Hell in a Very Small Place: The Siege of Dien Bien Phu (Paperback)

~ Bernard Fall (Author), (Author) "CASTOR" was probably the first and last airborne operation in history in which the leading aircraft contained three generals along with the paratroop pathfinders..." (more)
Key Phrases: airborne surgical team, siege ring, new strongpoint, Dien Bien Phu, Foreign Legion, Nam Yum (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A thorough account of a brave, sanguinary battle that has since turned out to have immense historic importance." -- The New Yorker

Product Description

"The definitive account" (Saturday Review) of the battle that paved the way for American involvement in Vietnam.

The 1954 battle of Dien Bien Phu ranks with Stalingrad and Tet for what it ended (imperial ambitions), what it foretold (American involvement), and what it symbolized: A guerrilla force of Viet Minh destroyed a technologically superior French army, convincing the Viet Minh that similar tactics might prevail in battle with the U.S.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 568 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (April 16, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 030681157X
• ISBN-13: 978-0306811579
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #80,037 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

90 of 93 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitive Work on one of History's Pivotal Battles, February 23, 2001

By	P. Connors "Colonialpara" (United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Hell In A Very Small Place (Da Capo Paperback) (Paperback)

This is it! This is the book that should be in the library of every seriou student of the Indo-China War. While this book concerns itself with primarily one battle in the war that occupied France from 1946 through 1954, what a battle it was!

The Battle of Dien Bien Phu (March 13-May 8, 1954) was not as long as some, but it played such an important role in what was to follow that years after the fact, the name Dien Bien Phu is still met with equal amounts of disdain for French folly and admiration for the resolve of the Viet Minh, who ultimately defeated the best of the French Expeditionary Corps.

The late Bernard B. Fall has provided history students with a masterpiece of research, writing and scholarship. He first came to the attention of American military, political and diplomatic leaders in the early 1960s with his quintessential look at the French war effort in STREET WITHOUT JOY. He followed that success with HELL IN A VERY SMALL PLACE, which ironically was first released in early 1967, just weeks after the author was killed on Highway 1 (the old RC 1 - the Street Without Joy) while on patrol with United States Marines.

When the reader first opens this one volume history, he encounters the reasons for the French seizure of a valley 175 miles from their headquarters and main source of supply. The French High Command in Tonkin decided that controlling this valley would deny the Viet Minh access to the highlands of neighboring Laos and the mountain peoples who were more loyal to the French than they were to the Vietnamese.

After the airborne assault on the valley on 20 November 1953, the French consolidated their position and began to fortify the valley floor. A short time later, the field commander for Viet Minh forces, Vo Nguyen Giap decided that in order to ensure Viet Minh victory at the negotiating table, he must first inflict such a stunning defeat on French colonial forces that they will have no choice but to accede to Vietnamese nationalism and quit the "crown jewel" of their overseas empire.

Fall does an exceptionally fine job of describing French and Communist preparations for the cataclysmic battle. While he goes into great depth and technical detail, he never forgets that armies are composed of men and he also delivers to the reader all of the key French and Viet Minh personalities. There are the names good students of this battle all know: there are Giap and Ho Chi Minh, Henri Navarre and Rene Cogny; we get to meet and know Colonel (later Brigadier General) Ferdinand Marie de la Croix de Castries, the aristocratic cavalry officer who commands French forces at Dien Bien Phu (and who is so totally unsuitable for the job). There is the paratroop "mafia" of young airborne officers who effectively take control of the fortress (Langlais, Bigeard, Botella, Brechignac, de Seguin-Pazzis, et al) and hold the Viet Minh at bay for 57 days.

But the French Colonial Paratroops were not alone at Dien Bien Phu. There were also Foreign Legionnaires, Algerian and Moroccan rifles, Tunisians, Senegalese, Moroccan artillerymen, grounded air force pilots and maintenance crews, Vietnamese paratroopers and local mountain troops of the Red and White T'ai. Fall forgets nothing and leaves no one out. His detailed descriptions of the battles and the travails of the garrison are on a daily basis and no details are missed.

Fall wrote this book with the help of the French Ministry of Defense, the North Vietnamese and after thousands of interviews with survivors of the battle (French, Communist Viet Minh, Vietnamese nationalist troops, Legionaires and the junior officers who learned bitter lessons in Indo-China and later applied them as they later attempted to keep Algeria French).

This is a battle that has fascinated two generations of students and teachers alike. It is hard to imagine a better single volume discourse on the subject, especially as time moves us further away from the battle. It was a battle that changed the outcome of France's war and ultimately led to American involvement. For it was LBJ who denied the French the aerial assistance of the B-29 bombers at Clark Field in the Philippines and it was this same LBJ, who 11 years later committed American troops to the endless quagmire that ended his presidency and tore the United States apart.

As a primer for the later American involvement, this book is mandatory reading for if for no other reason, it lays out the roadmap of French defeat and the limitless hubris of the United States as it stepped into the breach and tried to do what France could not. This is "the" book on the subject and it explains in vivid detail how one of the most modern armies of Europe could lose to a guerrilla force. It is about arrogance and hubris and anti-colonialist national aspirations.

Although the main position at Dien Bien Phu fell on 7 May and Strongpoint Isabelle a day later on May 8th, France did not sign the Geneva Accords on Indo-China until July 22, 1954. As the Vietnamese saw the end of 85 years of colonial rule by Paris and as France pulled out in defeated shame, little did anyone know that the shadow of Dien Bien Phu would continue to haunt a world superpower for years to come.

If you are not a student of this battle, I still recommend this book, because it is a natural starting point for anyone interested in finding out how America became embroiled in its longest and most divisive war.

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars America should've learnt the lesson..., October 28, 1999

By	Mr. K. Dawson "KFD" (Bristol, England) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Hell In A Very Small Place (Da Capo Paperback) (Paperback)

For any fan of military history, and particularly for those interested in America's involvement in South-East Asia, "Hell In A Very Small Place" is crucial reading. It is long and it is packed with enormous detail, but it tells a fateful story very well. After having read most of the literature on 60's Vietnam and the `American War' it was an eye-opener to learn of the role that the then US administration played in the French war of the 50's. 20/20 hindsight's a dangerous thing but after having read Fall's book one does wonder why the lessons of Dien Bien Phu and France's experience in Indo-China were not taken on board to a greater degree by subsequent American governments.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One Of the Best, January 15, 2002

By	"mm92280" (West Point, MS USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hell In A Very Small Place (Da Capo Paperback) (Paperback)

If you have an interest in the history of the Vietnam War, or the Indochina War, then this is basically a must read, it will simply put the entire French war in Indochina in perspective for you (though I would also recommend you read "Street Without Joy"). As other reviewers have said, its almost appalling at the similarities between the French mistakes during their war in Indochina and the US's mistakes during its war, so much of it could have been avoided if the right people would have listened and done the proper background work on Vietnam. As far as the book goes, if you want to know something about the Battle of Dien Ben Phu, this book can tell you, it simply has everything, maps, strategies, the times and places that the individual attacks/counterattacks happened, absolutely everything. Yes, there are a lot of military terms and units that will be referenced in the book, but its still well worth the read. Also gives a nice buildup to the battle, as to what had been happening in the war up to that point, and why the French felt it necessary to take such a gamble behind enemy lines. Trust me, its a long book, but its all well worth it, and you will come away with a better understanding of how the French got there, and why we eventually took over after they pulled out. Its unfortunate that our men had to suffer or die needlessly because the right people didnt get their hands on some of the great books out of this era, things could have been a lot different, but hindsight is always 20-20.