Talk

Pawn to K-4. Tactics and vietnam

In the 1950's the French were desparetely trying to hold on to their erstwhile territory of Vietnam. The Vietminh controlled the country side with their ragtag army of laborers, farmers and guerillas. The French managed to hold on to the cities and major infrastructure. Effectively a stalemate existed. The French did'nt have the resources to take the war into the country side. The Vietminh with their captured and improvised weapons could not conquer the cities. The initiative entirely lay in the hands of the Vietminh that could attack at will on what they desired. The French wanted to change the playing field.

The US was now actively involved in the war on France's side. They decided the best way to conclude the war with a conclusive victory was to throw down the gauntlet and battle the Vietminh once and for all. The market town of Dien Bien Phu was chosen as the future Waterloo for the Vietminh. The Vietminh under Giap (actually guided by Wei Guoqing from China) accepted the challenge and started an all-or-nothing seige of Dien Bien Phu. While the French remained enconsed in their belief that the Vietminh lacked adequate artillery to attack the town from behind the mountains, Giap's men were digging two hundred miles of tunnels and trenches through the mountains and towards the city. As they dug closer and closer they effectively choked off supplies to the city and the 12,000 strong garrison in the city capitulated on 7th May, 1954. The French premier Pierre Mend&esharp;-France took France out of the equation by temporarily partioning Vietnam into two countries.

Other interesting Vietname facts On January 31st, 1968 the Vietminh launched the Tet offensive which sent 84,000 guerillas into South Vietnam and attacked the NLF everywhere. While it failed, it made significant psychological impact on the United States which could no longer count on a clear line of engagement.

Murray Sayle's article has more information.