A complete defeat of the French forces, besieged in a fortified position deep in the North Vietmanese jungle by the Viet Minh soldiers under General Giap.

The French, in particular batallions of the Foreign Legion, held out for 56 days against incredible odds in an increasingly precarious position, surrounded and starved of supply and reinforcement before weight of numbers, artillery and skillfull concentration of force overwhelmed them. It spelt the end of French involvement in the region.

Fortified hills and 2 airstrips around the village of Dien Bien Phu in a basin of the Nam Youm River, 30 km from the Laotian border and 220 km North West of Hanoi, Tonkin (North Vietnam). (Vietnam)

French Expeditionary Force

Number engaged :

11,000

Casualties :

11,200 (101.82%)

Viet Minh Forces

Number engaged :

60,000

Casualties :

23,000 (38.33%)