Battle of Dien Bien Phu
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The Battle of Điện Biên Phủ was a defeat of the French Union forces by the Viet Minh forces in the First Indochina War. It took place between 13 March and 7 May 1954.
Viet Minh troops planting their flag over the captured French headquarters at Dien Bien Phu
An aerial view of the Dien Bien Phu valley in 1953
Colonel Christian de Castries, French commander at Điện Biên Phủ
Viet Minh Hmong porters on their way to the battle; thousands were used to handle supplies, food, weapons and ammunition to the besiegers
Võ Nguyên Giáp
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Võ Nguyên Giáp was a Vietnamese general, communist revolutionary and politician. Highly regarded as a military strategist, Giáp led Vietnamese communist military forces to victory in the decades-long
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
…by air, a strategy adopted based on the belief that the Viet Minh had no anti-aircraft capability. The communist Viet Minh, however, under General Võ Nguyên Giáp, surrounded and besieged the French. They brought in vast amounts of heavy artillery (including anti-aircraft guns) and managed to move these bulky…
Giáp in c. 1950s
Võ Nguyên Giáp and Ho Chi Minh in 1945
Võ Nguyên Giáp attending the ceremony establishing two naval squadrons – the first naval units of the Vietnamese People's Navy, 1954.
D67 in Hanoi Citadel was the military headquarters of General Giáp during the war