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Hi y'all,

The Dien Bien Phu battle was the last straw in the war for Indochinese independance. It was meant to draw the fighting away from the rich Delta regions and bleed out the independantist army. Ultimate goal was to strengthen the French negociation position apparently.

French army established a big camp deep inside the Tonkin which was supposed to get air support and attract ennemies. But the General Gap pulled a Hannibal and had his artillery carried through the jungle to encircle the French camp, carpet bombing them from the hills above and preventing any air support from actually landing.
Needless to say, it was a disaster for France. Independance of Indochine was a big hit for French ego and sped up Algerian independance movements who saw that independance was possible.

Dien Bien Phu was a military miracle, truly a Hannibal. So, what if it didn't work or didn't happen? What if Dien Bien Phu had worked and had bled out independantist armies?

Would Indochine be French? Would it be part of a federacy or become a protectorate? What would be the impact on other French colonies and history?

Remember the war of independance led very quickly to the Vietnam war after
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