Tightening the siege of Dien Bien Phu

Exactly 70 years ago, at 5:30 p.m. on March 30, 1954, our artillery fired heavily at enemy bases, opening the second phase of the Dien Bien Phu Campaign. This was the most important battle phase of the campaign.

Shock units attacked Muong Thanh airport during the Dien Bien Phu Campaign. Photo: Archive

Capture key heights

On our side, after the resounding victory of the first phase (March 13 to March 17, 1954), the Campaign Command immediately directed the entire front to actively prepare for the next phase of combat.

Starting at 5:30 p.m. on March 30, 1954, our artillery fired heavily at enemy bases, opening the second phase of the Dien Bien Phu Campaign. In the Northeast direction (under the responsibility of Division 312), Regiment 141, after 1 hour and 30 minutes of fighting, destroyed the enemy's 3rd Battalion and took control of Hill E. At the same time, Regiment 209 also destroyed an enemy battalion and took control of Hill D1. Taking advantage of the victory, Division 312 ordered Battalion 130 to attack the D2 stronghold, while the units that had just captured Hill E developed into the hills inside.

In the East, Regiment 98 (Division 316) attacked and took control of C1 stronghold, after 45 minutes of fighting, killing and capturing 140 enemies. The fiercest fighting took place at A1 hill - the most important stronghold in the Eastern stronghold cluster because it was located close to the central area (only 300m from the headquarters of the Stronghold Group). Regiment 174 (Division 316) and Regiment 102 (Division 308) organized three attacks on A1 (the nights of March 30, 31 and April 1), but could not finish it off. By April 4, 1954, we had only captured one-third of A1 hill. The Campaign Command ordered Regiment 102 to withdraw for consolidation and assigned Regiment 174 to defend the captured hill.

In the northwest of Muong Thanh airport, Regiment 36 (Division 308) attacked and destroyed strongholds 106 (night of April 1) and 311 (night of April 2). To the north of the airport, Regiment 165 (Division 312) captured two-thirds of stronghold 105 (night of April 3), but the enemy then counterattacked and recaptured the entire area.

In a difficult situation, on April 5, 1954, the Campaign Command decided to temporarily stop the attack to consolidate forces. After 5 days of attack, we had captured the bases: E, D1, D2, C1, 106 and 311, moving the attack and siege positions deeper, but had not yet captured the bases: A1, C2 in the East and base 105 in the North of Muong Thanh airport.

On the enemy side, on April 8, the French Command continued to reinforce Dien Bien Phu with the 4th Airborne Battalion. On April 9, the enemy organized a counterattack and recaptured the western half of Hill C1.

The Campaign Command was determined to continue carrying out the tasks set for the second phase. Our offensive and siege positions in all directions were getting closer and closer to the enemy, in some places only 10 to 15 meters away. The areas we captured such as hills E and D1 became solid defensive bases, with artillery and mortar positions that constantly threatened the enemy. On April 16, the trenches of the 312th and 308th Divisions were connected, dividing Muong Thanh airport. On the night of April 18, after many days of siege, Regiment 165 (Division 312) decisively attacked stronghold 105 north of Muong Thanh airport. At 2:10 a.m. on April 23, after 4 days and nights of siege, Regiment 36 destroyed stronghold 206.

From mid-April 1954, combined with sieges and attacks, units actively participated in sniping, organizing deep-penetration teams, parachute-capturing teams... Artillery and anti-aircraft machine gun troops of the divisions advanced deep into the valley, creating an anti-aircraft fire net to control the remaining enemy aircraft operating in Dien Bien Phu, forcing them to drop parachutes at an altitude of over 3km, thus, more than a third of the parachute supplies fell into our positions.

Create conditions for a general attack

Our activities caused the enemy many losses in terms of manpower, equipment, and mental stress. However, with their stubborn nature, the French Command tried to reassure the soldiers to hold Dien Bien Phu until the end of May 1954, which was in the middle of the rainy season, predicting that the Viet Minh Army would not be able to maintain the campaign and would have to retreat; the French army would win. The enemy increased the number of aircraft attacking around their base and our supply lines; at the same time, they used many types of bombs and created artificial rain to prevent us from supplying.

By the end of April 1954, the second phase of the campaign had lasted nearly a month, the weather had entered the rainy season, and the soldiers living and fighting in the trenches encountered many difficulties. In that situation, the Party Committee and the Campaign Command held a conference of the secretaries of the Regiment Committees to review and launch a political and ideological education campaign, focusing on strengthening logistics support work, improving the soldiers' living conditions, in order to further strengthen the determination to fight and win for the officers and soldiers.

On April 30, 1954, the second phase of the campaign ended. We eliminated more than 2,500 enemies from combat and captured most of the important high points. The French mobile force in Dien Bien Phu had only 5 companies left, and their occupation range was only 1.3km to 1.7km each way. The enemy was deeply stuck in a serious difficult situation, their morale was confused and wavering. We had the conditions to launch a general attack and destroy all enemy troops at the Dien Bien Phu stronghold.

Lieutenant Colonel, Dr. Tran Huu Huy
( Institute of Military History - General Staff)

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