The Battle of Dien Bien PhuThe Battle of Dien Bien Phu was fought between Vietnamese Communists, called Vietminh, and France in 1954. It was one of the most important battle in the War. The French were defeated, and they gave up their colonies in Indochina.
In November 1953, France began building an army base around the village of Dien Bien Phu, in what is now northwestern Vietnam. The base was intended to disrupt Vietminh army movements. The Vietminh had other plans for the French. The underestimated Vietminh climbed the terrain, forcing their artillery up the hills.
On March 13, 1954, about 50,000 Vietminh soldiers began attacking the French force of more than 10,000 troops at the base. They quickly destroyed the base’s airfield, leaving the French without supplies. The French were cut off from all supply lines. The outnumbered French resisted the Vietminh attack for 56 days, but were forced to surrender on May 7, 1954.
The fighting ended early the next day. Directly after the fighting was done, there was the Geneva Conference of 1954, where the North and South Vietnam came into being.
