The Battle of Dien Bien Phu part one

On November 20th 1953, the French air force dropped parachute troops into Dien Bien Phu, a battle with local Viet Minh, they win control of the area and establish a base with a airstrip to fly in supplies.  Colonel De Castries becomes the base commander, a biography of him.  The Viet Minh seize the hills overlooking the French base and pour troops into the area.  General Giap orders a Viet Minh invasion of Laos.

The RSS link is in the show notes for episode 2.11, the episode will be published on Saturday 20th January.

The Navarre Plan

Opposition to the war in France grows.  General Henri Navarre is appointed as the new commander of the French Army in Indochina.  He plans to expand both French forces and those of his Vietnamese allies.  The French Army launch an operation along Highway Four near the border with China and another operation to defeat the Viet Minh 320th Division.  General Navarre plans for a French military operation to occupy a valley in North Vietnam which contains Dien Bien Phu.  A biography of General Navarre.

To be published on Saturday 13th Janaury.

The Battle of Na Sam

General Giap orders three regular divisions of the Viet Minh to march towards Laos.  General Salan, the commander of the French Army in Indochina orders a French offensive to attack to the North West of Hanoi but it achieves little.  General Salan orders that an outpost at Na Sam along the invasion route of the Viet Minh towards Laos be reinforced.  Attempts by the Viet Minh to take the outpost are defeated.  The Viet Minh invasion of Laos is ended when the rainy season arrives.  A biography of General Salan.

The Battle of Hoa Binh

The French Army seize the town of Hoa Binh but the Viet Minh try to cut the supply routes to the town forcing the French Army to withdraw from the town.  The death of General De Lattre.  A biography of General Chanson, the commander of the French Army in South Vietnam who is killed by a suicide bomber.  Fear of an involvement in Indochina by the Chinese Army.

To be published on Saturday 30th December.

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The Battle for the Red River Delta

General Giap decides to defeat the French Army in a conversational battle within the Red River Delta.  However his three offensive in January, March and May 1951 are all defeat by the French Army  and its new commander General De Lattre.  The General orders the building a fortified line around Hanoi and the Red River Delta.  A biography of the General.

To be published on Saturday 23rd December.

Debacle along Highway Four

There is a lack of proper coordination between the French Army in Indochina and the American Military Mission in Saigon.  An account a  guerrilla camp in outside of Saigon.  The French Army is beaten by the Viet Minh along Highway Four near to the border with China.  The French Army retreat to Hanoi and the Red River Delta.  A biography of General Carpentier the French Army commander in Indochina.

The Proxy War

As a result of the victory of the Communist in the Chinese Civil War, the border is opened for the supply of heavy weapons to the Viet Minh.  The Viet Minh set up training schools in southern China to give advanced training to their troops.  The United States Government agrees to supply weapons and equipment the French Army and Air force in Indochina.  A biography of the American Secretary of State Dean Acheson.

To be published on Saturday 9th December.

The Return of the Emperor

The French Army can not seem to win the war and it is costing the French Nation heavily in both blood and money.  At last the French Government agrees to grant a nominal form of independence to a Government in Vietnam under the leadership of the former emperor.  There is heavy fighting along highway four close to the border with China.  The different types of Viet Minh soldiers, the regulars, the regionals and the village militia.  A biography of a Viet Minh battalion commander.

It will be published on Saturday 2nd Dece4mber, I am sorry for some the technical problem there have been as to the downloads this has now been resolved.

The Dirty War

The war drags on with outrages committed by both sides, in France, the conflict becomes know as the Dirty War.  The Viet Minh successfully fight a guerrilla war under the commander of General Giap, biography of the General.  Attempts by the French Governor to form a Government in Vietnam fails.