Luong Quoc Huy made these remarks in an interview with IRNA published on Tuesday, May 7.
May 7 marks the anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu operation, a significant event during the First Indochina War (1946–54). The battle took place between French forces and Vietnamese forces.
Dien Bien Phu was a painful defeat for France. During the battle, which was the bloodiest since World War II (1939-1945), thousands of French soldiers were killed, wounded, or taken captive.
The battle concluded the First Indochina War with a bitter defeat for France and marked the beginning of decolonization. Meanwhile, for Vietnam, the Dien Bien Phu Battle was a victory.
For further insight into the battle's events, IRNA interviewed Vietnam’s ambassador to Tehran. Below is the full text of the interview.
Question: When talking about Vietnam and specifically the Vietnam War, the minds are mostly focused on the US military attack on this country. Before America, it was French colonialism after World War II that caused the Vietnam War. During the war against French colonialists, Vietnam conducted many military campaigns, including the Dien Bien Phu campaign. Please tell us about the context of the campaign.
Answer: On September 2, 1945, after the victory of the August Revolution, President Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence, declaring to the whole world the birth of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. But the French colonialists once again intended to use force to reestablish domination over the country. On September 23, 1945, they opened fire to capture Saigon (the city that is nowadays called Ho Chi Minh City), starting the second invasion of Vietnam. To fight against the invaders, Vietnam’s People's Army, under the leadership of the Communist Party and the support of the entire nation, conducted several successful campaigns, such as the “Viet Bac Campaign” in the fall and winter of 1947, the “Border Campaign” in 1950… In order to save the situation, the French colonialists developed the Navarre Plan, the highest effort supported by the American imperialists, to increase troop strength and military spending, aiming at destroying most of Vietnam’s regular forces, in order to control the territory of Vietnam and pacify Indochina within 18 months. They made an airborne insertion of paratroopers to occupy Dien Bien Phu (a strategic position in the North West of Vietnam), built up army and military bases there, turned it into the firmest stronghold in Indochina, the so-called “unbreakable fortress”, to crush Vietnam’s army and people. On December 6, 1953, the Politburo met and decided to wage the Dien Bien Phu Campaign to break this fortress as well as the Navarre Plan of the French colonialists.
Question: Dien Bien Phu victory is one of the most glorious victories of Vietnam in its long history of defending against invaders, a victory that shook the world. Can you tell us something about the strength of Vietnam’s People's Army compared with the strength of the French Army at that time?
Answer: At that time, the French army built up 49 bases in Dien Bien Phu and divided these bases into three sub-zones for mutual support, with solid defense structures. They gathered here more than 16,200 troops including in 17 infantry battalions, 3 artillery battalions, 1 engineer battalion, 1 tank company, 1 air force squadron, 1 motorized transport company. The French army was “armed to the teeth” with the most modern and advanced weapons at that time.
On the other side, the regular forces of Vietnam’s people army gathered 40.000 troops including 04 divisions of infantry and 01 division of artillery, armed with most of the basic weapons.
Question: How was the preparation of Vietnamese for the campaign?
Answer: Vietnam’s people's army opened roads through mountains and forests, pulled in artillery pieces, and built battlefields, ready for offensives. About 260.000 militiamen and young volunteers were also mobilized for Dien Bien Phu, ensuring logistics support for the campaign. With three big offensive campaigns, after 56 days and nights of “digging tunnels through the mountains, sleeping in shelters, shedding sweat and blood”, the Vietnamese army fought bravely and resiliently and captured the Dien Bien Phu stronghold.
Question: What are the main factors that lead Vietnamese to the victory? How could Vietnam win the campaign against the “armed to the teeth” French Army?
Answer: The Dien Bien Phu victory is a victory of justice, passionate patriotism, indomitable will, and resilience of the Vietnamese people, thanks to the discerning and creative direction of the Communist Party of Vietnam, headed by President Ho Chi Minh. It also demonstrated the quick growth in political ideology, forces, organization, and combat skills of the Vietnam People’s Army, an army of clever and brave soldiers, led by outstanding general Vo Nguyen Giap.
Question: What was the meaning of this victory for Vietnam and the world at that time?
Answer: Dien Bien Phu victory was an immortal epic of miracle people war and a pinnacle of Vietnam’s resistance war against the French colonialists’ aggression, creating the basis for concluding the Geneva Agreement to end the war and restore peace in Vietnam. It also opened a new revolutionary period: the transition of the North of Vietnam to socialism meanwhile creating favorable conditions for the liberation of the South and the unification of the country in a later stage. The Victory affirmed the Party's correct and creative resistance policy as well as the growth of the Vietnam People's Army. It put an end to the French colonialism in Indochina, triggering the process of the collapse of the old colonialism all over the world.
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