The battle of Dien Bien Phu in pictures

The victory became the pride of the Vietnamese people as it showed the nation's firm stuff, mind and strong determination.

It proved the sound leadership of the CPV headed by President Ho Chi Minh, which is the decisive factor to create the concerted strength of the nation as a whole, thus defeating the professional soldiers of the invading French colonialists and leaving France with no other choice than to sign the Geneva Agreement on Restoring Peace in Viet Nam and Indochina.

The nation mobilized all its resources for the strategic Dien Bien Phu battle. More than 260,000 labourers were called up from various regions to ensure sufficient logistics supply for the fighting soldiers. The labourers built and repaired hundreds of km of roads through mountainous terrain and transported more than 25,000 tonnes of food and thousands of tons of weapons to the frontline.

At the same time, the Party began implementing a policy of granting land to farmers in liberated areas. The policy helped garner the support of people in both liberated and French-occupied areas for the Party, as well as served as a great source of encouragement for soldiers fighting in the front line.

Meanwhile, it is the people’s army that was the direct force bringing about the success of the battle. The battle is considered the peak of Viet Nam’s military art during the anti-French resistance war in terms of both strategy and tactics, particularly the fighting soldiers’ proactive spirit and creativeness. They surmounted great hardship and danger to carry heavy weapons to positions on advantageous heights, while digging a complicated system of trenches surrounding the enemy’s bases. All soldiers and units vied with each other in making firm steps forward, tightening the blockade and finally achieving victory in this historic battle.h anniversary of Dien Bien Phu battle,

On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the victory, VGP introduces a series of photos on Dien Bien Phu battle:

 

Vessels float upstream Ma River to supply rice to the frontline

Lines of people supply food for soldiers

Transport vehicles head to the frontline in 1954

Viet Minh soldiers dragging artillery across mountain ranges

Soldiers follow trenches to Him Lam Hill, March 17, 1954

Vietnamese soldiers overtake flagpole, the final blockhouse in C1 hill, April, 1954

Soldiers enter position of commander, May, 1954

Destroyed vehicles and artillery of French military in Muong Thanh, 1954

General Vo Nguyen Giap awards flag for the outstanding unit in Dien Bien Phu battele, 1954

Soldiers heighten Ho Chi Minh President photo to celebrate the victory on May, 7, 1954