Dien Bien Phu: The First Indo-China War, 1946-1954

by Anthony Tucker-Jones

Overview

When the world held its breath …

It is 25 years since the end of the Cold War, now a generation old. It began over 75 years ago, in 1944—long before the last shots of the Second World War had echoed across the wastelands of Eastern Europe—with the brutal Greek Civil War. The battle lines are no longer drawn, but they linger on, unwittingly or not, in conflict zones such as Iraq, Somalia and Ukraine. In an era of mass-produced AK-47s and ICBMs, one such flashpoint was French Indochina …

At the end of the Second World War France sought to reassert its military prestige, but instead suffered humiliating defeat at Dien Bien Phu in French colonial Indochina. The First Indochina war became a textbook example of how not to conduct counterinsurgency warfare against nationalist guerrillas. Anthony Tucker-Jones guides the reader through this decisive conflict with a concise text and contemporary photographs, providing critical insight into the conduct of the war by both sides and its wider ramifications.

The Viet Minh, after resisting the Japanese in Indochina, sought independence for Vietnam from France. The French, with limited military resources, moved swiftly to reassert control in 1945, sparking a decade-long conflict. French defense of Hanoi rested on holding the Red River Delta, making it a key battleground. When the Viet Minh invaded neighboring Laos the French deployed to fight a set-piece battle at Dien Bien Phu, in 1954, but instead were trapped. All relief attempts failed and French defenses were slowly overwhelmed. America considered coming to the garrison’s rescue using nuclear weapons, but instead left it to its fate, which set the scene for the Algerian and the Vietnam conflicts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781526708007
Publisher:	Pen & Sword Books Limited
Publication date:	01/24/2020
Series:	Cold War, 1945-1991
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	128
Sales rank:	696,077
File size:	34 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Anthony Tucker-Jones is a former defense intelligence officer and a widely published expert on regional conflicts, counter-terrorism and armsred and aerial warfare. He is the author of over thirty books, is security and terrorism correspondent for intersec – The Journal of International Security, and has freelanced for Channel 4 News.

Table of Contents

Prologue - 'Where's Bernard?' 4

Introduction - Imperial Hubris 5

1 End of Empire 7

2 Cold War Realities 14

3 Operation Masterdom 19

4 Rise of the Viet Minh 25

5 Get Leclerc 32

6 France's Expeditionary Force 38

7 The Hand of Mao 44

8 Battle for the Red River 51

9 Victory on the Day River 58

10 Air War Over Indochina 63

11 Operation Lorraine 69

12 Prelude to Defeat 75

13 Fortress Dien Bien Phu 84

14 A Dishonoured Man 91

15 The Vulture Hovers 98

16 Isabelle is Taken 103

17 The Cold War Reckoning 114

Epilogue - The Returned 121

Appendix I French Order of Battle, Dien Bien Phu, 6 December 1953-8 May 1954 123

Appendix II Viet Minh Order of Battle, Vietnam People's Army, Dien Bien Phu 13 March-8 May 1954 125

Bibliography 127

About the Author 128