Hell in a Very Small Place
Subtitle: The Siege of Dien Bien Phu
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Published: April 16, 2002
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 568
ISBN-13: 9780306811579
Subjects: Military History - Post 1945; History; History - Military / War; Military; Military - Vietnam War; Military history; Military - Other
First sentence: "CASTOR" was probably the first and last airborne operation in history in which the leading aircraft contained three generals along with the paratroop pathfinders.
Description: "Like Gettysburg, Stalingrad, Midway, and Tet, the battle at Dien Bien Phu - a strategic attack launched by France against the Vietnamese in 1954 after eight long years of war - marked a historic turning point. By the end of the 56-day siege, a determined Viet Minh guerrilla force had destroyed a large, tactical French colonial army in the heart of Southeast Asia.

The Vietnamese victory would not only end French occupation of Indochina and offer a sobering premonition of the U.S.'s future military defeat in the region, but would also provide a new model of modern warfare in which size and sophistication didn't always dictate victory.".

"Before his death in Vietnam in 1967, Bernard Fall, a critically acclaimed scholar and reporter, drew upon declassified documents from the French Defense Ministry and interviews with thousands of surviving French and Vietnamese soldiers to weave a compelling account of the key battle of Dien Bien Phu.

With maps highlighting the strategic points of conflict, with thirty-two pages of photos, and with Fall's thorough and insightful analysis, Hell In a Very Small Place has become one of the benchmarks in war reportage."--BOOK JACKET.