- In March 1954, French troops were in northern Vietnam for what the commanders thought would be a decisive blow against Viet Minh.
- In May, after weeks of brutal fighting, French forces surrendered, ending the battle of Dien Bien Phu and the French Indochina War.
- Western countries saw that war as essential to stop the spread of communism, and the United States was willing to take extreme measures to win it.
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On March 13, 1954, 200 pieces of Viet Minh artillery began a massive bombardment of the French garrison at Dien Bien Phu, in northern Vietnam.
The French had been preparing for an attack for some time, but the scale of the bombing was much larger than they thought possible.
Within hours, the situation was extremely dire. About 49,000 Viet Minh invaded the garrison’s external strengths in human wave attacks. The airstrip was under constant fire, and the French counter-battery fire, aimed at eliminating Viet Minh artillery, was hopelessly ineffective, with many French cannons destroyed.
It was the beginning of a brutal 55-day siege that was the climax of the French War in Indochina, which Western countries considered as essential to stop the spread of communism as the Korean War.
US support in the battle was secret, but extensive. Pilots employed by the CIA carried out vital refueling missions, while United States Air Force personnel maintained the fleet of aircraft that the United States had loaned to France.
As the battle unfolded, American officials debated direct involvement. According to some reports, the American authorities even offered nuclear weapons to France to help turn the tide.
A plan for a decisive battle
Vietnamese soldiers maintaining artillery batteries before the combat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954.
AFP / AFP via Getty Images
A year before the battle, Viet Minh, led by Ho Chi Minh, had taken over almost all of northern Vietnam, with the exception of the area around Hanoi.
Viet Minh also controlled territories in Laos and Cambodia. Fearing a major Viet Minh offensive in Laos, French generals planned to build a base along the border to isolate Viet Minh and lure their fighters into the open, where they could be destroyed by artillery and airpower.
A flat valley nestled between mountains, Dien Bien Phu was chosen for its open fields of fire. On November 20, 1953, French parachutists and engineers parachuted into the valley and began to build defensive positions.
The fortifications consisted of eight main strengths in an area of approximately 6 miles from north to south. The garrison of more than 10,000 men was composed of French soldiers, foreign legionaries and colonial troops from North Africa and Indochina.
But the French forgot to take the surrounding highlands. The French artillery commander was confident in the capabilities of the French counter-battery and believed that the Viet Minh would be unable to gather heavy artillery in the area. He even boasted that “I have more weapons than I need”.
He was sadly mistaken. Viet Minh had spent months carrying artillery and ammunition to the mountains on foot. In March 1954, they were well camouflaged and surrounded the French.
Resulting from the ‘red tide’
One of the few helicopters that managed to land at the French airport in Dien Bien Phu to take victims to Hanoi, March 1954
ullstein bild via Getty Images
In the first four days of battle, three of the nine French strengths were lost and more than 1,000 French soldiers were killed or injured, including the commander of the Foreign Legion and the commander of artillery, who killed himself with a grenade of shame for his errors of calculation.
Soon, French reinforcements and supplies could only be launched by parachute, but air launches became more risky as the siege continued. Several planes were shot down and many supplies fell into the hands of Viet Minh.
In May, Viet Minh had taken the airstrip and reduced the French to just two strengths.
Dien Bien Phu became the center of the struggle against communism. A press report described it as “a human dam trying to contain the red tide that threatens to engulf Southeast Asia”.
The French were desperate and appealed to the United States for help.
The United States has been involved in Indochina since the last days of World War II and has supported the French war effort since 1950. The support was largely logistical; hundreds of planes, tanks, vehicles and thousands of tons of ammunition were delivered to the French, and American advisers oversaw many relief efforts.
In 1954, about 80% of France’s war expenses were being paid by the United States government, and United States Air Force personnel were stationed in Indochina to help maintain and arm borrowed aircraft from the United States.
French soldiers parachuted as reinforcements in the trenches during artillery battles at Dien Bien Phu, March 1954.
Keystone-France / Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images
In Dien Bien Phu, American pilots from Civil Air Transport, a CIA-owned airline, flew more than 1,300 sorties on C-119 transport aircraft borrowed with French Air Force insignia hastily painted over American brands.
Two pilots, James McGovern Jr. and Wallace Buford, died when their C-119 was shot down – the first Americans to die in combat in Vietnam.
French military officials and diplomats have repeatedly called for direct US action.
A plan, discussed on March 20 and later called Operation Vulture, would have seen between 60 and 98 US Air Force B-29 bombers and more than 100 US Navy carrier escort aircraft bombing Viet Minh positions in Dien Bien Phu. A version of Operation Vulture even included the launch of three atomic bombs.
The French formally requested a B-29 attack on April 4, but President Dwight Eisenhower, having just ended the Korean War and concerned about China’s response, was reluctant to get involved directly without the support of allies, namely , Great Britain or Congress.
The French requested the transfer of up to 20 B-29s so that they could carry out larger bombing missions themselves. This was also denied, but the debate among senior US officials over nuclear weapons at Dien Bien Phu was not over, and Air Force personnel were familiar with Operation Vulture, just in case.
‘We can give them some’
French helicopter shot down near Muong Thanh during the battle of Dien Bien Phu in May 1954.
Jean-Claude LABBE / Gamma-Rapho Collection via Getty Images
French Foreign Minister Georges Bidault said that during an April 22 meeting in Paris, Secretary of State John Foster Dulles called him aside and offered the French two atomic bombs for use on Dien Bien Phu.
Bidault said he declined the offer, claiming that by now Viet Minh was too close to the garrison and the bombs would also wipe out the French.
Dulles later categorically denied making such an offer, and no British or American witness confirmed Bidault’s claims. But internally the White House discussed both the use of nuclear weapons and their delivery to the French.
On April 29, the National Security Council debated the issue for four hours and concluded on April 30 that “we can give you some”.
But Eisenhower was still reluctant to get involved directly without the support of allies or Congress, none of which was available.
The Him Lam command post in the hands of Viet Minh during the battle of Dien Bien Phu in May 1954.
Jean-Claude LABBE / Gamma-Rapho Collection via Getty Images
By May, it was too late. Viet Minh launched its final attack on May 1 and defeated the remnants of the French garrison on May 7.
More than 2,000 French soldiers were killed and more than 10,000 were injured or captured. Viet Minh suffered more than 23,000 casualties.
One day after the Viet Minh victory, negotiations involving the French and Viet Minh, as well as the United States, China, the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom began in Geneva.
Indochina was divided into four countries; Vietnam was divided into the Communist-controlled North and the Republic of Vietnam in the South, while Laos and Cambodia became independent states.
The United States intervened directly to help defend South Vietnam from communism in 1965. The lessons from the French experience in Dien Bien Phu helped the United States to repel a similar attack on Khe Sanh in 1968, where some American military officials also considered the use of nuclear weapons.