Dien Bien Phu

Question 1

Who set up a fortified base in a valley in North Western Vietnam?

Answer 1

General Navarre

Question 2

What was this fortified base in a valley in north Vietnam called?

Answer 2

Dien bien phu

Question 3

Who was the Viet Minh commander?

Answer 3

Vo Nguyen Giap

Question 5

How many air support did the French have? What did this mean they weren’t concerned about?

Answer 5

11,000

Weren’t concerned about jungles

Question 6

Why were the French confident of victory?

Answer 6

They had more guns than needed

Question 7

How many French soldiers occupied that base at Dien Bien Phu?

Answer 7

10,000

Question 8

Who provided the Viet Minh with modern weapons?

Answer 8

China and USSR

Allowed them to confront and defeat the French in open battle

Question 9

How many Viet Minh troops surrounded the 10,000 French troops?

Answer 9

50,000

Question 10

What did the Viet Minh bombing do?

Answer 10

Destroyed the runway
Trapped French troops
Bombarded them with shells and rockets

Question 12

When did the Viet Minh begin shelling the French?

Answer 12

13th March 1954

Question 14

How many shells did the Viet Minh drop on the French?

Answer 14

50 shells a minute on the French

Question 15

Who committed suicide?

Answer 15

The French general Navarre

Question 16

What did Eisenhower refuse to intervene without?

Answer 16

European support

Question 17

What did the US send to help the French? What was this without?

Answer 17

Transport planes without approval from Congress

Question 18

What did the bombing of the runway do?

Answer 18

Trapped the French soldiers

Soon ran out of water and medical supplies

Question 19

Why did the French surrender?

Answer 19

Neither the Americans nor the British would give direct help

Question 20

Why did the USA intervene?

Answer 20

Domino Theory

Question 21

What did Vo Nguyen Giap say in 1954 after the French war effort was devastated?

Answer 21

“A poor feudal nation had beaten a great colonial power. It meant a lot, not just to us, but to people all over the world”

Question 22

When did the French surrender?

Answer 22

May 7th 1954

After 55 days siege

Question 23

Who did the Viet Minh defeat?

Answer 23

A large, well armed force of French paratroopers

Question 24

How many French died?

Answer 24

1600

Question 25

How many French were wounded?

Answer 25

5000

Question 26

How many Viet Minh died?

Answer 26

7900

Question 27

How many Viet Minh were wounded?

Answer 27

15,000 (3x more than French)

Question 28

How many French were captured?

Answer 28

8000

Question 29

What happened to the captured French troops? How many died?

Answer 29

Marched off on foot on a 500 mile trek to prison camps

Half survived

Question 30

In the wake of France’s defeat, who resigned?

Answer 30

The French prime minister

Question 31

What did the leader who replaced the French prime minister realise?

Answer 31

The war in Vietnam was unpopular in France

Question 32

What did the next French leader offer parliament? What was voted?

Answer 32

A choice between supporting him in peace talks or sending more troops to Vietnam
Parliament voted 471 to 14 to support the ending of the war and withdrawal of French from Indochina

Question 33

What did the French vote to withdraw end?

Answer 33

A bitter eight year struggle against the Viet Minh in which 400,000 soldiers and civilians from all sides had died

Question 36

What was defeated?

Answer 36

French war effort

Question 37

What allowed a small Asian state to defeat a rich European power?

Answer 37

A combination of effective leadership, guerrilla tactics and sheer determination

Question 38

What happened in 1954, shortly after the end of Battle of Dien Bien Phu?

Answer 38

The leaders of Britain, France, China, USSR, USA and Vietnam met in Geneva, Switzerland

Question 39

Who represented the Vietnamese at the Geneva Agreement?

Answer 39

Both the Vietminh and politicians from the non communist government set up in the south of the country by the French

Question 40

What was the aim of the Geneva Agreement?

Answer 40

To bring about a peaceful solution to the conflicts in Korea and Indochina

Question 41

What was the aim of the Geneva Agreement?

Answer 41

To bring about a peaceful solution to the conflicts in Korea and Indochina

Question 42

What was one of the issues of the Geneva Agreement?

Answer 42

Elections in Vietnam

Question 43

Why were the elections in Vietnam an issue?

Answer 43

The Vietminh wanted early elections so the people could elect a government for the whole of Vietnam
Western powers wanted to delay in he elections due to the popularity of the communist led Vietminh (in particular Ho Chi Minh)

Question 44

What points were agreed at the Geneva Agreement?

Answer 44

Vietnam would be divided at the 17th parallel
North Vietnam ruled by Ho Chi Minh
South ruled by Ngo Dinh Diem
French troops would withdraw completely from Vietnam
The Vietnamese people could freely choose to live in North Vietnam or South Vietnam
A general election for the whole of Vietnam would be held before July 1956
Laos and Cambodia would become independent nations

Question 45

Why wasn’t everyone happy with the Geneva Agreement?

Answer 45

Ho Chi Minh wanted a united Vietnam but was confident that the north/ south split would be only a temporary arrangement
He felt that the people of Vietnam would elect a communist government in the upcoming general election.
Diem, who was to rule the new South Vietnam, was also reluctant to accept the division
He too wanted a united Vietnam, he was also openly supported by the Americans as he was a more desirable candidate than the communist Ho Chi Minh

Question 46

What did the division of the country lead to in the USA?

Answer 46

The USA becoming politically involved in the future of Vietnam

Question 47

What was President Eisenhower concerned about?

Answer 47

The growth of communism in this area of the world

He was determined to contain it