neighboring laos. Mar 12, 2010 on march 12, 1954, the day before vietnamese nationalist forces attacked the french military base at dien bien phu, viet minh commander vo nguyen giap proclaimed, it is not dien bien phu or hanoi. With its huge budget, allstar cast, and realistic war scenes produced with the cooperation of both the french and vietnamese armed forces, dien bien phu is regarded by many as one of the more important war movies produced in french filmmaking history. Then in 1954, in april and may, the viet minh trapped and surrounded a large french force at a western outpost. Dien bien phu vietnam war combat free 30day trial scribd.
The viet minh victory in this battle effectively ended the eightyearold war. Dien bien phu is recognized as one of historys great. Only a handful of french or englishlanguage books offer a comprehensive general overview of the battle in dien bien phu. Dien bien phu had been a tranquil crossroads village in northwest indochina before the french entered it to defeat vietminh soldiers. The battle fought around dien bien phu was the last major campaign by a european state in the region. They carried artillery pieces to the battle on their backs or by push bike. 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. Information agency correspondent visited the isolated fre. Another cause of of the battle of dien bien phu was the viet minh mobilisation. The battle of dien bien phu the last pitched battle. Giap mobilised about 50000 combat troops to fight the french. Causes and consequences of the battle of dien bien phu essay. Battle of dien bien phu begins 1954 today in history. Not only did it demonstrate a high level of overconfidence on behalf of a french general in vietnam, but the huge pile of complete fuckuppidness resulted in the americans later getting involved, and we all know how that turned out.
For more information on battle of dien bien phu, visit. After 56 days of fighting, the vietminh take over dien bien phu with over 7,000 french casualties and over 11,000 french prisoners. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. May 05, 2020 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. If you want a dry factual account of the battle of dienbienphu, this is not the book to read. 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. It was fought between the french unions french far east expeditionary corps and viet minh communist. The battle of dien bien phu timeline timetoast timelines. French operational errors that helped ensure their defeat at dien bien phu. 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. After french forces occupied the dien bien phu valley in late 1953, viet minh commander vo nguyen. On may 7th 1954, viet minh had finally won the battle of dien bien phu marking the end of the first indochina war. Dien bien phu and the crisis of francoamerican relations, 19541955 america in the modern world by lawrence s. A german legionnaire participating in the battle of dien bien phu in 1954, as a commando leader with 10th company, 3e rei at isabelle.
The battle of dien bien phu, 1954 a picture from the past. Although the vietnam war is today remembered as a conflict between the americans and the vietnamese, it had previously been the french who fought. Apr 01, 2005 the battle of dien bien phu ranks with agincourt, waterloo, and gettysburg as one of the great military engagements of history. President eisenhower almost sent american troops and bombers to rescue the french, but he did not. One of the largest postcolonial battles anywhere in the world, it ranks with the battle of vertieres in haiti in terms of a disastrous loss of a former colony for france. The french troops were inexperienced in operating in the terrain of dien bien phu. The defeat of over twentythousand french troops on 7 may 1954 after a fiftyfive day siege of the camp led directly to the division of vietnam into two. The origins of dien bien phu go back to the mid to late 19th century when france invaded, colonized and ultimately annexed vietnam, cambodia and laos into what would become.
Dien bien phu, the climactic battle between french and vietnamese communist forces called the vietminh after world war two, took place at the town of dien bien in northwestern vietnam. It was the greatest battle among the french and the vietnamese communists during the french colonial presence in indochina. The battle of dien bien phu was the most decisive battle in the indochina war 194654. The battle of dien bien phu, which took place in northern vietnam in 1954, marked a major turning point in both the first indochina war between france and the viet minh independence movement and the general position of european colonial powers in southeast asia. Dien bien phu march7 may 1954 was the last battle fought by the french army in the twentieth century. This major confrontation occurred at dien bien phu, a large heartshaped valley located in northwestern part of vietnam, near the border with laos. We still live in an early work by the dean of military historians. The decisive battle of the west was supplanted by the insurgency model of mao. Dien bien phu is a classic in all the best, juiciest ways. Events at dien bien phu, the geneva conference, the creation of south vietnam, and john f. Kennedys flexible response policy, increased the united states involvement in vietnam from 1954 to 1963. A brief history of the battle of dien bien phu section 117. In the spring of 1954, eight long and arduous years into the first indochina war, the french suffered a defeat that was so shameful and shambolic, it remains barely spoken of.
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