The General Military Commission and the General Command meet to discuss the winter-spring 1953-1954 battle plan. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Exactly 70 years ago, on March 13, 1954, the Vietnamese revolutionary army launched the first attack against the French colonialists’ heavily fortified base of Điện Biên Phủ, starting a 56-day historic campaign whose victory directly led to the signing of the Geneva Accords on ending the war and restoring peace in Indochina.

In the autumn - winter of 1953, French colonialists and US interventionists built the Navarre Plan that focused on turning Điện Biên Phủ into the strongest military base in Indochina so as to seize control over the entire Northwest of Việt Nam and the Upper Laos and destroy the majority of Việt Nam’s regular troops, paving the way for controlling the Vietnamese territory and pacifying South Indochina.

French generals at that time heaped praise on this heavily fortified base, which was dubbed a “hedgehog” with entrenched concrete fortifications built across the four directions. In Mường Thanh Valley, France arranged 16,200 troops in 21 battalions divided into northern, central, and southern zones that comprised 49 entrenched fortifications supporting one another. At the airfields of Mường Thanh and Hồng Cúm, nearly 100 flight departures and arrivals occurred each day, capable of transporting about 200 - 300 tonnes of cargo and parachuting 100 - 150 soldiers.

Considering Điện Biên Phủ as a trap for crushing the regular troops of Việt Minh (League for the Independence of Việt Nam), general Rene Cogny boasted that the French colonialists had fire strong enough to wipe out an enemy four to six times larger than them.

Prior to the battle, US Vice President Richard Nixon, who later become President of the US, came to inspect the building of this military base to ensure that the US investment in Indochina was used effectively, and he expressed his satisfaction.

Realising the plot and ruses of French colonialists, in early December 1953, the Politburo of the Worker's Party of Việt Nam (now the Communist Party of Việt Nam) decided to launch the Điện Biên Phủ Campaign and adopted the combatant strategy of “fast attack, fast victory”. However, after considering the balance of power between the two sides, General Võ Nguyên Giáp made the most difficult decision of his career: Halting the attack and shifting the strategy from “fast attack, fast victory” to “steady attack, steady advance”.

The Party committees of military units convened meetings to provide detailed information about the new fighting strategy and encourage the entire troops to weather challenges to fulfill the new tasks.

With all-out wisdom, efforts, and determination of reserving all for the battlefield and for the victory, in the following nearly two months, the Vietnamese army continued applying the diversionary tactics while widening and lengthening the paths through the mountains and forests of Điện Biên Phủ. Soldiers built stronger fortifications, dug deeper trenches, and moved closer to the French base. More food, weapons, and other supplies from the rear were delivered to the front to prepare for a long battle.

During the Điện Biên Phủ Campaign, tens of thousands of people engaged in transporting supplies to the front or building the road for moving the artillery serving the battle.

People of Thanh Hóa Province alone sent 9,000 tonnes of rice to the frontline. Meanwhile, people of Lai Châu province contributed 2,666 tonnes of rice, 226 tonnes of meat, 210 tonnes of vegetables, 16,972 personnel, 517,210 workdays, 348 pack horses, 58 boats, along with 25,070 timber trees for making roads. From 1951 to 1954, people of Inter-region 5 donated more than 1.32 million tonnes of unhusked rice and a large sum of money.

In his letter sent to soldiers on March 11, 1954, then President Hồ Chí Minh said the duty was very difficult but also very glorious. He expressed his firm belief that the soldiers would bring into play the previous victory to overcome every difficulty and hardship to fulfill the coming glorious duty.

Exactly at 5pm on March 13, 1953, the Vietnamese troops opened fire on the Him Lam fortification, starting the Điện Biên Phủ Campaign. They annihilated this fortification and later the Độc Lập fortification and forced the Bản Kéo fortification to surrender, thus destroying the northern gateway of the Điện Biên Phủ base. More than 2,000 French soldiers were killed or taken prisoners, 25 aircraft destroyed, a regiment eradicated, and the Mường Thanh airfield threatened. In April 1954, the revolutionary army concurrently attacked fortifications, tightened the siege, and seized the control of Mường Thanh airfield, forcing the enemy into the passive status and extreme anxiety.

From May 1 to 7, 1954, the Vietnamese troops seized control over the fortifications in the east and waged a general offensive to decimate the entire military base of Điện Biên Phủ.

At 5:30pm on May 7, 1954, the “Determined to fight, determined to win” flag of the Vietnamese army was raised on the top of the command tunnel of French general De Castries. By the midnight on the same day, all the French troops were captured.

During the 56 days of undaunted, brave, and creative fighting, the Vietnamese army and people created the Điện Biên Phủ Victory that “resounded across the five continents and shook the globe”. The entire so-called “invincible” military base of Điện Biên Phủ was completely eradicated by the Vietnamese army and people.

President Hồ Chí Minh affirmed that the Điện Biên Phủ Victory was a brilliant golden milestone in history that directly led to the signing of the Geneva Accords on ending the war and restoring peace in Indochina. It also created the foundation and conditions for the Vietnamese people to secure victory in the resistance war against the US, liberate the South, and reunify the country in 1975.

Seventy years have passed, but the Điện Biên Phủ Victory remains a source of pride of the Vietnamese people due to its great significance.

Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính has affirmed that the Điện Biên Phủ Victory held substantially historic significance. It was a triumph of patriotism, the undaunted spirit, and the strength of the great national solidarity of Việt Nam under the smart and clear-sighted leadership of the Party. It was also a demonstration of the maturity of the Việt Nam People’s Army. — VNS