The Geneva Accords ended the French war but only postponed the Vietnamese civil war to a later date.

The DRV won fair and square against France at Dien Bien Phu. But the Vietnamese military and society had to pay and astonishing price for victory.

The battle of Dien Bien Phu almost started on January 25th, 1954....

1953. General Navarre is the 7th coach appointed for the French French team. His goal: to prevent France from being relegated from Indochina. His plan : play it safe in 1953-54, then go on the offensive from 1955 onwards. But General Giap wants to put a spanner in his works and attacks in Tai country, thereby threatening Laos. The road to Dien Bien Phu is then wide open.

In 1953, the French are lost. What to do? Follow public opinion, cut their losses and get out of Indochina? Or fight harder, as advised by the new American administration? While France is heistating, the DRV makes a move in Laos.

1952: Strategic differences began to appear between French and American allies, at the very moment when the Vietnamese and Chinese agreed to extend the war to the North West of Viet Nam, towards the border with Laos.

Between 1951 and 1954, France and the DRV (Democratic Republic of Viet Nam) fought 8 major battles. To compete with France, Ho Chi Minh and his government mobilised the whole population in an all encompassing total war by building a totalitarian communist state.

Did the dazzling and meteoric tenure of General de Lattre move the French cause forward in Vietnam? Not really if we consider that non-communist nationalists were discredited by his actions and that, when he left, the military situation was exactly the same as when he arrived.

Production: Xavier Diamé Ndour

Contact: podcast.decolonisations@gmail.com

Music: Niamar le Conteur