Dien Bien Phu

Ballantine's Illustrated History of World War II / the Violent Century: Battle #33

by John Keegan

VIETNAM. Here is the true story, full of heroism and endurance against impossible odds, a chilling tale of French forces hopelessly maneuvering tanks in the age of Guerilla Warfare.

Genres: War, History, Military History

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

Sir John Desmond Patrick Keegan, OBE, FRSL was a British military historian, lecturer and journalist. He published many works on the nature of combat between the 14th and 21st centuries concerning land, air, maritime and intelligence warfare as well as the psychology of battle.

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ater reading some more serious texts on the French Viet Nam War, I’ve changed my opinion on Keegan’s book from 5 stars to 3.

“Amateurs study tactics, professionals study logistics." The French, apparently amateurs, chose to locate their major force deep in unfriendly territory with poor roads and shaky air supply capability.

Keegan notes a few surreal gems. The French commander, de Castries, named the numerous defensive outposts after his mistresses. Unaware that the Viet Minh had artillery, the French artillery commander assumed his American-made 105 mm guns could protect their vital landing strip. But on the first day of the siege, the Viet Minh destroyed the the French artillery with 155 mm guns captured a few years earlier by the Chinese in Korea. The French artillery commander blew his own brains out that night. A large number of French internal deserters, the "rats of the Nam Yum", accumulated along the Nam Yum river which ran through the besieged site. The U. S. Secretary of State offered the French as many as four atomic bombs to extricate their forces. The French declined the offer.

Lots of excellent photos. Not much text. This is a convenient way to learn a little about the massive French defeat. Accordingly, 3 stars.

[Au Yong Chee Tuck · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Keegan was a consulting editor to the multiple volume series "Ballantine's Illustrated History of the Violent Century" in the 1970s. He also contributed several titles to the series, one of which was "Dien Bien Phu" published in 1974 by Random House.
This concise history shows the background events that led to the decision to make a stand at Dien Bien Phu. It also tells the personal tragedy of the commanding officer, General Navarre who lost his only son, Lieutenant Bernard during the Indo-China war.
John Keegan argued that the defeat at Dien Bien Phu was probably not inevitable. However, since Dien Bien Phu had fallen, he then examined the post war events.
A recommended read for fans of John Keegan and history buffs alike.

[Russell R · Rating 5 out of 5]

another good ballantine book

[Matthew Dambro · Rating 5 out of 5]

An early work by the dean of military historians; John Keegan does a masterful job of explaining the battle of Dien Bien Phu. Though too short it is the best explanation of the battle I have seen in a long time. I wish I had come across it earlier. The Legion Etranger and the French professional soldiers were courageous. The Viet Minh under Giap were ruthless. The calculus of battle changed in 1954. The "decisive battle" of the West was supplanted by the insurgency model of Mao. We still live in the shadow (ISIS, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan etc.) of that new form of warfare.