Battle of Dien Bien Phu

A strategic offensive campaign carried out by the Vietnamese army against the French army in the late stages of the Indochina People's Anti-French War. In November 1953, Commander-in-Chief of the French Army in Indochina H.-E. Navarre, in order to implement his operational plan to annihilate the main force of the Vietnamese army and regain the initiative on the battlefield within 18 months, dispatched 5,000 airborne troops to occupy Laizhou, a strategic location in northwest Vietnam. Dien Bien Phu in the province, and then gradually increased its troops to build Dien Bien Phu into a defense hub including 49 support points, divided into 8 stronghold groups and 3 defense zones in the north, middle and south, and 2 airports. The French army attempted to use this as a base to launch assaults on the liberated areas in northern and central Vietnam, cut off the connection between the anti-French armed forces in Vietnam and Laos, and provide cover for the French army stationed in Shanglao. The total strength of the French army stationed in Dien Bien Phu is 17 infantry battalions (including parachute battalions), 2 105mm artillery battalions, 1 155mm artillery battery, 1 engineer battalion, 1 tank company, and 1 flight team on duty. ***16,200 people. In order to defeat the French army's attempt, the Vietnamese army decided to launch a strategic offensive campaign against Dien Bien Phu, with Vo Nguyen Giap as the frontline commander. After the Vietnamese army liberated Laizhou, the provincial capital, in December 1953, they assembled 4 infantry divisions (less than 1 regiment), 1 artillery division and more than 40,000 troops from other arms to attack Dien Bien from the north and south. The government formed an encirclement. In view of the fact that the French army had built strong fortifications, the Vietnamese army adopted the policy of attacking steadily and annihilating the enemy in stages. The first stage (13-29 March 1954): The Vietnamese army successively captured the French army's strongholds in the northern area. The second stage (1954.3.30～4.30): The Vietnamese army launched an attack on the enemy's central division of Mang Thanh, using tunnels or traffic trenches to approach and destroy the French army's strongholds, seize the commanding heights east of Dien Bien Phu, and wedge into the central and southern districts. , divided and surrounded the French army, compressed it into a narrow area of ??less than 2 square kilometers, destroyed the airport with artillery fire, and cut off the French army's supplies from the air. The third stage (1954.5.1~7): The Vietnamese army launched a general offensive, completely annihilated the enemy, shot down or destroyed 62 aircraft, and captured the French commander Brigadier General Castries and all his staff. This battle was the first offensive battle conducted by the Vietnamese army. The victory of the battle accelerated the war process and was of great significance for the signing of the "Indochina Armistice Agreement."