Revisiting the Dien Bien Phu victory

      Pham Hoang Nam marks the battle’s 55th anniversary by retracing the soldiers’ steps through the valley and into the pages of an extraordinary history.
Dien Bien City is preparing for the upcoming 55th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu victory over French colonialists on May 7. Victory in the battle put Viet Nam on the world map as the country that beat French colonialism after nine years of resistance.
A stroke of amazing luck had our a group agog with awe and excitement even before we – a group of reporters from the south – set off for Dien Bien city.
We were able to meet briefly with General Vo Nguyen Giap, the living legend who actually made possible the victory over colonial French forces 55 years ago; the victory that stunned the world and sounded the death knell for colonial empires worldwide.
When Giap appeared in his uniform, we were all so moved that we couldn’t say a word.
The 98-year-old general appeared weak, but he remains sharp-witted as ever: "The Dien Bien Phu victory is evidence of the strong will and desire for peace among Vietnamese soldiers and the people," he said clearly.
To our regret, the ten-minute meeting passed too quickly for us to be able to express our admiration for the living legend.
"You should be careful on the road and send my best wishes to Dien Bien residents," he told us warmly before we left for the historic battle field.
On the road
General Giap’s caution about the road we had to travel on came back to us strongly as the Pha Din Pass loomed in front.
The day after meeting General Giap we set out from Ha Noi at about five am. The National Highway No 6 to Hoa Binh, Mai Chau and Son La was easier to travel on than in the past thanks to recent upgrades.
After lunch came the 30km stretch on Pha Din Pass that snaked around many hairpin turns. a road bordered on one side by the hill and on the other by… nothing. There was not even the flimsiest of barriers, just a steep drop.
Now it was evident why our 35-seat bus had to have its brakes checked before we set out on this road. In front of us we could see several trucks and cars were moving along very slowly.
Once our climb began, most passengers were quiet. Others whispered "never again." Many repairs and construction projects were being carried out on the hill, but safety measures like mirrors and warning signs were very limited. People kept absolutely quiet so as not to disturb the concentration of the driver.
The nervousness was replaced by excitement, however, as the majestic landscape came into view with valleys, rivers and mountain peaks. It was March, and not many white ban flowers particular to the northwestern mountainous region were in bloom, but the views were stunning.
At the middle of the pass, the bus had to stop and give its engine a 30-minute break. Breathing in the fresh air and looking down at the green of terraced fields stepping down into the valley, was an enchanting experience. After an hour and a half, there were many sighs of relief as we put the Pha Din Pass behind us. It only increased our admiration for the feat of 55 years ago.
We found it difficult to image how ten thousand conscripted labourers, with rattan bamboo frames and bicycles could have transported tens of thousands tonnes of food and weapons for the front lines under harsh weather conditions and French air raids, using nothing but muscle strength.
The road from Pha Din to Dien Bien City is being expanded and is covered by a thick layer of dust. It seems they will not be able to finish the road for this year’s anniversary. Finally at 7 p.m, we saw the signboard "Welcome to Dien Bien City." We had spent 14 hours getting here.
Then and now
We stayed at the Him Lam Hotel, located in former Him Lam entrenched fortification, the gate to which used to the Dien Bien Phu "fortress". This was the first outpost attacked by Vietnamese military forces on March 13, 1954. Now, the former fortification has become a eco- tourism park with houses on stilts for tourists visiting the old battlefield.
The first place for us to visit was the Muong Phang Forest, where General Vo Nguyen Giap set up his command office. The road to Muong Phang was still very quiet, but it was paved now. Curious local children waved their hands in friendly welcome to every vehicle that passed by.
Two km from the Muong Phang Forest, one stone statue had just been erected in February to celebrate the 55th anniversary. General Vo Nguyen Giap stands in the centre, flanked by Chief-of-staff Hoang Van Thai and 16 other people who represent all the forces that participated in the battlefield. Images of cannons and the six-barrelled rocket (H6), which appeared for the first time in battle and frightened the French, are also depicted.
Frankly, the statue does not capture the sense of that historic moment.
Arriving at Muong Phang, the third and final office of General Giap in Dien Bien Phu, local ethnic black Thai guide Lo Thi Hien took us on a tour. Besides her, several amateur guides – local children, followed us to sell some natural products. They told us many stories in such graphic details, it was as if they’d lived here during those historical days. They had and with greater fluency in the Vietnamese language than the ethnic minority official tour guides.
The tunnel through the mountain in Muong Phang Forest is one of the major tour stops. To build it, 120 soldiers dug away with simple tools for 28 days. Five years ago, on the 50th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu victory, Giap, then 93, had revisited Muong Phang.
Back to the city at noon, Dien Bien seems like any other bustling city on its way to increasing prosperity. Clearly tourists are drawn to this very normal town by its extraordinary history.
The place is famous in history books, but its old geographical features have disappeared as the town grows. In fact there is nothing to distinguish Dien Bien from elsewhere in the north- western region but the number of foreign tourists, most of them French.
Even for those tourists who had made it here, there is not much to see. The tour has fixed spots – the Dien Bien Phu Museum; Martyr’s Cemetery; A1 hill (Eliane 2 in French); the Victory Monument; the Muong Thanh Bridge and the bunker of Colonel Christian De Castries.
At the museum, there are about 500 old documents and artefacts on display. A short 15-minute tour with a 15-minute documentary that takes tourists through a summary of 56 hard, fierce but glorious days of the Dien Bien Phu victory. It documents the victory, but its impact is truly less than what I have read about the battle.
On A1 Hill, one of the toughest fortresses, there is a tank, a trench, tunnels, bunkers and a big crater created by 1,000kg charge exploded by Vietnamese soldiers in the final attack. In a limited area with four small, bare rooms, whatever happened in De Castries’s bunker is left for visitors to imagine. It is a good idea to read descriptions of those days before visiting the place now.
Resettlers
This year, preparations for the 55th anniversary are being made quietly. The gate and path leading to the 220-tonne Dien Bien Phu Victory Monument moulded in brass are being upgraded. The monument is located in the centre of Dien Bien city on former D1 Hill towering 50m over the Muong Thanh field.
Four years after the victory, thousands of solders of the 316 brigade who fought in Dien Bien Phu returned here and built new lives on the old battlefield. That area makes up the lively Dien Bien City of today.
However, many veterans wished the city could be built in another position around the Muong Thanh Field because the city used to be the centre of the Dien Bien Phu Fortress.
"If we could preserve the area, our grandchildren would understand more deeply the sacrifices we made for the victory," said veteran Nguyen Xuan Mai, who was a 17-year-old liaison officer during the Dien Bien Phu battle.
How to get there
Dien Bien is one of the northwestern provinces that shares its border with Laos and China. Dien Bien city is 500km away from Ha Noi.
National flag carrier Viet Nam Airlines operates one or two flights from Ha Noi to Dien Bien city everyday on its ATR-72 aircraft. A return ticket from the capital city costs VND1.65 million (around US$93).
Visitors can also get to the city by bus from the My Dinh or Giap Bat terminals in Ha Noi for VND160,000 ($9) per person. The bus will travel on National Highway No 6 through Ha Dong, Hoa Binh, Mai Chau, Moc Chau plateau and Son La, reaching Dien Bien in 14 hours.