May 7, 1999
Web posted at: 12:06 a.m. EDT (0406 GMT)

In this story: An 'underestimated' force A long assault The endgame Remembering RELATED STORIES, SITES

HANOI, Vietnam (CNN) -- Almost no one outside of Vietnam had heard of Dien Bien Phu before 1954. Then one long, brutal battle in the jungles forged changes that still resound today as one of Vietnam's proudest moments and one of France's darkest.

When Vietnamese veterans gather to commemorate the 45th anniversary of their victory over elite French forces, they will recall how they were underestimated but followed skilled strategy that still is studied by war colleges today.

A ceremony was planned Friday, but aged Vietnam veterans began gathering at the Dien Bien Phu battlefield on Thursday.

Vietnam's gold-starred red flags fluttered throughout the town, 490 kilometers (306 miles) west of Hanoi, and banners were strung across streets.

The result of the battle left 6,000 French soldiers dead and another 10,000 as prisoners of war, sparked the end of France's colonial presence in Indochina and eventually inspired other French possessions to seek their own independence.

And the skills that were learned by communist North Vietnamese forces would prove decisive when they faced South Vietnam's U.S.-backed forces the following decade.

France, the colonial power in Vietnam, returned to the country in November 1946, more than a year after the country gained independence. But it quickly found itself fighting a guerrilla war against the Viet Minh, the precursor to the Viet Cong.

In November 1953, French Gen. Henri Navarre decided to establish a batch of fortresses at Dien Bien Phu, a town of 25,000 people in a strategically located valley in northwestern Vietnam.

The stated goal was to cut off coordination between the Viet Minh and sympathetic forces in Laos and China.

But Navarre also hoped to draw the Viet Minh into a major battle that he thought they couldn't win. He even dropped leaflets daring Viet Minh commander Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap to attack.

"The French underestimated the Viet Minh army," said Lt. Gen. Vu Xuan Vinh, who at the time was a 31-year-old regiment leader in the Viet Minh's elite 308th Division, known among the French as the "Iron Division" for its battlefield success.

"They said we couldn't do anything to harm them because we had no warplanes or artillery. They were wrong."

The French fortified their positions with barbed wire and land mines. Twenty tanks and other artillery appeared more than sufficient to protect the two airstrips that carried in vital supplies.

"Navarre said Dien Bien Phu was like an armadillo, that if we tried to attack we would have all of our teeth broken off," Vinh told The Associated Press.

Unbeknownst to the French, the Viet Minh had been getting artillery from Russian and Chinese allies.

By Jan. 26, 1954, the Viet Minh had built a camouflaged road that they used to ferry troops, anti-aircraft guns and other weapons to the area for what was planned as a two-day, three-night blitz attack.

But the attack was called off at the last minute. Giap, whose self-taught tactics earned him the nickname "the red Napoleon," listened to advisers and decided instead to pursue a long assault.

Over the next two months, the Viet Minh built 200 kilometers (125 miles) of trenches, some within 200 meters of French outposts.

And they planned.

Most previous attacks on the French had been at night on single divisions. There was no previous use of trenches.

"The trenches and the artillery positions were so well camouflaged that when the attack started on March 13, the French were taken completely by surprise," Vinh said. "It took only three days to overrun the outposts."

Skirmishes and Viet Minh advances followed as the trenches were expanded, even tunneling under the perimeter of one French post.

"When our soldiers emerged one night, the French didn't even have time to shout," Vinh said. "It took us only 45 minutes to finish that post and about 200 French troops."

By April 25, the airstrips were completely isolated. The French aircraft could not land, and reinforcements and supplies were dropped by parachute.

"But the French planes could not fly low because of our anti-aircraft fire," which claimed 62 aircraft, Vinh said. "Dropping from high, a lot of the supplies ended up with our troops. We could enjoy chocolates and other sweets.

"The commander of the French troops had been promoted to major general, but we got his insignia so he couldn't wear his new rank. We also seized boxes of letters from the soldiers' wives. Many contained locks of the women's hair."

The Viet Minh closed in on the major fortress.

"We were so close to the base that we could hear the French soldiers shouting and cursing at each other and their officers," Vinh said. "They had a severe shortage of food and medicines.

"The French commander wanted to withdraw to Laos, but we had blocked the road."

The final assault began the night of May 6. One ton of explosives killed an entire company of French soldiers. Russian multiple rocket launchers pounded the base.

"The next morning, we heard a lot of French soldiers crying," Vinh said. "Finally, we saw some white flags around 3 p.m. At first, we thought it was a trick, and I told the soldiers to tell their colleagues to come out. When they did, we knew it was over."

With their jungle-green uniforms faded by the passage of time but their medals proudly displayed, the old comrades who met again Thursday in Dien Bien Phu remembered the troops who lost their lives.

Around 200 veterans and officials attended a wreath-laying ceremony at the local war cemetery. White-uniformed honor guards led the procession as a military band played the martyrs funeral march.

"Thank you very much for your sacrifice," one elderly woman cried, overcome as she placed incense on the memorial.

Le Dinh Chi, 67, spent nine days cycling from Hanoi with seven other veterans to attend the anniversary celebrations.

"I am very happy and proud of the victory that forced the French to go away," he said after burning incense.

"This was the victory of a small nation over a big and powerful one."

The chairman of the local Dien Bien Phu veterans association, 68-year-old Luong Dinh Chinh, spent 36 days with other Viet Minh soldiers trying to capture from the French a heavily defended hill known as A1.

"I have a very deep feeling about the anniversary as I miss my friends who fought and were sacrificed here," he said.

Chinh, who still carries a piece of shrapnel lodged between his eyes. said: "It was very joyful that day when I saw the French with a white flag."

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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