The Battle of Dien Bien Phu led to the departure of the French from Indochina or Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos; the Battle of Dien Bien Phu was the beginning of the end of colonialism in the world, it marked a major turning point of the world history; the Battle of Dien Bien Phu was among the most brutal battles of the 20th century in which some of the most intelligent military minds were at work; the results of the Battle of Dien Bien Phu were unprecedented...
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu, apart from the shocking events on the headlines when it took place, seemed not to get much attention from the world later. Maybe it was due to humiliation, or it was overshadowed by more influential events later on… Whatever the reason is, the Battle of Dien Bien Phu certainly deserves to be studied more and more by the military communities, by historian communities and by history enthusiasts.
In this article we would like to embark our readers on a historical tour back in time to learn more about this amazing battle which helped to shape up the Vietnamese history, the history of Laos and Cambodia and, to some extent, the world history.
French force at Dien Bien Phu in 1953-1954
- Infantry & parachutists (total 16,200):
+12 battalions, 7 companies;
+ French enforcement during the battle of Dien Bien Phu: 4 parachute battalions + 2 companies;
- Artillery (131,500 shells of 155 and 105mm fired during the battle of Dien Bien Phu):
+ 155: 1 company (4 pieces)
+ 105mm: 2 battalions (24 pieces)
+ 75mm: 2 battalions (24 pieces)
+ 120mm: 2 battalions (20 pieces)
- Sapper: 1 company
- Tanks: 1 company (10 18-ton tanks: M24 Chaffee)
- Aircraft fleet: 14 aircrafts ( 7 figher aircrafts + 6 reconnaissance aircrafts + 1 chopper)
French units in Dien Bien Phu 1953-1954
1/ 1er BEP
2/ 2e BEP (Liesenfelt)
3/ 1er BPC (1May,Bazin)
4/ 6e BPC (16Mar, Bigeard)
5/ 8e BPC (Choc)
6/ 5e BPVN
7/ 2/1 RCP (chasseurs 4-Apr, Brechignac)
8/ 1/13 DBLE
9/ 3/13 DBLE
10/ 1/2 REI
11/ 3/3 REI
12/ 2/1 RTA
13/ 3/3 RTA
14/ 5/7 RTA
15/ 1/4 RTM
16/ BT2
17/ BT3
18/ 2/4 RAC
19/ 4/4 RAC
20/ 3/10 RAC
Viet Minh’s Units around Dien Bien Phu
- Infantry ( 53,800+ 8,000 as enforcement): 11 regiments ((9+57/304, 308, 312, 316)
- Artillery: 1 division (351)
+ 105: 24 pieces (18,200 shells fired during the battle = 11,715 from Border Campaign + 3,600 aids from China + 5,000 from French parachute drops + 400 from Central Laos Operation );
+ 75: 24 pieces;
+ 37: 24 pieces (?);
+ 120: 16 pieces;
+ H6: 12 launchers;
+ Bazookas: unknown;
+ 83: 12+8 = 20 pieces;
- Sapper: 1 regiment;
- Porters: 261,000 (of which 30,000 in the frontline);
- Bicycles: 20,000;
- Boats & rafts: 11,800;
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