Former battle Dien Bien Phu:

Dien Bien Phu former battlefield, just one hour flying from Hanoi capital

At 5 p.m, March 13, 1954, we opened fire for starting the Dien Bien Phu campaign. The fight took place fiercely right at the beginning and it was divided into three stages.
The first stage (from March 13 to March 17, 1954): We held the  Him Lam, Doc Lap, Ban Keo strongholds. They are strong defence works obstructing the access from Tuan Giao and Lai Chau into Dien Bien Phu.
The second stage (from March 30 to April 30, 1054): We attacked the strongholds in the Eastern of the central quarter at the same time. The fight took place vigoriously. We had to fight for a single piece of land.
The third stage (from May 1 to May 7, 1954): We won the rest positions in the East and wiped out the whole Dien Bien Phu stronghold. At 5 p.m, May 7, 1954, the French General de Castries and his staff officers at this stronghold were captured alive, and it was the time when the flag "Quyet chien quyet thang" (determined to fight and win) was fluttered on the top of the commanding bunker of the enemy.
At the end of the compaign, we killed and captured 16,200 enemies, shot at 62 planes of all kinds and confiscated all weapons of the enemy. The Dien Bien Phu historical victory contributed to the success of the resistance war against the French colonists and the liberty of the Northern of Vietnam.
The Dien Bien Phu victory left a number of precious historical relics.

There is tank was destroyed on top of A1 hill in 1954 and still there

View from top of A1 Hills to surrounding Dien Bien Valley

A1 Hill: A1 is a sign that our army gave to a hill. Nowadays, it becomes an immortal name sticked to the victory. A1 Hill is the most important camp of the French colonists in Dien Bien Phu. Here, our soldiers and the French colonists fought for a single piece of land. After fighting fiercely for 56 days and nights, we seized the camp in the evening of May 6, 1954.

A1 Hill - Dien Bien Phu (or DBP) former battle 1954
Dien Bien Phu became famous the world over as the place the Vietnamese defeated the French army and ended colonial rule. 500km (310 miles) from Hanoi

The French bunker system  on the A1 Hill- Dien Bien Phu

Bunker of Colonel De Castries- DPB battle field 1954

Bunker of Colonel De Castries- DPB battle field 1954

An old French tank on Top A1 hill- DPB battle field 1954

A1 Hill in the summer with flaming flower tree at front

Matyr's Cemetery, Victory Monument - DPB

A1 Hills

Dien Bien Phu Mountains

Dien Bien Phu Mountains- A1 Hill View to surrounding rice field

Dien Bien Phu former battlefield

The next strongholds we walked were Dominique and Elaine, to the east of the main camp and airfield, at the beginning held by Moroccan, Algerian and T'ai Battalions.[13] In many respects these were the key battle positions for the French: when both fell, it was the end. Elaine is the more interesting of the two: one can walk into the wine cellar ruins of the Colonial Governor's House, see numerous unit monuments, one of the ten French M-24 Chaffee Light Tanks, walk trench lines, and see the crater left by the 06 May Viet explosion that began the final assault. The high ground of Elaine was decisive. From its 509 meter tall hill the French Command Bunker was only 700 meters away over the Nam Yum River, across the still-standing Bailey bridge. Many of the elite French and Vietnamese Parachute Battalions were destroyed in the see-saw fighting for Elaine in April and May of 1954, including Bigeard's own 6th BPC, arguably the best French unit in Indochina.

Dien Bien Phu former battlefield

Dien Bien Phu Museum at the city centre today (very close to the dien bien market)

As it turned out, the Viet Minh had more than 200 artillery pieces, reinforced during the last week of the siege by Russian Katyusha multiple rocket launchers. Soon the combination of monsoon rains, which set in around mid-April, and Viet Minh artillery fire smashed to rubble the neatly arranged dugouts and trenches shown to eminent visitors and journalists during the early days of the siege. Essentially, the battle of Dien Bien Phu degenerated into a brutal artillery duel, which the enemy would have won sooner or later. The French gun crews and artillery pieces, working entirely in the open so as to allow the pieces all-around fields of fire, were destroyed one by one; replaced, they were destroyed once more, and at last fell silent.

Dien Bien Phu former battlefield

Dien Bien Phu former battlefield

When, on March 13, 1954, at 5:10 p.m., Communist artillery smothered strongpoint Beatrice without noticeable damage from French counterbattery fire, Piroth knew the fortress was doomed. And as deputy to General de Castries, he felt he had contributed to the air of overconfidence that had prevailed in the valley prior to the attack.

I am responsible. I am responsible, he was heard to murmur as he went about his duties. During the night of March 14-15, he committed suicide by blowing himself up with a hand grenade, since he could not charge his pistol with one hand. ( Piroth committed suicide in this part of the General de Castries head quarter, there is a few section for different funcion rooms)

Dien Bien Phu former battlefield

Dien Bien Phu was chosen by French General Henri Navarre to confine movement of the "Viet Minh" guerillas. Yet after a seige of almost 2 months, it was the French who surrendered on May 6, 1954.

Meet the local Black Thai at  Giap Mountains (Muong Phang)

Meet the local Black Thai at  Giap Mountains (Muong Phang), they bring all type of local herbs, jungle honey, fruits to sale along the trail up Giap Mountains (way leading to the general Giap header quarter)

Centre market in Dien Bien Phu today is also a highlight to see, Black thai ethnic are the majority people living in Dien Dien Phu, some popular local products that you can buy at Dien Bien Market such as the mountain honey, cane worn- rice wine...

Dien Bien Phu Market

Dien Dien Market with many Herd shops

Dien Bien Phu Market

This the trail to reach to the Muong Phang, the secret former head-quarter of Giap general.

Local thai ethnic on Giap Hills, they sell Mecinine herbs, honey bees just on the trail routes

General Vo Nguyen Giap's regular 10,000-man divisions blocked the Dien Bien Phu garrison, while a third bypassed Dien Bien Phu and smashed deep into Laos. On Christmas Day 1953, Indochina, for the first time in the eight-year war, was literally cut in two. The offensive stabs for which Dien Bien Phu had been specifically planned became little else but desperate sorties against an invisible enemy. By the time the battle started in earnest on March 13, 1954, the garrison already had suffered 1,037 casualties without any tangible result.

Dien Bien Phu former battlefield

Hiking at Muong Phang Mountains ( Or call Giap Hills)

This is an entrance way into the tunnles that connected with other general bunkers in this Giap's mountains, some 1 hours away from Dien Bien Phu city today (but during the fight in 1954, the French did not know this area and it was very well protected, most local old Thai people i met in this mountains also said that they did not know until the victory over the French in the valley was over)

General Giap Head Quarter during the battle in 1954

Giap tent

Viet Minh general Tent in Muong Phang Mountain- the Head Quarter in 1954

Dien Bien Phu former battlefield

Bob from Us was walking into the tunnels of Giap's head-quarter in Dien Bien Phu

Leading to other "operation bunker" with a map of battle in Dien Bien Phu 1954

DBP Mountains

A small village of Black Thai on top Giap Mountains

Thai ethnic village on the way to Muong Phang Mountains

Thai Ethnic people are Fishing in the river in Dien Bien

it is a beautiful valley bisected by the Nam Youm River and surrounded by high mountain peaks

Beautyful trail to the Black Thai Village in DBP

Beautyful trail to the Black Thai Village in DBP

If you will flight to DBP from Hanoi and on arrival Dien Bien airport (just at city city centre) and need a local car rental for sightseeing Dien Bien Phu, we provide private car rental from 4-7 seats, private van 16 seats or bus from 29-45 seats, also with local English speaking tour guide.

Some opptional Dien Bien Phu tours (2days is the best choice):
 

Day 01: A DienBienPhu city, visit A1 hill, Muong Thanh bridge, the French Head Quarter, Bunker of Colonel De Castries, Victory Museum, Matyr's Cemetery, Dien Bien Museum, Dien Bien Market, General Giap Mountains

Day 02: 35 km east of the city, Muong Phang commune is the place where General Vo Nguyen Giap, General Commander of Dien Bien Phu Campaign, set up his headquarters battle in 1954. trekking into villages of the ethnic minority Thai people, boat trip in Pa Khoang lake, back DBP Hotel

DBP Highlights: Visitors can still find vestiges of the battlefields: trenches, bunkers, camps and bases on the hills. The old command post of General Christian de Castries was reconstructed to commemorate for the 40th anniversary of the victory in 1994. The roads snake through the valley, bending around the forest-covered hills and creating many magnificent travel routes.

Please contact us: info@vietnampathfinder.com for a best suggestion trip and best rates of Car Rental Dien Bien Phu

Dien Bien Phu mountains Map

The map of battle in Dien Bien Phu 1954

For Dien Bien Phu war veteran tours, Please email us at: info@vietnampathfinder.com