Students of modern history will be familiar with Võ Nguyên Giáp, a Vietnamese General
who fought the French in the Indochina War between 1946 and 1954 and the
Americans and other nations in the Vietnam War - what the Vietnamese refer to
as the American War - between 1960 and 1975.
Giáp was commander in chief of Vietnam People's Army - the "Viet Minh" - and was
a renowned strategist and tactician.
One of the most famous feats for which he is remembered was the massive defeat
of crack French forces at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu.
In November of 1953 the French had airdropped 16,000 troops into a valley in the
north-west of Vietnam to act as a fortress to prevent the Viet Minh's advance into
French Laos.
The steep, heavily wooded hills surrounding the valley were believed to be
impregnable.
However, with Hannibal-like strategy and determination, Giáp's 50,000-strong forces
made their own roads to the top of the hills and man-hauled 200 heavy artillery pieces
in place - what the Viet Minh referred to as "steel elephants" - which they then
camouflaged into protected dugouts.
The logistics were formidable.
The main bombardment began in March 1954 which included wiping out the
main French command post and its entire staff.
Each Viet Minh gun crew had its own line-of-sight spotter and the effects on the
French forces were devastating.
As the battle continued into April, it took on the form of trench warfare.
French aerial re-supplies took heavy losses from machine gins. Despite
some valiant counterattacks by the French, their positions were overrun
by May.
The Viet Minh took 11,721 prisoners and the defeat seriously damaged France's
continuation as a colonial empire. Days after the battle, the Geneva Conference
would result in Vietnam being temporarily portioned into the North and South.
Giáp died yesterday in Hanoi. He was 102.
"Vietnam, The Ten Thousand Day War" - an excellent 26 part Canadian TV
documentary written by Peter Arnett and narrated by Richard Basehart,
part 1 starting here -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam...ousand_Day_War
The episode on Dien Bien Phu here. Recommended viewing -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TX6ieTkIcrE
