geneva conference Archives

Valley of the Shadow: The Siege of Dien Bien Phu by Kevin Boylan and Luc Olivier. What makes this book so valuable is their access to Vietnamese research never before published. This illustrates n new view of the siege. My Dien Bien Phu retrospective will now place Boylan and Olivier’s work as the most detailed order of battle.

Bernard Fall’s Hell in a Very Small Place: The Siege of Dien Bien Phu remains the most essential work. Valley of the Shadow compliments and introduces those new Vietnamese insights. This provides the West with deeper sights as we approach a 70 year remembrance of the siege.

Boylan and Olivier also shed insight to Navarre’s initial plan. Amazingly, he wanted to cancel the entire operation at the last possible minute. Yet firm dates for the Geneva Conference already in place. France hoped for a repeat of their victory at Na San and a strong negotiation advantage.

Interestingly, Valley of the Shadow reflects upon the pompous views of French officers. Their suggestions following Na San, that the Viet Minh would simply fall victim a second time proved so foolish.

Boylan and Olivier offer a few new details to attack plan “Fast Strike, Fast Victory” proposed by Giap. Planned for January, Giap modified to “Steady Fight, Steady Advance.” As victory was within reach, Strike Fast would be delivering a final blow to the French command HQ.

Dedicating a full chapter to the opening 72 hours of the siege provides richer insights. Most importantly, new datasets help confirm early Viet Minh’s attack victories.

Replacing France: The Origins of American Intervention in Vietnam by Kathryn Statler. This book vividly illustrates failures by France and America in determining a free and democratic Vietnam. Kathryn directly addresses America’s tenuous relationship with France, watching as the French consistently flailed at war in Vietnam.

Kathryn sheds much needed light across a very complicated 10 year relationship (1950-60) at the dawn of the cold war. Her research helps fill gaps between US support for France and where we took over the war. The timeline begins stumbling forward in the late 1940s. Her scholarship is elevated by recently released archival materials from the US and Europe.

This is a much longer book review than normal. Even with multiple references, below simply I cannot fully address the deep impact of Kathryn’s research in a single post. This should be required reading for any college history class on the American war in Vietnam.

France made every effort to re-enter Indochina, patiently waiting for any chance to re-enslave the peoples of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Britain also fought to regain colonial control over Malaya at the end of World War II.

Since 1887, every aspect of Vietnamese society was under French control. This colonial monster had 80 years to metastasize across every aspect of Indochinese life. Among my Dien Bien Phu retrospective, this book helps answer how the tumultuous relationship between of France brought America into the war.