Page 247 - Thorn In The Heart

Chinh Nguyên

Mid-November 1953, General Navarre tried to make the
difference with the way he did before, hopes he can turn over the
Vietnam war to find favor in the eyes of French politicians. He
dropped his troops to reoccupy Dien-Bien-Phu in suddenly for
blocking the Vietminh 316SV and 304 Infantries moving from
Muong-Khoua, Laos to North VietnÃÆÅååæå$ÆÅååæå$ÃC
back side of the French troops.

At this time Giap’s Co-commander Hoang-Van-Thai gave
the order to his troops making over the eighty separate holes for
each 105 mm gun and missile Anti Aircraft Katyusha 16 barrels
in the side hills. They took the supper camouflage for the guns to
make the French Air Force blind when they were flying over
their head. These guns were ready setting the fire coordinate
positions, faced to the valley for the French camps and ready to
fire. Vietminh soldiers were also looking for the French troop's
patrol to hit and ran away in the thick forest or set up the traps to
kill their enemy at night.

During early March 1954, French troops lost more some
dozen soldiers lives when they were patrol for few miles out of
the base and fell in the pressure of harassment and dreadful.

The weather changed very often in the Dien-Bien-Phu
valley during the Spring reason with the thick fog early morning,
and some time rain was continuing at day with dark clouds. Few
times it had thunderstorm forest at night, plus the chilly wind
came from the North, became the difficulty and danger for the
French patrol soldiers.

Also, the rain reason made the French cargo airplanes DC-
47 getting hard for landing on the short slippery runway with
wet mud and thick fog.

After few times of Vietminh’s small attack to the camps at
late February 1954, the French troops in the base gave up their
supplies that dropped by parachutes on the Vietminh’s territory

247