My grandfather was a soldier fighting in Điện Biên Phủ in 1954. He is 92 now and will soon go back to Điện Biên Phủ later this year to celebrate 70 years anniversary of the battle. Most of his comrades had already passed away. It's always nice hearing war's stories from him.
@@Dr.MinhDuMuch respect, my father was an infantryman in Vietnam 1968-1969. He was 17 when he joined, was too dumb to understand the situation really. He was in two or three 6:19 brutal battles, with two resulting in his platoon being almost annihilated. He always said the Vietnamese were good people and the North was 100% in the right. The NVA was very tough according to him, despite American superiority in terms technological dominance, especially in the air the NVA always found a way around this. In combat they were extremely brave, genuinely fearless fighters and clearly knew how to fight very well. Most of this fighting was in the Que Son valley and the Kham Duc siege (his platoon was in the outskirts). He eventually found a way out of the war after almost being jailed over assaulting an officer and going AWOL to visit some city nearby. Just an insane war that caused unimaginable destruction over what? Holding up some proxy state?
Fun fact… former ss and German soldiers were in the foreign legion at Dien Bien Phu, where estimates suggest 1,600 took part in an defeat by General Vo Nguyen Giap.
Devils guard fan? I've only ever heard of ss legionairs from that book, not to say it's untrue, and honestly seems accurate. But only ever heard said info from that book myself.
Not only is the film almost millimetrically accurate, but Georges Delerue's "farewell concerto" ou concerto de l'adieu which acts as a counterpoint throughout the film is superb. Other films by the same director to also see: Pour l'honneur d'un capitaine (Algéria war) La 317 -ème section (Indochina war) Le crabe tambour (French navy).
I was saw Le Crabe Tambour is his best film, but may be a little too esoteric and steeped in French colonial history for folks to understand, his most accessible movie by far is 317th-Section.
Glad you reviewed this underrated docudrama. I remember first watching this in the late 1990’s and I recently bought a DVD with English subtitles. It’s up there with “Tora! Tora! Tora!” and “A Bridge Too Far”.
Out of all the conflicts I've learned about, for some reason I can't quite explain, the first Indochina war fascinates me! There is this profound sense of inevitability about the conflict that culminates in the siege of Dien Bien Phu. If you have any interest whatsoever in this conflict please check out "Hell In A Very Small Place" by Bernard B. Fall. I've listened through the audiobook several times. The detail in all stages of the before and after to the siege is incredible. I've read a lot of different books about many different conflicts, but this one, scares the hell outta me...
Great comment, I would also recommend " Street without Joy', also by Benard B Fall, who was killed in 1967 while patrolling with the US Marines. " Dien Bien Phu" by Pierre Langlais, gives a personal account of the battle, he took over command after the artillery leader committed suicide.
Bernard Fall's great; "Street Without Joy" is another famous one as someone else mentioned. For newer books with updated research, I recommend Christopher Goscha. His book "Road to Dien Bien Phu" was published a couple years ago.
Johnny, well done. I think the definitive ;book on Dien Ben Phu is "The Last Valley", by Martin Windrow, British War Historian. This has been described as the definitive book on how, why and the results of the Battle, and how American arrogance and hubris took no stock in understanding the Vietnamese. Uncle wanted to emulate the US model. He was ignored. Well done
See ‘La 317eme Section’ from the early 1960’s. The most accurate and unvarnished Indochina war flick at the end of the French colonial war. A black and white flick (filmed in Cambodia), that gives it a documentary feel. Such a momentous French movie.
Agreed. I bought a digital copy. I noted how damp everybody was. I recall the director Schoenendoerffer(sp) drilled the actors in the middle of the monsoon, and, if you're going to make a war movie, you should not be comfortable.
Great video & treatment of the topic Johnny, much appreciated. The effort deployed by everybody making this movie did not go unappreciated even - or especially - decades later, and that's what any film crew, deep down, hopes for. Big thanks from France
The French losing the climactic battle at Dien Bien Phu was kinda of a watershed and that's not all. It shows how lethal guerilla warfare would be even if you had the most advanced equipment on earth. The French was on the upper hand initially and pushed the Viet Minh deep into the jungles but what eludes them was that due to these jungles being very deep, very dense and often covered, airstrikes would drop bombs on supposed location but often hitting duds. Not only that, intel was limited to the French and they thought that they actually did something against the Viet Minh but that wasn't the case. The artillery case was even more intriguing. The Viet Minh, as the French thought, was not supposed to have any heavy artillery pieces as they had no way to bring it around with them nor proper facility to store them but when Dien Bien Phu happened, artillery and mortar shells rained upon the compound from valleys surrounding the airbase which shocked the French. As it turned out, the Viet Minh outsmarted the French by not storing complete artillery pieces in a spot so that they can be shot by aircraft but instead disassembled them into different components and store them separately. Not only that, when they transport it, it makes it easier to carry all the loose parts across the jungle paths to the set up spot that they wanted rather than to lug a whole artillery piece around thus they did that with bicycles and mules across the jungles of Laos, Cambodia and western Vietnam which is now known as the "Ho Chi Minh Trial". Not only were these artillery pieces that came from China and the USSR detrimental to the battle, the ingenious Viet Minh also used barrels to make makeshift mortars to supplement the lack of artillery pieces that they had which surprisingly worked wonders against the French defenders below the valleys.
You really have a point there and also the country really was a nightmare for not only French and the US but also even years before this and when gunpowder wasn't discovered yet since the history of the country really was marked by invasions against the Mongols and ancient China too which if you haven't really Google all that really was a struggle.
@@kellychuang8373 Vietnam in general was a hellhole to fight because it's just jungles and swamps almost everywhere. Just think of it as "Florida on steroids". Plus due to what I remembered, the only nation to have completely took over Vietnam at points of time were the QIng when Qianlong did his Ten Campaigns and the French who trashed the Siamese thru Cambodia and Laos thus they were able to get Vietnam in proper.
@@MrLolx2u You got that right if it wasn't the enemy giving you a hard time the environment, bugs, wildlife and diseases would though then again that doesn't care which side your on either.
Also considering that battle couldn't get bad enough it's said there was Katyusha rocket launchers used there as well as artillery and anti-aircraft guns along with the bad terrain and climate. Another part of that pictured 1 of the commanders Charles Piroth committing suicide with a grenade taking as many VM with him in reality didn't happen and when does that happen in real combat none and don't think the enemy is that capable either except in fiction like movies and TV.
The production value of that movie is at the top. The location while not he real one (Dîen Bîen Phû is a grown city with a modernish airport oday) is so similar (recreated from artillery firing plan) that one could confuse the hills for the real Elianes, Dominiques etc... Every bit of equipement/vehicle/clothes and uniform is historically accurate (if not left overs from the war). The music score is perfect. And it was done in cooperation with the vietnamese. In one word a masterpiece! Of course the story of France colonianism of indochina and the 1st indochina war cannot be resumed by a movie portaying its end. Listen to the last words of the narrator (the director himself) to get a glimpse of how french people who lived or fought there feel about this country and its people. (the plantation scene in the extended vers of Apocalypse now also).
Oh yeah along with a commander that is chasing after the illusion of that 1 perfect, all -deciding battle which really didn't work out for the high command involved in this nightmare also the battle is described as a rice bowl and well it was really described as a nightmare since supplies could only be handled by air and really was inaccurate at the time considering most landed in enemy positions, the mud and dank climate made tanks really immobile or not work and armor rusted and well it really was bad there. Anyway may want to research through that.
The game 7554 let's the player experience the Battle of Dien Bien Phu on the Viet Min side, I played that game for the First time and got to learned a little bit about the First Indochina War on the Viet Min Perspective.
@@emmanuelperez8094 As Vietnamese, this game like shit & boring.The Devs greed & woke. I never recommend this game for my foreign buddies. I will recommend Flappy bird , Toy Odyssey, HOA ... but not this shit
France had the better advanced weapons versus the outdated việtnamese army. Once the Việt got their hands on modern weapons, things changed in vietnams favor .
@@ThangTran-bj4we It tooks 100 years to get their hands on modern weapons ? Having good weapons is far from enough, we gave the best weapons possible the democratic Afghan government, and they failed against poorly equipped Taliban almost immediately. France still had technological lead in the 50s. The difference compared to the 19th century, was that Vietnam was way more populated and educated (thanks to French development by the way) and the Chinese help was way more effective.
@@mrsupremegascon The Brits, the French, the Spaniards conquered the world because of their superior weapons and technologies, that what enabled Imperialism in 19th century. What followed the Colonialism is exploitation and slavery, nothing to be proud of if you are French. It's a dark bloody chapter in history and Vietnamese people were the first to defeat France, enabling Algeria and North Africa to rise up.
I watched this based on your recommendation in the past (have you done a review before? or was it just the clips from various weapon videos/clips from the movie itself) and was pleasantly surprised. I actually felt kind of frustrated throughout the movie that nothing seemed to be getting done properly, and by the time the movie was over, I kinda realised that’s how I’m supposed to feel. Great video Johnny! This is definitely a movie I’d never have watched without suggestion, probably would’ve never heard of it.
It's not my favorite movie by Schoendoerffer. I love "Le crabe tambour" (probably not well known in the US / UK), and "La 317 section" (The 317th Platoon). Is documentary "The Anderson Platoon" is worth watching too. An interesting fact not mentioned: He was a cameraman for the french army during the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. It's an explanation for the making of the movie.
In addition to Bernard Fall's 'Hell In A Very Small Place' I recommend 'The Last Valley' by Martin Windrow. There are a lot of myths and misconceptions surrounding Dien Bien Phu, why the base was established, and the aftermath of the defeat - these two books resolve them.
Fall's book was required reading for officers in the Australian Army's 3 Brigade in the 1980's. The brigade was 'light scales', with a minimum of heavy equipment, as it was designed as the core of the strategic 'ready deployment force', specifically trained and tailored for jungle/tropical warfare. I was speaking to a french military historian year's later, and he had no knowledge of Fall's book and was rather surprised that someone from australia would have an interest in a French battle in Indo-china from the '50s. There's a bit more to the story, as Bernard Fall was actually contracted to come to Australia in the very early 1960's to join an Australian army planning team preparing contingency plans for a possible intervention in South Vietnam if it became necessary, which eventually happened. This is the reason that the Australian approach to the Vietnam war differed significantly from the US approach, and is a large reason why Australia insisted on it's own area of operations, rather than as part of the US strategic reserve in the theatre which was the US intention.
@@Gungho1a Very interesting indeed. I was a boy in Australia between 1965 and 68 ( my RAF dad was on an exchange posting with the RAAF at Edinburgh SA) The war in Vietnam was on the news every evening. One of my school teachers joined up and I believe drove some kind of armoured vehicle in Vietnam - not sure what, though. All the best to you - this Pom will always love Australia.
@@paulkirkland3263 It was said of our army at the time, which had a lot of expat brits, "It'd be a good little british army if it wasn't for the australians". My uncle was army, but spent two years at edinbourgh SA in the early 60's doing photo interpretation.
@@Gungho1a What a shame we lost our independent and intelligent approach of that era. When the US was seriously trying to establish a mulitnational force to intervene in 1954, it was Australia and New Zealand who opposed it and scuttled the plan. Richard Casey, perhaps our best ever diplomat, told the Cabinet that our future was so so tied up with the US that we should embark on such a flawed scheme. Hard to believe such events now.
I totally agree with you there. Another really good book is Dien Bien Phu, The Epic Battle America Forgot by Howard R Simpson. There is a great paragraph that talks about Legionnaires singing Contre les Viets during a night time counter attack on Elaine 1.@@g.t.richardson6311
Hey can u please review these historical movies? The Wind Rises Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale A Taxi Driver The Lives of Others Dangal Gallipoli Raise the Red Lantern The Last Emperor Farewell My Concubine Mongols Kurmanjan Datka Frantz The Dig
OUI. Je vous invite à lire le livre du lieutenant STEIN( officier de renseignement au 1er BEP) Taux de décès : -Camps Allemand de concentration ( ne pas confondre avec extermination ): 35% de morts. -Goulag ( soviétique,): 50%. -"Camps de rééducation"Viet:75%! Rien à ajouter.
Quite a large portion of the French forces were ethnic Vietnamese. At the end of the movie, there's a scene where the Viet Minh separate the captured Vietnamese from the French prisoners. You could probably take a guess what happened to those considered "race-traitors", as the narrator mentioned something about never seeing his Viet comrades again.
@@kevinduong337 Ce n'étaient pas des Viet à proprement parlé. C'étaient des tribus des hauts plateaux foncièrement antagonistes aux Viets depuis des siècles : les Hmongs,les Meos,les Thais blancs et noirs, les thos etc... Ils furent enrôlé ( en gardant leur specificite) ,et guidé par des officiers commandos pour harceler les troupes viets. Ce furent des combattants hors pair qui ne voulaient à aucun prix s'intégrer à la société VIET.
Perhaps the most extraordinary facts that the movie that I cannot believe that is true is first, since they can be found in declassified documents, the operations around Dien Bien Phu were being watched or at least monitored by Western (U.S. and U.K.) and Communist governments (China and the Soviets) who will attend the scheduled in Geneva on April. They knew even before the siege began in March that a decisive battle MUST HAVE TO BE FOUGHT in Dien Bien Phu Second, the movie accurately depicts that there are numerous recorded accounts that around late April until the day before the garrison surrendered, there were still hundreds if not at least thousands of volunteers from the French Foreign Legion and even from the Indochinese troops such as the elite Vietnamese colonial paratroopers volunteered to be dropped in Dien Bien Phu. This is despite the fact that the high command in Hanoi has already informed them that there is no relief column that is capable of reaching Dien Bien Phu on time and the fact that they are being dropped into their deaths or captivity. Let's not forget that most, if not all, French Troops and their African contingents were 'volunteers' and were not conscripts or draftees compared to the Americans a decade later. Adding to this volunteer dilemma is that the French command was running out of elite parachutists since the French and Vietnamese volunteers could only be trained in basic fundamentals about handling their parachutes. Second is the fact that they were running out of parachutes since most had already been given to the troops in Dien Bien Phu. While there are controversial 'what ifs' such as Dulles's proposal to the French to drop two atomic bombs around the Viet Minh troops in Dien Bien Phu or the appeal of the French for greater military assistance from Eisenhower like the use of hundreds of B-29 bombers from the Philippines to carpet bomb Viet Minh positions, the Siege of Dien Bien Phu should be remembered by the bravery and determination (the French Union and Viet Minh) from both sides on how to achieve their objectives. And not rely on stereotypes that the French were 'stupid' for underestimating the Viet Minh or the latter for their part in conducting human wave attacks and they had more men compared to the French.
I watched this movie relatively often. Never get bored. The survived Vietnamese soilders who side with France, their fate were unknown but brutal i think.
Also poor ground chosen by the french, poor leadership, lack of artillery, questionable choices of using an air strip as the center of their strategy, miss use of the cavalry...
@@NoirChat138 not so much as a total mistake in French POV. The valley is surround by high and slope mountains, meaning it is impossible for VietMinh to position the howitzers ( without heavy machinery, which they don't possessed) and even if that could be done, counter batteries and superior airforce will easily silenced those guns. The amount of artilery was more than adequate, it was the way they positioned, exposed down the valley and into groups, that make them vulnerable when VM countered, VM on the other hand, camouflaged and divided into reinforced positions, make it harder and less effective to counter. The idea of relying on airlift was 1, VM resupply capability is poorly, normal bicycles and wagons r inadequate, trucks r not available to large number, and the roads available are under under French airforce control; 2, airlift operation in Berlin and Korean War guaranteed the resupply, enough to last longer than VM supply. The whole campaign is supposed to be a trap to bleed VM, so IF their calculations r corrected, VM would bleed out to death both manpower and war material while the French would not. That was just too big of an IF
They had more artilery and shells than Việt Minh, they had like 25.000 shells not include bombs of all sizes while Việt Minh only had 5.000 and later on received 2.500 more, they lost because of the battle field itself, Việt Minh countered on the 400.000 volunteers to stranport food from Nghệ An, Thanh Hóa in Central Việt Nam and Ammos from China through the mountain to the battles field.
1:47 Details like this map make such a difference when it comes to immersion. I have no idea what tactical and unit symbols the French used in the 1950s and if they resembled what NATO uses today. But I doubt it was anything close to these random arrows and bubbles. 99% of viewers won’t care, but I find it an interesting detail if done right (or wrong).
KInd of weird how these soldiers had been living under incredibly difficult and stressful situations, fighting for hours without end, with shortages of everything, including hot water and razors, yet in these scenes, they are almost all perfectly clean shaven.
Growing up in Vietnam, I learned a lot about the war. I never asked my grandfather much about the war as he has suffered much already that he needs not to relive it. I do know of stories and many heroes are glorified through songs and poems now. One such story I remember about Dien Bien Phu was that there was a soldier who was helping move the artillery pieces up the basically cliffs to fire down on French positions. While doing this, the rope towing the artillery piece snapped and it starting rolling back down. He selflessly threw himself under the wheels stopping the piece long enough that his fellow comrades were able to stabilise the artillery and continue the process of bringing it back. Many heroes are remembered, but many more are forgotten, died without their names known, lost somewhere in the jungles of Vietnam. Their feats remembered but now are just faceless humanoids in our memories.
Most of them didn't survive captivity. I think around 30% went back home after only a few months as prisoners. The death rate was higher than in nazi concentration camp despite the fact they were rather young and wealthy men. This death toll was achevied mainly through hard walks, little food , absence of medecine and long hours of communist propaganda brainwashing.
@@laurentdevaux5617 you want a good treatment considering the Vietminh could barely feed their own soldiers? Dont bomb rice fields and murder peasants then. I wonder what would be considered as good treatment then, look where the location is, it is located in mountains, hard to get on and get off, the airfield was already bombed by artillery, the posibility for evacuation by airplanes was very limited, roads were basically not existing, logistic on Vietminh side for the battle was basically a marvel job based on labor of half starving soldiers and volunteers, they were very low on supplies. The French were still in controll of most open territories so the Vietminh had very little farming land to feed on, even if they were well supplied, I strongly dobt woulded French soldiers would survived the walking off the mountain back to Ha Noi by feet.
I remember in college my professor a Vietnam vet having us watch a documentary on this. Very horrific and crazy with the footage of them pushing the guns up the hills. Planes trying to take off while the strip being attacked and just getting slapped with shells.
We have to give credit to the French for fighting for 2 month being completely surrounded by a far larger force with access to large amounts of artillery and even when position where almost being overrun they held there ground for example there at huguette 5 where 30 french man fight 12000 Viet Minh for 1.5 hours or at Gabriel where 850 french man fought of 5000 Viet Minh or when 475 legionnaire fought 12000 Viet Minh and the list goes on this type of combat happened almost every day and everywhere and in most cases the French didn't retreat they died fighting
sun tzu says : if the problem is not the soldier , it is his command. the soldiers fought bravely in a bad situation which could have been avoided if command wasnt incompetent
For so long, all I knew of France imperialism in Vietnam was "they were there before handing it off to AMERICA!" It was until I watched "Apocalypse Now" that I learned how much more there was.
They did have a plan, to starve and work the people to death, enter the viet minh. They ran the colonies with a backwards mindset, like those wack job belgians in the congo. dont talk about self defeatism like its not happening, 😅
The Vietnam People's Army was established on December 22, 1944, consisting of 34 soldiers, equipped with 34 guns. On April 7, 1954, we defeated the French at Dien Bien Phu.
The French Indochina War should have been a clear call to the west. A force using almost exclusively American gear and tactics was absolutely wiped over the course of a few short years. Why did the US think they'd do any better?
Germany had no army at that time. For any German who wanted a life in the military, get training and experience, the Foreign legion was a clear choice. WW2 veterans were mostly gone by 1954.
Thanks for pointing that out. Plus, the French authorities definitely arrested war criminals and S.S. men. BUT...they also screened for paratroopers and panzergrenadiers. Regular infantry was no problem. It wasn't just Germans looking for a gig either. But airborne and armor people were at a premium.
Having been to the French unit's home base in France they give some great details on this battle. They have a lot of respect for the Vietnamese and have learned a lot from this battle. They don't shy away with the fact they had former SS members fighting with them as well.
With the help of the USSR and China, the Vietnamese Nords had become invincible. It was a lost war from the beginning. Only General Leclerc understood this situation in 1947 and had warned about the risks, but no one listened. Petain’s spirit was still there in the French army. This sense of white superiority led to a huge disaster. The world had changed. Never underestimate your enemy.
Reel fun fact : the Guy you see at 1:46 is a dien bien phu veteran lieutenant Allaire He was responsible of 6bpc mortar platoon. He is a well known veteran of indochina and algerian war
A few Bearcats and Criquets (Fieseler Storches built in France) were at the base for as long as possible. Hellcats and Helldivers were used by the French Navy, B-26 Invaders by the French Air Force.
Hi everyone. I have been looking to watch this movie for ages but can't find a version with english subtitles. Anyone know where the best place to look is? Would prefer to stream or download it but wouldn't mind a disc if its the only option
Hi! There are websites where you can download subtitles in english. But those subtitles can work only if you have downloaded the movie before (i don't know if it works with streaming).
The lessons learned in Vietnam was supposedly applied to the war for Algerian independence - they didn't work there either really. I have an old copy of the Battle for/of Algiers somewhere. Black and white but a great movie. I think this has inspired me to watch it again. If I can actually find it.😁
Again a guy who talk about history but know nothing France destroyed the FLN during the Algerian war,the method was so effective that FLN used it against Islamist during the 90’s
@@cargaisontuba3361 Well to be fair the French Republic at home was in a hot mess. The more they try to prolong a war in Algeria the more another revolution would happen. Well it stop at the French had to declare a new Republic. Should have listened to the British adivce on how to decolonization their colony.
Johnny's final recommendation is to check this film out. I've been trying to... for decades. I'm not very tech savvy. I just want to find a DVD of it (captioned or dubbed) that is reasonably priced. I need to see this film as well as Schoedoerffer's previous one: Section 317.
Perhaps a surprising similarity to the American Revolutionary battle of Yorktown. Vietnamese = Americans, their Chinese allies = the French, their British enemies = trapped French paratroopers.
Many people, especially the American rarely realize the importance of the First and Third Indochina War, where we, the Vietnamese fought the French and their pupet( 1945-1954), The Kmer Roughe and Communist China (1977-1989). Usually, most attention were given the the second Indochina war, which have the most brutality and damaging in Vietnam, but in term of political and economy impact, the First and Third indochian war is no shy to compare with the Second one It also safe to say that the Second Indochina war was a continuity of the First Indochina war, as the French Puppet, The state of Vietnam, only change it name and it master ( the U.S.A) into the Republic of Vietnam, which only have minor change in political leadership with Bao Dai remove from power and replace with The Ngo family which already had served under the French, their official flag didnt even change. The ARVN didnt even change that much too, most of it General served with The French, and then countinew to serve the American, and funnily enough, most of the ARVN major generals and RVN leader arent even from the South, but came from the North of Vietnam. In short, the only things that change was the supporter ( french-> U.S.A) and the name of the Puppet government
Anyone who is interested in this battle should read Hell in a Very Small Place...it's the definitive work on the subject and though extremely accurate in the details still reads like a novel...you won't be able to put it down.
Si les États-Unis avaient livré le matériel promis ... mais ils étaient pressés de prendre notre place : on a vu le résultat ! Westmorland le commandant américain à dit un jour : "laissez les armes et ramenez-moi les Français".
Funnily enough some former German Army officers really helped the Viet Minh. The provided the guidance and leadership on how to transport and use the artillery. General Giap's officer in charge of artillery was a German. I guess they had gotten tired of fighting for fascists.
Simplement des Prisonniers à qui on a donné le choix et des déserteurs. Plus facile quand on est allemand. Même si il y a eu des soldats français qui encadraient et 'entraînaient les viets
A nice movie, If you fancy to do another French movie, go for La légion saute sur Kolwezi, also known as Operation Leopard, it is about the operation of the 2eme REP of the Foreign Legion in Kolwezi.
You mean the one in which, in a completely fictitious scene, some legionnaires "save" Belgian paratroopers, who landed only after the French because president Giscard d'Estaing had prohibited overflight of French territory to the Belgian C-130's. And then the film makers were surprised on how their film got boo'ed on its premiere in Brussels...
@@TheOldEuropean Nowhere it is mentioned that they saved the Belgian paratroopers, only that they meet them at one point in Kolwezi, and that they had orders not to participate in the operation with the French. the only fictitious thing is that the Belgian paratroopers are wearing french uniforms, belt and boots.
I've read Hell In A Very Small Place and part of Falls book. If y'all want an entertaining fictional version I suggest Casca The Legionarre by Barry Sadler. Casca is the Roman soldier who Jesus cursed to live until the second coming, but always as s soldier. So, he keeps getting killed and resurrected. Sadler is the composer of The Ballad of The Green Berets. Killed in Honduras as a mercenary.
Between your vocal delivery and facial expressions you come across as seriously chill and sedate. Which is much preferred to spastic hollering and pointless over-emoting.
@@JohnnyJohnsonHistory Personally, I interpret spastic presenters as being "all about me!' while those more like your style are focused on the subject. To each their own, I suppose, but the former just feels too much like someone jangling keys to keep a baby entertained.
Many are commenting that this film (wherever it can be viewed) should be read with Fall's 'Hell in a Very Small Place.' I would like to add Martin Windrow's 'The Last Valley.'
Good video and also for this battle you may want to do pieces on some of the weapons used here if you haven't done so like the MAT-49 and MAS-36 among others in this movie I know there was some US arms there that you may have covered but others that you can do a video that you may not have like the MAT-49, MAS and also Browning M1919 and M2 among who knows anyway may want to Google all about the guns used there to find out along with tanks.
Thanks JJ and maybe another part do a part on the vehicles and aircraft used there too if you haven't already since Vietnam had a whole host of aircraft used there like I already mentioned the A-1 Cobra gunship, B-52 bomber, MIG's, Skycrane, Chinook and well you did good on UH-1 Hueys and F4 Phantoms though could go for those I mentioned among who knows what others anyway may want to Google and TH-cam all about that.
At the beginning of the actual battle there were 2 human wave assaults against strong points Beatrice and Gabrielle. It would have been a better movie if that action had been shown.
"Human Wave" is a made up name, it was invented by some journalists after hearing fragmented accounts from UN troops and confusing China multiple waves of assaults tactic with what is known as "human wave" What is to showed there? That is french arty was able to hold off Viet Minh troops for a while. The other was viet Minh troops push right into the french line
You should watch ABC Australia TV movie Curtin looking at the 1941-1942 crisis of returning Australian AIF soldiers from North Africa to fight in new Guinness, prime minister close relationship with Japanese Ambassador and fall of Menzies government, the Spector of war with Japan and to place the military command of pacific war in Australia and not in London.
Funny, my father who was on his way to leave VN in 1954 meet a US military "counsellor" in Quang Trị, the guy told him: "go back home, we will handle this in one month". My father just laugh. When he passed away 20 years ago, he asked to have his ashes spread in Vietnam, he loved the country and the people.
How did the French suffer from the Germans during World War II for only a few years? If so, why did France want to colonize Vietnam? France colonized Vietnam for 100 years and never wanted to liberate Vietnam. The Vietnamese people fought continuously against the French for independence but failed until the communists came. The Vietnamese had no choice but to join the communists to fight against the French and the Americans. In other words, the free world pushed Vietnam into communism. The Vietnamese wanted independence so much that they were willing to sacrifice for it. The goal is independence, so don't compare the number of Vietnamese deaths with the French.
One wonders how the French colonial troops responded to assignments like the First Indo-China War? There must have been quite a number of African, Carribbean and Arab/North African soldiers among the French troops like the Foreign Legion? What were their experiences and feelings when they were deployed to fight a distant East Asian adversary whom they hardly knew anything about, that too as part of the former Colonizer's army? Did they feel empathy for the Vietnamese? Or did they go in with the Westerner's disdain for those "Little Yellow Asian peasants" who were supposed to have no military valour, and who were expected to be crushed easily at the beginning of the War?
I felt a sense of tragedy when I saw that movie (it was on its original release, I'm getting on in years). The whole thing was so pointless. A people wanted their country to be free from foreign occupation, and France, which had itself been under foreign occupation just a few years earlier, viewed that as unacceptable.
@@c3aloha Quite. But when the French officer about to leave for Dien Bien Phu tells him "Don't look for a reason, there is no reason!", I wanted to reply "There may be no reason for you, but there is one for those on the other side."
@@shatterquartz such a tragedy. I can’t find the passage where I read about it but there is a picture of General De Lattre saying his final goodbye to his son in the field shortly before he was killed in action that was supposedly displayed at an officers club in Hanoi. Those soldiers tried their best for a questionable cause. Having been in the military I understand the professional conundrum.
@@ThangTran-bj4we yes and I mentioned in another comment people don’t realize how large a percentage of the French troops were Vietnamese. A difficult situation for all.
My grandfather was a soldier fighting in Điện Biên Phủ in 1954. He is 92 now and will soon go back to Điện Biên Phủ later this year to celebrate 70 years anniversary of the battle. Most of his comrades had already passed away. It's always nice hearing war's stories from him.
I will be visiting from Australia, my friend from Paris will join me. I hope to meet him.
if you can recorded it, it will be great
My great-grandfather, a farmer who suffered too much oppression from the French colonialists, fought and died at Dien Bien Phu.
Must have great stories
@@Dr.MinhDuMuch respect, my father was an infantryman in Vietnam 1968-1969. He was 17 when he joined, was too dumb to understand the situation really. He was in two or three 6:19 brutal battles, with two resulting in his platoon being almost annihilated. He always said the Vietnamese were good people and the North was 100% in the right. The NVA was very tough according to him, despite American superiority in terms technological dominance, especially in the air the NVA always found a way around this. In combat they were extremely brave, genuinely fearless fighters and clearly knew how to fight very well. Most of this fighting was in the Que Son valley and the Kham Duc siege (his platoon was in the outskirts). He eventually found a way out of the war after almost being jailed over assaulting an officer and going AWOL to visit some city nearby. Just an insane war that caused unimaginable destruction over what? Holding up some proxy state?
Fun fact… former ss and German soldiers were in the foreign legion at Dien Bien Phu, where estimates suggest 1,600 took part in an defeat by General Vo Nguyen Giap.
Nazis taking Ls back to back
Devils guard fan? I've only ever heard of ss legionairs from that book, not to say it's untrue, and honestly seems accurate. But only ever heard said info from that book myself.
There was a reference in the movie too. After losing a hill you could hear a officer cursed in German.
Ah the end of WW2 most of SS unit was made of foreign but yeah keep coping about German legos
No
Not only is the film almost millimetrically accurate, but Georges Delerue's "farewell concerto" ou concerto de l'adieu which acts as a counterpoint throughout the film is superb.
Other films by the same director to also see:
Pour l'honneur d'un capitaine (Algéria war)
La 317 -ème section (Indochina war)
Le crabe tambour (French navy).
while you are typing this domt you feel ashamed that YOU HAVE NOT BEEN THERE ?
I was saw Le Crabe Tambour is his best film, but may be a little too esoteric and steeped in French colonial history for folks to understand, his most accessible movie by far is 317th-Section.
Thanks for remembering this wonderful musical piece :
th-cam.com/video/Vu46hLLqFyI/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=SonnyCrockett
Glad you reviewed this underrated docudrama. I remember first watching this in the late 1990’s and I recently bought a DVD with English subtitles. It’s up there with “Tora! Tora! Tora!” and “A Bridge Too Far”.
May the valiant Soldiers who died in Deim Being Phu, through the Mercy of God, RIP.
Hey where did you find a DVD with English subtitles. I can't find a DVD with English subs.
I've wrote a few comments for different people to review this film, and 317eme section, glad you've done this.
Out of all the conflicts I've learned about, for some reason I can't quite explain, the first Indochina war fascinates me! There is this profound sense of inevitability about the conflict that culminates in the siege of Dien Bien Phu. If you have any interest whatsoever in this conflict please check out "Hell In A Very Small Place" by Bernard B. Fall. I've listened through the audiobook several times. The detail in all stages of the before and after to the siege is incredible. I've read a lot of different books about many different conflicts, but this one, scares the hell outta me...
See: la 317 ème section
Great comment, I would also recommend " Street without Joy', also by Benard B Fall, who was killed in 1967 while patrolling with the US Marines.
" Dien Bien Phu" by Pierre Langlais, gives a personal account of the battle, he took over command after the artillery leader committed suicide.
Books, those by Jean Lartéguy, Les Centurions etc fictionalised though they may be are worth a read. hard to find in paper though.
Thanks, I had forgotten Larteguy, " The Centurions" is available on Kindle price $7.49. @@jhnshep
Bernard Fall's great; "Street Without Joy" is another famous one as someone else mentioned. For newer books with updated research, I recommend Christopher Goscha. His book "Road to Dien Bien Phu" was published a couple years ago.
Johnny, well done. I think the definitive ;book on Dien Ben Phu is "The Last Valley", by Martin Windrow, British War Historian. This has been described as the definitive book on how, why and the results of the Battle, and how American arrogance and hubris took no stock in understanding the Vietnamese. Uncle wanted to emulate the US model. He was ignored. Well done
I’ll stick with Fall
See ‘La 317eme Section’ from the early 1960’s. The most accurate and unvarnished Indochina war flick at the end of the French colonial war. A black and white flick (filmed in Cambodia), that gives it a documentary feel. Such a momentous French movie.
317 Platoon?
Agreed. I bought a digital copy. I noted how damp everybody was. I recall the director Schoenendoerffer(sp) drilled the actors in the middle of the monsoon, and, if you're going to make a war movie, you should not be comfortable.
Great video & treatment of the topic Johnny, much appreciated. The effort deployed by everybody making this movie did not go unappreciated even - or especially - decades later, and that's what any film crew, deep down, hopes for.
Big thanks from France
The French losing the climactic battle at Dien Bien Phu was kinda of a watershed and that's not all. It shows how lethal guerilla warfare would be even if you had the most advanced equipment on earth.
The French was on the upper hand initially and pushed the Viet Minh deep into the jungles but what eludes them was that due to these jungles being very deep, very dense and often covered, airstrikes would drop bombs on supposed location but often hitting duds. Not only that, intel was limited to the French and they thought that they actually did something against the Viet Minh but that wasn't the case.
The artillery case was even more intriguing. The Viet Minh, as the French thought, was not supposed to have any heavy artillery pieces as they had no way to bring it around with them nor proper facility to store them but when Dien Bien Phu happened, artillery and mortar shells rained upon the compound from valleys surrounding the airbase which shocked the French. As it turned out, the Viet Minh outsmarted the French by not storing complete artillery pieces in a spot so that they can be shot by aircraft but instead disassembled them into different components and store them separately. Not only that, when they transport it, it makes it easier to carry all the loose parts across the jungle paths to the set up spot that they wanted rather than to lug a whole artillery piece around thus they did that with bicycles and mules across the jungles of Laos, Cambodia and western Vietnam which is now known as the "Ho Chi Minh Trial".
Not only were these artillery pieces that came from China and the USSR detrimental to the battle, the ingenious Viet Minh also used barrels to make makeshift mortars to supplement the lack of artillery pieces that they had which surprisingly worked wonders against the French defenders below the valleys.
You really have a point there and also the country really was a nightmare for not only French and the US but also even years before this and when gunpowder wasn't discovered yet since the history of the country really was marked by invasions against the Mongols and ancient China too which if you haven't really Google all that really was a struggle.
@@kellychuang8373 Vietnam in general was a hellhole to fight because it's just jungles and swamps almost everywhere. Just think of it as "Florida on steroids".
Plus due to what I remembered, the only nation to have completely took over Vietnam at points of time were the QIng when Qianlong did his Ten Campaigns and the French who trashed the Siamese thru Cambodia and Laos thus they were able to get Vietnam in proper.
@@MrLolx2u You got that right if it wasn't the enemy giving you a hard time the environment, bugs, wildlife and diseases would though then again that doesn't care which side your on either.
america made the same mistake
Also considering that battle couldn't get bad enough it's said there was Katyusha rocket launchers used there as well as artillery and anti-aircraft guns along with the bad terrain and climate. Another part of that pictured 1 of the commanders Charles Piroth committing suicide with a grenade taking as many VM with him in reality didn't happen and when does that happen in real combat none and don't think the enemy is that capable either except in fiction like movies and TV.
The production value of that movie is at the top. The location while not he real one (Dîen Bîen Phû is a grown city with a modernish airport oday) is so similar (recreated from artillery firing plan) that one could confuse the hills for the real Elianes, Dominiques etc... Every bit of equipement/vehicle/clothes and uniform is historically accurate (if not left overs from the war).
The music score is perfect. And it was done in cooperation with the vietnamese.
In one word a masterpiece!
Of course the story of France colonianism of indochina and the 1st indochina war cannot be resumed by a movie portaying its end. Listen to the last words of the narrator (the director himself) to get a glimpse of how french people who lived or fought there feel about this country and its people. (the plantation scene in the extended vers of Apocalypse now also).
Never trust your co who names outposts after his mistresses
Glad to see this comment return
It's a very French thing no?
Oh yeah along with a commander that is chasing after the illusion of that 1 perfect, all -deciding battle which really didn't work out for the high command involved in this nightmare also the battle is described as a rice bowl and well it was really described as a nightmare since supplies could only be handled by air and really was inaccurate at the time considering most landed in enemy positions, the mud and dank climate made tanks really immobile or not work and armor rusted and well it really was bad there. Anyway may want to research through that.
They also had a combat brothel.
@@c3aloha That's something and that place must have had some wild nights during that conflict.
The game 7554 let's the player experience the Battle of Dien Bien Phu on the Viet Min side, I played that game for the First time and got to learned a little bit about the First Indochina War on the Viet Min Perspective.
You mean Chinese perceptive
@@youngdenard264 No, and WTF. Where does that come from?
@@youngdenard264 no the Viet Minh Perspective, Actually that is the Name of the Vietnamese faction in real life
@@emmanuelperez8094 As Vietnamese, this game like shit & boring.The Devs greed & woke.
I never recommend this game for my foreign buddies.
I will recommend Flappy bird , Toy Odyssey, HOA ... but not this shit
That's your own opinion, for me although the game is bad, I still had fun playing it and learned history for a bit
Considering the amount of times people tried to take over the entirety of Vietnam, it’s like the Asian Middle East. Graveyard of Empires.
France did hold Vietnam for a good century, quelling every revolts until world wars drained their force and China became strong.
@@mrsupremegasconnone stop revolt , you can easy conquer Vietnam , subdue it is another thing , similar to Poland.
France had the better advanced weapons versus the outdated việtnamese army. Once the Việt got their hands on modern weapons, things changed in vietnams favor .
@@ThangTran-bj4we It tooks 100 years to get their hands on modern weapons ?
Having good weapons is far from enough, we gave the best weapons possible the democratic Afghan government, and they failed against poorly equipped Taliban almost immediately.
France still had technological lead in the 50s.
The difference compared to the 19th century, was that Vietnam was way more populated and educated (thanks to French development by the way) and the Chinese help was way more effective.
@@mrsupremegascon The Brits, the French, the Spaniards conquered the world because of their superior weapons and technologies, that what enabled Imperialism in 19th century. What followed the Colonialism is exploitation and slavery, nothing to be proud of if you are French. It's a dark bloody chapter in history and Vietnamese people were the first to defeat France, enabling Algeria and North Africa to rise up.
This film is superb
do you know where you can watch it?
Stremio @@mrnic3058
Onde assistir ?@@mrnic3058
@@mrnic3058 Stremio
I watched this based on your recommendation in the past (have you done a review before? or was it just the clips from various weapon videos/clips from the movie itself) and was pleasantly surprised. I actually felt kind of frustrated throughout the movie that nothing seemed to be getting done properly, and by the time the movie was over, I kinda realised that’s how I’m supposed to feel. Great video Johnny! This is definitely a movie I’d never have watched without suggestion, probably would’ve never heard of it.
Might be just clips. I can hardly remember what I've used these days. But I'm pleased you got something from my recommendation 🙏
It's not my favorite movie by Schoendoerffer. I love "Le crabe tambour" (probably not well known in the US / UK), and "La 317 section" (The 317th Platoon). Is documentary "The Anderson Platoon" is worth watching too.
An interesting fact not mentioned: He was a cameraman for the french army during the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. It's an explanation for the making of the movie.
In addition to Bernard Fall's 'Hell In A Very Small Place' I recommend 'The Last Valley' by Martin Windrow. There are a lot of myths and misconceptions surrounding Dien Bien Phu, why the base was established, and the aftermath of the defeat - these two books resolve them.
Fall's book was required reading for officers in the Australian Army's 3 Brigade in the 1980's. The brigade was 'light scales', with a minimum of heavy equipment, as it was designed as the core of the strategic 'ready deployment force', specifically trained and tailored for jungle/tropical warfare. I was speaking to a french military historian year's later, and he had no knowledge of Fall's book and was rather surprised that someone from australia would have an interest in a French battle in Indo-china from the '50s. There's a bit more to the story, as Bernard Fall was actually contracted to come to Australia in the very early 1960's to join an Australian army planning team preparing contingency plans for a possible intervention in South Vietnam if it became necessary, which eventually happened. This is the reason that the Australian approach to the Vietnam war differed significantly from the US approach, and is a large reason why Australia insisted on it's own area of operations, rather than as part of the US strategic reserve in the theatre which was the US intention.
@@Gungho1a Very interesting indeed. I was a boy in Australia between 1965 and 68 ( my RAF dad was on an exchange posting with the RAAF at Edinburgh SA) The war in Vietnam was on the news every evening. One of my school teachers joined up and I believe drove some kind of armoured vehicle in Vietnam - not sure what, though. All the best to you - this Pom will always love Australia.
@@paulkirkland3263 It was said of our army at the time, which had a lot of expat brits, "It'd be a good little british army if it wasn't for the australians". My uncle was army, but spent two years at edinbourgh SA in the early 60's doing photo interpretation.
@@Gungho1a What a shame we lost our independent and intelligent approach of that era. When the US was seriously trying to establish a mulitnational force to intervene in 1954, it was Australia and New Zealand who opposed it and scuttled the plan. Richard Casey, perhaps our best ever diplomat, told the Cabinet that our future was so so tied up with the US that we should embark on such a flawed scheme.
Hard to believe such events now.
Thanks for the upload. I would recommend reading Hell In A Very Small Place by Bernard Fall for a great account of the battle.
One of my favorite books, very detailed on small unit actions and a good breakdown at the end on nationality’s of fighters.
I totally agree with you there. Another really good book is Dien Bien Phu, The Epic Battle America Forgot by Howard R Simpson. There is a great paragraph that talks about Legionnaires singing Contre les Viets during a night time counter attack on Elaine 1.@@g.t.richardson6311
Bernard Falls, "Street Without Joy", is best book on Indochina War.
@@davidsanders6075 That is on my 'to get list'.
@@davidsanders6075 yes very good as well
Hey can u please review these historical movies?
The Wind Rises
Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale
A Taxi Driver
The Lives of Others
Dangal
Gallipoli
Raise the Red Lantern
The Last Emperor
Farewell My Concubine
Mongols
Kurmanjan Datka
Frantz
The Dig
11,000 French Army captured and only 3,000 returned?
That is staggering,
OUI.
Je vous invite à lire le livre du lieutenant STEIN( officier de renseignement au 1er BEP)
Taux de décès :
-Camps Allemand de concentration ( ne pas confondre avec extermination ): 35% de morts.
-Goulag ( soviétique,): 50%.
-"Camps de rééducation"Viet:75%!
Rien à ajouter.
Yeah it really is prison camps are the worst along with the whole environment there.
Quite a large portion of the French forces were ethnic Vietnamese. At the end of the movie, there's a scene where the Viet Minh separate the captured Vietnamese from the French prisoners. You could probably take a guess what happened to those considered "race-traitors", as the narrator mentioned something about never seeing his Viet comrades again.
@@kevinduong337 Ce n'étaient pas des Viet à proprement parlé.
C'étaient des tribus des hauts plateaux foncièrement antagonistes aux Viets depuis des siècles : les Hmongs,les Meos,les Thais blancs et noirs, les thos etc...
Ils furent enrôlé ( en gardant leur specificite) ,et guidé par des officiers commandos pour harceler les troupes viets.
Ce furent des combattants hors pair qui ne voulaient à aucun prix s'intégrer à la société VIET.
Also the fact that the battle took place in butt fucked nowhere didn't help
Perhaps the most extraordinary facts that the movie that I cannot believe that is true is first, since they can be found in declassified documents, the operations around Dien Bien Phu were being watched or at least monitored by Western (U.S. and U.K.) and Communist governments (China and the Soviets) who will attend the scheduled in Geneva on April. They knew even before the siege began in March that a decisive battle MUST HAVE TO BE FOUGHT in Dien Bien Phu
Second, the movie accurately depicts that there are numerous recorded accounts that around late April until the day before the garrison surrendered, there were still hundreds if not at least thousands of volunteers from the French Foreign Legion and even from the Indochinese troops such as the elite Vietnamese colonial paratroopers volunteered to be dropped in Dien Bien Phu. This is despite the fact that the high command in Hanoi has already informed them that there is no relief column that is capable of reaching Dien Bien Phu on time and the fact that they are being dropped into their deaths or captivity. Let's not forget that most, if not all, French Troops and their African contingents were 'volunteers' and were not conscripts or draftees compared to the Americans a decade later.
Adding to this volunteer dilemma is that the French command was running out of elite parachutists since the French and Vietnamese volunteers could only be trained in basic fundamentals about handling their parachutes. Second is the fact that they were running out of parachutes since most had already been given to the troops in Dien Bien Phu.
While there are controversial 'what ifs' such as Dulles's proposal to the French to drop two atomic bombs around the Viet Minh troops in Dien Bien Phu or the appeal of the French for greater military assistance from Eisenhower like the use of hundreds of B-29 bombers from the Philippines to carpet bomb Viet Minh positions, the Siege of Dien Bien Phu should be remembered by the bravery and determination (the French Union and Viet Minh) from both sides on how to achieve their objectives. And not rely on stereotypes that the French were 'stupid' for underestimating the Viet Minh or the latter for their part in conducting human wave attacks and they had more men compared to the French.
I was not aware of this film, so thank you. I have read Fall's "Street Without Joy" which is quite bracing.
I watched this movie relatively often. Never get bored.
The survived Vietnamese soilders who side with France, their fate were unknown but brutal i think.
Never underestimate your enemy
Also poor ground chosen by the french, poor leadership, lack of artillery, questionable choices of using an air strip as the center of their strategy, miss use of the cavalry...
Ok
@@NoirChat138 not so much as a total mistake in French POV. The valley is surround by high and slope mountains, meaning it is impossible for VietMinh to position the howitzers ( without heavy machinery, which they don't possessed) and even if that could be done, counter batteries and superior airforce will easily silenced those guns. The amount of artilery was more than adequate, it was the way they positioned, exposed down the valley and into groups, that make them vulnerable when VM countered, VM on the other hand, camouflaged and divided into reinforced positions, make it harder and less effective to counter. The idea of relying on airlift was 1, VM resupply capability is poorly, normal bicycles and wagons r inadequate, trucks r not available to large number, and the roads available are under under French airforce control; 2, airlift operation in Berlin and Korean War guaranteed the resupply, enough to last longer than VM supply. The whole campaign is supposed to be a trap to bleed VM, so IF their calculations r corrected, VM would bleed out to death both manpower and war material while the French would not. That was just too big of an IF
They had more artilery and shells than Việt Minh, they had like 25.000 shells not include bombs of all sizes while Việt Minh only had 5.000 and later on received 2.500 more, they lost because of the battle field itself, Việt Minh countered on the 400.000 volunteers to stranport food from Nghệ An, Thanh Hóa in Central Việt Nam and Ammos from China through the mountain to the battles field.
@@NoirChat138there were artillery but never enough and were outranged by their Soviet supplied counterparts.
1:47 Details like this map make such a difference when it comes to immersion. I have no idea what tactical and unit symbols the French used in the 1950s and if they resembled what NATO uses today. But I doubt it was anything close to these random arrows and bubbles. 99% of viewers won’t care, but I find it an interesting detail if done right (or wrong).
KInd of weird how these soldiers had been living under incredibly difficult and stressful situations, fighting for hours without end, with shortages of everything, including hot water and razors, yet in these scenes, they are almost all perfectly clean shaven.
Growing up in Vietnam, I learned a lot about the war. I never asked my grandfather much about the war as he has suffered much already that he needs not to relive it. I do know of stories and many heroes are glorified through songs and poems now. One such story I remember about Dien Bien Phu was that there was a soldier who was helping move the artillery pieces up the basically cliffs to fire down on French positions. While doing this, the rope towing the artillery piece snapped and it starting rolling back down. He selflessly threw himself under the wheels stopping the piece long enough that his fellow comrades were able to stabilise the artillery and continue the process of bringing it back. Many heroes are remembered, but many more are forgotten, died without their names known, lost somewhere in the jungles of Vietnam. Their feats remembered but now are just faceless humanoids in our memories.
I've always wondered what happened to all those captured soldiers. Terrible.
Most of them didn't survive captivity.
I think around 30% went back home after only a few months as prisoners.
The death rate was higher than in nazi concentration camp despite the fact they were rather young and wealthy men.
This death toll was achevied mainly through hard walks, little food , absence of medecine and long hours of communist propaganda brainwashing.
60% of them died of starvation and bad treatments...
@@laurentdevaux5617 you want a good treatment considering the Vietminh could barely feed their own soldiers? Dont bomb rice fields and murder peasants then. I wonder what would be considered as good treatment then, look where the location is, it is located in mountains, hard to get on and get off, the airfield was already bombed by artillery, the posibility for evacuation by airplanes was very limited, roads were basically not existing, logistic on Vietminh side for the battle was basically a marvel job based on labor of half starving soldiers and volunteers, they were very low on supplies. The French were still in controll of most open territories so the Vietminh had very little farming land to feed on, even if they were well supplied, I strongly dobt woulded French soldiers would survived the walking off the mountain back to Ha Noi by feet.
I remember in college my professor a Vietnam vet having us watch a documentary on this. Very horrific and crazy with the footage of them pushing the guns up the hills. Planes trying to take off while the strip being attacked and just getting slapped with shells.
We have to give credit to the French for fighting for 2 month being completely surrounded by a far larger force with access to large amounts of artillery and even when position where almost being overrun they held there ground for example there at huguette 5 where 30 french man fight 12000 Viet Minh for 1.5 hours or at Gabriel where 850 french man fought of 5000 Viet Minh or when 475 legionnaire fought 12000 Viet Minh and the list goes on this type of combat happened almost every day and everywhere and in most cases the French didn't retreat they died fighting
sun tzu says : if the problem is not the soldier , it is his command. the soldiers fought bravely in a bad situation which could have been avoided if command wasnt incompetent
@@sickbozo8152 completely accurate
@@sickbozo8152 As always happens.
Invaders and oppressors dont really deserved any credits.
@@Odd_Krieger blame the politicians not the soldier
I'm trying to find this movie. Can't find it for rent/purchase on amazon, youtube, anywhere. Anyone know where I can find it?
Sur Amazon France
Do you know where this film can be found? I've been looking for a while, but it's never on any streaming platforms.
Amazon , ive watched it 👍
You tube.
Can you watch this in the US? I thought the DVD movie is a different country code and won’t play in our DVD players.
Thanks for the review. I'm currently reading Benard Fall's "Hell in a real small place". I look forward to watching this film.
For so long, all I knew of France imperialism in Vietnam was "they were there before handing it off to AMERICA!" It was until I watched "Apocalypse Now" that I learned how much more there was.
Well nobody engage in colonialism that long without atleast an economic plan, usually at the expense of the indigenous populations.
They did have a plan, to starve and work the people to death, enter the viet minh. They ran the colonies with a backwards mindset, like those wack job belgians in the congo. dont talk about self defeatism like its not happening, 😅
Anyone know how or where to watch this film ? Been looking for a while now.
same lol
The Vietnam People's Army was established on December 22, 1944, consisting of 34 soldiers, equipped with 34 guns. On April 7, 1954, we defeated the French at Dien Bien Phu.
Are you going to do a video on the...in neutral Laos.
Where can you find this movie, streaming or VOD? DVD?
The French Indochina War should have been a clear call to the west. A force using almost exclusively American gear and tactics was absolutely wiped over the course of a few short years. Why did the US think they'd do any better?
where did you even find the movie. I've been looking.
Better than having computer AI narrative a story didn’t described name of the film.
Anyone knows where to find this movie? Not one streaming service or website has it
Amazon dvd original french with subtitles 👍
@@paulmoncaster5870 Tried, only managed to find the 1964 one
Really good, and epic movie. I have seen it ages ago. And really want to watch it again
Germany had no army at that time. For any German who wanted a life in the military, get training and experience, the Foreign legion was a clear choice. WW2 veterans were mostly gone by 1954.
Thanks for pointing that out. Plus, the French authorities definitely arrested war criminals and S.S. men. BUT...they also screened for paratroopers and panzergrenadiers. Regular infantry was no problem. It wasn't just Germans looking for a gig either. But airborne and armor people were at a premium.
Does anyone know where this can be streamed?
We got a face to a voice!!!! Please keep making your videos man!
Having been to the French unit's home base in France they give some great details on this battle. They have a lot of respect for the Vietnamese and have learned a lot from this battle. They don't shy away with the fact they had former SS members fighting with them as well.
With the help of the USSR and China, the Vietnamese Nords had become invincible. It was a lost war from the beginning. Only General Leclerc understood this situation in 1947 and had warned about the risks, but no one listened. Petain’s spirit was still there in the French army. This sense of white superiority led to a huge disaster. The world had changed. Never underestimate your enemy.
thanks! would like to see your review of "The 317th Platoon"
Reel fun fact : the Guy you see at 1:46 is a dien bien phu veteran lieutenant Allaire He was responsible of 6bpc mortar platoon. He is a well known veteran of indochina and algerian war
Thank you for your excellent review. I would really like to see a reaction on TH-cam
What type of planes were flying around for air support there??
Hellcats, Bearcats
A few Bearcats and Criquets (Fieseler Storches built in France) were at the base for as long as possible. Hellcats and Helldivers were used by the French Navy, B-26 Invaders by the French Air Force.
@@lllordllloyd Thanks!!!
Where can one find this movie?
WHERE CAN WATCH THIS MOVIE!!????!!!
Any links for this film on Blu Ray?
"55 Days in Peking". Unfortunately unlike the Boxer Rebellion for the French, no one was coming to rescue them...
Very different situation.
Hi everyone. I have been looking to watch this movie for ages but can't find a version with english subtitles. Anyone know where the best place to look is? Would prefer to stream or download it but wouldn't mind a disc if its the only option
Hi! There are websites where you can download subtitles in english. But those subtitles can work only if you have downloaded the movie before (i don't know if it works with streaming).
Where can this movie be watched or streamed?
The lessons learned in Vietnam was supposedly applied to the war for Algerian independence - they didn't work there either really. I have an old copy of the Battle for/of Algiers somewhere. Black and white but a great movie. I think this has inspired me to watch it again. If I can actually find it.😁
French in Algerian basically vaporazed the rebels. It's De Gaulle who decided to let Algeria go.
No decisive battle forced France to leave Algeria, unlike Indochina. The outcome was more political with De Gaulle's order to withdraw the troops.
Again a guy who talk about history but know nothing France destroyed the FLN during the Algerian war,the method was so effective that FLN used it against Islamist during the 90’s
@@tibsky1396 yes
@@cargaisontuba3361 Well to be fair the French Republic at home was in a hot mess. The more they try to prolong a war in Algeria the more another revolution would happen.
Well it stop at the French had to declare a new Republic.
Should have listened to the British adivce on how to decolonization their colony.
Just started your video, already liking it, for this is a great , reall great movie. I've seen it.
What the first nationality of von braun ?
Amazing movie saw it a year ago
Johnny's final recommendation is to check this film out. I've been trying to... for decades. I'm not very tech savvy. I just want to find a DVD of it (captioned or dubbed) that is reasonably priced. I need to see this film as well as Schoedoerffer's previous one: Section 317.
I can't find this film streaming any where, any suggestions besides buying a DVD?
Yes, the movie is relatively unknown. I doubt that you can find it on streaming.
I've been trying to find this movie everywhere but no luck, anyone have a good lead on where I can find it?
Where can I watch this movie?
See also "Lost Command" 1966 movie based on The Centurions by Jean Lartéguy
Perhaps a surprising similarity to the American Revolutionary battle of Yorktown. Vietnamese = Americans, their Chinese allies = the French, their British enemies = trapped French paratroopers.
Many people, especially the American rarely realize the importance of the First and Third Indochina War, where we, the Vietnamese fought the French and their pupet( 1945-1954), The Kmer Roughe and Communist China (1977-1989). Usually, most attention were given the the second Indochina war, which have the most brutality and damaging in Vietnam, but in term of political and economy impact, the First and Third indochian war is no shy to compare with the Second one
It also safe to say that the Second Indochina war was a continuity of the First Indochina war, as the French Puppet, The state of Vietnam, only change it name and it master ( the U.S.A) into the Republic of Vietnam, which only have minor change in political leadership with Bao Dai remove from power and replace with The Ngo family which already had served under the French, their official flag didnt even change. The ARVN didnt even change that much too, most of it General served with The French, and then countinew to serve the American, and funnily enough, most of the ARVN major generals and RVN leader arent even from the South, but came from the North of Vietnam. In short, the only things that change was the supporter ( french-> U.S.A) and the name of the Puppet government
Anyone who is interested in this battle should read Hell in a Very Small Place...it's the definitive work on the subject and though extremely accurate in the details still reads like a novel...you won't be able to put it down.
Si les États-Unis avaient livré le matériel promis ... mais ils étaient pressés de prendre notre place : on a vu le résultat ! Westmorland le commandant américain à dit un jour : "laissez les armes et ramenez-moi les Français".
I don't know this warmovie Johnny!! I will watch it.
Whats your background??? Military? Im from New Zealand
I just a reserve military guy as youngster. More just a war movie enthusiast.
The last paratroopers jumped from 90 meters, its just wowwww
Funnily enough some former German Army officers really helped the Viet Minh. The provided the guidance and leadership on how to transport and use the artillery. General Giap's officer in charge of artillery was a German. I guess they had gotten tired of fighting for fascists.
Simplement des Prisonniers à qui on a donné le choix et des déserteurs. Plus facile quand on est allemand. Même si il y a eu des soldats français qui encadraient et 'entraînaient les viets
Maybe they were East German.
A nice movie, If you fancy to do another French movie, go for La légion saute sur Kolwezi, also known as Operation Leopard, it is about the operation of the 2eme REP of the Foreign Legion in Kolwezi.
You mean the one in which, in a completely fictitious scene, some legionnaires "save" Belgian paratroopers, who landed only after the French because president Giscard d'Estaing had prohibited overflight of French territory to the Belgian C-130's. And then the film makers were surprised on how their film got boo'ed on its premiere in Brussels...
@@TheOldEuropean Nowhere it is mentioned that they saved the Belgian paratroopers, only that they meet them at one point in Kolwezi, and that they had orders not to participate in the operation with the French. the only fictitious thing is that the Belgian paratroopers are wearing french uniforms, belt and boots.
I've read Hell In A Very Small Place and part of Falls book. If y'all want an entertaining fictional version I suggest Casca The Legionarre by Barry Sadler. Casca is the Roman soldier who Jesus cursed to live until the second coming, but always as s soldier. So, he keeps getting killed and resurrected. Sadler is the composer of The Ballad of The Green Berets. Killed in Honduras as a mercenary.
Barry Sadler was killed in Honduras?
Between your vocal delivery and facial expressions you come across as seriously chill and sedate. Which is much preferred to spastic hollering and pointless over-emoting.
Thank you kindly for this comment. Some people say I'm boring, but I can't handle hyper presentors. I prefer calm.
@@JohnnyJohnsonHistory Personally, I interpret spastic presenters as being "all about me!' while those more like your style are focused on the subject. To each their own, I suppose, but the former just feels too much like someone jangling keys to keep a baby entertained.
All these streaming apps and I can't find this movie anywhere.
watched this movie a month ago i was amazed France underestimated the people they were stepping on.
USA: "hold my beer..."
Did 2rep wear red beret in those days…or was it green as it is today
REP wears always green beret. All french parachutistes are not légionnaires ;)
watched this one on Hong kong TV back in 1994, an excellent movie. Just waiting for Kino to release this on blu ray with audio commentary
From the same director try, "the 317th section"
You should review Danger Close an Australian film about there experience in Vietnam
Good one! Thank you, I will try to download it.
Friendly reminder that the 's' in Laos is silent
Many are commenting that this film (wherever it can be viewed) should be read with Fall's 'Hell in a Very Small Place.' I would like to add Martin Windrow's 'The Last Valley.'
Good video and also for this battle you may want to do pieces on some of the weapons used here if you haven't done so like the MAT-49 and MAS-36 among others in this movie I know there was some US arms there that you may have covered but others that you can do a video that you may not have like the MAT-49, MAS and also Browning M1919 and M2 among who knows anyway may want to Google all about the guns used there to find out along with tanks.
Thanks JJ and maybe another part do a part on the vehicles and aircraft used there too if you haven't already since Vietnam had a whole host of aircraft used there like I already mentioned the A-1 Cobra gunship, B-52 bomber, MIG's, Skycrane, Chinook and well you did good on UH-1 Hueys and F4 Phantoms though could go for those I mentioned among who knows what others anyway may want to Google and TH-cam all about that.
As far as I know, this is the only western produced film on the Indochina war that was actually shot on location in Vietnam.
Well done great post the movie is so well done.
At the beginning of the actual battle there were 2 human wave assaults against strong points Beatrice and Gabrielle. It would have been a better movie if that action had been shown.
"Human Wave" is a made up name, it was invented by some journalists after hearing fragmented accounts from UN troops and confusing China multiple waves of assaults tactic with what is known as "human wave"
What is to showed there?
That is french arty was able to hold off Viet Minh troops for a while.
The other was viet Minh troops push right into the french line
You should watch ABC Australia TV movie Curtin looking at the 1941-1942 crisis of returning Australian AIF soldiers from North Africa to fight in new Guinness, prime minister close relationship with Japanese Ambassador and fall of Menzies government, the Spector of war with Japan and to place the military command of pacific war in Australia and not in London.
Imagine telling the French decades earlier " The Vietnamese will kick your arse ". The French would've laughed .
Funny, my father who was on his way to leave VN in 1954 meet a US military "counsellor" in Quang Trị, the guy told him: "go back home, we will handle this in one month".
My father just laugh.
When he passed away 20 years ago, he asked to have his ashes spread in Vietnam, he loved the country and the people.
vietnam defeated Japan, France and the US…. Amazing
Vietnam defeated China too.
@@adrien5834 indeed.
I have the book called "Hell in a very small space by Bernard Fall , its a very good book about he Battle of Dien Bien Phu.
The United States didn’t want France to rebuild its empire, but the United States didn’t want Indochina to fall under communism.
How did the French suffer from the Germans during World War II for only a few years? If so, why did France want to colonize Vietnam? France colonized Vietnam for 100 years and never wanted to liberate Vietnam. The Vietnamese people fought continuously against the French for independence but failed until the communists came. The Vietnamese had no choice but to join the communists to fight against the French and the Americans. In other words, the free world pushed Vietnam into communism. The Vietnamese wanted independence so much that they were willing to sacrifice for it. The goal is independence, so don't compare the number of Vietnamese deaths with the French.
One wonders how the French colonial troops responded to assignments like the First Indo-China War? There must have been quite a number of African, Carribbean and Arab/North African soldiers among the French troops like the Foreign Legion? What were their experiences and feelings when they were deployed to fight a distant East Asian adversary whom they hardly knew anything about, that too as part of the former Colonizer's army? Did they feel empathy for the Vietnamese? Or did they go in with the Westerner's disdain for those "Little Yellow Asian peasants" who were supposed to have no military valour, and who were expected to be crushed easily at the beginning of the War?
Contrary to popular belief, not every Africans or Asians were against colonisation in that era.
Many still knew how bad their countries were before.
I felt a sense of tragedy when I saw that movie (it was on its original release, I'm getting on in years). The whole thing was so pointless. A people wanted their country to be free from foreign occupation, and France, which had itself been under foreign occupation just a few years earlier, viewed that as unacceptable.
The scene where the Vietnamese journalist explains to Donald Pleasance his two sides is touching.
@@c3aloha Quite. But when the French officer about to leave for Dien Bien Phu tells him "Don't look for a reason, there is no reason!", I wanted to reply "There may be no reason for you, but there is one for those on the other side."
@@shatterquartz such a tragedy. I can’t find the passage where I read about it but there is a picture of General De Lattre saying his final goodbye to his son in the field shortly before he was killed in action that was supposedly displayed at an officers club in Hanoi. Those soldiers tried their best for a questionable cause. Having been in the military I understand the professional conundrum.
@@c3aloha At least they (the French garrison) fought with honor and at Saint-Cyr, they named a class in the 50's after Dien Bien Phu.
@@ThangTran-bj4we yes and I mentioned in another comment people don’t realize how large a percentage of the French troops were Vietnamese. A difficult situation for all.