Struggling to reassert control over their Indochinese colonies after World War II, the French established a huge air-land base in the valley of Dien Bien Phu. But when the opposing Vietnamese People's Army (VPA) began massing its forces against the base in late 1953, French commanders seized the opportunity to draw their elusive enemy into a decisive set-piece battle.
Defending a series of fortified positions which were reliant upon a single airstrip amp;mdash; and later, risky and inaccurate airdrops amp;mdash; for reinforcement and resupply, the French troops quickly discovered that they had underestimated their enemy. In 56 days of costly close-quarters fighting, the VPA slowly dislodged the French from one strongpoint after another by developing novel tactics and accomplishing incredible feats of engineering.
Drawing upon Vietnamese-language sources never previously employed in Western accounts of the siege, Valley of the Shadow is a dramatic re-telling of the climactic battle of the First Indochina War, the conflict that saw the French expelled from their former colony and set the stage for the "American War" in Vietnam.
Struggling to reassert control over their Indochinese colonies after World War II, the French established a huge air-land base in the valley of Dien Bien Phu. But when the opposing Vietnamese People's Army (VPA) began massing its forces against the base in late 1953, French commanders seized the opportunity to draw their elusive enemy into a decisive set-piece battle.
Defending a series of fortified positions which were reliant upon a single airstrip amp;mdash; and later, risky and inaccurate airdrops amp;mdash; for reinforcement and resupply, the French troops quickly discovered that they had underestimated their enemy. In 56 days of costly close-quarters fighting, the VPA slowly dislodged the French from one strongpoint after another by developing novel tactics and accomplishing incredible feats of engineering.
Drawing upon Vietnamese-language sources never previously employed in Western accounts of the siege, Valley of the Shadow is a dramatic re-telling of the climactic battle of the First Indochina War, the conflict that saw the French expelled from their former colony and set the stage for the "American War" in Vietnam.
Valley of the Shadow: The Siege of Dien Bien Phu
Valley of the Shadow: The Siege of Dien Bien Phu
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940170694129 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Tantor Audio |
| Publication date: | 02/12/2019 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
Related Subjects
- History
- United States History
- Asian History
- Military History
- 20th Century United States History - Wars & Conflict
- 20th Century United States History - 1945 to 2000
- Southeast Asian History
- Vietnam War/French Indo-Chinese War
- 20th Century American History - Vietnam War
- U.S. Politics & Government - 1963-1969
- Vietnam - History
- Vietnam War - General & Miscellaneous
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