Symposium highlights values of Dien Bien Phu victory

The Dien Bien Phu Campaign lasted from March to May 1954 under the command of General Vo Nguyen Giap. Vietnam’s victory on May 7, 1954 led to the signing of the 1954 Geneva Accords in which France agreed to withdraw its forces from its colonies in Indochina.

Speaking at the symposium, Deputy Defence Minister Sen. Lieut. Gen. Le Chiem affirmed that the triumph of the Dien Bien Phu campaign completely destroyed the Navarre plan, spoiling the invasion plot of French colonialists and forcing them to sign the Geneva Accords to end war and restore peace in three Indochinese countries.

Speeches delivered by delegates at the event focused on affirming the role of the Party and President Ho Chi Minh in leading the campaign, the combatant will and spirit of the army, the strength of the people’s war, and the role and contributions by the armed forces and people in other battlefields during the campaign.

Colonel Pham Dinh Bach from the National Defence Academy said that the victory marked a development step in Vietnam’s combatant tactics.

Major General Nguyen Hoang Nhien, head of the Military History Institute of Vietnam, affirmed that lessons learned from the Dien Bien Phu campaign should be applied in today’s context to continue consolidating the people’s trust in the cause of national construction and defense, while winding up evil schemes of hostile forces.