751G.00/3–1754: Telegram
The Consul at Hanoi (Sturm) to the Department of State
priority
495. Repeated information Saigon 390, Paris 206. Paris limit distribution. Commissioner General De Jean said in private interview last night that everything possible will be done to hold Dien-BienPhu, and that he feels relatively confident of outcome. De Jean said that battle now in progress is “the crucial engagement of the war”: if the defenders hold out, as he hopes and believes they will, they have an excellent chance of breaking the three best Viet Minh infantry divisions, 308th, 312th, and 316th, plus heavy Division 351st. If, on the other hand, French are overwhelmed at Dien-Bien-Phu, the political repercussions, both in Vietnam and in France, will be disastrous, even though loss in French Union troops would be only 12 battalions.1 De Jean believes Viet Minh decision to attack Dien-Bien-Phu was almost wholly political, that new phase of greatly expanded Viet Minh activity throughout Vietnam was decided upon by Viet Minh high command after date had been set for Geneva conference, and that this activity is aimed at obtaining for Viet Minh most favorable possible position in which to enter Geneva conference.
Describing action in which two northernmost strong points at Dien-Bien-Phu were over-run by Viet Minh, De Jean said that before “Gabrielle,” which had been excellently defended for two days by one Algerian battalion, there lay 2,000 Viet Minh dead after engagement, while in front of “Beatrix,” manned by Foreign Legion battalion which had misfortune lose its commanding officer at beginning of battle, 1,000 Viet Minh dead were observed. About 250 men from these two battalions have been recovered. French Union losses were particularly heavy in artillerymen. Two new battalions were parachuted into Dien-Bien-Phu yesterday.
Using wounded French officer as messenger, Viet Minh asked for six-hour truce to remove dead and wounded between six a.m. and noon morning March 15. Question was referred to General Cogny in Hanoi, who hesitated but finally agreed, in part because Viet Minh dead in barbed wire were masking the fire of his automatic weapons.
[Page 1129]Night of March 15 to 16 all quiet, as both sides worked all night moving out dead and wounded. Meanwhile, Viet Minh were apparently repositioning their artillery for assault on central defenses of Dien-Bien-Phu which began to come under fire yesterday afternoon. Reconnaissance from southernmost strong point “Isabelle” made contact with enemy at 800 meters.
De Jean deplored small number of combat aircraft available to aid in defense of Dien-Bien-Phu, saying France should have sent three times as many airmen here and should have asked US for three times as much aviation matériel. If enough combat aircraft were available, he said, it would be possible knock out Viet Minh artillery, break up attack formations, and eventually prevent any orderly withdrawal.
Commissioner General believes that Viet Minh will not delay, but will seek a decision at Dien-Bien-Phu before this week is over.
- In telegram 1744 from Saigon, Mar. 19, Ambassador Heath stated the following: “Dejean, in his conversation with me last night, indicated confidence that Dien Bien Phu would be held. He was in particular heartened by report of General Bodet, who returned to Saigon yesterday afternoon, that Laniel’s Government was firmly in support of decision taken by Navarre and Dejean to hold Dien Bien Phu at all cost. Dejean, in fact contrary to remark reported second [third?] sentence Hanoi’s telegram 495, repeated information Saigon 390, Paris 206, told me that he felt Dien Bien Phu would galvanize French public opinion and strengthen present precarious balance in Parliament from present ‘two-fifths against and three-fifths for’ to a much more impressive majority favoring determined prosecution of war.” (751G.00/3–1954)↩