Douglas A/B-26 Invader French Wings Over Indochina |
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French Wings Over Indochina - Page 2. In early 1954, France, a key Western ally, faced a major
crisis in what was then called French Indochina. Several thousand French soldiers were trapped in the fortress at Dien Bien
Phu, an isolated town in northern Vietnam, near the border with Laos. In an effort to assist the besieged garrison, French forces
had borrowed and were using a US Navy aircraft carrier, 10 US Air Force B-26s, several C-47s and C-119s, and hundreds of US
Air Force personnel. Washington wanted to help. The question was how far President
Dwight D. Eisenhower would go to prevent a communist triumph at Dien Bien Phu. Vietnam and other parts of Indochina had been French colonies
since the 19th century. Chased out by occupying Japanese forces in World War II, France had returned after the defeat of Japan
and sought to re-establish colonial control. France’s actions provoked open warfare with communist-dominated
Viet Minh forces—led by Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap—which in 1946 launched a broad armed uprising against the French.
In October 1949, China’s communists won their own civil war and started sending aid southward.
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