Word: dienbienphu
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...combatants-at once supply historical continuity and act as a kind of tragic chorus. Journalists like Jean Lacouture and David Halberstam recount the development and deepening of the war. Meanwhile the screen shows scenes of John Foster Dulles promulgating his doctrine of "collective security" and French troops vanquished at Dienbienphu. There are glimpses of wartime savagery on both sides, and there is even some comic relief, as when Madame Nhu announces "About that question of the rubber stamp parliament: I have repeatedly said, 'But what's wrong to rubber-stamp the laws we approve...
Still, reports Harris, a mood of pessimism-not unlike that of France following its 1954 debacle in Indo-China -pervades the country. "The irony," says Harris, "is that the American mood is as pessimistic as it is without a Dienbienphu...
...with the French. Before the French invaded Indo-China in the late 1850s, Viet Nam was turned inward, in the Confucian tradition, shunning Western culture and technology. When the French arrived, they were greeted with bitter hatred and a protracted series of rebellions, which culminated in their defeat at Dienbienphu in 1954. Now that the French are long gone, having left behind businessmen, educators and diplomats, they are clearly more highly regarded than the Americans. Cultural affinities remain relatively strong; educated Vietnamese send their children to French-run prep schools, and degrees from French universities carry more prestige than those...
...disagree on the major policy issue confronting Hanoi?how best to win the war in the South. Giap, Dong and Le Duan support the current policy: intensive guerrilla activity interspersed with conventional, regular-force battles or "high points," all aimed at inflicting a decisive victory in the tradition of Dienbienphu. Truong Chinh, clearly influenced by the theories of Mao Tse-tung, favors dropping to a lower level of warfare. He argues that such protracted conflict would eventually exhaust...
...NGUYEN GIAP, the military commander. The victor of Dienbienphu, Defense Minister Giap now commands the Hanoi regulars and Viet Cong guerrillas facing U.S. troops. He is the best-known Vietnamese other than Ho and, with Israel's Moshe Dayan, the most successful soldier since World War II. His chances-of succeeding Ho seem slim, however, though he could be chosen if Hanoi decided that an international reputation were required. Before joining Ho in China in 1940, Giap studied and taught law, politics and French military history. "He could draw every battle plan of Napoleon," a pupil recalled...