1954 battle changed Vietnam's history Dien Bien Phu might be considered as one of the greatest battles of the 20th century. It is also defining moment in the history of Southeast Asia. And yet the Battle of Dien Bien Phu receives rarely more than a passing mention in most history texts.

After World War II, France was able to take over its colonial government in what was then known as Indochina. By 1946 a Vietnamese independence movement, led by communist Ho Chi Minh, was fighting French troops for control of northern Vietnam. The Viet Minh, as the insurgents were called, used guerrilla tactics that the French found difficult to counter. In late 1953, as both sides prepared for peace talks in the Indochina War a French military commanders picked Dien Bien Phu, as the place to fight with the Viet Minh. Dien Bien Phu is a village in northwestern Vietnam near the Laotian and Chinese borders.

Hoping to draw Ho Chi Minh's Viet Minh into a classic battle, the French began to build up their fort at Dien Bien Phu. The stronghold was located at the bottom of a bowl-shaped river valley, about 10 miles long. Most French troops and supplies entered Dien Bien Phu from the air. Either landing at the fort's airstrip or dropping in via parachute. Dien Bien Phu's main fort also would be supported by a series of firebases. Its strong points on nearby hills which could bring down fire on an attacker. The strong points were given women's names, supposedly after the mistresses of the French commander, Gen. Christian de Castries. The French assumed any assaults on their heavily prepared positions would fail or be broken up by their weapons.

The size of the French battalion at Dien Bien Phu grew to somewhere between 13,000 and 16,000 troops by March 1954. About 70 percent of that was made up of members of the French Foreign Legion. They are soldiers from French colonies in North Africa, and loyal Vietnamese. Viet Minh guerrillas and troops from the People's Army of Vietnam surrounded Dien Bien Phu during the buildup within the French garrison. Their assault on March 13 proved almost immediately how vulnerable and flawed the French defenses were.

Dien Bien Phu's outlying firebases were run down within days of the initial assault. And the main part of the fort was under heavy, gun fire from the surrounding hills. In a major logistical feat, the Viet Minh had dragged scores of weapon pieces up high forested hillsides. The French had thought that this action could be over looked. The French weapon commander was bothered by his inability to bring counterfire on the well-defended and well-hidden Viet Minh boundaries. He then went into his dugout and killed himself.

The heavy Viet Minh attack also closed Dien Bien Phu's airstrip. French attempts to stock up and reinforce the fort via parachute were frustrated. Pilots attempting to fly over the region found themselves facing a barrage from anti-aircraft guns. It was during the resupply effort that two civilian pilots, James McGovern and Wallace Buford, became the first Americans killed in Vietnam combat. The supply planes were forced to fly higher. Their parachute drops became less accurate. Much of what was intended for the French forces including food, ammunition and, in one case, essential intelligence information -- landed instead in Viet Minh’ territory. Closed off from the outside world, under constant fire, and flooded by monsoon rains, conditions inside Dien Bien Phu became inhuman. Casualties piled up inside the garrison's hospital.

Dien Bien Phu fell to the Viet Minh on May 7. At least 2,200 members of the French forces died during the siege -- with thousands more taken prisoner. Of the 50,000 or so Vietnamese who besieged the garrison, there were about 23,000 casualties -- including an estimated 8,000 killed. The fall of Dien Bien Phu shocked France and brought an end to French Indochina. Following the French withdrawal, Vietnam was officially divided into a communist North and non-communist South -- setting the stage for U.S. involvement.