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88-443: In the final moments of the 1954 Battle of Dien Bien Phu , a weakened French battalion awaits a last assault by communist Việt Minh troops. The battalion commander, Basque Lt. Col. Pierre-Noël Raspéguy ( Anthony Quinn ), has called central headquarters for reinforcements. Headquarters sends only a single plane load of French paratroopers, under the command of Major de Clairefons. Despite Raspéguy's attempts to provide covering fire,

176-493: A Việt Minh leader's ( Burt Kwouk ) offer for preferential treatment because he is an Arab. Raspéguy's leadership keeps the men together in their captivity. When released after a treaty between the Việt Minh and France, Raspéguy leads his men in demolishing a delousing station that they see as a humiliation. Upon his return home to Algeria, Ben Mahidi is disgusted at the treatment of his people, especially when his teenaged brother

264-423: A concentrated artillery barrage at 17:00. This was very effective and stunned the defenders. Two regiments from the crack 308th Division attacked starting at 20:00. At 04:00 the following morning, an artillery shell hit the battalion headquarters, severely wounding the battalion commander and most of his staff. De Castries ordered a counterattack to relieve Gabrielle . However, Colonel Pierre Langlais , in forming

352-508: A medal while his Regiment is presented with a unit citation. Outside the compound where this is happening Esclavier, who has left the army in disgust, laughs when he sees a child painting a pro-independence slogan on the wall. Mark Robson bought the novel's film rights for his Red Lion company in March 1963. The screenplay was written by Nelson Gidding, who had previously adapted Nine Hours to Rama for Robson. Robson reportedly held off making

440-568: A period of stalemate from 15 April to 1 May, the French intercepted enemy radio messages which told of whole units refusing orders to attack, and Viet Minh prisoners in French hands said that they were told to advance or be shot by the officers and non-commissioned officers behind them. Worse still, the Viet Minh lacked advanced medical treatment and care, leading a US general commenting on the war to observe that "Nothing strikes at combat-morale like

528-505: A result, when the battle finally began, the Viet Minh knew exactly where the French artillery pieces were, while the French did not even know how many guns Giáp possessed. Third, the aerial resupply lines at Nà Sản were never severed, despite Viet Minh anti-aircraft fire. At Điện Biên Phủ, Giáp made it a priority for his gunners to focus on the French runways and aircraft, crippling supply runs and making it impossible for fresh soldiers to be sent in. In June 1953, Major General René Cogny ,

616-471: A short, massive artillery barrage, followed by small unit infiltration attacks , then mopping-up operations. Eliane 1 changed hands several times that day, but by the next morning the French had control of the strong point. The Viet Minh attempted to retake it on the evening of 12 April, but were pushed back. At this point, the morale of the Viet Minh soldiers was greatly lowered due to the massive casualties they had received from heavy French gunfire. During

704-407: A single order—to create military conditions that would lead to an "honorable political solution". According to military scholar Phillip Davidson : On arrival, Navarre was shocked by what he found. There had been no long-range plan since de Lattre's departure. Everything was conducted on a day-to-day, reactive basis. Combat operations were undertaken only in response to enemy moves or threats. There

792-602: A strong enemy force. Navarre had previously considered three other approaches to defending Laos: mobile warfare , which was impossible given the terrain in Vietnam; a static defense line stretching to Laos, which was not feasible given the number of troops at Navarre's disposal; or placing troops in the Laotian provincial capitals and supplying them by air, which was unworkable due to the distance from Hanoi to Luang Prabang and Vientiane . Navarre believed that this left only

880-594: Is an airborne infantry unit of the French Army . The Colonial Parachute Battalions trace their origins to the 1st Colonial Parachute Commando Demi-Brigade in Brittan. The demi-brigade was heir to the paratroopers of Free France , the SAS Demi-Brigade and the group of shock ("choc") parachute battalions. The 6e BCCP travelled to Indochina on July 28. The battalion fought valiantly on various sectors of

968-509: Is loyal to the FLN and uses her friendship with Esclavier to smuggle explosive detonators. The previously naive Esclavier begins to have a new view of his nation's conduct as the FLN rebels and French paratroopers try to outdo each other in breaking the rules of war. Raspéguy eventually turns on his old comrades who have become too sympathetic to the FLN. Referred to as General, but still wearing Lt. Col. ranks, Raspéguy's last scene shows him receiving

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1056-703: Is machine gunned by the police for painting graffiti in support of independence from France. He deserts from the army to join the rebels of the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN), becoming a guerrilla leader. Upon his own return from Indochina, Lt. Col. Raspéguy starts a relationship with Countess Nathalie de Clairefons ( Michèle Morgan ), widow of the Major who died while trying to reinforce Raspéguy's battalion. The Countess' military contacts result in Raspéguy being given command of

1144-416: Is the "Armed Arm of God". This Insignia is the symbol of righteous combat and fidelity to superior missions. The French Army Insignia of Marine Infantry Paratroopers is backgrounded by a Marine Anchor. The insignia is mounted with an SAS dagger and was never modified, aside of the various successive inscriptions "BCCP", then "RPC", and finally "RPIMa". The regiment was heir to the 6 BCCP created in 1948 and

1232-468: Is very grave. The combat is confused and goes on all about. I feel the end is approaching, but we will fight to the finish." Cogny: "Of course you will fight to the end. It is out of the question to run up the white flag after your heroic resistance." 6th Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment (same unit, different designations) The 6th Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment ( French : 6 Régiment de Parachutistes d'Infanterie de Marine, 6 RPIMa )

1320-837: The Algerian War as a part of the 10th Parachute Division . The regiment left French Algeria on 6 July 1961 and went to Verdun . From January 1963 it was stationed in Mont-de-Marsan , the old instruction base for the Colonial Parachute Brigade. The regiment deployed multiple times to Lebanon. It served within the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and with the Multinational Force in Lebanon during

1408-677: The Hanoi delta region to prepare for a series of offensives against Viet Minh staging areas in northwest Vietnam. They set up fortified towns and outposts in the area, including Lai Châu near the Chinese border to the north, Nà Sản to the west of Hanoi, and the Plain of Jars in northern Laos. In May 1953, French Premier René Mayer named Henri Navarre as Salan's successor to command French Union forces in Indochina. Mayer had given Navarre

1496-648: The Lebanese Civil War . It served alongside the 1st Parachute Chasseur Regiment , the 1st Parachute Hussard Regiment and the 31 Brigade which included the Operational Group of the Foreign Legion , the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment , the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment and the 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment . The regiment was dissolved 30 June 1998. In the summer of 2017, the initial training center for non-commissioned members of

1584-566: The "paratrooper putsch" is unlikely to have ever happened. Both historians record that Langlais and Marcel Bigeard were known to be on good terms with their commanding officer. French aerial resupply took heavy losses from Viet Minh machine guns near the landing strip. On 27 March, the Hanoi air transport commander, Nicot, ordered that all supply deliveries be made from 2,000 m (6,600 ft) or higher; losses were expected to remain heavy. The following day, De Castries ordered an attack against

1672-425: The 141st Regiment's 11th Battalion did not fare well because its assault trenches were too shallow and portions of them had been flattened by French artillery. Its efforts to breach Beatrice -2's barbed wire were stalled for hours by flanking fire from Beatrice -1 and several previously-undetected bunkers on Beatrice -2 that had been spared by the bombardment. The holdouts on Beatrice -1 were eliminated by 22:30, and

1760-479: The 141st Regiment's 11th and 16th Battalions finally broke into Beatrice -2 an hour later, though the strong point was not entirely taken until after 01:00 on 14 March. Roughly 350 French legionnaires were killed, wounded, or captured. About 100 managed to escape and rejoin the French lines. The French estimated that Viet Minh losses totaled 600 dead and 1,200 wounded. According to the Viet Minh, they lost 193 killed and 137 wounded The victory at Beatrice "galvanized

1848-486: The 148th Infantry Regiment and the 316th Division to attack Lai Chau, while the 308th , 312th , and 351st divisions assaulted Điện Biên Phủ from Việt Bắc . Starting in December, the French, under the command of Colonel Christian de Castries , began transforming their anchoring point into a fortress by setting up seven satellite positions. (Each was said to be named after a former mistress of de Castries, although

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1936-521: The 316th Division attacked Eliane 2. Just as it appeared the French were about to be overrun, a few French tanks arrived from the central garrison, and helped push the Viet Minh back. Smaller attacks on Eliane 4 were also pushed back. The Viet Minh briefly captured Huguette 7, only to be pushed back by a French counterattack at dawn on 1 April. Fighting continued in this manner over the next several nights. The Viet Minh repeatedly attacked Eliane 2, only to be beaten back. Repeated attempts to reinforce

2024-533: The 3rd Battalion, 13th Foreign Legion Demi-Brigade. Viet Minh artillery opened a fierce bombardment with two batteries each of 105   mm howitzers, 120   mm mortars, and 75   mm mountain guns (plus seventeen 57   mm recoilless rifles and numerous 60   mm and 81/82   mm mortars). French command was disrupted at 18:30 when a shell hit the French command post, killing the battalion commander, Major Paul Pégot, and most of his staff. A few minutes later, Lieutenant Colonel Jules Gaucher , commander of

2112-486: The 6 RPC. The Regimental Color of the 6 RPIMa, heir of the 6th parachute battalion bears the inscription "INDOCHINE" with 5 citations at the orders of the armed forces for the following: The regimental color was passed to Colonel Romain-Desfossés at Blida on November 5, 1957 by General Jean Gilles . In eleven years of operations, the regiment endured the loss of 23 officers, 70 sous-officiers and 480 ranker paratroopers. The regiment bears wearing in golden letters in

2200-630: The Caylus camp became "CFIM, le 6e RPIMa" then in April 2019 officially recreated under the name of 6e RPIMa. French army metropolitan and marine paratroopers wear the Red Beret . The Archangel Saint Michael, patron of the French paratroopers is celebrated on 29 September. The prière du Para (Prayer of the Paratrooper) was written by André Zirnheld in 1938. Just like the paratrooper Brevet of

2288-637: The French Army, the Insignia of French Paratroopers was created in 1946. The French Army Insignia of metropolitan Paratroopers represents a closed "winged armed dextrochere", meaning a "right winged arm" armed with a sword pointing upwards. The Insignia makes reference to the Patron of Paratroopers. In fact, the Insignia represents "the right Arm of Saint Michael", the Archangel which according to Liturgy

2376-405: The French beat back Giáp's forces repeatedly, inflicting very heavy losses on them. The French hoped that by repeating the strategy on a much larger scale, they would be able to lure Giáp into committing the bulk of his forces to a massed assault. This would enable superior French artillery, armor, and air support to decimate the exposed Viet Minh forces. The success at Nà Sản convinced Navarre of

2464-574: The French commander in the Tonkin Delta, proposed Điện Biên Phủ , which had an old airstrip built by the Japanese during World War II, as a "mooring point". In another misunderstanding, Cogny envisioned a lightly defended point from which to launch raids; Navarre, however, believed that he intended to build a heavily fortified base capable of withstanding a siege. Navarre selected Điện Biên Phủ for Berteil's "hedgehog" operation. When presented with

2552-477: The French dropped or flew 9,000 troops into the area over three days, as well as a bulldozer to prepare the airstrip. They were landed at three drop zones: "Natasha" (northwest of Điện Biên Phủ), "Octavie" (to the southwest), and "Simone" (to the southeast). The Viet Minh elite 148th Independent Infantry Regiment, headquartered at Điện Biên Phủ, reacted "instantly and effectively". Three of its four battalions, however, were absent. Initial operations proceeded well for

2640-408: The French garrison by parachute drops were made, but had to be carried out by lone planes at irregular times to avoid excessive casualties from Viet Minh anti-aircraft fire. Some reinforcements did arrive, but not enough to replace French casualties. On 5 April, after a long night of battle, French fighter-bombers and artillery inflicted particularly devastating losses on one Viet Minh regiment, which

2728-399: The French knowledge of the battle plan and along with other complications, the assault was canceled on 26 January, and Giáp went away and designed a new plan with a new start time. He said that this change of plan was the hardest decision of his military career. The Viet Minh assault began in earnest on 13 March 1954 with an attack on the northeastern outpost, Béatrice , which was held by

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2816-479: The French launched a counterattack against Eliane 2, and recaptured it. Langlais ordered another counterattack the following afternoon against Dominique 2 and Eliane 1, using virtually "everybody left in the garrison who could be trusted to fight". The counterattacks allowed the French to retake Dominique 2 and Eliane 1, but the Viet Minh launched their own renewed assault. The French, who were exhausted and without reserves, fell back from both positions late in

2904-463: The French suffered from a serious crisis of command. Senior officers with the garrison and Cogny in Hanoi began to feel that de Castries was incompetent in defending Dien Bien Phu. After the loss of the northern outposts, he isolated himself in his bunker, de facto shirking his command of the situation. On 17 March, Cogny attempted to fly into Điện Biên Phủ to take command, but his plane was driven off by anti-aircraft fire. He considered parachuting into

2992-626: The French troops four to one. Giáp compared Điện Biên Phủ to a "rice bowl", where his troops occupied the edge and the French the bottom. Second, Giáp made a mistake at Nà Sản by committing his forces to reckless frontal attacks before being fully prepared. He learned his lesson: at Điện Biên Phủ, Giáp spent months meticulously stockpiling ammunition and emplacing heavy artillery and anti-aircraft guns before making his move. He obtained crucial intelligence on French artillery positions from Viet Minh spies posing as camp laborers. Artillery pieces were sited within well-constructed and camouflaged casemates . As

3080-781: The French-held valley, totalling five divisions, including the 351st Heavy Division, which was an artillery formation equipped with medium artillery, such as the US M101 105mm howitzer, supplied by the neighbouring People's Republic of China (PRC) from captured stocks obtained from defeated Nationalist China as well as US forces in Korea , together with some heavier field-guns as well as anti-aircraft artillery. Various types of artillery and anti-aircraft guns (mainly of Soviet origin), which outnumbered their French counterparts by about four to one, were moved into strategic positions overlooking

3168-412: The French. By the end of November, six parachute battalions had been landed, and the French Army consolidated its positions. It was at this time that Giáp began his countermoves. He had expected an attack but had not foreseen when or where it would occur. Giáp realized that, if pressed, the French would abandon Lai Châu Province and fight a pitched battle at Điện Biên Phủ. On 24 November, Giáp ordered

3256-489: The French. They brought in vast amounts of heavy artillery (including anti-aircraft guns ) and managed to move these bulky weapons through difficult terrain up the rear slopes of the mountains. They dug tunnels and arranged the guns to target the French positions. The tunnels featured a front terrace, onto which the Viet Minh would pull their cannons from out of the tunnels, fire a few shots, to then pull them back into protective cover. In 54 days of gun battle, no Viet Minh cannon

3344-673: The United States in May 1966. It was released in France a few months later. The film was not particularly popular in the US, earning rentals of $ 1,150,000. It was the fifth most popular movie at the French box office in 1966, after La Grande Vadrouille , Dr Zhivago , Is Paris Burning? and A Fistful of Dollars . The film received mixed reviews. The New York Times described it as mundane concluding it "is all too reminiscent, except for

3432-493: The Viet Minh AA machine guns 3 km (1.9 mi) west of Điện Biên Phủ. Remarkably, the attack was a complete success, with 350 Viet Minh's casualties and seventeen 12.7mm AA machine guns destroyed (French estimate), while the French lost 20 killed and 97 wounded. The next phase of the battle saw more massed Viet Minh assaults against French positions in central Điện Biên Phủ – particularly at Eliane and Dominique ,

3520-445: The Viet Minh and the French general headquarters, as well as outflanking all positions east of the river. At this point, the French 4th Colonial Artillery Regiment entered the fight, setting its 105 mm howitzers to zero elevation and firing directly on the Viet Minh attackers, blasting huge holes in their ranks. Another group of French soldiers, near the airfield, opened fire on the Viet Minh with anti-aircraft machine guns, forcing

3608-422: The Viet Minh and was to make shambles of all the estimates of our own artillerymen." Two days later, the French artillery commander, Colonel Charles Piroth , distraught at his inability to silence the well-camouflaged Viet Minh batteries, went into his dugout and committed suicide with a grenade . He was buried there in secret to prevent loss of morale among the French troops. Following a five-hour ceasefire on

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3696-732: The Viet Minh as the Democratic Republic of Vietnam under Ho Chi Minh . With huge support by the U.S., the south became the State of Vietnam , nominally under Emperor Bảo Đại , preventing Ho Chi Minh from gaining control of the entire country. By 1953, the First Indochina War was not going well for France. A succession of commanders – Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque , Jean Étienne Valluy , Roger Blaizot , Marcel Carpentier , Jean de Lattre de Tassigny , and Raoul Salan  – had proven incapable of suppressing

3784-462: The Viet Minh between 1,000 and 2,000 attacking the strongpoint. The northwestern outpost Anne-Marie was defended by Tai troops, members of an ethnic minority loyal to the French. For weeks, Giáp had distributed subversive propaganda leaflets, telling the Tais that this was not their fight. The fall of Beatrice and Gabrielle had demoralized them. On the morning of 17 March, under the cover of fog,

3872-416: The Viet Minh isolated it and beat back the attempt to send reinforcements north. Following a massive artillery barrage on 30 March, the Viet Minh began employing the same trench warfare tactics that they were using against the central camp. By the end of April, Isabelle had exhausted its water supply and was nearly out of ammunition. The Viet Minh launched a massed assault against the exhausted defenders on

3960-407: The Viet Minh lacked. Navarre wrote that, "Under the influence of Chinese advisers, the Viet Minh commanders had used processes quite different from the classic methods. The artillery had been dug in by single pieces...They were installed in shellproof dugouts, and fire point-blank from portholes... This way of using artillery and AA guns was possible only with the expansive ant holes at the disposal of

4048-422: The Viet Minh to retreat. The Viet Minh's simultaneous attacks elsewhere were more successful. The 316th Division captured Eliane 1 from its Moroccan defenders, and half of Eliane 2 by midnight. On the west side of Điện Biên Phủ, the 308th attacked Huguette 7, and nearly succeeded in breaking through, but a French sergeant took charge of the defenders and sealed the breach. Just after midnight on 31 March,

4136-414: The afternoon. Reinforcements were sent north from Isabelle , but were attacked en route and fell back to Isabelle . Shortly after dark on 31 March, Langlais told Major Marcel Bigeard , who was leading the defense at Eliane 2, to fall back from Eliane 4. Bigeard refused, saying "As long as I have one man alive I won't let go of Eliane 4. Otherwise, Dien Bien Phu is done for." The night of 31 March,

4224-415: The allegation is probably unfounded, as the eight names begin with letters from the first nine of the alphabet.) The fortified headquarters was centrally located, with positions Huguette to the west, Claudine to the south, and Dominique to the northeast. The other positions were Anne-Marie to the northwest, Beatrice to the northeast, Gabrielle to the north, and Isabelle 6 km (3.7 mi) to

4312-661: The appearance of command, but that Langlais would exercise it. De Castries is said by Fall to have accepted the arrangement without protest, although he did exercise some command functions thereafter. Phillip Davidson stated that the "truth would seem to be that Langlais did take over effective command of Dien Bien Phu, and that Castries became 'commander emeritus' who transmitted messages to Hanoi and offered advice about matters in Dien Bien Phu". Jules Roy , however, makes no mention of this event, and Martin Windrow argues that

4400-587: The battle front and on March 30, 1951, the battalion resisted an enemy force four times larger for an entire night. Following a five hours of hand-to-hand combat, the battalion endured the loss of 51 men and 97 wounded. The battalion was accordingly dissolved on August 20, 1951 during embarkation for France. It was recreated on July 5, 1952. It fought at Tu Lê, in October 1952 and then Langson, in July 1953. The battalion fought at Dien Bien Phu. On November 20, 1953, it

4488-409: The bulk of the Tais left or defected. The French and the few remaining Tais on Anne-Marie were then forced to withdraw. A lull in fighting occurred from March 17 to March 30. The Viet Minh further encircled the French central area (formed by the strong points Huguette , Dominique , Claudine , and Eliane ), effectively cutting off Isabelle and its 1,809 personnel to the south. During this lull,

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4576-452: The command center of the base to secure victory, but this was changed to the "Steady Fight, Steady Advance" model of siege tactics. The battle plan designed on the fast strike model was due to open at 17:00 on 25 January and to finish three nights and two days later. Nevertheless this start date was delayed to 26 January, because on 21 January Viet Minh's intelligence indicated that the French had grasped this plan. After much debate, due to

4664-475: The counterattack, chose to rely on the 5th Vietnamese Parachute Battalion, which had jumped in the day before and was exhausted. Although some elements of the counterattack reached Gabrielle , most were paralyzed by Viet Minh artillery and took heavy losses. At 08:00 the next day, the Algerian battalion fell back, abandoning Gabrielle to the Viet Minh. The French lost around 1,000 men defending Gabrielle , and

4752-446: The criticisms of his proposal and concluded a 17 November conference by declaring that the operation would begin three days later, on 20 November 1953. Navarre decided to go ahead with the plan despite serious operational difficulties. These later became painfully obvious, but at the time may have been less apparent. He had been repeatedly assured by his intelligence officers that the operation carried very little risk of involvement by

4840-414: The defense of a monsoon-affected valley surrounded by heavily-wooded hills and high ground that had not been secured. Artillery as well as ten US M24 Chaffee light tanks (each broken down into 180 individual parts, flown into the base, and then re-assembled) and numerous aircraft (attack and supply types) were committed to the garrison. A number of quadruple 0.50 calibre machine guns were present and used in

4928-511: The encircled garrison, but his staff talked him out of it. De Castries' seclusion in his bunker, combined with his superiors' inability to replace him, created a leadership vacuum in the French command. On 24 March, an event took place which later became a matter of historical debate. The historian Bernard Fall records, based on Langlais' memoirs, that Colonel Langlais and his fellow paratroop commanders, all fully armed, confronted de Castries in his bunker on 24 March. They told him he would retain

5016-436: The entire central subsector, was also killed by artillery fire. The Viet Minh 312th Division then launched an assault with its 141st and 209th Infantry Regiments, using sappers to breach the French obstacles. Béatrice comprised three separate strong points forming a triangle with the point facing north. In the southeast, strong point Beatrice -3, its defenses smashed by 75   mm mountain guns firing at point-blank range,

5104-615: The film for a year so he could get Anthony Quinn for the lead. Quinn's character is loosely based on Marcel Bigeard , the actual commander in French Indochina, who led the unit that was the predecessor to the 6th Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment (the 6th Colonial Parachute Battalion). Bigeard later commanded the 3rd Colonial Parachute Regiment in French Algeria. The film was shot on location in Spain. Technical support

5192-410: The fort on the morning of 22 April. After this key advance, the Viet Minh took control of more than 90 percent of the airfield, making accurate French parachute drops impossible. This caused the landing zone to become perilously small, and effectively choked off much needed supplies. A French attack against Huguette 1 later that day was repulsed. Isabelle saw only light action until 30 March, when

5280-410: The ground role. This included France's regular troops (notably elite paratrooper units, plus those of the artillery), French Foreign Legionnaires , Algerian and Moroccan tirailleurs (colonial troops from North Africa) and locally-recruited Indochinese (Laotian, Vietnamese and Cambodian) infantry. In comparison, altogether the Viet Minh had moved up to 50,000 regular troops into the hills surrounding

5368-430: The hedgehog option, which he characterized as "a mediocre solution". The French National Defense Committee ultimately agreed that Navarre's responsibility did not include defending Laos. However, its decision, which was drawn up on 13 November, was not delivered to him until 4 December, two weeks after the Điện Biên Phủ operation began. Operations at Điện Biên Phủ began at 10:35 on 20 November 1953. In Operation Castor ,

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5456-545: The insurrection of the Viet Minh , who were fighting for independence. During their 1952–1953 campaign, the Viet Minh had overrun vast swathes of Laos , Vietnam's western neighbor, advancing as far as Luang Prabang and the Plain of Jars . The French were unable to slow the advance of the Viet Minh, who fell back only after outrunning their always-tenuous supply lines. In 1953, the French had begun to strengthen their defenses in

5544-408: The knowledge that if wounded, the soldier will go uncared for". During the fighting at Eliane 1, on the other side of camp, the Viet Minh entrenchments had almost entirely surrounded Huguette 1 and 6. On 11 April the garrison of Huguette 1, supported by artillery from Claudine , launched an attack with the goal of resupplying Huguette 6 with water and ammunition. The attacks were repeated on

5632-498: The labels of name, time and place of the many standard war films that have preceded Lost Command ." In 1963 Robson bought the rights to Larteguy's The Praetorians , a follow-up to The Centurions . The film was never made. Battle of Dien Bien Phu [REDACTED] French Union [REDACTED] Democratic Republic of Vietnam [REDACTED] Henri Eugène Navarre [REDACTED] Christian de Castries   [REDACTED] The Battle of Điện Biên Phủ

5720-472: The left-of-centre Pierre Mendès France , supported French withdrawal from Indochina. The Battle of Điện Biên Phủ was decisive. The war ended shortly afterward and the 1954 Geneva Accords were signed. France agreed to withdraw its forces from all its colonies in French Indochina , while stipulating that Vietnam would be temporarily divided at the 17th parallel , with control of the north given to

5808-473: The morale" of the Viet Minh troops. Much to French disbelief, the Viet Minh had employed direct artillery fire, in which each gun crew does its own artillery spotting (as opposed to indirect fire, in which guns are massed further away from the target, out of direct line of sight, and rely on a forward artillery spotter). Indirect artillery, generally held as being far superior to direct fire, requires experienced, well-trained crews and good communications, which

5896-419: The morning of 14 March, Viet Minh artillery resumed pounding French positions. The airstrip, already closed since 16:00 the day before due to a light bombardment, was now put permanently out of commission. Any further French supplies would have to be delivered by parachute. That night, the Viet Minh launched an attack on the northern outpost Gabrielle , held by an elite Algerian battalion. The attack began with

5984-593: The new 10th Regiment of Parachutistes Coloniaux , serving under General Melies in the Algerian War . The General briefs him that the command is his last chance in the military: if his Regiment fails, Raspéguy's career is finished. Raspéguy recruits his comrades-in-arms from Indochina and trains his battalion with harsh methods, such as using live ammunition on an assault course to encourage speed and initiative. Soon after beginning counter-insurgency operations in both urban and rural environments, Esclavier falls in love with Mahidi's sister Aicha ( Claudia Cardinale ), who

6072-408: The night of 1 May, overrunning Eliane 1, Dominique 3, and Huguette 5, although the French managed to beat back attacks on Eliane 2. On 6 May, the Viet Minh launched another massed attack against Eliane 2, using, for the first time, Katyusha rockets . The French artillery fired a "TOT" ( time on target ) mission, so that artillery rounds fired from different positions would strike on target at

6160-436: The nights of the 14–15 and 16–17 April. While they did succeed in getting some supplies through, the French suffered heavy casualties, which convinced Langlais to abandon Huguette 6. Following a failed attempt to link up, on 18 April, the defenders at Huguette 6 made a daring break out, but only a few managed to make it to French lines. The Viet Minh repeated the isolation and probing attacks against Huguette 1, and overran

6248-881: The paratroopers are slaughtered as they land. Major de Clairefons is killed when his parachute drags him into a minefield . Raspéguy is enraged that General Melies ( Jean Servais ) sent only one plane, and further believes that Melies intends to make him responsible for the entire debacle at Dien Bien Phu. The Việt Minh overrun the French, with the survivors captured and imprisoned. Among Raspéguy's friends are military historian Captain Phillipe Esclavier ( Alain Delon ), Indochina-born Captain Boisfeures ( Maurice Ronet ), surgeon Captain Dia ( Gordon Heath ) and Lt. Ben Mahidi ( George Segal ), an Algerian-born paratrooper who turns down

6336-641: The perimeter contracted, and the air resupply on which the French had placed their hopes became impossible as aircraft were shot down and runways were destroyed. The garrison was overrun in May after a two-month siege, and most of the French forces surrendered. A few men escaped to Laos. Among the 11,721 French troops captured, 858 of the most seriously wounded were evacuated via the Red Cross mediation in May 1954. Only 3,290 were returned four months later. The French government in Paris resigned. The new prime minister,

6424-464: The plan, every major subordinate officer – Colonel Jean-Louis Nicot (commander of the French Air transport fleet), Cogny, and Generals Jean Gilles and Jean Dechaux (the ground and air commanders for Operation Castor , the initial airborne assault on Điện Biên Phủ) – protested. Cogny pointed out, presciently, that "we are running the risk of a new Nà Sản under worse conditions". Navarre rejected

6512-520: The problems of their successors. Navarre began searching for a way to address the Viet Minh threat to Laos. Colonel Louis Berteil, commander of Mobile Group 7 and Navarre's main strategist, formulated the hérisson (' hedgehog ') concept. The French army would establish a fortified airhead by airlifting soldiers to positions adjacent to key Viet Minh supply lines to Laos. They would cut off Viet Minh soldiers fighting in Laos and force them to withdraw. "It

6600-525: The same time. This barrage defeated the first assault wave, but later that night the Viet Minh detonated a mine under Eliane 2, with devastating effect. The Viet Minh attacked again, and within a few hours the defenders were overrun. On 7 May, Giáp ordered an all-out attack against the remaining French units with over 25,000 Viet Minh against fewer than 3,000 garrison troops. At 17:00, de Castries radioed French headquarters in Hanoi and talked with Cogny: De Castries: "The Viets are everywhere. The situation

6688-597: The south, covering the reserve airstrip. The arrival of the 316th Viet Minh Division prompted Cogny to order the evacuation of the Lai Chau garrison to Điện Biên Phủ, exactly as Giáp had anticipated. En route, they were virtually annihilated by the Viet Minh. "Of the 2,100 men who left Lai Chau on 9 December, only 185 made it to Điện Biên Phủ on 22 December. The rest had been killed, captured, or "deserted". French military forces had committed 10,800 troops, together with yet more reinforcements, totalling nearly 16,000 men, to

6776-518: The two remaining outposts east of the Nam Yum River. Those two areas were held by five understrength battalions, composed of Frenchmen, Legionnaires, Vietnamese, North Africans, and Tais. Giáp planned to use the tactics from the Beatrice and Gabrielle skirmishes. At 19:00 on 30 March, the Viet Minh 312th Division captured Dominique 1 and 2, making Dominique 3 the final outpost between

6864-437: The valley and the French forces based there. The French garrison came under sporadic direct artillery fire from the Viet Minh for the first time on 31 January 1954 and patrols encountered the Viet Minh troops in all directions around them. The French were completely surrounded. Originally, the planned Viet Minh attack was based on the Chinese "Fast Strike, Fast Victory" model, which aimed to use all available power to thrust into

6952-436: The viability of the fortified airhead concept. However, French staff officers failed to treat seriously several crucial differences between Điện Biên Phủ and Nà Sản: First, at Nà Sản, the French commanded most of the high ground with overwhelming artillery support. At Điện Biên Phủ, however, the Viet Minh controlled much of the high ground around the valley, their artillery far exceeded French expectations, and they outnumbered

7040-475: Was a climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War that took place between 13 March and 7 May 1954. It was fought between the French Union 's colonial Far East Expeditionary Corps and Viet Minh communist revolutionaries . The French began an operation to insert, and support, their soldiers at Điện Biên Phủ , deep in the autonomous Tai Federation in northwest Tonkin . The operation's purpose

7128-474: Was an attempt to interdict the enemy's rear area, to stop the flow of supplies and reinforcements, to establish a redoubt in the enemy's rear and disrupt his lines". The hérisson was based on French experiences at the Battle of Nà Sản . In late November and early December 1952, Giáp had attacked the French outpost at Nà Sản, which was essentially an "air-land base", a fortified camp supplied only by air. There,

7216-478: Was caught on open ground. At that point, Giáp decided to change tactics. Although Giáp still had the same objective – to overrun French defenses east of the river – he decided to employ entrenchment and sapping to achieve it. On 10 April, the French attempted to retake Eliane 1, which had been lost eleven days earlier. The loss posed a significant threat to Eliane 4, and the French wanted to eliminate that threat. The dawn attack, which Bigeard devised, began with

7304-460: Was destroyed. In March, the Viet Minh began a massive artillery bombardment of the French defenses. The strategic positioning of their artillery made it nearly impervious to French counter-battery fire . Tenacious fighting on the ground ensued, reminiscent of the trench warfare of World War I . At times, the French repulsed Viet Minh assaults on their positions while supplies and reinforcements were delivered by air . As key positions were overrun,

7392-585: Was no comprehensive plan to develop the organization and build up the equipment of the Expeditionary force. Finally, Navarre, the intellectual, the cold and professional soldier, was shocked by the "school's out" attitude of Salan and his senior commanders and staff officers. They were going home, not as victors or heroes, but then, not as clear losers either. To them the important thing was that they were getting out of Indochina with their reputations frayed, but intact. They spared little thought or concern for

7480-583: Was part of the initial parachute entry during Operation Castor . On March 16, 1954, the 6th targeted the landing zone in the middle of the Battle of Dien Bien Phu . Despite heroic acts of valor, the battalion disappeared again, and was accordingly reconstituted. Reformed in Marrakech , French protectorate of Morocco , on 1 August 1955 and named 6th Colonial Parachute Regiment. Active in the French colonies of French protectorate of Tunisia , French protectorate of Morocco and, particularly, French Algeria during

7568-464: Was provided by Commandant René Lepage, who had served in the 6th Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment of the French Army . Despite the novel's success, the release of another film called The Centurians led to the film's title being changed. At one stage it was going to be From Indo-China to the Gates of Algiers then Not For Honor and Glory before it was decided to use Lost Command . It premièred in

7656-410: Was quickly overrun by the 209th Regiment's 130th Battalion. In the north, most of Beatrice -1 was swiftly conquered by the 141st Regiment's 428th Battalion, but the defenders held out in corner of the position for a time because the attackers thought they had captured the entire strong point when they encountered an internal barbed wire barrier in the dark. In the southwest, the assault on Beatrice -2 by

7744-442: Was to cut off enemy supply lines into the neighboring Kingdom of Laos (a French ally) and draw the Viet Minh into a major confrontation in order to cripple them. The French based their forces in an isolated but well-fortified camp that would be resupplied by air, a strategy adopted based on the belief that the Viet Minh had no anti-aircraft capability . The Viet Minh, however, under General Võ Nguyên Giáp , surrounded and besieged

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