Battle of Ðiện Biên Phủ

Battle of Điện Biên Phủ
Part of the First Indochina War
Viet Minh troops planting their flag over the captured French headquarters at Dien Bien Phu
Date 13 March – 7 May 1954 (1 month, 3 weeks and 3 days) Location Vicinity of Điện Biên Phủ, French Indochina (present day Vietnam) 21°23′13″N 103°0′56″E Result Việt Minh-led Democratic Republic of Vietnam victory
Belligerents
French Union France State of Vietnam United States	Democratic Republic of Vietnam Viet Minh China
Commanders and leaders
Henri Eugène Navarre Christian de Castries  André Trancart  Jules Gaucher † Pierre Langlais  André Lalande  Charles Piroth †	Ho Chi Minh Võ Nguyên Giáp Hoàng Văn Thái Lê Liêm Đặng Kim Giang Lê Trọng Tấn Vương Thừa Vũ Hoàng Minh Thảo Lê Quảng Ba
Strength
13 March: ~10,800; ~9,000 combat personnel ~1,800 logistics and support personnel 10 tanks 7 May: ~14,000; ~12,000 combat personnel ~2,000 logistics and support personnel 37 transport aircraft ~600 aircraft	13 March: ~49,500 combat personnel ~15,000 logistics and support personnel 7 May: ~80,000 men including logistics and support personnel
Casualties and losses
12,416 2,242 killed 6,463 wounded 3,711 missing (Most missing and wounded were eventually reported as captured) 62 aircraft and 10 tanks lost 167 aircraft damaged 2 dead	Western historians estimate: 8,000 dead 15,000 wounded Asian historians estimate: 23,000–25,000 casualties Vietnamese figures: 13,930 casualties
Battle of Ðiện Biên Phủ (Vietnam)

The Battle of Ðiện Biên Phủ was a 1954 battle between Vietnamese and French forces. Vietnam won, which made the French give up in the First Indochina War. The independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was secured, and Vietnam was divided into North Vietnam and South Vietnam.

With the launch of Operation Castor, French soldiers were dropped from the Red River Delta by air, deep into the northwestern hills of Vietnam, into Việt Minh territory. They established a well-fortified garrison at Ðiện Biên Phủ, alongside an airstrip to supply their troops. That was an attempt to lure the Vietnamese guerrilla fighters, commanded by General Võ Nguyên Giáp, into an all-out firefight to inflict devastating losses in which the French would use their heavy artillery and superior firepower.

However, the Việt Minh did not take the bait but brought Chinese-funded heavy artillery into this difficult area, much to French surprise. The Việt Minh also used its superior numbers in human wave tactics to overwhelm the French. Next, the Việt Minh dug deep trenches and used its artillery to shoot down any French airplanes, destroy the French airstrip, and bombard the French troops into submission. The French surrendered in May 1954 after two months of fighting. The number of French soldiers at the garrison had increased from 12,000 to over 15,000. After years of fighting and this defeat, the French no longer wanted to continue fighting.

It was the first time an Asian colonial army defeated the army of a European power by military might. That was considered to be a surprise disaster for the French and a blow to the Western world. The French no longer wanted to maintain French Indochina, so they negotiated and later withdrew from Indochina. The Second Indochinese War later was fought between both Vietnams

French colonies in Africa also revolted, most famously during the Algerian War. By 1967, most of the French colonial empire was gone.