Battle of Dien Bien Phu/Related Articles

Parent topics

Vietnam War [r]: (1955-1975) war that killed 3.8 million people, where North Vietnam fought U.S. forces and eventually took over South Vietnam, forming a single Communist country, Vietnam. ^[e]
Viet-Minh [r]: A short name for the Communist-dominated national revolutionary movement that overthrew the colonial government of French Indochina ^[e]
Henri Navarre [r]: General in the French Army during the Second World War, and last commander of French forces in French Indochina; responsible for creating the Dien Bien Phu base ^[e]
Vo Nguyen Giap [r]: The most prominent general of the Viet-Minh, the People's Army of Viet Nam, and eventually Defense Minister and Politburo member of North Vietnam ^[e]
Lai Chau Province [r]: A province in the northeastern corner of Vietnam, with its capital Dien Bien Phu City, now a regional airport; it has both cultural and military tourist attractions ^[e]

Indochinese revolution [r]: The period, within the Vietnam War, between which France reasserted its colonial authority over Indochina in 1945, created a proto-state of Vietnam under a provisional government during which there was increasing insurgency, fought conventionally combat with the Viet-Minh starting in 1950, and ended in 1954. The end, militarily, involved the defeat of French forces at Dien Bien Phu and. politically, with the creation of North Vietnam and South Vietnam by the Geneva accords ^[e]
Christian de Castries [r]: French military officer who was the final commander of the base at Dien Bien Phu. A cavalry and tank specialist, it had been conceived that he might take the fight to the enemy, but instead became was put into a defensive role ^[e]
Charles Piroth [r]: French Army colonel who commanded the placement of artillery at Dien Bien Phu, promising it would make the base invulnerable. Committed suicide when the major attacks began, the French artillery were found to be inadequate, while the Communist artillery was decisive ^[e]
Paul Ely [r]: Add brief definition or description
Dien Bien Phu City [r]: Renamed from Lai Chau City in honor of the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, the decisive 1954 battle of the Indochinese revolution, the capital of Lai Chau Province of Vietnam ^[e]

Forward slope (military) [r]: Add brief definition or description
French Foreign Legion [r]: Add brief definition or description
Howitzer [r]: Add brief definition or description
Laos [r]: A country in Southeast Asia that was part of French Indochina, located northeast of Thailand and west of Vietnam, with short borders to Burma, Cambodia and China ^[e]
Machine gun [r]: A firearm capable not only of full-automatic fire, but with additional features, such as large ammunition supply mechanisms, barrel cooling or quick-change features, etc., that lets it fire for prolonged periods ^[e]
Mortar [r]: A piece of artillery, sometimes light enough to be carried by infantry, which has a short barrel length relative to the shell caliber, and fires in a high indirect trajectory, often desirable to fire over obstacles. ^[e]
Multiple rocket launcher [r]: Add brief definition or description
Paratroop [r]: Add brief definition or description
Reverse slope (military) [r]: Add brief definition or description
Battle of Khe Sanh [r]: While there had been fighting at Khe Sanh as early as 1964, with U.S. forces arriving in 1966, the main Battle of Khe Sanh ran from January to April 1968, capturing attention before the start of the Tet offensive at the end of January ^[e]