Dien Bein Phu.
As in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu which was fought in 1954 and gave notice to the French that their imperialist aspirations were dead. In fact, they were buried in the mud, blood, and artillery shells of the conflict. For a story which I have been writing, I have been reading this and that about Dien Bien Phu when I wasn't trying to re-read the Sagas. Over the weekend I finished my third book about the battle. This does not make me an expert, but as such it does allow for an opinion to be expressed:
The Americans do not really have an opinion about the battle. They see it as something of a pre-lude to their involvement in Vietnam.
The French would rather forget Dien Bien Phu, and seem to have assigned it to books, etc. The books about the battle explains a lot about the French attitude and involvement of the Americans in Vietnam. The French saw the Americans as fools in the 1960s and 1970s, if only because the French were fools in the 1950s.
Thoughts on those involved:
General Henri Navarre: Commander in Chief of Indochina forces--the equalvient of Westmoreland--before and during the battle. It's too easy to judge this man a fool. The movivations behind his forming and building a fortified, entrenched camp at Dien Bein Phu remain something of a mystery to me. Arrogance? His dislike of General Cogny? What? Yeah, ok, almost everyone told him that the encampment was a good idea and would bring out the Viet-Minh. They were correct; the Viet-Minh came out with Artillery, which was not anticipated. They also came out with anti-aircraft guns, which effective cut off supplies.
General Cogny: Commander of the Northern French Forces: did not like Navarre at all, and didn't seem to like the idea Dien Bein Phu (I'm beginning to see why the French call it "DBP") in the first place. At one point he told Navarre that he ought to be slapped. Hero? Fool? Who knows.
Colonel/General de Castries: Commander of DBP. Cast by some authors as an idiot/coward. Cast by other authors as a victim of bad fate. He was a the wrong soldier assigned to wrong duty at the wrong time. A calvary soldier without calvary in charge of essentially infantry. See Navarre.
Lieutenant Colonel/Colonel Pierre Langlais: Paratrooper: if the French had won the battle, he would have been the hero of it. Judged defacto commander of French Forces at DBP.
Lieutenant Colonel Gaucher: Commanding, the 13th Demi-brigade of the French Foreign Legion (infantry): the French sacifice of DBP. Killed in the first attack by the Viet-Minh.
General Giap: Viet-Minh overall commander. Considered a genius these days. I suppose one does not ask a genius an impertanent question: how is it you allowed your 10,000 prisoners of war (taken after the battle) to die in the droves they did? Some 7000 prisoners died in Viet Minh hands while you marched them to their prisoner camps. The sick, the wounded, the disarmed, etc. starved to death while you and your commissars (as some authors put it) tried to convert them to communism. Why didn't you force the French to take of their own and evacuate their soldiers? Military practicallity? Political Practicallity? Revenge?
Ho chi Minh, aka Uncle Ho: Revolutionary. Anti-imperialist. Supposed-communist. Whatever. See my comments on General Giap.
The Americans do not really have an opinion about the battle. They see it as something of a pre-lude to their involvement in Vietnam.
The French would rather forget Dien Bien Phu, and seem to have assigned it to books, etc. The books about the battle explains a lot about the French attitude and involvement of the Americans in Vietnam. The French saw the Americans as fools in the 1960s and 1970s, if only because the French were fools in the 1950s.
Thoughts on those involved:
General Henri Navarre: Commander in Chief of Indochina forces--the equalvient of Westmoreland--before and during the battle. It's too easy to judge this man a fool. The movivations behind his forming and building a fortified, entrenched camp at Dien Bein Phu remain something of a mystery to me. Arrogance? His dislike of General Cogny? What? Yeah, ok, almost everyone told him that the encampment was a good idea and would bring out the Viet-Minh. They were correct; the Viet-Minh came out with Artillery, which was not anticipated. They also came out with anti-aircraft guns, which effective cut off supplies.
General Cogny: Commander of the Northern French Forces: did not like Navarre at all, and didn't seem to like the idea Dien Bein Phu (I'm beginning to see why the French call it "DBP") in the first place. At one point he told Navarre that he ought to be slapped. Hero? Fool? Who knows.
Colonel/General de Castries: Commander of DBP. Cast by some authors as an idiot/coward. Cast by other authors as a victim of bad fate. He was a the wrong soldier assigned to wrong duty at the wrong time. A calvary soldier without calvary in charge of essentially infantry. See Navarre.
Lieutenant Colonel/Colonel Pierre Langlais: Paratrooper: if the French had won the battle, he would have been the hero of it. Judged defacto commander of French Forces at DBP.
Lieutenant Colonel Gaucher: Commanding, the 13th Demi-brigade of the French Foreign Legion (infantry): the French sacifice of DBP. Killed in the first attack by the Viet-Minh.
General Giap: Viet-Minh overall commander. Considered a genius these days. I suppose one does not ask a genius an impertanent question: how is it you allowed your 10,000 prisoners of war (taken after the battle) to die in the droves they did? Some 7000 prisoners died in Viet Minh hands while you marched them to their prisoner camps. The sick, the wounded, the disarmed, etc. starved to death while you and your commissars (as some authors put it) tried to convert them to communism. Why didn't you force the French to take of their own and evacuate their soldiers? Military practicallity? Political Practicallity? Revenge?
Ho chi Minh, aka Uncle Ho: Revolutionary. Anti-imperialist. Supposed-communist. Whatever. See my comments on General Giap.