| Điện Biên Phủ | |
|---|---|
 |
|
  Điện Biên Phủ
|
|
| Coordinates: 21°23′N 103°1′E / 21.383°N 103.017°E | |
| Country |  Vietnam |
| Province | Dien Bien Province |
Dien Bien Phu (Điện Biên Phủ 
pronunciation (help·info)) is a town in northwestern Vietnam. It is the capital of Dien Bien province, and is known for the events there during the First Indochina War, the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, during which the region was a breadbasket for the Viet Minh.
Contents |
Statistics on Dien Bien Phu's population vary depending on definitions — figures are generally between 70,000 and 125,000. The town is growing quickly, and is projected to have a population of 150,000 by 2020.[1] The majority of the population is not ethnically Vietnamese - rather, Thai ethnic groups form the largest segment. Ethnic Vietnamese make up around a third of the population, with the remainder being Hmong, Si La, or others.
Điện Biên Phủ lies in Muong Thanh valley, a 20-km-long and 6-km-wide basin sometimes described as "heart-shaped". It is on the western edge of Dien Bien province, of which it is the capital, and is only a short distance from the border with Laos. Until the creation of the province in 2004, it was part of Lai Chau province.
The Vietnamese government elevated Dien Bien Phu to town status in 1992, and to city status in 2003.
In the 1950s, the town was known not only for its famous opium traffic, generating 500,000,000 French Francs per year, but more so for a fierce battle that would result in a major realignment of world geopolitics. It was also an extensive source of rice for the Viet Minh[2].
The region was fortified in November 1953 by the French Union force in the biggest airborne operation of the 1946-1954 First Indochina War, Operation Castor, to block Viet Minh transport routes and to set the stage to draw out Việt Minh forces.
The following year, the important Battle of Dien Bien Phu was fought between the Việt Minh (led by Vo Nguyen Giap), and the United States-backed French Union (led by General Navarre, successor to General Raoul Salan). The siege of the French garrison lasted fifty-seven days, from 5:30PM on March 13 to 5:30PM on May 7, 1954. The southern outpost or fire base of the camp, Isabelle, did not follow the cease-fire order and fought until the next day at 01:00AM; a few hours before the long-scheduled Geneva Meeting's Indochina conference involving the United States, the United Kingdom, the French Union and the Soviet Union.
The battle was significant beyond the valleys of Dien Bien Phu. Vo Nguyen Giap's victory ended major French involvement in Indochina and led to the accords which partitioned Vietnam into North and South. Eventually, these conditions inspired American involvement in the Vietnam War. The battle of Điện Biên Phủ is described by historians as "the first time that a non-European colonial independence movement had evolved through all the stages from guerrilla bands to a conventionally organized and equipped army able to defeat a modern Western occupier in pitched battle."[3]
The Western fear of a Communist extension in Southeast Asia, named the Domino Theory by Dwight D. Eisenhower during the Dien Bien Phu siege and the departure of the French from Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, was a factor leading to the direct American intervention in South Vietnam.
Coordinates: 21°23′N 103°01′E / 21.383°N 103.017°E
|
||||||||||||||||
Dien Bien Phu (Điện Biên Phủ) is a small town in northwestern Vietnam.
Site of a major French defeat (1954) in the War of Independence which signaled the beginning of the end of French rule.
Vietnam Airlines flies from Hanoi. (60 mins)
Although of great historical interest to military buffs, there are few if any sights as such. It is a useful stop and transport connection though on the way to other destinations in the area.
There has been recent refurbishment of aspects of the French defences as more tourist are showing interest:
| This article is an outline and needs more content. It has a template, but there is not enough information present. Please plunge forward and help it grow! |
Category: Outline articles
   | Dien Bien Phu - History of the Battle - Dien Bien Phu - 1953-54 : the website of the Battle |
| | The situation of Dien Bien Phu, 50 years after the battle - Dailymotion - Le site de Dien Bien Phu 50 ans après - une vidéo Actu et Politique |
|
|
Wikis
Quiz
Map
Search
