The third offensive of the Dien Bien Phu Campaign took place from May 1st to 7th, 1954. The objective of this phase was to capture the remaining high ground in the East, with a focus on capturing Hill A1, destroying several strongholds in the West, eliminating a further portion of the enemy's forces, further expanding the offensive and encirclement, maximizing firepower to bombard the enemy's central area, threatening their remaining airspace, and preparing for a general offensive.
Preparations were carried out very thoroughly.
The third offensive began under conditions where the enemy's situation had become critical.
In the last days of April, the enemy mobilized more than a hundred planes each day to drop food and ammunition on Muong Thanh. However, they only received about half, because their planes had to fly high to drop supplies to avoid our medium-range anti-aircraft fire, and the drop zone was too narrow. As a result, one-third of the supplies fell onto our battlefield, a considerable amount landed in minefields and areas tightly controlled by our firepower, making it impossible for the enemy to retrieve them.
Langlais and Bigeard also adjusted and reinforced the defensive organization in the central area; they deployed the best remaining units and most trusted commanders of the fortified complex to reinforce the central resistance of Elian… but these units had suffered heavy losses and their formations were makeshift.
On our side, all preparations for the third offensive have been carried out very thoroughly.
The trenches were reinforced to such an extent that troops could move during the day very close to the enemy, allowing units to quickly bypass the front-line breakthrough phase when attacking a position. Officers and soldiers familiarized themselves with the terrain of the target strongholds, which resembled fortified outposts, through numerous training exercises.
With their wounds healed, the soldiers eagerly returned to their units, eager to participate in the final assault.
The soldiers' fighting spirit and determination to win were very high. The political training session instilled in everyone a firm belief in victory.
Supply difficulties were overcome. In General Vo Nguyen Giap's memoirs, it is clearly stated: “Never before have the front's warehouses been as full and abundant in rice as during this period. By the end of April, logistics had reserves for May. Regarding ammunition for howitzers, in addition to the 5,000 rounds captured from the enemy, more than 400 rounds of captured ammunition from Central Laos were transferred by the logistics department. Our allies also transferred two six-barreled rocket launchers to us. Because the amount of ammunition was limited, this would be a surprise for the enemy in the final days of the offensive. After the second phase of the campaign, in just ten days we had completed the construction of a 75mm recoilless rifle battalion and a H6 rocket battalion under the command of the 676th Regiment, providing timely reinforcements to the front.”
The 9th Regiment of the 304th Division, having completed its anti-bandit operations in the Northwest in mid-March, quickly arrived at Dien Bien Phu. The 304th Division (minus one regiment), with comrades Le Chuong, political commissar, and Nam Long, chief of staff, was the last division to arrive in the campaign formation.
The specific tasks of the divisions in the Third Offensive
- The 316th Division destroyed Hill C1, holding that position; simultaneously advanced on C2 to coordinate with the battle for C1; if conditions were favorable, they would develop to completely destroy C2; and fully prepared to capture important enemy bunkers in position A1 and seize those bunkers.
- The 312th Division destroyed strongholds 505 and 505A. Using firepower and a small unit in coordination with the 316th Division to block reinforcements, while the 316th Division destroyed C1. Prepared and destroyed position 204.
- The 308th Division continued to prepare and destroy stronghold 311B, while simultaneously advancing on position 310.
- The 57th Regiment of the 304th Division is tasked with suppressing enemy artillery and advancing into Zone C (Hong Cum), and, if conditions permit, destroying the enemy. A battalion is to be prepared to move towards Upper Laos for combat when ordered.
- In addition to its regular duties, the 351st Division is tasked with coordinating with infantry in key battles and counter-attacks.
While destroying A1 and advancing on C2, the units had to prepare their forces and plans so that when conditions were favorable, they could develop and destroy C2, and continue to advance to capture the remaining enemy strongholds east of the Nam Rom River.
On the very first night of the offensive, our troops captured four important positions.
Having prepared thoroughly, our troops bravely attacked the enemy on the very first day of the offensive.
At noon on May 1st, all our artillery pieces opened fire on many areas of the enemy's fortified complex. This time, the enemy's artillery cluster at Hong Cum was neutralized and paralyzed. An ammunition depot with 3,000 rounds of ammunition exploded. A food and supplies warehouse caught fire. The shelling lasted for nearly an hour. After the shelling stopped, our units simultaneously advanced to attack multiple positions.
On the very night of the opening of Phase 3, the 98th Regiment of the 316th Division completely destroyed the C1 stronghold. Building on this victory, our troops intensified their encirclement and prepared to destroy the C2 stronghold, while simultaneously consolidating their field positions, ready to crush any enemy counterattacks.
Also that night, on the eastern bank of the Nam Rom River, the 209th Regiment of the 316th Division launched an attack and quickly destroyed two enemy strongholds, 505 and 505A.
To the west, the enemy's 311 A position was also completely destroyed.
In the southern sector, our troops annihilated a portion of the enemy forces stationed northeast of Hong Cum.
Thus, on the very first night of Phase 3, the enemy lost four more strongholds: C1, 505, 505A in the East and 311A in the West.
TB (according to VNA)Source
![OCOP during Tet season: [Part 1] Ba Den custard apples in their 'golden season'](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fvphoto.vietnam.vn%2Fthumb%2F402x226%2Fvietnam%2Fresource%2FIMAGE%2F2026%2F01%2F26%2F1769417540049_03-174213_554-154843.jpeg&w=3840&q=75)
Comment (0)