Evening star., 1954-05-09
Gen. Navarro Says
Fall Of Diem Bien Phu
Doesn't Alter Plans
BY the Associated Press

SAIGON. Indo- China. May 8.
Gen. Henri Navarro. French
COMMUNICATIVE in 1ndo-
China. said in an informal talk
with newsmen today the fall of
Dien Bien Phu did not alter his
overall plan calling for decisive
action against the Wet Mimi
not this year. but next.
In an order Of the day to his
Indo-China forces he declared:
"The struggle of the free peoples
against slavery does not end to-
day. The fight continues"
The order said the sacrifice of
the defenders has not been in
vain, for in five months a dozen
battalions have fixed and con-
tanned more than 30 Wet Mimi
battalions. saving upper Laos
from invasion and preserving the
Tonkin Delta"
Gen. Navarro said it vas pos
sible that the Wet Mini would
move its heavy artillery sur
runding Diem Bien Phu into the
strategic Red River delta within
the next Is days.
New Kind of Conflict.
Possession by the rebels of
heavy guns at Dien Bien Phu,
he added, had turned the Indo-
China war into a new kind of
conflict.
He said this makes internation-
alizatlon of the war a possibility
if the Geneva conference fails
to work out a settlement, for
France could not bear alone the
full brunt of fighting.
AS to the battle itself, Gen
Navarro estimated the Wet
Minis losses at about $4,000
men. He put the strength of the
garrison at it's downfall at be-
tween 5000 and 5000 men.
He compared the effectiveness
of Wet Mimi artillery-most of
1t supplied by Red China-with
that of the World War 1 battle
of Verdun. He said the anti
aircraft fire was equal to that
of the combatants of World Was
II.
Other observation by Gen. Ma
Varre included:
The Wet Minis crack 308th
and 3l2th Divisions were mas
sacred" at Dien Bien Phu. The
losses were qualitative. French
losses also were in the quality of
men rather than the quantity.
Parachuted Into Battle.
Four battalions and part of a
fifth had been parachuted into
the redoubt since March 13.
He could not have used any
more and the aviation was Suffi-
cient. There we're four means of
extricating the garrison, none of
which proved feasible:
l. A massive intervention of
airplaneS. American intervention
would have been necessary for
this and it did not come.
2. A relief column from Laos.
This would have required Is to
20 battalionS. all supplied from
the air.
3. A sortie from the camp
when it was learned how strong
the rebels were. II cannot see
how we colud have fed before |
the battle began" he said. !
4. Occupation of the town Of |
Yen Bay. which sits astride the
communications routes between |
China and Dien Bien Phu, IS
miles northwest of Hanoi. This |
would have been the best Solu-
ton, but it would have taken all |
the mobile groups at his COM
mand in the entire theater of |
operations.
Power Effect Seen.
Gen. Navarro said he felt the
fall of Dien Bien Phu combined
with the talks at Geneva would
have a powerful effect on peace
sentiment both here and in
France.
He said it is difficult to inspire
troops with the will to fight |
when peace negotiations are in
progress. The influence of &C.
neva, he said, will be felt not |
only on French troops here but !
also on the Wet Namese Army. !