Show Notes
Join me in discussing the epic story of the battle of Dien Bien Phu as the siege finally begins. In part two, we follow the tens of thousands of Viet Minh porters, bicycles, and men who dragged artillery through the mountains, see how badly short-changed the French fortifications were, and live through the first brutal days of March 1954 as strong points Beatrice and Gabrielle fall.
Chapters: 00:00 Intro and welcome back 00:57 Recap: Navarre's plan and the case for Dien Bien Phu 04:41 The open valley and the artillery assumption 06:07 Recap: the paratroopers take the valley, and Giap answers 07:39 Viet Minh preparations: 50,000 porters and 21,000 bicycles 09:23 Believers and conscripts 10:10 Soviet trucks, French strafing runs, and war communism 13:07 Hauling the guns: the Viet Minh artillery 15:49 Guns on the forward slopes, hidden in caves 17:44 French preparations: 36,000 tons needed 20:09 4,000 tons approved, and 3,000 of it barbed wire 21:14 Bulldozers, generators, and the underground hospital 22:02 The evacuation plan 22:55 Tired troops and half-built fortifications 24:21 The French artillery and the strong point layout 25:53 Into the battle: the downward spiral 26:48 March 11-13: the airfield under fire, and the wait 28:16 March 13, 1700 hours: the assault on Beatrice 29:26 The command bunker is hit 31:08 Beatrice falls 32:22 Giap's truce and the 192 survivors 33:43 March 14: the 5th Vietnamese Paratroop Battalion jumps in 34:40 The assault on Gabrielle 37:01 Marched through the wire: "He has done his duty" 38:08 Gabrielle falls, and the cost of three days 39:28 Colonel Piroth 40:59 Morale cracks: Keller and Anne-Marie 41:40 March 16: Bigeard jumps back in, and de Castries' message 42:48 March 17: the wounded handover gambit 44:02 Anne-Marie abandoned, and the Rats of Nam Yum 44:48 Landing under the guns: ambulances, AA, and night glide landings 46:36 Giap's strangulation phase begins 47:20 Two little nuggets: Thai families and the field brothel 48:18 Wrap-up and next episode
Recommended reading: Hell in a Very Small Place by Bernard B. Fall.
More from Green Hell: A Vietnam War Podcast
Join me in discussing the epic story of the battle of Dien Bien Phu, one of the craziest battles of all time and the final showdown of the French Indochina War. In part one, we dig into why General Navarre chose a remote valley near the Laotian border for his air-land fortress, meet the men who would answer for it, and jump in with the paratroopers who seized the valley in November 1953. Recommended reading: Hell in a Very Small Place by Bernard B. Fall Chapters: 00:00 Intro and welcome back 01:45 A "Train Wreck" cold open: Navarre, the evening news, and the lacquered box 04:44 Who's to blame? The French inquiry (declassified in 1994) 06:38 How bad did it get? Accounts from the hospital, the trenches, and both sides 09:53 The siege by the numbers: dates and casualties 13:50 Why Dien Bien Phu? The political case: the Thai Federation and Laos 16:23 A quick catch-up: Giap's 1953 invasion of Laos 19:11 The strategic case: supply routes, rice, and poppy 21:16 The Na San precedent 23:11 The tactical case: the valley, the hills, and the airstrip 25:04 The fatal assumption: "They're not going to bring in enough artillery" 27:23 Navarre's grand strategy and Giap's countermove 30:00 Navarre vs. Cogny: the start of a feud 31:38 The valley and the nine strong points 35:51 The rumor: strong points named after de Castries' lovers 36:35 Key leaders: Colonel Christian de Castries 38:59 Key leaders: General Henri Navarre 41:32 Responsibility, the objections, and Bernard B. Fall's Hell in a Very Small Place 43:31 Housekeeping: what's next for the series and the show 45:07 November 20, 1953: the paratroopers drop into the valley 48:30 Day three: Brigitte Friang jumps, and the hedgehog takes shape 50:24 Giap marches on Dien Bien Phu, and the Viet Minh consolidate power 52:43 Wrap-up and next episode
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