The Last Valley: Dien Bien Phu and the French Defeat in Vietnam [Hardcover]

Martin Windrow (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 14, 2004

In December 1953 the French army occupying Vietnam challenged the elusive Vietnamese army to engage in a decisive battle. When French paratroopers landed in the jungle on the border between Vietnam and Laos, the Vietnamese quickly isolated the French force and confronted them at their jungle base in a small place called Dien Bien Phu. The hunters-the French army-had become the hunted, desperately defending their out-gunned base. The siege in the jungle wore on as defeat loomed for the French. Eventually the French were depleted, demoralized, and destroyed. As they withdrew, the country was ominously divided at U.S. insistence, creating the short-lived Republic of South Vietnam for which 55,000 Americans would die in the next twenty years.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In this masterful account of the Battle of Dien Bien Phu of 1953-54, Windrow dissects retrospective criticism of the French strategy. For reasons that emerge within his comprehensive, meticulous analysis, the ideas behind the French strategy at Dien Bien Phu were taken from a prior victorious battle. Generals believed that establishing a ground base deep in Communist-controlled territory and supplying it by air would regain them the initiative against the Viet Minh insurgency. The heart of Windrow's narrative, and implicitly his sympathies, lies with the officers and men who carried out the strategy--and bore its cost as its assumptions were progressively stifled by the Viet Minh commander, the storied Vo Nguyen Giap. As the mobile battle envisaged by French planners degenerates into a wallow of World War I-style attrition, Windrow describes with brutal realism the carnage of the combat, which snuffed out tens of thousands of lives. Many works address Dien Bien Phu's history-altering significance in the Indochina conflict, but for learning about what actually happened there, Windrow's will be difficult to surpass. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"The Last Valley is a brilliant work of military history." -- John Keegan

"By far the best account ever produced in English of the 1954 French disaster in Indochina." -- New York Sun 12/31/04

"Certain folks in certain government offices would do well to read The Last Valley." -- San Diego Union-Tribune 2/27/05

"It is hard to praise too highly Martin Windrow's account...[He] is master of every detail." -- New York Sun 1/12/05

"Powerful and sharply detailed...The "Last Valley" stands on its own as a brilliant piece of military history." -- Boston Globe 1/4/05

"This extraordinary story of heroism, passion, and tragedy should long stand as the definitive study of Dein Bien Phu." -- Library Journal 2/15/05

"Vivid and well-written...a tribute to [Martin Windrow's] abilities both as a historian and as a writer." -- The Economist

"[A] masterful account of the Battle of Dien Bien Phu...[it] will be difficult to surpass." -- Booklist 1/1/05

"[A] meticulous and masterly narrative...The Last Valley succeeds marvelously in recreating the heat of battle." -- Wall Street Journal 1/12/05

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 752 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; Export Ed edition (December 14, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306813866
• ISBN-13: 978-0306813863
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #935,512 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Account of this Battle so Far, July 14, 2004

By 

Aussie Reader ""Rick"" (Canberra, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Last Valley (Hardcover)

"The Last Valley: Dien Bien Phu and the French Defeat in Vietnam" by Martin Windrow is destined to be the definite account of this tragic battle. I knew as soon as I saw this title in the bookshop that I had to have it and it was one of the best purchases I have made so far this year!

This is an excellent and detailed account of the fighting in the Valley of Dien Bien Phu between the professional French forces, including Legionnaire and elite Parachute Units, and the Vietnamese Bo Doi (Viet Minh) led by General Giap.

The author takes the time to explain the military and political settings of the war in Indo China, offers detailed accounts of the opposing forces and commanders and provides a well researched narrative of the events leading up to this battle. The story of the battle itself for Dien Bien Phu is a classic military narrative that really pulls the reader into the story and gives us a rare insight into the hardships of the French soldier and his enemy.

One quote in the book that was used for a chapter heading by Colonel de Castries says a lot about this battle and the terrible fighting involved; "It's a bit like Verdun, but Verdun without the depth of defence, and, above all, without the Sacred Way". This is an excellent account of a shocking battle and I am sure that anyone who enjoys reading or studying military history will find this book an excellent addition to his or her library.

In over 657 pages of text, along with 22 maps of varying size and detail the author offers the reader a well researched and well presented account of this famous battle. At no time did I find the story boring or bogged down in detail. The narrative is fast paced, exciting and filled with human tragedy and numerous stories of soldier?s courage in the face of horrendous conditions.

In closing this is what Max Hastings had to say about this book: "This is an outstanding work of military history. It tells the story of the ghastly French experience in Indo-China in a way that has never been done before in English. The account of Dien Bien Phu is a masterpiece of meticulous historical narrative."

42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Soldiers' views of Dien Bien Phu, July 22, 2004

By 

Dr Neil MacNeill "Dr Neil MacNeill" (Ellenbrook, Western Australia, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Last Valley (Hardcover)

The Last Valley by Martin Windrow

What an excellent book! For readers interested in the precursor to our own involvement in Vietnam, Martin Windrow's book provides a great read in the tradition of Bernard Fall.

Writing history is not easy and the author has managed to flesh the events and characters in a way that engages the readers. I was impressed with Windrow?s description of the battles and the horrors that continue to haunt the survivors of such meat-grinding battles. Old-soldiers will relate to the smell of decaying flesh, the description of mangled bodies- the smell of death, which arose from the carefully crafted text. Moreover, they will relate to incredible tiredness of troops who stay in battle for extended periods.

I served in SVN in 1967-1968, and my early reading had me believing that Dien Bien Phu was a French military disaster. In a strategic sense, it was, but it was close run. Australian troops are often called diggers but the Vietminh sappers would certainly challenge us for that title. I could not put down the book without mentally honouring the brave soldiers (on both sides) who fought without respite in trench warfare reminiscent of WWI.

For those who are interested in the development of tactics used in the Vietnam War (1963-1975) it was interesting to note the rudimentary use of helicopters and close air support by the French, and the development of the bases aero-terrestre, (air-land bases) which later became the ubiquitous fire-support bases (FSB). It was also interesting to see that the American interests became more partisan after Korea and in the final days of Dien Bien Phu, more support was extended to the French, and then eventually led to our involvement. Hal Moore's book- We Were Soldiers Once ... shows the development of air-mobility that changed the face of ground warfare in Vietnam.

This story is a gritty tale that is told from soldiers' points of view. The degree of realism is palpable. Congratulations to Martin Windrow on a truly great book.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Last Valley, October 22, 2004

By 

KDGR - See all my reviews

This review is from: Last Valley (Hardcover)

An excellent piece of research and writing. The noise, sights and smells of the battle jump from the pages. Beautifully paced, Windrow is fair and even-handed to all participants. He clearly states where there are conflicting accounts and carfully explains the sources and logic of his own views.

While the losses on the French side (of which many were non French legionnaires and locally recruited native troops) were appalling to the modern reader, the losses of Vietnamese troops were very much worse. Windrow makes clear that crude WW1 "human wave" tactics used by the Vietnamese units under General Giap almost won, or, at least, extended the battle for the French. Even with Chinese support, General Giap was expending soldiers, equipment and ammunition at a rate the Vietnamese recruitment, training and logistics could barely match. General Giap may have won the battle, but it was at a huge and painful cost to the fledgling Vietnamese army.

The implications of the book suggest that if France had planned for and managed better air supply, bombing and ground support operations from the start (possibly with better planned support from the USA), the outcome might have being different. Whether this would have made any difference to Vietnam in the long term is another debate. The Vietnamese were always prepared for a very long war, and by 1954 the French public were already sick of the military losses and the expense of fighting the war. The French Army were convinced that simple lack of political will lost them both the battle and the war. As later in Algeria, the cry went up: "We were betrayed".

Well worth buying.