Dien Bien Phu

55 Days of Hell: The Last Battle of the First Indochina

War

“We had to cross mountains and jungles, marching at night and sleeping by day to avoid enemy bombing. We sometimes

slept in foxholes, or just by the trail. We each carried a rifle, ammunition and hand

grenades, and our packs contained a blanket, a mosquito net and a change of clothes. We each had a week’s supply of rice, which we refilled at depots along the way. We ate greens and bamboo shoots

that we picked in the jungle, and occasionally villages would give us a bit of

meat.”

-A Viet Minh fighter at Dien Bien Phu

“…Dien Bien Phu might well be rated one of the most decisive events since 1945…demonstrating the superiority of an underdeveloped irregular force

over a conventional army…”

-A. Horne, author of History of the Twentieth Century

The 5 W’s Chart

What happened?

Where did it happen?

Who was there?

Why did it happen?

When did it happen?

Interesting Facts

Outcome

The Geneva Conference:April 1954

*Britain, France, USSR, the US, China, Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV), and the State of Vietnam (Bao Dai) hold a conference to deal with the wars in Korea and Indochina

*The day after Dien Bien Phu falls to the Viet Minh, they start talking about Indochina

*Viet Minh control 2/3 of Vietnam

• The US was opposed to any compromise with Communists (John Foster Dulles refusing to shake hands with Chinese delegates)

• French Prime Minister announces he would resign if no ceasefire by 20 July

• Chinese and Soviet delegates agree to withdraw Communists from Cambodia & Laos for a ceasefire

Outcomes of the Geneva Conference:

- A temporary dividing line between North and South Vietnam would be

placed at the 17th Parallel

- A nation-wide election would be held in 1956, with the aim of uniting North

and South

-Viet Minh control the North

-State of Vietnam control the South

-All French troops leave Vietnam

-Viet Minh troops move to the North

-no foreign military bases in Indochina

• The election to be held in 1956 was to unite the two halves of Vietnam under a single government of the people’s choice

• This declaration was never signed, however, only a verbal agreement

• South Vietnam rejected it altogether

• The US expressed reservations: they saw the partition as political, not simply military

• The US gives support to South Vietnam on the basis that it is a separate, non-communist state

• The US refuses to allow elections to unite Vietnam

Why do you think they refuse elections?

*temporary division is now adopted (by U.S.) as permanent division

*South Vietnam is seen (by U.S.) as an independent state, stopping the advance of communism in South-East Asia….