DIEN BIEN PHU, FRENCH INDOCHINA 13 MARCH – 7 MAY 1954
“On 13 March, Giap let loose with his artillery from close range. Hundreds of French soldiers were killed in the barrage” Following the end of World War II, after the defeated Japanese had been withdrawn from Vietnam, France regained its colony, but it faced a strong and dedicated communist insurgency against its rule. Fundamentally, the French, as colonial masters, lacked the support of the Vietnamese people. Though there were some 190,000 French troops in the country, they could not defeat an insurgency with a strong nationalist appeal. By 1953, the price in blood had already been steep, with around 74,000 French troops having fallen.
The Vietnamese communists, the Viet Minh, were determined to eject the French from the country.…
