Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-04-03
French Beat OF
Wet Mimi and
Cling 10 Fort
Many Of Defenders
Without Rest in
5 Days Of Fighting
BY the Associcted Press

HANOI, Indo- China, April g.
The weary defenders of Diem
Bien Phu beat off wild new Wet
Mini attacks today. They held
the Communicated rebels at bay
a mile from the heart of the be-
sieged dust bowl fortress.
French counterattackS. backed
by tanks and heavy artillery fire,
shattered every Wet Mini mass
assault trying to crack the key
defenses of the fortress, where
many fighters have gone for five
days without rest.
TN Paris, the French News
Agency said Wet Mimi regu-
lars who invaded Cambodia
yesterday captured two cities
Voeune Sal and Stem Pang-
and were heading for Stung
Treng, on the Mekong River.
Story on Page A-5D
A brief French communique
said repeated Wet Mini attempts
last night to break through the
last-ditch defenSes had failed.
In tidal waves of infantry, brav-
ing murderous French fire, the
Communicated rebels had pushed
to within a mile of the fortress
center in some places.
The outnumbered French
Union garrison chung desperately
to a narrowing patch of trenches.
bunkers and barbed wire. But
they were in grave danger. The
POSITIONS outer defenses were
wrecked-all it's Notifications
riddled by Wet Mini artillery
which poured in endleSsly.
Casualties Soar.
Wet Mini casualties scared
as their Communist commanders
hurled human sea of attackers
against Diem Bien Phu, trying to
engulf it for the first major Red
victory in the Indo-C China war.
A French army source estimated
that the Wet Mini have lost
10000 killed or wounded since
they swept down on the fortress
in mid-March. The French
claimed 1000 of those were
killed.
The French have not an
nounced their own losses.
I'm Paris, officials said the
defenders of Diem Bien Phu
had suffered heavy" losses,
but light by comparison with
those of the enemy
The most serious threat to
the fortress doomed in the north
western sector of the dust bowl
plain, where the Wet Mimi hold
one position for launching at
tacks. 1t was feared a massive
charge from there and a break
through might carry the attack
erS into the key center area.
Assaults Rise in Tempo.
Heavy and violent Wet Mini
assaults ragged throughout the
night, increasing in tempo in
the early hours before dawn.
But wherever the rampaging
troops tried to break through,
French guns took a heavy toll
and hammered them back. The
French command said it's posi-
ton was substantially the same
as last night.
In two counter-attacks in the
northwest yesterday, the French
drove the Wet Mimi from a cap
tured position. Then the French
Withdrew from the outlying post
because it was so shattered by
artillery fire and bombing it was
no longer disable.
The French took heart from
the results of their fighting in
the southeast, where over a
dozen counterattacks kept the
Wet Mimi from charging
through.
Attackers Use Every Weapon.
The attackers used every de-
vice and weapon they had in
yesterdays two-pronged drive
from the northwest and south
east. First came their heavy
artillery barrages from the sur
rounding hills. Then infantry
men rushed the French barri-
cades, hurting grenades and
plastic containers of high ex-
ploSiveS in attempts to cut paths
through the barbed wire mazes.
They opened up with machine
gun, rifle and pistol fire, and
finally welded long knives and
sharp bamboo spears in fanatical
hand-to-hand fighting.
Charging en- maSse across the
plain. the rebels afforded easy
targets for the American-sup-
piled weapons in the hands of
the French Union defenders.
Tanks. artillery and fighter and
bomber attacks also took a heavy
toll.
A French army headquarters
spokesman said yesterday morale
was high within Diem Bien Plus
perimeter. He added they. were
getting all the ammunition and
other war supplies they need by
parachute drops, and from time
to time reinforcements also have
been parachuted in.
Supply Lines Open.
Elsewhere, Wet Mimi troops
entrenched in villages not far
from the highway and railway
linking Hanoi with the seaport
of Haiphong continued their
sporadic attempts to break up
those vital communication and
supply lines.
The French, constantly patrol
ling the highway and parallel
ing the railroad with tanks and
armored cars, reported both
routes still were open for the