Dien Bien Phu battlefield after 70 years

Let's look back at each fortified French stronghold that collapsed before the attacks of the Viet Minh troops during 56 days and nights at Dien Bien Phu.

Dien Bien Phu is a city built right on the fierce battlefield of 70 years ago. Along with the development of new infrastructure, this urban area still preserves the relics marking the heroic feats of our ancestors during 56 heroic days and nights.

Dien Bien Phu battlefield map compared with recent satellite images.

In late 1953, after parachuting down to occupy the Muong Thanh basin, the French army built the Dien Bien Phu stronghold with 3 sub-regions. The northern sub-region included strongholds at Doc Lap (Gabrielle) hill, Him Lam (Béatrice) hill and Ban Keo (Anne-Marie). The southern sub-region (Hong Cum - Isabella) included a cluster of strongholds and Hong Cum airport. The central sub-region included a series of strongholds A, C, D, Muong Thanh airport and the stronghold group's command headquarters (where General De Castries was hiding).

At 5:05 p.m. on March 13, 1954, Viet Minh troops began intensive shelling of the Him Lam base, opening the campaign. After many attacks, our 312th Division completely took control of the Him Lam base at 11:30 p.m. the same day. Today, the Him Lam hill relic is located in Him Lam ward, Dien Bien Phu city, 400m from the Dien Bien Provincial Police headquarters.

Having captured Him Lam, the Viet Minh troops aimed at the next stronghold in the northern sector, Doc Lap Hill. After the initial diversionary attacks, at 3:00 a.m. on April 15, the Viet Minh's mountain artillery and 105mm artillery fired heavily at Doc Lap Hill. The fighting at Doc Lap Hill was more fierce than the Him Lam battle. The enemy mobilized all counterattack forces to rescue the stronghold but failed. By 6:30 a.m. on March 15, we had complete control of Doc Lap Hill. In these two opening battles and the following battles, the Viet Minh troops fought in a "fortress" style, that is, surrounding the enemy's stronghold, firing heavily, then sending infantry with overwhelming numbers to attack and take over the entire stronghold.

After hearing the news of the fall of Him Lam and Doc Lap, the morale of the Thai (pro-French) soldiers at the Ban Keo stronghold was depressed. Combined with the Viet Minh's "military propaganda" efforts, a large number of Thai soldiers at this stronghold surrendered. On March 17, after the first attack, the Viet Minh completely controlled the northern sector.

The second attack began on March 30, 1954, when our army's encirclement tightened around the central sector of the stronghold. In the photo is D1 hill (Dominique 2), the highest hill in the central sector, occupied by Battalion 3 of the Algerian Regiment. (The peak of D1 was later chosen to house the Dien Bien Phu Victory Monument). In the second phase, a series of strongholds in the eastern hill range including D1, C1, C2, E, A1... suffered a series of attacks by the Viet Minh. Our army used the tactic of digging trenches to encircle and gradually suffocate the central sector.

Gradually, only A1 (Eliane 2) remained as the last stubbornly resisting stronghold. This place had not fallen after many attacks due to its solid underground tunnel system. To occupy A1 hill, the troops dug a tunnel into the hill, placing a 1-ton explosive. On the night of May 6, in the decisive battle of the third attack, our troops detonated the explosive and stormed to occupy A1 hill.

The explosion inside the hill created a large sinkhole, blew away the bunker, and opened the door for the troops to charge in. On the morning of May 7, the A1 hill stronghold fell, signaling the end of the entire stronghold.

On the afternoon of May 7, the troops were ordered to launch a general attack on the central area, where General De Castries' command bunker was located. The enemy resisted sporadically, and many French soldiers surrendered. At around 5 p.m. the same day, the troops entered the command bunker and captured General De Castries, the highest commander of the entire stronghold.

When the situation in the central sector was decided, the French soldiers in the southern sector (Hong Cum) still hoped to open a bloody path to escape to Laos. However, the Viet Minh troops here had tightened the siege, not giving the enemy a chance to escape.

The Battle of Hong Cum lasted until the night of May 7, when the troops took control of the last defensive points in the southern sector, officially ending the Dien Bien Phu stronghold.

The destruction of the entire French stronghold at Dien Bien Phu led to the signing of the Geneva Accords in 1954, ending nine years of resistance against French colonialism in Vietnam.

Performed by: Ngoc Tan - Minh Quang

source: https://dantri.com.vn/xa-hoi/chien-truong-dien-bien-phu-sau-70-nam-20240408132508089.htm