The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was decisively won by Vietnamese forces, forcing the French out of Indochina 70 years ago.
Those are among approximately 150 documents, photos and artifacts relating to the 1954 battle, from both Vietnam and France.
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was one of the most major confrontations in the First Indochina War, fought between the Viet Minh Communist Revolutionaries and the French Union’s French Far East Expeditionary Corps. Lasting from March 13 to May 7, 1954, the battle was decisively won by the Vietnamese side, effectively terminating the French presence in Indochina and the signing of the Geneva Accords.
President Ho Chi Minh discusses strategy for the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in December 1953.
General Vo Nguyen Giap (2nd, R) and other commanding officers discuss Dien Bien Phu plans in 1954.
Vietnamese troops march towards the northwestern battlefield in 1954.
Two-ton cannons are pulled through tough terrain to the battlefield.
Soldiers share a moment of merriment in a trench.
Medics tend to injured soldiers.
A unit joins the battle to gain control of the Muong Thanh Bridge, carrying a flag.
Vietnamese troops capture a French tank.
A soldier waves a Vietnamese flag on top of General Christian de Castries’s bunker on May 7, 1954, signalling the Viet Minh’s victory.
General de Castries and his officers are captured.
