Check out "Vietnam, a Television History" (in its longer 13 episode form) and "Vietnam: The ten thousand day war." Watching those series left me with a profound respect for Vietnam and they really showed how pathetic French and US politics were regarding this entire episode of history.
@@soulsphere9242 Tbh the fought the Japanese, French, US and Chinese to a stand still all in one endless war. The Vietnamese people are highly regarded in my country and loved for their tenacity and courage. And there is no doubt they suffered enormously both before, during and after and yet go there today and they are the nicest people you ever met. Love them immensely. Come to Ireland when ever @thevinhluong9817 Your people are always welcome!
I remember watching this as it aired on PBS back in 1999 when I was in middle school. I admired the structure and presentation, and the awesome visual maps, which I still feel hold up to this day. And I can't forget that theme music they drilled in your head with every section/chapter. I'm watching this again for the first time in 18 years and the memories are flooding back.
I too have fond memories of watching this, albeit in 5th grade. I watched this every week with my dad when it aired. Years later, I saw the VHS collection on Ebay and begged my dad for it. My wishes came true and it was amazing to own it. Very true about the music. I hadn't seen it in years (no idea where the VHS tapes went). It was my wanting to hear the music that brought me to searching for it on RUclips. This is easily one of my favorite war documentary series. Well written, produced and narrated.
I have to say, I've just seen the first 17 mins or so of this for the first time and I had to check to see if someone had mentioned just how well produced this is. The music makes me think I'm gonna be watching something more akin to Predator, rather than a war documentary. Very well put together for such an important historical event!
Yeah no kidding, I too was in middle and high school when I first saw this. It was stunning cuz we didn’t have RUclips and if you missed it forget about it.
I was in college.. After watching this you could talk to a Vietnam Vet and they would be surprised to find anyone young who knows just how complex this war was.
I loved the series, one of the greatest documentaries on Discovery ever. Lots of interesting historic footage, and great narrative structure. Psychedelic music and visuals deserve special thanks.
John Meowzer oh no I don’t think u make a trivial point, the music is what I remember most about this series, it is brooding and atmospheric, and somehow that twisting whine accented the torment of the conflict and fits with a 60’s/70’s vibe.
The music is what brought me back to this series. This morning I woke up and for some reason that music was playing in my head, even though I hadn’t watched this series in years.
True that. The only thing to do when facing a Grand General is asking yourself 'how is this second hole ended on my back' afterwards. We French have no problem about that. We know what a Grand General is. We only regret the casualties on both sides, and that some of these overgrown children of our allies Americans still didn't figured about that.
@@kornofulgur Boy you have balls to say we are overgrown children. Lets not forget you frenchies would be eating sauerkraut right now if we didnt join ww 2. You overgrown pussies handed Hitler your country, with almost no fight. So please watch the name calling.
“Opposite the bunker, comrade Nho and I followed the mission of the company commander Ta Quoc Luat and we joined him to capture De Castries. In the bunker, we arrived where we were, all the French officers returned there, some were very shaken. At that time, Mr. Luat used French to order the enemy to surrender. They all raised their hands and General De Castries himself remained silent. Seeing this, Mr. Luu motioned for me to come closer. As I approached, De Castries stood up hurriedly, raising his hand to shake hands. At that time, I thought to myself, how can I shake my hand? I used a machine gun to stab him in the stomach, shouting at the same time the words "Ho-le-manh" (Hands up - PV). De Castries took a few steps back, raising a hand to speak in French. I then understood that he was officially asking for capitulation. We returned the entire French command to Dien Bien Phu, thus putting an end to the so-called "inviolable fortress" of French colonialism. The Dien Bien Phu campaign won everything ... "- remembers a colonel of the Viet Nam people's army Hoang Dang Vinh (19 years old , a simple soldat on may 7th 1954)
The title music stills gives me shivers down my spine, it makes me revert to a just turned spotty teenager, and the first time we got or could afford sky back here in blighty...
I've been a fan of the Battlefield series for the better part of 15 years, and only today I've discovered they made a Vietnam series. I'm in for the trip of the decade.
It's funny 'cause it's true. Only I am at the end of part one and I'm about to lose my fucking mind: it's a god-damned 20 second loop, what were they thinking?!
I love documentary like this, where they show an entire battlefield map and different guns, troops employment very strategic and informative! Does anyone know if they have similar style of documentary like this for WW2 ? thanks so much for the upload.
French: "We will use superior firepower!" Vietminh: "We surrounded your base with heavy field artilery." French: " ----_______-----....well...sacre bleu!"
There is a newer PBS the Vietnam war 10 episode series on Netflix. That one is truly amazing I am a big Vietnam war buff but I learn so many things new about it on ta doc like the fact that ho chi Minh wrote a letter to Lyndon Johnson showing admiration for the US and democracy. Nonetheless, McNamara made sure the letter never made it to him.
That music. It makes you want to get out of your shell and step in the line of fire simply to be part of history somehow. *which is exactly what makes many people go to conflict areas
If you do not admire a people who fought and won THREE wars from 1941-1973, and not just against some lightweights but the three premiere powers including the Superpower of the Western world, then you cannot be inspired. I mean they had the French so pissed that they wanted and begged the US to nuke the country. Much respect to Vietnam and Her people.✊🏻✊🏻
@@donculotta1551 What are you on about dude, he's saying he perceives your respect for the soldiers as you just rooting for the strongest team. At least that's what I interpreted. Which in a way is true, to be fair it's not like North Vietnam was morally superior, or superior in warfare. It wasn't so much the people that won the war, it was the logistical issues surrounding Vietnam's landscape and political dissent in home countries. They were getting absolutely destroyed in terms of numbers. Search And Destroy was just not how to win a war. I do wish South Vietnam had come out at least in existence, South Korea is a good example of foreign persuasion making a very successful country. Anyway I respect your opinion.
Also a fair note, north vietnam did not stand alone in any way. They had the backing of the soviet union and china two major superpowers. They received state of the arc weaponry for free and had the numbers on their side. In reality its nothing spectacular about their victory if you think about it.
Not rly spectacular. Hiding behind civilians, using them as meat shield and then using the collateral dmg as propaganda. Extermination of ethnics that aligned with south. And at the end a kill ratio of 0.2 vs USA, 0.4 vs France . So much respect... they are good at getting slaughter
@@panzerkunsth that may be true but where did they learn such tactics? Maybe after centuries of invasions, subjugation, and exterminations by the Chinese, French (part 1), Japanese, and French (again). Then finally having my country come in and tell them what to do. Idiot.
Reading RUclips comments on a semi popular video on global politics and theatres of war makes me want to bash my head into the toilet. If only said countries would be so lucky to have the master strategists here advising military operations.
Oh Yeah? Indonesia's navy which who had received a Soviet-Navy Project 68bis light-cruiser which who was transferred to Indonesia and was scrapped in 1972
@@jonathanstrong4812 Indonesia did have left leaning governments but at no time did it become totalitarian. Quite the contrary happened. Look up "Indonesian killings of 1965/66" on Wikipedia.
US message in Vietnam: "We love and defend democracy, as long as it satisfies our own interests, and not that of the self determination of the peoples".
US message in Vietnam: we know what happens when communism comes calling, and in order to stop the utter evil and atrocities it brings, we will do whatever is necessary. Pol Pot was just across the border, and he killed like 30% of his country in the name of "socialism". Pity that they failed, compare North Korea and South.... How much better off Vietnam would be otherwise is incalculable.
@@phoenix211245 Did you write that on your Apple laptop in a Portland coffee shop durning your allotted one hour of free time while your girlfriend is having “alone time” with her boyfriend
I would like to point out to anyone unfamiliar that the United Nations was involved in the Korean War (not just the United States). The video makes it seem like it was just the U.S. and I think that's an important distinction considering the context
That's nothing new, the US often tries to rewrite History so they'll be the only party that mattered... Just look at WW2 : we're spozed to believe they gave the coup de grâce to Hitler in 1944, when in fact if the USSR hadn't been attacking from the east since 1941 (losing close to 20 million people in the process) they'd have been thrown back into the sea in pretty short order. The US production machine would probably have prevailed eventually (Hitler didn't have the luxury of an industry immune to air power), but it would have taken many more years and casualties.
The documentary is not well documented. The French strategy actually worked in the Tonkin area (around Hanoï) where Evert single offensive of Giap was beaten and the VM was losing 3 times more troops. Thats why Giap switched to the mountains and use the DBP mistake.
Actually a stubborn myth. Typically the callsigns/ designations of a series of units or assets in an operation have a theme to their names for simplicity/ continuity. They simply used female names in this case, in alphabetical order... Anne-Marie, Beatrice, Claudine, Dominique, etc through to Lili.
Contrary to popular belief, America actually kicked North Vietnam’s Ass during the Tet offensive, it was the fact that support for the war had reached 0 back home and that in order to win the conflict soon, the U.S needed to commit far more troops than were already there
Over 8000 French POW's were forced to march over 600 kilometres to POW camps, less than half survived. Not much more than 3000 were repatriated later but this number may include some Vietnamese fighting with the French.
Very sad version of the Bataan Death March, but to Chinese concentration camps. Most of the French prisoners died until the French government made an issue of their captivity. Horrible conditions, typhus, gangrene, starvation. Hardly covered by Western media.
German invaded France and the French suffered alot... 3 decades later they invade Vietnam... Why does humanity always strive do dominate the other personal history notwithstanding
Sweet! While you’re at it go down through Maos passionate work. Don’t forget about the Khmer Rouge. Those bad bad US troops, killing the enemy during wartime. What’s the tally on communist governments slaughtering their own populations? How far back should we go in the history books on various countries and nations exploits? 1900’s 1500’s? Mayan human sacrifice? Slavery and cannibalism in Africa?
You got to hand it to the Viet Minh to haul that heavy hardware up and down hills and mountains, unbelievable determination. Some gunship helicopters would have helped the French but they weren't invented yet.
there was no determination. there was no choice there was only life or death only chance at life was to haul those cannons so the cannons got hauled my dude its just that simple
Logistics. Even with gunship helicopters, the French base was still stuck within enemy territory. It was the biggest French mistake to assume they would be able to operate from Dien Bien Phu without any serious counter offensive being staged by the North Vietnamese. In my opinion, for the French this was their 'A Bridge Too Far.'
On April 25th 1954, French air force bombed a Black Tai minority village called Noong Nhai, near DBP killing 444 civilians, mostly elderly, women and kids. The French at DBP were supported by at least French 4 bomber groups equiped with US aicrafts (B-26 Invaders, Helldivers, and Privaters) using napalm and fragmentation bombs to help suppress Vietnamese infantry and artillery.
zephira994 It was the Vietnamese who brought it upon themselves.They used guerilla tactics and often hid in or near vilages.It was almost impossible to distinguish if they left an area or if they are still there.I'm not justifying the civilian deaths but there's more to it.
+The18x18x +Abo R7ab Well, the Nazi (French Milice, French Gestapo, and German) did same thing in France: they were tried as criminals. What is the difference? According to your logic, French Resistance and Vietminh are terrorist organizations. Luckily, only very few French resisted the German: 89,000 babies born from German soldiers were officially accounted in France WWII. France was safest place for German troops to rest and rebuild units which were mauled on Eastern Front. The 33rd Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Charlemagne was made of French national volunteers: after WWII, some traded 50 years jail with an enrollment in Indochina War.
Two things can be true at once. his context is the french didnt intentionally bomb the village. (which is likely true) but he's still saying its not ok.
Actually France send his Legionaire in Vietnam in Diem Binh Phu about 35, 0000 while the Vietminh forces have 70, 000 Troops . Some of the weapons use by the Vietminh forces are WW2 vintage
Despite the massive mistakes the French made, they actually came close to winning this battle. Viet Mihn assaults had cost them so many casualties, as much as 15,000, many units were on the verge of mutiny.
The paradox of t Dien Bien Phu was that the plan of general Navarre succeeded and the vietminh army was bled to white. It was a secret of state before the Vietnamese authorities reveal at the beginning of the 21th century when the losses had been considerable and before if French and their anti-communist Indo-Chinese allies had attacked after Dien Bien Phu, the communist army would have been crushed. But fortunately for the Vietnamese communists the psychological shock and the political echo of Dien Bien Phû's fall in France and among the political environment was such as the French government under the pressure of the opinion opened immediately peace negotiations, unhoped-for opportunity which the Vietnamese communists seized immediately.
total bullshit, even by french estimates, the casualties of viet minh were about 8000 dead, 15000 wounded, nowhere near "bled to white". the french army still also had a lot of men and equipments after DBP, but it lacked the effective strategies and tactics to counter viet minh, it lost in both conventional (DBP campaign) and guerrilla (previous campaigns) warfare
@@tlongdn Yes, there are false legends often created by politicians to hide their incompetence and cowardice Politicians found in Dien Bien Phu a pretext to abandon the unpopular war in France while technically France had the means to win it. Moreover, the enormous clumsiness of Mendes France (a mediocre politician widely overestimated by the media of the "era) who declares that he wants to make peace in 40 days and thus puts himself under pressure to be forced to sign an unfavourable agreement. Hence the feeling of betrayal among the French military which will be aggravated by the Suez crisis in 1956 when after having taken the Suez Canal and while they were marching on Cairo to depose Nasser the French troops allied to the British were forced to to withdraw by their government under pressure from the USA and the USSR. This led to the attempted putsch of some French generals in 1961 against De Gaulle accused of betraying his promise to preserve the"French Ageriia while the French army controlled the country after the eradication of the maquis and the closure of the borders with Maroco and Tunisia crossing the NLA commandos and the supply of weapons. Indeed, with a larger army, well equipped, a country close to France geographically and a single territory, France could keep Algeria for several years to come, especially when we see what the Portuguese who kept their colonial empire until 1975 managed to do, with material human resources far inferior to France and scattered territories -(Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Angola, Mozambique). .
@@domitiusafer France did not have "the means to win it", the main reason behind setting the stronghold in DBP is that the French want to lure Viet Minh into conventional warfare because they could not win the guerilla warfare in previous campaigns. After DBP, they also lost in conventional warfare, so they did not have any meaningful strategies and tactics left to beat Viet Minh
At the very beginning, the US should have not joined the war. In fact, in 1947, Ho Chi Minh sent mail to Prez Eisenhower twice proposing friendship with the US. Wished he had accept that, we would have not witnessed such a horrible war like that
Are you sure? The major chessboard was in Europe where UK and France were both facing decolonisation and USSR at the same time. In 1947 we French already bombarded Haiphong harbor and were already waist deep in your independence war no?
@@kornofulgur Ho Chi Minh always looks up to the American ideas. Even his independence declaration has famous quotes from the American one such as "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Being an allies to America was actually an honor to Vietnam but too bad America's alliance to France was way too strong and France is like an abusive ex-boyfriend who could not let go and cling on to Vietnam like a parasite so Vietnam had to side with China and the Soviet Union. This is the reason why Vietnam tries to avoid allying with any force even now. Also French is the worst colonizer of all. I pity all ill-fated countries that became French colonies. Middle-finger to France
Oh boy... China and Vietnam... Look up their mutual and glorious and bloody and extremely violent history together. China also invaded Vietnam some time after the Americans had gotten out. Chou en Lai obviously wanted a weaker Vietnam, and he probably figured North Vietnam could be made into a Chinese ally/puppet.
They probably did it on purpose. Nobody was taking Vietnam seriously, the real major powers were China and France (they still thougth). So by ignoring the Vietnamese and sucking up to the Chinese, the French hoped for a better deal and saving their face. The Chinese thought it would be better to have a divided Vietnam, with the northern part probably becoming a Chinese ally/puppet. If you look up the history of China and Vietnam together, you'll find they have fought more and longer wars than the Vietnam War of the 20th Century. China: Vietnam is my backyard! So if any of you foreign devills are trying to conquer it, we will do everything to prevent you from doing that. Four years after the final American escape from Vietnam. China: Ah, little brother Vietnam... The time has come *Sino-Vietnamese War of 1979*
At the time, that keyboard was cutting edge technology, and it very much added to the whole feel for the programme. If it was any more than those few simple notes then there would be a plethora of people moaning that 'the music is too much' 🤷♂️
I just wish nations could just get along. Treat every man, woman and child as if they are your family. We all are flesh, blood and bones. Why are so many bent on world domination either by religion or philosophy or just flat out ego. The Persians invaded others, just because they could, the Greeks, just because they could, the Romans, Islamic conquests, Christianity, all have tried. Have we as a species learned anything since Ancient times? Mesopotamia until now is a very long time, yet we've not learned a damn thing except how to kill more of each other.
What this film doesn't portray is that communist victory in China was seen both as a 'loss' to American hawks, and simultaneously those same hawks entirely failed to recognise that China was independent of Soviet policy. And, just as important, French chauvinism and determination to expunge the humiliation of 1940. Along with British, especially, horror at the idea of being consigned to an unwinnable war or even nuclear weapon deployment.
This series was so f'ing good I bought it on dvd back in the day when you couldn't see video on the internet I do 3D now and I'm dying to update the graphics - but it would take years by myself
What kind of idiot builds a base in the middle of a valley? It's just basic common sense that you need the high ground to have an advantage and yet a military commander hands that advantage straight to the enemy
there are a lot more variables at play here, for example; having high mobility and line of fire in the sorrounding area. being able to build an airport for supplies and reinforcements, and roads for quick movement, and enemy mortar attacks was ruled as a low risk. most of the sorrounding areas was mountainous, difficult, and steep terrain that had their own problems, especially since the situation was such that the base needed to be built quickly. they had too much confidence in their superior firepower, trained soldiers, and fortification skills. they probaby also expected to fortify the nezrby hills from the main base. its possible no small amount of racism, and a belief that the enemy was a lot more incompetent than they really were influenced the situation. I am not saying they made the right decision, which they clearly did not, but the leadership, however incompetent, most likely had a lot more expericence with this sort of decision than you. bottom line, you can never account for all the variables, and even the americans when they arrived built their bases on flat landscapes and in valleys
@@Tobias8842 I believe that the French wanted to lure them in to a big battle and they did not believe that it was possible to transport artillery pieces up the steep mountains, bit the Vietnamese disassembled the artillery pieces and transport piece by piece up the mountains and reassembled on top
That's the only way the French thought they could lure the Viet Minh main forces out in the open in a set piece battle that they thought they can wipe them out once and for all with air force and superior firepower. It's a trap they set to get the Viet Minh but it turned out they set their own trap! Truth is often stranger than fiction.
+Muhammad Aizat Che Azemi zerg rush ? You are not informed enough. The Viet Minh had proper artillery, and they advanced little by little by digging tunnels that slowly expanded, entrapping enemy command center. The French built their last defense there WAITING for a zerg rush. What happened clearly did not fit their expectations.
+Muhammad Aizat Che Azemi +Nash Lang French had 4 Bomber squadrons (B-26 Invader, PB4Y Privateer and Helldivers) dropping napalm and French lost 62 airc-rafts to Vietminh 37mm AA guns. Colonel Piroth, French artillery commander, committed suicide the 2nd day of the battle after he reallized his mistake: French artillery was destroyed without any way to spot Vietminh artillery. French head of staff, Colonel Keller had a nervous break down and was replaced by colonel Ducruix. Even napalm air bombing could not suppress Vietminh artillery fire. Beatrice was the first hill taken the first day: this hill was defended by 3rd Battalion/13th Foreign Legion Demi-Brigade. Commander Paul Pegot died with all his staff during the Vietminh opening artillery barrage.
From a purely ideological perspective, the US had to choose between two values they held dear: being anti-communist (supporting S Vietnam but not doing much about the president) or being "for the people" (allowing Vietnam to unite under Ho Chi Minh) if you can't even get the ideas sorted out, nevermind the execution...
The US is a super complicated entity with ties to nearly every part of the globe, it is very childish and naive to try and point to 'values' the us was trying to 'follow'
You are incorrect. Fighting the Stalinist Ho Chi Minh was extremely noble. The problem is that America was unwilling to invade the North. Instead, the fools who ran the war used various absurd metrics (i.e. body count) to convince themselves and the American people that America was winning the war. Without overthrowing the North, the whole thing was a tragic, catastrophic waste.
It was the US that encouraged nationhood, but on her terms. Besides, what did Asians know about nationhood? The US assumed the imperial role and paid the price The US continue to act as a great imperialist, eg the Middle East.
The Viet minh ask their long time American allies who had help them defeated the Japanese in Vietnam during WWII before they ask the Soviet Union and China. US President Eisenhower decided to support their long time allies French to retake Vietnam as their slave colony. During the siege of French military garrison in Dien Bien Phu. United States poured thousands of US military supplies to the French military garrison in Dien Bien Phu to help them defeat the Viet minh. After the battle and the war against the French. North Vietnam change their name from calling them self Viet Minh to Viet Cong. Today United States would cover up the ugly truth. That their were the one who made Vietnam into a Communist country today. If United States didn't support their French allies in Vietnam. Vietnam wouldn't become communist today and the Vietnam War wouldn't had started causing the death of 58,000 US troops, 3,000, 000 innocent Vietnamese civilians of Women's, Children's, and old People's in Vietnam. United States even hide the truth about the invasion of Iraq. When 19 of the hijack terrorist of 9/11 was from Saudia Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, and United Arabic Emirates but none from Iraq.
French: Yo it’s cool go ahead and surround us, we’ll keep bringing in supplies and reinforcements. NV: Ok 🤷♂️ guess we’ll do the same, your still surrounded on all sides so....
I believe it was in a flat valley and their thinking was that it was defended by hills and heavy jungle on the base sides. Also, the French just did not have the logistical support for a defense. They had underestimated the Viet Minh.
This war can never be condoned, nor can the soldiers sent to fight ever be forgiven, the real heroes are those who burnt their draft cards and refused to go. Notably the great Mohammed Ali. The Vietnamese wanted independence, the French wanted a colony, the US wanted hegemony.
North Korea says hi. Vietnam would be much better off if the US had won the war. After all the Germans had a democratic vote to elect our favourite austrian nazi and we all know how that turned out.
@@phoenix211245 We don't need any foreign intervention to determine our fate. Besides, our fight from the very beginning is defending our motherland at all costs. Communism was one way to obtain that goal. We cannot use capitalism which took you guys hundreds of years to develop to defeat an epic enemy with the same ideology, full of money and technology. All you did were conquering other countries, enslaving us, remember? Don't pretend to be nice, we know your SH*T. Our country has only had peace for 41 years. In the first 20 years of our freedom, we were isolated by your ban. That's why we are still poor, but our economy is taking off. In contrast, the root of world war 2 was because you guys had so many colonies while others didn't. They wanted to set-up a new world. It's greed and obsession with power, to be honest. In short, we know where we are, why we are here. Do you? Don't play the big brother role if you know nothing about politics. The war from the beginning is meaningless.
![Blox Fruits Dragon Rework Update [Full Stream]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EqDAp8udhm0/mqdefault.jpg)
As a Vietnamese this is the most objective documentary from the West I have ever seen. Really appreciate the crew who made this.
It's PBS which is basically a publicly funded American network. They tend to be fairly objective since all of their money comes from donations.
@@getmeoutofsanfrancisco9917tended**
Check out "Vietnam, a Television History" (in its longer 13 episode form) and "Vietnam: The ten thousand day war." Watching those series left me with a profound respect for Vietnam and they really showed how pathetic French and US politics were regarding this entire episode of history.
@@soulsphere9242 Tbh the fought the Japanese, French, US and Chinese to a stand still all in one endless war. The Vietnamese people are highly regarded in my country and loved for their tenacity and courage. And there is no doubt they suffered enormously both before, during and after and yet go there today and they are the nicest people you ever met. Love them immensely. Come to Ireland when ever @thevinhluong9817 Your people are always welcome!
That's high praise indeed. It's my favourite also. Greetings from the UK.
🇬🇧
This is objective, precise, little to no politics, only the reality of war. This was and is one of the greatest documentary series ever made.
I went from watching this to reading Vietnam by Max Hastings. Highly recommended.
I agree, just outstanding
Really answers a lot of questions I had. 👍👍
the ww2 episodes from this series is similarily outstanding content
@@shrshred2323 Seen it all, same quality, agreed.
I remember watching this as it aired on PBS back in 1999 when I was in middle school. I admired the structure and presentation, and the awesome visual maps, which I still feel hold up to this day. And I can't forget that theme music they drilled in your head with every section/chapter. I'm watching this again for the first time in 18 years and the memories are flooding back.
I watched this too in middle school
I too have fond memories of watching this, albeit in 5th grade. I watched this every week with my dad when it aired.
Years later, I saw the VHS collection on Ebay and begged my dad for it. My wishes came true and it was amazing to own it.
Very true about the music. I hadn't seen it in years (no idea where the VHS tapes went). It was my wanting to hear the music that brought me to searching for it on RUclips.
This is easily one of my favorite war documentary series. Well written, produced and narrated.
I have to say, I've just seen the first 17 mins or so of this for the first time and I had to check to see if someone had mentioned just how well produced this is. The music makes me think I'm gonna be watching something more akin to Predator, rather than a war documentary. Very well put together for such an important historical event!
Yeah no kidding, I too was in middle and high school when I first saw this. It was stunning cuz we didn’t have RUclips and if you missed it forget about it.
I was in college.. After watching this you could talk to a Vietnam Vet and they would be surprised to find anyone young who knows just how complex this war was.
This is the best documentary (series) on the Vietnam war in my opinion.
Agreed brilliant series
What Ch did this come on? Was it History Ch? Military Ch? Doc ch?
I loved the series, one of the greatest documentaries on Discovery ever. Lots of interesting historic footage, and great narrative structure. Psychedelic music and visuals deserve special thanks.
What Ch did this come on? Was it History Ch? Military Ch? Doc ch?
Loved this series. The ominous and exhaustive nature of the music really captured the essence.
Yes it really was and also saw this before the video got restricted as well.
I don't mean to focus on a trivial point here, but, the brooding, atmospheric music in this series is really cool.
John Meowzer oh no I don’t think u make a trivial point, the music is what I remember most about this series, it is brooding and atmospheric, and somehow that twisting whine accented the torment of the conflict and fits with a 60’s/70’s vibe.
I could not agree with you more than. The theme music is till this day ingrained in my being.
And good luck finding the soundtrack.
The music is what brought me back to this series. This morning I woke up and for some reason that music was playing in my head, even though I hadn’t watched this series in years.
@@jonathanleblanc2140 This tune makes a young person want to discover over the horizon, be part of history and leave his crib behind.
One of the greatest general in modern history of warfare:
General Vo Nguyen Giap
True that.
The only thing to do when facing a Grand General is asking yourself 'how is this second hole ended on my back' afterwards.
We French have no problem about that. We know what a Grand General is. We only regret the casualties on both sides, and that some of these overgrown children of our allies Americans still didn't figured about that.
? You call Tet a tactical success?
@@kornofulgurGood French generals died with Napoleon.
@@MikoyanGurevichMiG21
Gné?
@@kornofulgur Boy you have balls to say we are overgrown children. Lets not forget you frenchies would be eating sauerkraut right now if we didnt join ww 2. You overgrown pussies handed Hitler your country, with almost no fight. So please watch the name calling.
“Opposite the bunker, comrade Nho and I followed the mission of the company commander Ta Quoc Luat and we joined him to capture De Castries. In the bunker, we arrived where we were, all the French officers returned there, some were very shaken. At that time, Mr. Luat used French to order the enemy to surrender. They all raised their hands and General De Castries himself remained silent. Seeing this, Mr. Luu motioned for me to come closer. As I approached, De Castries stood up hurriedly, raising his hand to shake hands. At that time, I thought to myself, how can I shake my hand? I used a machine gun to stab him in the stomach, shouting at the same time the words "Ho-le-manh" (Hands up - PV). De Castries took a few steps back, raising a hand to speak in French. I then understood that he was officially asking for capitulation. We returned the entire French command to Dien Bien Phu, thus putting an end to the so-called "inviolable fortress" of French colonialism. The Dien Bien Phu campaign won everything ... "- remembers a colonel of the Viet Nam people's army Hoang Dang Vinh (19 years old , a simple soldat on may 7th 1954)
Ah, he shouted: "Haut les mains!"
The title music stills gives me shivers down my spine, it makes me revert to a just turned spotty teenager, and the first time we got or could afford sky back here in blighty...
What Ch did this come on? Was it History Ch? Military Ch? Doc ch?
I've been a fan of the Battlefield series for the better part of 15 years, and only today I've discovered they made a Vietnam series.
I'm in for the trip of the decade.
This was season 3 of the Battlefield series
Forgot about this series, saw it years ago. It's the best there is.
Part 1: "I love the music!"
Part 12: "Make it stop!"
Lol
It's funny 'cause it's true. Only I am at the end of part one and I'm about to lose my fucking mind: it's a god-damned 20 second loop, what were they thinking?!
I contacted PBS to enquire about the music they said they don't own it and didn't say who does
I love documentary like this, where they show an entire battlefield map and different guns, troops employment very strategic and informative! Does anyone know if they have similar style of documentary like this for WW2 ? thanks so much for the upload.
World war 2 documentaries , its a whole channel on RUclips , its as big as this one and even the guy's voice is same , very detailed !
FOR WW2 DOCUMENTARIES WITH INTERESTING AND DESCRIPTIVE INFORMATION WATCH GENERALS AT WAR AND 20TH CENTURY BATTLEFIELDS
Battlefield Series, WWII.
AurorA 360 They do. The original battlefield series was put out by the BBC and it dissected different battles of the war in insane detail.
ruclips.net/video/wbKYbLUkIpk/видео.html
i miss this kind of documentary. Very epic
Excellent series, remember seeing this on Discovery many years ago .. thanks for share
French: "We will use superior firepower!"
Vietminh: "We surrounded your base with heavy field artilery."
French: " ----_______-----....well...sacre bleu!"
Thats a "No U" moment right there
*surprised Pikachu faces*
le funny uno reverse card no u wholesome keanu reeves reddit moment
the Best war série documentary of all time
There is a newer PBS the Vietnam war 10 episode series on Netflix. That one is truly amazing I am a big Vietnam war buff but I learn so many things new about it on ta doc like the fact that ho chi Minh wrote a letter to Lyndon Johnson showing admiration for the US and democracy. Nonetheless, McNamara made sure the letter never made it to him.
That music. It makes you want to get out of your shell and step in the line of fire simply to be part of history somehow. *which is exactly what makes many people go to conflict areas
Thanks for uploading, learning loads from this cheers
This and battlefields ww2 is just amazing
Thank you for uploading this!
I rewatch this masterpiece once every 3 years or so
They don't make good documentaries like this anymore....
Those little dinks are sneaky lil bastards. A worthy opponent.
Very well made series it's haunting to see the terrible things that happened in this war. May we never forget.
One of the best comments on this series. Thanks, I salute you.
I just want the instrumental... for the Battlefield Vietnam series I can't get over the beginning.. the music is just so intense I love it💯💯
does anyone know the name of that creeeepy music in the background?
I wish I did. It's so cool it's unreal. I remember discovering this surfing tv channels in Summer 1999 and being awestruck by the music.
MICKY HART GRATEFUL DEAD FAME
Darude - sandstorm OST
I still searching for it, but it is hopeless
David Galbraith is an artist and composer, he did the background music.
If you do not admire a people who fought and won THREE wars from 1941-1973, and not just against some lightweights but the three premiere powers including the Superpower of the Western world, then you cannot be inspired. I mean they had the French so pissed that they wanted and begged the US to nuke the country. Much respect to Vietnam and Her people.✊🏻✊🏻
@@donculotta1551 What are you on about dude, he's saying he perceives your respect for the soldiers as you just rooting for the strongest team. At least that's what I interpreted.
Which in a way is true, to be fair it's not like North Vietnam was morally superior, or superior in warfare. It wasn't so much the people that won the war, it was the logistical issues surrounding Vietnam's landscape and political dissent in home countries. They were getting absolutely destroyed in terms of numbers. Search And Destroy was just not how to win a war.
I do wish South Vietnam had come out at least in existence, South Korea is a good example of foreign persuasion making a very successful country.
Anyway I respect your opinion.
Also a fair note, north vietnam did not stand alone in any way. They had the backing of the soviet union and china two major superpowers. They received state of the arc weaponry for free and had the numbers on their side. In reality its nothing spectacular about their victory if you think about it.
Cattle Herder Free SA-2’s for all!!
Not rly spectacular. Hiding behind civilians, using them as meat shield and then using the collateral dmg as propaganda. Extermination of ethnics that aligned with south. And at the end a kill ratio of 0.2 vs USA, 0.4 vs France . So much respect... they are good at getting slaughter
@@panzerkunsth that may be true but where did they learn such tactics? Maybe after centuries of invasions, subjugation, and exterminations by the Chinese, French (part 1), Japanese, and French (again). Then finally having my country come in and tell them what to do. Idiot.
What I don't understand is why was Vietnam so important? All they wanted was independence from EVERYONE! But the French and the USA kept pushing.
It's explained at the beginning of part 1.
Reading RUclips comments on a semi popular video on global politics and theatres of war makes me want to bash my head into the toilet. If only said countries would be so lucky to have the master strategists here advising military operations.
I recall seeing this series in the summer of 2000, a year after it was released.
Great music!
The Domino Theory is just another Conspiracy Theory... Thailand or Indonesia never became communist.
but could have
Oh Yeah? Indonesia's navy which who had received a Soviet-Navy Project 68bis light-cruiser which who was transferred to Indonesia and was scrapped in 1972
@@jonathanstrong4812 Indonesia did have left leaning governments but at no time did it become totalitarian. Quite the contrary happened. Look up "Indonesian killings of 1965/66" on Wikipedia.
US message in Vietnam: "We love and defend democracy, as long as it satisfies our own interests, and not that of the self determination of the peoples".
US message in Vietnam: we know what happens when communism comes calling, and in order to stop the utter evil and atrocities it brings, we will do whatever is necessary. Pol Pot was just across the border, and he killed like 30% of his country in the name of "socialism". Pity that they failed, compare North Korea and South.... How much better off Vietnam would be otherwise is incalculable.
@@phoenix211245 Did you write that on your Apple laptop in a Portland coffee shop durning your allotted one hour of free time while your girlfriend is having “alone time” with her boyfriend
@@MrBikboi A Portlander would probably be more likely to support Ho achieve Minh.
I mean Ho Chi Minh.
I rly love that music :-)
@Peeta -Thank-you for fixing!- all on a playlist now. That's Great!
I am watching your clips ,
I love Vietnam
I would like to point out to anyone unfamiliar that the United Nations was involved in the Korean War (not just the United States). The video makes it seem like it was just the U.S. and I think that's an important distinction considering the context
That's nothing new, the US often tries to rewrite History so they'll be the only party that mattered...
Just look at WW2 : we're spozed to believe they gave the coup de grâce to Hitler in 1944, when in fact if the USSR hadn't been attacking from the east since 1941 (losing close to 20 million people in the process) they'd have been thrown back into the sea in pretty short order. The US production machine would probably have prevailed eventually (Hitler didn't have the luxury of an industry immune to air power), but it would have taken many more years and casualties.
This maybe true but the United States footed most of bill for the United nations in blood and treasure
@@regish759 Someone really wanted an excuse to go off an irrelevant tangent on the states.
America provided over 90% of the men and materiale to the Korean War. It might as well have only been the US.
Only this isn't about Korea.
Cảm ơn bạn .
Từ Canada
Music? Gotta have it...them memories😪
The documentary is not well documented. The French strategy actually worked in the Tonkin area (around Hanoï) where Evert single offensive of Giap was beaten and the VM was losing 3 times more troops. Thats why Giap switched to the mountains and use the DBP mistake.
It's true.
You will notice they skipped the 1945 to 1950 part, which History-wise was very interesting if you're interested in COIN wars.
You’re totally right
Who won?
There were no big battles around Hanoi. You're making up story here.
@@HaiLe-xk9qw I was referring to Cao Bang but I remember a few other places not in the suburbs but in the area.
I heard that the five strongholds at Dien Buen Fu were named after D’castre’s mistresses
Actually a stubborn myth. Typically the callsigns/ designations of a series of units or assets in an operation have a theme to their names for simplicity/ continuity. They simply used female names in this case, in alphabetical order... Anne-Marie, Beatrice, Claudine, Dominique, etc through to Lili.
They were probably the local commander's girlfriend's names.
@@johnnelson5503 touché, thank you for clarifying
Best docs ever
Contrary to popular belief, America actually kicked North Vietnam’s Ass during the Tet offensive, it was the fact that support for the war had reached 0 back home and that in order to win the conflict soon, the U.S needed to commit far more troops than were already there
What happened to the captured French troops at the end of Dien bien Phu? Were all prisoners freed after negotiation or many were listed as M. I. A.??
họ được trả tự do
@@tiennguyen-ys6by xin vui lòng bằng tiếng Anh nếu có thể, tôi đã cố gắng để dịch nó.
Vì vậy, đã có một cuộc trao đổi tù nhân?
@@tiennguyen-ys6by xin vui lòng bằng tiếng Anh nếu có thể, tôi đã cố gắng để dịch nó.
Vì vậy, đã có một cuộc trao đổi tù nhân?
Over 8000 French POW's were forced to march over 600 kilometres to POW camps, less than half survived. Not much more than 3000 were repatriated later but this number may include some Vietnamese fighting with the French.
Very sad version of the Bataan Death March, but to Chinese concentration camps. Most of the French prisoners died until the French government made an issue of their captivity. Horrible conditions, typhus, gangrene, starvation. Hardly covered by Western media.
German invaded France and the French suffered alot... 3 decades later they invade Vietnam... Why does humanity always strive do dominate the other personal history notwithstanding
Dat intro 😁
So good to review the history and reveal the nasty things the US did to Vietnam without pretense.
Comments Yeah, because North Vietnam didn’t do nasty and despicable things to the US military as well, right?
Sweet! While you’re at it go down through Maos passionate work. Don’t forget about the Khmer Rouge. Those bad bad US troops, killing the enemy during wartime. What’s the tally on communist governments slaughtering their own populations? How far back should we go in the history books on various countries and nations exploits? 1900’s 1500’s? Mayan human sacrifice? Slavery and cannibalism in Africa?
Hue Massacre 1968. Look it up dumbass and then tell me America holds the monopoly in nastiness. Twit.
Điện Biên Phủ, sometimes called Dienbien Phu, is a city in the northwestern region of Vietnam.
Correction, the Indo Chinese wars lasted from 1945 to 1991. After the Americans pulled out in 75 the Vietnamese went to war with China and Cambodia.
Those were called the sino-Vietnamese wars
That music tho🥺
what's wrong with it?
I Respect the people who fought this battle! Couldn't imagine what they went threw.
thanks for good video
Building a military base in a Valley surrounded by hills probably wasn't the greatest idea.
What a devastating conflict that affected so many people. Very sad history.
You got to hand it to the Viet Minh to haul that heavy hardware up and down hills and mountains, unbelievable determination. Some gunship helicopters would have helped the French but they weren't invented yet.
there was no determination. there was no choice
there was only life
or death
only chance at life was to haul those cannons so the cannons got hauled my dude its just that simple
Logistics.
Even with gunship helicopters, the French base was still stuck within enemy territory.
It was the biggest French mistake to assume they would be able to operate from Dien Bien Phu without any serious counter offensive being staged by the North Vietnamese.
In my opinion, for the French this was their 'A Bridge Too Far.'
@@AudieHolland well put.
my grandfather gà đen gạo fought against the americans for 7 long years.
On April 25th 1954, French air force bombed a Black Tai minority village called Noong Nhai, near DBP killing 444 civilians, mostly elderly, women and kids.
The French at DBP were supported by at least French 4 bomber groups equiped with US aicrafts (B-26 Invaders, Helldivers, and Privaters) using napalm and fragmentation bombs to help suppress Vietnamese infantry and artillery.
zephira994 It was the Vietnamese who brought it upon themselves.They used guerilla tactics and often hid in or near vilages.It was almost impossible to distinguish if they left an area or if they are still there.I'm not justifying the civilian deaths but there's more to it.
>The Vietnamese brought it on themselves
>Not justifying civilian deaths
Pick One
Bassman 323 france invade a forigen country then blaming the people for defending thier land
+The18x18x +Abo R7ab Well, the Nazi (French Milice, French Gestapo, and German) did same thing in France: they were tried as criminals. What is the difference? According to your logic, French Resistance and Vietminh are terrorist organizations. Luckily, only very few French resisted the German: 89,000 babies born from German soldiers were officially accounted in France WWII. France was safest place for German troops to rest and rebuild units which were mauled on Eastern Front. The 33rd Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Charlemagne was made of French national volunteers: after WWII, some traded 50 years jail with an enrollment in Indochina War.
Two things can be true at once. his context is the french didnt intentionally bomb the village. (which is likely true) but he's still saying its not ok.
Wow this all seems very familiar. Did we just repeat the same mistakes?
why i click the subtitle they always translate the sentences with a word "yeah" in the last?
Here from Shawn Ryan
Actually France send his Legionaire in Vietnam in Diem Binh Phu about 35, 0000 while the Vietminh forces have 70, 000 Troops . Some of the weapons use by the Vietminh forces are WW2 vintage
True many of the French were not French
Despite the massive mistakes the French made, they actually came close to winning this battle. Viet Mihn assaults had cost them so many casualties, as much as 15,000, many units were on the verge of mutiny.
The music is gonna give me nightmares
thanks
The paradox of t Dien Bien Phu was that the plan of general Navarre succeeded and the vietminh army was bled to white. It was a secret of state before the Vietnamese authorities reveal at the beginning of the 21th century when the losses had been considerable and before if French and their anti-communist Indo-Chinese allies had attacked after Dien Bien Phu, the communist army would have been crushed. But fortunately for the Vietnamese communists the psychological shock and the political echo of Dien Bien Phû's fall in France and among the political environment was such as the French government under the pressure of the opinion opened immediately peace negotiations, unhoped-for opportunity which the Vietnamese communists seized immediately.
total bullshit, even by french estimates, the casualties of viet minh were about 8000 dead, 15000 wounded, nowhere near "bled to white". the french army still also had a lot of men and equipments after DBP, but it lacked the effective strategies and tactics to counter viet minh, it lost in both conventional (DBP campaign) and guerrilla (previous campaigns) warfare
@@tlongdn Yes, there are false legends often created by politicians to hide their incompetence and cowardice Politicians found in Dien Bien Phu a pretext to abandon the unpopular war in France while technically France had the means to win it. Moreover, the enormous clumsiness of Mendes France (a mediocre politician widely overestimated by the media of the "era) who declares that he wants to make peace in 40 days and thus puts himself under pressure to be forced to sign an unfavourable agreement.
Hence the feeling of betrayal among the French military which will be aggravated by the Suez crisis in 1956 when after having taken the Suez Canal and while they were marching on Cairo to depose Nasser the French troops allied to the British were forced to to withdraw by their government under pressure from the USA and the USSR. This led to the attempted putsch of some French generals in 1961 against De Gaulle accused of betraying his promise to preserve the"French Ageriia while the French army controlled the country after the eradication of the maquis and the closure of the borders with Maroco and Tunisia crossing the NLA commandos and the supply of weapons. Indeed, with a larger army, well equipped, a country close to France geographically and a single territory, France could keep Algeria for several years to come, especially when we see what the Portuguese who kept their colonial empire until 1975 managed to do, with material human resources far inferior to France and scattered territories -(Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Angola, Mozambique). .
@@domitiusafer France did not have "the means to win it", the main reason behind setting the stronghold in DBP is that the French want to lure Viet Minh into conventional warfare because they could not win the guerilla warfare in previous campaigns. After DBP, they also lost in conventional warfare, so they did not have any meaningful strategies and tactics left to beat Viet Minh
Reminds of how the Ukraine wasted American money to mighty Russia
Wish they digitaly remastered the serie incl ww2
At the very beginning, the US should have not joined the war. In fact, in 1947, Ho Chi Minh sent mail to Prez Eisenhower twice proposing friendship with the US. Wished he had accept that, we would have not witnessed such a horrible war like that
Are you sure?
The major chessboard was in Europe where UK and France were both facing decolonisation and USSR at the same time.
In 1947 we French already bombarded Haiphong harbor and were already waist deep in your independence war no?
@@kornofulgur Ho Chi Minh always looks up to the American ideas. Even his independence declaration has famous quotes from the American one such as "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Being an allies to America was actually an honor to Vietnam but too bad America's alliance to France was way too strong and France is like an abusive ex-boyfriend who could not let go and cling on to Vietnam like a parasite so Vietnam had to side with China and the Soviet Union. This is the reason why Vietnam tries to avoid allying with any force even now.
Also French is the worst colonizer of all. I pity all ill-fated countries that became French colonies. Middle-finger to France
Ho Chi Minh was a Communist thug. He had no love for America, democracy, or free enterprise.
I wish they'd explored Chou En Lai's motives behind supporting partition.
Oh boy...
China and Vietnam...
Look up their mutual and glorious and
bloody and extremely violent history together.
China also invaded Vietnam some time after the Americans had gotten out.
Chou en Lai obviously wanted a weaker Vietnam, and he probably figured North Vietnam could be made into a Chinese ally/puppet.
They wanted something similar to Korea, they wanted a divided vietnam to serve as a buffer state for them
What I still don't get is this: why did the French deal with China regarding Vietnam? Both are different regions, different "countries."
They probably did it on purpose. Nobody was taking Vietnam seriously, the real major powers were China and France (they still thougth). So by ignoring the Vietnamese and sucking up to the Chinese, the French hoped for a better deal and saving their face.
The Chinese thought it would be better to have a divided Vietnam, with the northern part probably becoming a Chinese ally/puppet.
If you look up the history of China and Vietnam together, you'll find they have fought more and longer wars than the Vietnam War of the 20th Century.
China: Vietnam is my backyard!
So if any of you foreign devills are trying to conquer it, we will do everything to prevent you from doing that.
Four years after the final American escape from Vietnam. China: Ah, little brother Vietnam... The time has come
*Sino-Vietnamese War of 1979*
Apart from the backing music sounding like an 8 year old with a keyboard this is an amazing series...
At the time, that keyboard was cutting edge technology, and it very much added to the whole feel for the programme.
If it was any more than those few simple notes then there would be a plethora of people moaning that 'the music is too much' 🤷♂️
This was made in 1999.
Apart from the actual text that makes up your reply, this is an okay reply.
How awkward is that today we have socialist and communist are in congress and even in white house.
Imagine an Alternate History where the US used those 3 tactical Nukes. A ground response from the Soviet Union or China? Global Nuclear War?
shudder the thought those things can wipe us ALL out
I just wish nations could just get along. Treat every man, woman and child as if they are your family. We all are flesh, blood and bones. Why are so many bent on world domination either by religion or philosophy or just flat out ego. The Persians invaded others, just because they could, the Greeks, just because they could, the Romans, Islamic conquests, Christianity, all have tried. Have we as a species learned anything since Ancient times? Mesopotamia until now is a very long time, yet we've not learned a damn thing except how to kill more of each other.
simply E P I C
Forever Vietnam,So brave and heroic country!
Skinny Charlie don’t make me tell the GIs you’re talking like that
What this film doesn't portray is that communist victory in China was seen both as a 'loss' to American hawks, and simultaneously those same hawks entirely failed to recognise that China was independent of Soviet policy.
And, just as important, French chauvinism and determination to expunge the humiliation of 1940. Along with British, especially, horror at the idea of being consigned to an unwinnable war or even nuclear weapon deployment.
This series was so f'ing good I bought it on dvd back in the day when you couldn't see video on the internet
I do 3D now and I'm dying to update the graphics - but it would take years by myself
great documentary, but the music gets a bit old
I am curious how the French history books retell this war🤔🤔🤔🤔
1:21 Koreanen? Correct me if I'm wrong here, but isn't it just Korean?
Vietnamese
He said "Korean and ..." You probably couldn't distinguish the sound of the "and" after "Korean".
What kind of idiot builds a base in the middle of a valley? It's just basic common sense that you need the high ground to have an advantage and yet a military commander hands that advantage straight to the enemy
there are a lot more variables at play here, for example; having high mobility and line of fire in the sorrounding area. being able to build an airport for supplies and reinforcements, and roads for quick movement, and enemy mortar attacks was ruled as a low risk. most of the sorrounding areas was mountainous, difficult, and steep terrain that had their own problems, especially since the situation was such that the base needed to be built quickly. they had too much confidence in their superior firepower, trained soldiers, and fortification skills. they probaby also expected to fortify the nezrby hills from the main base. its possible no small amount of racism, and a belief that the enemy was a lot more incompetent than they really were influenced the situation. I am not saying they made the right decision, which they clearly did not, but the leadership, however incompetent, most likely had a lot more expericence with this sort of decision than you. bottom line, you can never account for all the variables, and even the americans when they arrived built their bases on flat landscapes and in valleys
De Castries did not take Obi Wan Kenobi's advice
I would say racism! They think the people army would not able to do it
@@Tobias8842 I believe that the French wanted to lure them in to a big battle and they did not believe that it was possible to transport artillery pieces up the steep mountains, bit the Vietnamese disassembled the artillery pieces and transport piece by piece up the mountains and reassembled on top
That's the only way the French thought they could lure the Viet Minh main forces out in the open in a set piece battle that they thought they can wipe them out once and for all with air force and superior firepower. It's a trap they set to get the Viet Minh but it turned out they set their own trap! Truth is often stranger than fiction.
This like a failed protoss proxy pylon against a zerg rush
+Muhammad Aizat Che Azemi zerg rush ? You are not informed enough. The Viet Minh had proper artillery, and they advanced little by little by digging tunnels that slowly expanded, entrapping enemy command center. The French built their last defense there WAITING for a zerg rush. What happened clearly did not fit their expectations.
+Muhammad Aizat Che Azemi +Nash Lang French had 4 Bomber squadrons (B-26 Invader, PB4Y Privateer and Helldivers) dropping napalm and French lost 62 airc-rafts to Vietminh 37mm AA guns. Colonel Piroth, French artillery commander, committed suicide the 2nd day of the battle after he reallized his mistake: French artillery was destroyed without any way to spot Vietminh artillery. French head of staff, Colonel Keller had a nervous break down and was replaced by colonel Ducruix. Even napalm air bombing could not suppress Vietminh artillery fire.
Beatrice was the first hill taken the first day: this hill was defended by 3rd Battalion/13th Foreign Legion Demi-Brigade. Commander Paul Pegot died with all his staff during the Vietminh opening artillery barrage.
From a purely ideological perspective, the US had to choose between two values they held dear: being anti-communist (supporting S Vietnam but not doing much about the president) or being "for the people" (allowing Vietnam to unite under Ho Chi Minh)
if you can't even get the ideas sorted out, nevermind the execution...
Or a third one:
To take advantage of the suicide of Europe to gain an Empire at their expense.
The US is a super complicated entity with ties to nearly every part of the globe, it is very childish and naive to try and point to 'values' the us was trying to 'follow'
You are incorrect. Fighting the Stalinist Ho Chi Minh was extremely noble. The problem is that America was unwilling to invade the North. Instead, the fools who ran the war used various absurd metrics (i.e. body count) to convince themselves and the American people that America was winning the war. Without overthrowing the North, the whole thing was a tragic, catastrophic waste.
It was the US that encouraged nationhood, but on her terms. Besides, what did Asians know about nationhood? The US assumed the imperial role and paid the price The US continue to act as a great imperialist, eg the Middle East.
The Philippines was involved while the British were not.
The Viet minh ask their long time American allies who had help them defeated the Japanese in Vietnam during WWII before they ask the Soviet Union and China. US President Eisenhower decided to support their long time allies French to retake Vietnam as their slave colony. During the siege of French military garrison in Dien Bien Phu. United States poured thousands of US military supplies to the French military garrison in Dien Bien Phu to help them defeat the Viet minh. After the battle and the war against the French. North Vietnam change their name from calling them self Viet Minh to Viet Cong. Today United States would cover up the ugly truth. That their were the one who made Vietnam into a Communist country today. If United States didn't support their French allies in Vietnam. Vietnam wouldn't become communist today and the Vietnam War wouldn't had started causing the death of 58,000 US troops, 3,000, 000 innocent Vietnamese civilians of Women's, Children's, and old People's in Vietnam. United States even hide the truth about the invasion of Iraq. When 19 of the hijack terrorist of 9/11 was from Saudia Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, and United Arabic Emirates but none from Iraq.
if china had not turned communist and korean war never happened..no vietnam war. it was an unfortunate chain of events.
If China hadn't made fake plastic shamrocks, they would never have been attacked by Ireland. They have only themselves to blame .....
It is scary how the wrong decisions of few people would lead to so many to death. Do they really aware of the heaviness of every decisions they made?
Do you think that the Russians were drafted to have to fight in Afghanistan and the Ukraine wars or did Russians have a choice?
Russians did not fight in Afghanistan. Soviets did
i Love Viet Nam
From : Việt Nam
Ho should have just maintained control of the north
The narrator sounds Canadian.
French: Yo it’s cool go ahead and surround us, we’ll keep bringing in supplies and reinforcements.
NV: Ok 🤷♂️ guess we’ll do the same, your still surrounded on all sides so....
well they are trying to do something i had to use a vpn to watch this ep
Flat terrain for a base ?
I believe it was in a flat valley and their thinking was that it was defended by hills and heavy jungle on the base sides. Also, the French just did not have the logistical support for a defense. They had underestimated the Viet Minh.
Viet minth suffered horrendous losses in their victory
NASTY BUSINESS I WAS A LITTLE BOY WHEN SAIGON WAS CAPTURED BY THE NVA
This war can never be condoned, nor can the soldiers sent to fight ever be forgiven, the real heroes are those who burnt their draft cards and refused to go. Notably the great Mohammed Ali.
The Vietnamese wanted independence, the French wanted a colony, the US wanted hegemony.
Should have let them vote! Something the US takes for granted. A useless waste of time, materials and lives.... I'm glad Vietnam won.
North Korea says hi. Vietnam would be much better off if the US had won the war. After all the Germans had a democratic vote to elect our favourite austrian nazi and we all know how that turned out.
@@phoenix211245 We don't need any foreign intervention to determine our fate. Besides, our fight from the very beginning is defending our motherland at all costs. Communism was one way to obtain that goal. We cannot use capitalism which took you guys hundreds of years to develop to defeat an epic enemy with the same ideology, full of money and technology. All you did were conquering other countries, enslaving us, remember? Don't pretend to be nice, we know your SH*T. Our country has only had peace for 41 years. In the first 20 years of our freedom, we were isolated by your ban. That's why we are still poor, but our economy is taking off. In contrast, the root of world war 2 was because you guys had so many colonies while others didn't. They wanted to set-up a new world. It's greed and obsession with power, to be honest. In short, we know where we are, why we are here. Do you? Don't play the big brother role if you know nothing about politics. The war from the beginning is meaningless.