Dien Bien Phu: Hell Rains Down in the Land of Heaven

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Credits:
Host - Simon Whistler
Author - Arnaldo Teodorani
Producer - Jennifer Da Silva
Executive Producer - Shell Harris
Business inquiries to [e-mail]
Source/Further reading:
Dien Bien Phu Today - tourism and memory
www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attract...
www.indochinatravelpackages.c...
www.persee.fr/doc/outre_1631-...
www.indochinatravelpackages.c...
The Battle
books.google.com/books/about/...
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02r... www.cheminsdememoire.gouv.fr/...
www.theguardian.com/world/201...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-2...
foreignlegion.info/battle-of-d...
www.globalsecurity.org/milita...
Genevieve de Galard, the Angel nurse of Dien Bien Phu
www.lexpress.fr/actualites/1/...
German legionnaires at Dien Bien Phu:
www.lexpress.fr/actualites/1/...
Antonio, the Italian legionnaire
ricerca.gelocal.it/mattinopad... www.lanazione.it/arezzo/cultu...
Phan Thanh Tam. Viet Minh painter
www.lexpress.fr/culture/livre...
vietnamtheartofwar.com/1932/0...

[@geographicstravel]

The first 100 people to go to blinkist.com/geographics are going to get unlimited access for one week to try it out. You’ll also get 25% off if you want the full membership.

[@davidhughes1284]

Yeah he does

[@eddieswapinski1786]

Hey

[@mathisurien4031]

simon: please do a video on the Bhopal disaster

[@mrpieceofwork]

WTF is Blinkist?

[@TheOriginalFaxon]

Simon i have one piece of advice. Never use that low rolling bass track starting around 9:50 under your own talking again without turning it way down. On a good pair of headphones it's so overpowering that it's almost uncomfortable to listen to continuously because it's got harmonics in the infrabass range, which have a tendency to cause anxiety and make people really uncomfortable. That and it makes you hard to hear because of how much louder it is than your voice, with the bass being powerful enough to literally blow your voice away.

[@Taistelukalkkuna]

*Giap* :"I´m bored of teaching history. Time to make it."

[@charlesissleepy]

pol pot too

[@KhoaLe-uc2ny]

@@charlesissleepy well yea but he also taught geography, French literature, and ironically enough: *morals*.

[@hauntedvawmitt]

@@KhoaLe-uc2ny wow someone watched a second video

[@ishrendon6435]

@user-go3en4to5v morals go out the window in war though. Anyone who has been to war knows the good guys arent good guys in reality

[@deeznoots6241]

@@KhoaLe-uc2nynot really ironic, it is morally good to end colonial oppression

[@VapidToast]

I work as a machinist with a few Vietnamese guys. And the stories they tell from Vietnam are some of the scariest things I have ever heard. What a tough, fascinating culture and history these people have.

[@michaelhellwinkle9999]

I work with guy who was a south vietnamese artillery officer. The stories he has of the war and his escape from Vietnam to America are horrific. His suffering makes all my first world problems seem pathetic by comparison, and he took it all in stride and has the most can do attitude of anyone I've worked with.

[@johngillon6969]

I am a machinist and worked with so many boat people and soldiers, was even over there in the navy. I always found these guys the coolest and best folks in the world. Honest hard working super smart loyal, only thing is they are hard to understand sometimes. made me mad that people wouldn't take the time to understand them and they never got the respect they deserved. if you asked them their story you would have a true friend. also the guys from laos and cambodia. they were real men.

[@arthas640]

I have a friend who was in the south vietnamese army and served alongside American troops since he spoke English and he has some similar stories. He's only told me a couple since he starts to get choked up even talking about it even 45 years later. He fled to a thai refugee camp and got over to the US thanks to an American GI and it's too emotional to even go back to visit

[@philipfortygin7660]

Can some of you guys say some of the stories?

[@sails3538]

@@philipfortygin7660.... Sure... A good VN friend told me stories. As a child he and friends would go out in to the woods and collect large wasp nests. Wrap them in banana leaves and bring them home. Then throw them over the walls of American bases. His father would transport orders out of saigon to the field commanders. He would memorise the orders, hide under the seat of the mayor's car and get driven through the Americans road blocks. Then walk and hitch hike north.

[@robertmeheula9555]

I'm a US Army vet. I never understand why people make fun of the French military. Their commanders have let them down but the bravery of the regular soldier cannot be questioned. But the Vietnamese had a right to fight for their independence. They fought hard and won. Colonialism is not ok.

[@arnaldoteodorani277]

You just solved at least three controversies in a couple of coincise sentences. Well said. Please continue roaming in comments sections to settle disputes.

[@aaronbradley3232]

Idk I mean people who actually know history tend to laugh at the Italian army not the French. There would be no United States of America without the French soldiers

[@robertmeheula9555]

@@aaronbradley3232 We definitley owe France a debt of gratitude. Didn't know the Italian Army was laughed at.

[@1Jason]

Because they arrogantly tried to recolonize a country and got their arses handed to them

[@tss9886]

An interesting perspective from an American soldier. I'm not being disrespectful, I am pleased with your attitude, as a Canadian of a certain age I grew up with American propaganda about the evils of communism and the Domino theory. I also grew up under the shadow of nuclear war. Vietnam was the poster child for the war on Communism. As I got older I came to see it for what it was, just another form of colonization whether by the Russians, Chinese or the Americans. The people on the ground did the lions share of the dying.

[@Frenchylikeshikes]

I am French, and Dien Bien Phu is one of our worst military defeat of all time, usually very little known from the rest of the world. I want to thank you and give you a lot of credit for presenting that History to the world and just knowing about it. Pretty amazing.

[@magnusgarkon4733]

France deserved it

[@davidneumann5175]

The Legion fought and died with Honor. DeGaulle and the scum officer corps should burn in hell

[@andrewince8824]

I thought May 1940 was the worst. 😂😂😂 Sprechen sie Deutsche, Frenchy?

[@yann8558]

@@andrewince8824 napoleon and my homies on the road to take Berlin in 6 day 🏳️🏳️ Prussian fighters🙊

[@hermoglyph2255]

I'm English, and I remember my mother telling how shocked she was at the news that Dien Bien Phu had fallen. The siege was closely followed in Great Britain.

[@kienvo]

Your knowledge of Dien Bien Phu battle is even better than a lot of young Vietnamese today. Thank you for sharing. It reminds me the history lessons that I learned from schools over 40 years ago.

[@benmoran431]

I want a biographic on Simon's life

[@FH-wi6ek]

But he has to use the same level of seriousness as this video while doing it. And only refer to himself in the third person lol

[@ManetInAEternum]

Simon!!! Make it happen!

[@sagesheahan6732]

@@FH-wi6ek ....i think we'd want the bloopers to that too... Lmao

[@paulamostard456]

@@sagesheahan6732 and the bloopers have to be in the style of business blaze

[@uPick-iLick]

@@joyfold1029 I bet you a wooden nickel he'd reach a point where he goes "aaaand I should have read this ahead of time, [repeats what he'd just said, but as a statement written by Danny]"

[@akirubamiru6700]

My grandfather did take part on that war as a French soldier, he is Moroccan(North African hehe). Thank you for making this episode. I did miss him, he passed away 12 years ago, he did always told me to never underestimate those Asians, and to be patient as them.

[@mattt6078]

Apparently the Moroccans were notorious among the Viet's as brutal murderers and rapists. It led to a stigma with the American black soldiers during the war since the locals assumed they would act the same

[@tomviktorsson5052]

@@mattt6078 lol no . Moroccans and Algerians looks just like French or Southern Europeans , The Viet just assumed black American soldiers as slave soldiers just like the French foreign legions , French colonial armies, and their slave soldiers. I dont know about Moroccan , but plenty of Algerian POW in Dien Bien Phu would then came home and spark their Algerian war against the French overlords.

[@Anedoje]

Tom viktorsson not all look european in Algeria many Tuareg and Amazigh Algerians and Algerins of other ethnic groups like the Haratin are “black” and in Southern Morocco you will find Harathin so it’s possible for some of them to have made it over their

[@philgiglio7922]

@@Tolpuddle581...much as many vets do at The Wall.

[@noahnoah2747]

@@philgiglio7922 I don't think that person was arguing against the right to cry

[@markhough1027]

I love to see one on the Siege of jadotville

[@bethroesch2156]

I'll second that

[@Joeayresphotography]

@NLTDB3S Theres a film on netflix about it. Its worth a look

[@benjamincornier4268]

As would I

[@discopoe]

@blackzed I've seen it twice. :P

[@worldwarwill1278]

The commander of the mercenary force is ‘Roger Faulques’. There is a very poignant/inspiring photo of him carrying the artificial hand of Captain Danjou, during the celebration of the battle of Camerone in 2010.

[@kentcourtney5535]

Thank you for this insightful history. I helped evacuate Vietnam in Operation New Life in 1975 while in the United States Navy. Whenever I go through a history like this, I have mixed emotions. However, by revisiting the past I understand more of what my youth was about.

[@heyyou5189]

Thank you for your service. Welcome home.

[@leonardwei3914]

@EmperorJuliusCaesar Yes, just in time for the Vietnamese to invade Cambodia three years later to overthrow the horrendous Communist Khmer Rouge regime they supported during the 1970 Cambodian Civil War. Less celebrated is Vietnam's quiet retreat from its own deeply unpopular foreign war that ended 25 years ago this month. A war where Vietnamese troops, sent as saviours but soon seen as invaders, paid a steep price in lives and limbs during a gruelling decade-long guerilla conflict. -BBC

[@johnadams3107]

EmperorJuliusCaesar your father fought for the U.S. and you talk like this about your country.daddy must be proud of his little commie turd.

[@MomMom4Cubs]

Thank you for your service!

[@kingvo235]

Thank you for your service. And thank you for what you did to south Vietnamese people in 1975. Half of my family escaped on 4/29/75 and the other half escaped in 1983 as boat people.. great to be here in the US. Thank you again!!

[@Christopher-N]

What Dien Bien Phu gained in growth, they've lost in landscape and history. Whether it's remembered as a victory for Vietnamese independence, or a defeat of a foreign colonial power, it should not be forgotten, and I'm glad to hear that Vietnam has been taking steps to preserve its history.

[@nguyenthanhtung4520]

I am Vietnamese and we will never forget the battle of Dien Bien Phu. We had to try for independence until 1975 and the battles with Cambodia and China in 1979 and 1988(Vietnam Sino war). It was not until 1995 that Vietnam was able to lift the embargo. Therefore, for more than 30 years, we have only had the economic conditions to preserve history.

[@Kaiserboo1871]

@@nguyenthanhtung4520 Wasn’t Vietnam in a state of near constant war for like 5 decades (1940s to 1990s)? That’s honestly tied with Afghanistan for how long their war has been going on (Afghanistan has been fighting since 1978).

[@tridinh1011]

​@@Kaiserboo1871 we were in constant struggle from 1930-1990, only in 1992 did we actually get to rebuild

[@MrAkaacer]

@@nguyenthanhtung4520 wtf are you talking about? The US wasn't trying to rule Vietnam and in fact if the North didn't resist a democratic Vietnam, Vietnam would be better off then what is today. Today's Vietnam is ruled by a bunch of communist gangsters. They steal everything.

[@daphuc502]

forgiveness and move on is better options, after all it were just another day in the long years of brutal conflict in Vietnam , a big day , but just another day in office. after all our forefathers fought the wars for our peace, prosperity love happiness, independence and self determinations, all sacrifices are in vains if it is just for more hatred and wars. we have to forgive , be friends with everybody we could , and prepare for the wars to come.

[@donbrashsux]

Just love Vietnam..the country it’s people..I travelled through here in 2018 and all of Vietnam ..top to bottom..It’s such a beautiful country and that’s from Sapa far north all the way to Ca Mau in the Mekong Delta..Learnig a lot about the Vietnamese you soon realise how determined as a people they are when it comes to defending their amazing country..they would never give it up..and if I was Vietnamese I wouldnt have never given it up either..

[@KhoaLe-uc2ny]

love you too

[@hochigaming14yearsago90]

Le

[@chriscoll6493]

The food is simply horrifying.

[@paulohaulo3961]

@@chriscoll6493 stick to unseasoned dishes, your palate isn't ready.

[@noth606]

@@paulohaulo3961 Nah, he's just an uncultured knobbo, you come across people like that every so often. Every cuisine I have ever tried has good stuff, some more, some less. I've eaten plenty of things a lot of people I know would never touch, and found many of them to be absolutely delicious, like whole pan fried baby octopuses, Japanese blow-fish(Fugu - the deadly one) etc. Trying new stuff just isn't for everyone, which is fine, but the one thing I don't think is fine is bagging on it like Chris here.

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

We had to talk about three liberators out of six liberators as options for an essay in tenth grade. Minh was listed as an option and we were allowed to do research at home before we wrote it in class the next day. I talked about this battle. After the essays were graded, my teacher said I was the only one that talked about it

[@MinhProjectManager]

How’s Your result?

[@khoanguyen-zp7hi]

France: You can't defeat me Giap: I have the high ground

[@nguyenuctrung3814]

Kenobi!!

[@philgiglio7922]

And ALL THWE TIME IN THE WORLD.

[@jean-huguesbitaamenye8785]

The West African soldiers who came back from Dien Bien Phu narrated the history of Vietnam's victory, giving to the movement of decolonization an immense impulse. Thank for restoring the memory of this fight for human freedom.

[@wetcat833]

My uncle served there in the Foreign Legion. I've pasted my general post here as I think you may be interested. WOW... I love your channels BUT.. The first part where you set the scene is so USA centric omitting very important details to cover the USA's betrayal of a former ally. My version comes from my uncle who ran away from home at the age of 16 (No, his name isn't Beau) to join the Foreign Legion. He served in Algeria and deserted when the Vichi regime took control at the fall of Free France at the beginning of world war 2. He escaped to England where he fought as a pilot along side the RAF. After the war he returned to his duties with the Foreign Legion. Now an engineer, he was posted to serve in Indo-China. At this time the morale of the Legionnaires was rock bottom as most came from Eastern European countries that were currently being sold out by the USA, Britain and France to the Soviets. Ho Chi Minh and his forces were trained and equiped by the OSI (CIA) to fight the Japanese in Indo China with the promise of independence. This freed up US forces for other theatres. After the war all promises were broken as the French were allowed to return. Ho Chi Minh even traveled to Washington to talk to their 'friends' but Truman refused to even meet him. Returning home without any friends he was determined to end the colonisation of his homeland. The Soviets saw their opportunity and offered aid where none was to be had. Because of this the world labelled him a communist. Many Legionnaires considered them selves as freedom fighters and now saw them selves as oppressors fighting against freedom fighters on behalf of traitors who sold their home nations out. Their hearts were NOT in this fight. Years later my family (blacklisted by the communists) escaped Czechoslovakia and I eventually became an Australian soldier. At this time I managed to reconnect with my uncle. What he tried to get through to me was that just because someone is labelled a communist doesn't make them communists and to be aware that the terrorist you may be fighting is someone else's freedom fighter. VietMinh to VietCong - Thanks to USA. Mujahideen to Taliban - Thanks to USA . America will never learn from history if it keeps denying its existance.

[@jean-huguesbitaamenye8785]

@@wetcat833 In effect, the story is more complicated than most people think. In his video on Ho Chi Minh, Simon Whistler pointed out the numerous travels he undertook in the US and France, not only to educate himself, but to put forward the plight of his people. The numerous false promises of the US, France or UK have led to events whose consequences are still visible nowadays. For instance, De Gaulle promised to grant independence to Francophone African nations as a reward for their participation in WWII. Eventually, he did nothing. Thank you su much for sharing this with me.

[@Koozomec]

De Gaulle was always an opportunist.

[@felix25ize]

It would have been impossiblle without the will of the socialo-communist government who ruled France at that time, and was in fact partner of the ennemy; Dien bien Phu has been the grave of the viet army, and was conceived by the army as a trap to kill the most possible of vietminh troops (they loosed there 150 000 men ), and it worked; but the french army was betrayed by politicians at the order of Moskow, who took this " defeat " as a pretext to give up.

[@titanime3830]

@@felix25ize 150 000 men ? bro, you are reaching hard

[@russellmcdonald1964]

Always worth remembering that Dien Bien Phu has 60" of rain a year and if you kill a mans (Giap's ) wife and let his baby daughter starve to death, you are going to make an Enemy from hell. The Frenchman that wrote "Hanoi Adieu" was taught by Giap and remembered him fondly as being a decent human being.

[@toothpick5932]

No mercy’s from Giap

[@Kaiserboo1871]

Giap was a genius. He fought for Vietnam from WWII with only 40 guys all the way to the Sino-Vietnamese War of 1979. And he never lost a single war (battles sure, but never the war itself).

[@celter.45acp98]

Y I until I uploaded uuuu7 I u I just u

[@celter.45acp98]

9i your I

[@Dr.Fatherland]

@@Kaiserboo1871 They lost against the British during Operation Masterdom.

[@RichardMKruse]

I have travelled to Viet Nam and around other bordering countries. The one thing that struck me about the Vietnamese is their intelligence. Of all the Asian cultures to go to war against, these people would be the toughest. They are the most resourceful people and culture I have ever seen. If anyone wants a good fictional, (but accurate synopsis of Viet Nam) read the book 'Saigon.' Sorry, but it was so long ago since I read it that I can't remember the authors' name.

[@toothpick5932]

Anthony grey

[@curiousworld7912]

I first heard of Dien Bien Phu when I saw 'Apocalypse, Now Redux' during the scene at the French colonial plantation. I was intrigued enough to look it up, and found what an amazing battle and defeat of the French forces it was. So much of what Americans know of Vietnam is from our own actions there, but this battle in particular is significant in understanding the French engagement, ultimate defeat, and end of their Indochinese colonialism.

[@thethaovatoquoc312]

There were 300K Commie Chinese troops aiding the North Vietnamese Commies in battle of Dien Bien Phu. Few people know this.

[@NoMercy745]

A Battle so pivotal that Billy Joel included it in his song "We Didn't Start The Fire".

[@Wolfhound223]

That should be Good night Saigon

[@stephenwright8824]

@@Wolfhound223 That song was more about the reality of what the men endured. "Start the Fire" was more a littany of historical events: no reason why Dien Bien Phu shouldn't be in it.

[@JA-eq5um]

@@Wolfhound223 once you’ve been BJ’ed you’ll never be the same.

[@anhkhoinguyen272]

I have been there myself. My guide said that so many soldiers die during the operation that if you lay out all of their bodies, it would cover the entire surface area of the hills of Điện Biên Phủ. Today, decades later of the the fighting, human remains could still be found occasionally. Especially when in rains, as the rain carry the dirt away, skeletal remains sometimes emerge.

[@robertbohnaker9898]

I remember seeing some years ago a picture of French Foreign Legion paratroopers flying towards their drop point singing bravely to reinforce their trapped buddies at Dien Bien Phu.The caption stated they knew they would be going to their deaths,singing bravely together on their date with destiny. Whew ! Very moving picture.

[@andrewince8824]

I've seen the same and shed a tear too. If only they sent more colonial frenchmen, nothing better than an oppressor getting wiped out.

[@garrick3727]

"Who should rule Vietnam?" French, British, Chinese, Soviets: Well, not the Vietnamese, obviously.

[@sundalongpatpat]

You left out the US, sir.

[@garrick3727]

@@sundalongpatpat The Americans, as usual, were late to the party. But when they arrived they were already drunk and they brought a keg.

[@carl4243]

@@sundalongpatpat the US want the capitalist vietnam to rule though so no.

[@billtheman7546]

Did you even watch the video? The soviets and Chinese supported the Vietnamese. While the American supported the French.

[@garrick3727]

@@billtheman7546 I feel you watched but failed to comprehend. You were a lot smarter when you were The Science Guy.

[@Corristo89]

Mistakes made by the French: 1. Putting yourself into a defensive position from which you can't escape. 2. Assuming that your enemy is inferior by default and underestimating their logistics. 3. Placing too much faith in air power (resupplying, air strikes, evacuating wounded and flying in fresh soldiers). 4. Not covering the high ground.# It's questionable if the French could've won the battle if they had avoided these mistakes. But even doing all this still wouldn't have negated the vast numerical superiority of the Vietnamese forces and their advantage in artillery.

[@command_unit7792]

The french are the only ones that would chose to be surrounded by the enemy...

[@neiltappenden1008]

Supplied by the Soviets

[@UzumakiNaruto_]

@Corristo89 Regardless of their other mistakes, if the French had the same airpower and airlift capabilities as the Americans did, they probably still win this battle.

[@icewaterslim7260]

@@command_unit7792 We did it at Khe Sahn. Out gunned by NVA like the military brass did about the same thing as if they never heard of Dien Bien Phu. Mission was supposed to be interdiction. Too busy for any of that but B52s bombing right close to the base probably saved it from the same fate. Closed that base right after Tet. Military brass called it victory for the body count . . . I'll call it a close call from my stateside cheap seat.

[@AngelRaivan8579-xh4fr]

All the mistakes Anakin made.

[@maxdevlin4349]

A dearly departed friend of mine was an amateur historian and was obsessed with that battle, he would have certainly smashed that like button.

[@jimmynickelz]

“I don’t want any damn Dien Bien Phu,”- Lyndon B. Johnson

[@JonH-]

proceeds to have Dien Bien Phu x 10

[@blitztt94]

"Din Bin Foo" That's how he said it actually lol.

[@anihtgenga4096]

"We can give you a Khe Sanh. Does that sound better?"

[@philsphan4414]

He nearly got one at Khe San. But Johnson (and Nixon) did not understand that it wasn’t military defeat that was the problem. They’d won all the battles. They controlled almost all of SVN. The place they didn’t control was between the ears of the people. But that didn’t matter. The NVA only had to win a conventional battle over a shitty ARVN to when we were no longer there.

[@TowGunner]

Phils Phan Yup, in fact, the much talked about Tet Offensive was the death knell for the Viet Cong. America lost Vietnam because of McNamara’s (he chose targets from the Oval Office) draconian ROE and as importantly, a home front that no longer supported the war.

[@yt.personal.identification]

"Dien Bien Phu falls, Rock around the clock."

[@Bethelaine1]

After the Vietnamese helped defeat the Japanese in WW II we turned them back over to the French, and then wondered why they objected.

[@rejvaik00]

_Hind sight is always 20/20_ At the time the US was willing to pay the price and use everything in their tool box to defeat the Russians and by extension the communist ideology Which is why the US did questionable things but at the time they were deemed by the many world leaders to be justified: 1) recruiting former third Reich scientists and engineers such as Klaus Barbie 2) Failing to prosecute the Japanese for their war crimes like the infamous Unit 1071 3) Removing a democratically elected Iranian prime minister because of his communist leanings and nationalising of Iranian oil reserves 4) Allying themselves with the brutal Pakistani regime because Pakistan was a rival and it was seen to counter India as India had great relations with the Soviets 5) Giving Pakistan the US seal of approval to commit genocide in East Pakistan (Bangladesh) 6) Covering for the Mai Lai massacre by the US Army 7) Removing recognition of Taiwan as the legitimate China to take advantage of the Sino-soviet split 8) Provoking an aggressive reaction by US nuclear material placement in NATO ally Turkey Of course all of this to us, the layman, is a significant failure of decision making but those involved in the world of politics would argue against that. _Remember in the world of geopolitics there are no allies only nations and national interests_ I highly recommend you watch CGP Grey Rules for Rulers

[@rc59191]

The French turned that country from jungle and rice patties into something grand.

[@dennisholiday1868]

@@rejvaik00 You could also add the expansion of NATO after the fall of The Warsaw Pack and The Soviet Union.The United States is always talking about peace but when the opportunity to do it they don't.

[@angloaust1575]

Japanese were ordered to surrender By emperor The british rearmed them to fight the viet minh 1945.46

[@titanime3830]

@@angloaust1575 also a lot of japanese officers, NCOs and generals refuse to surrender and join the viet minh

[@morlath4767]

I think the biggest thing about this video is the last part - just how easily such a historic event can be brushed aside and almost totally forgotten except by historians and military enthusiasts. I can only imagine the horror, pain and probable anger Rolf R felt when he returned to find the memorial itself was forgotten.

[@davestevens6283]

Or it means that historical memory and influence isn't necessarily symmetric and universal - for the French, colonialism, and perhaps the cold war - it's a turning point. Maybe for the Vietnamese it stands out less among the battles they fought on their road to independence. Or preserving old battlefields may not be a priority.

[@morlath4767]

@@davestevens6283 You're right in that a battle has far different connotations depending on which side is looking back at it and how it helped shape history. I should have been a bit more detailed since I was thinking more in terms of the human factor of those involved in the fighting rather than the socio-political side of remembering. It reminded me of the armchair generals of WWI with how many lives were thrown away for a small advancement across the battlefield.

[@elconquistador98]

I’m amazed that they allowed the memorial.

[@ucngocnguyen8938]

The best time to preserve that battlefield is during the first 50 years after the war before much of it is destroyed by time. Unfortunately, after the battle of Dien Bien Phu, we also had to confront the US imperialists and their minions, then the pol pot of Cambodia and China on the northern border, until 1990 the gunfire stopped on the border. our territory. And the most important thing, we were embargoed by the US during that time, so we did not have the financial conditions to be able to preserve that relic. Hopefully current efforts will preserve what remains of the old battlefield. A people who have had to fight throughout history from the beginning to the present, I have great pity for our people.

[@mostlymessingabout]

Well... the French wants to forget it, understandable. But we Việt never forget those who oppressed us, it is in our blood.

[@interferis6252]

Yall must agree Simon has the smoothest head EVER

[@fartvader84yearsago8]

Thanks to... Dollar shave club!!!

[@interferis6252]

THAT WAS THE BEST PUN EVER

[@SparkBerry]

"Joe Rogan has entered the chat"

[@AV-sd7cq]

*Roe Jogan would like to know simons location*

[@grantdreyo2585]

Every time I watch one of his channels, it reminds me to wax my car.

[@payne3249]

Sir, sir, SIR!!!!..dropping 3 videos at once is always welcome...thank you, simon and team.

[@crose7874]

I just had to study this battle in my class, Great Military Campaigns, a month ago. This was so helpful with gaining a better understanding of the conflict.

[@andrewlyon9292]

Sounds like a dope class!!!

[@arizonatsunami]

THANK YOU FOR POSTING THESE SO OFTEN!!!!

[@jacksavage4098]

Was 18 when I served in Vietnam in 1967. At that time in my life it was such a beautiful country as one could imagaine I thought.

[@totallynotadolf5465]

history class post-school feels so refreshing. i love it

[@jesusmachuca8780]

Great video as usual Simon and friends.

[@Ruby321123]

Amazing video, Geographics Team! 👏

[@GlenGarcia1961]

I love your Geographics series. Dien Bien Phu was a testament to the arrogance and corruption that belied European conquest/colonization efforts around the world, and the inability of not only the French and English, but also the United States, in failing to see that indigenous people wanted to rule themselves, whatever form of government they chose. The Viet Minh were underestimated by the French, a mistake that nobody seems to learn in any foreign war.

[@imthebadguys]

As a Vietnamese, hearing Giáp's name spelled as "seph" really is irksome. It's spelled more like "jab" but with softer "j"

[@otakuman706]

As usual, great content, informative and enjoyable 👌🏽 And good end piece to it to, reminder of why this channel (and the others in the 'SW family') are a go-to favorite.

[@simonjester0074]

Thanks for the magnificent work here 🌞

[@FayeHunter]

That looming bass at 11 minutes onward is fitting as hell for the tension lol

[@NozomuYume]

I thought my neighbors upstairs were vacuuming.

[@phammichael4593]

im from vietnam and im so proud of my country, thank you for making this video, cảm ơn rất nhiều

[@rschmidt93]

Ive been waiting for this video for a long time

[@Martell364]

Another interesting thing: According to Frantz Fanon, a french intellectual whose main topic was decolonization, the battle of Dien Bien Phu had a big part in decolonization in the whole world, since a lot of colonizing countries chose to decolonize to avoid the risk of another Dien Bien Phu.

[@CatnamedMittens]

Of course a Frenchman says that. It's not even true either. Indonesia, India were far more important.

[@petertuffley7475]

Thanks for an excellent presentation on a key battle of post-WW2 Asian and anti-colonial history.

[@Pivotcong2000]

The artilleries were pulled up the mountains surrounding the French by hand. The Viet Minh had dozens of men pulling the gun up and two soldiers at the bottom would use a wedge to lodge into the wheels so that the gun would not roll back down. They did so inches by inches until the gun reaches their position.

[@indoorsandout3022]

That's how I got a small tractor into the back of a small truck to take it for repairs. My brother had wedges, and I pushed it up the ramp using a wood beam and the science of leverage. People seem to always be surprised that 2-3 people can move a very heavy object up a hill or ramp, but it is doable even if it is slow.

[@worldwar2lucky961]

Damn 😁😁😁😁

[@ucnguyen6375]

@@indoorsandout3022 yeah, but you and your brother are two healthy adults, this is impressive because the Viet Minh are not in their best condition, they are mostly starved, tired from marching, and had to carry all that stuffs up many hills full of rocks and pebbles

[@boblaublaw7099]

Thank you and watched again!

[@martinpope3835]

at 68 i'm a history nut and i love your documentaries ...many of my co-workers fought around that time in vietnam and i know a little about khe sanh and the tet offensive...my cousin was killed in the city of hue around valentines day '68...now, he's a name on a wall, ROBERT PIERCY, a proud Marine...anyways, i appreciate your vids...peace

[@TheMr77469]

9:45 - 12:48 someone had a subwoofer going.

[@blairlohnes8103]

I had honestly thought it was some kid outside.

[@LtColShingSides]

Yeah what they hell was that? Lol

[@theAessaya]

And I thought my sub was going crazy :D

[@TheMr77469]

@@theAessaya I thought it was being used for dramatic effect to simulate artillery shelling of the French positions.

[@youtubecreator950]

That was the Vietnamese syops people have you learned nothing

[@teresacooper2724]

This is a battle I've never heard of. It does sound as if it was one of the bloodiest battles of that time. Thank you for adding new historical events.

[@Saphire1993]

Along with being infamously bloody, it was important enough to be included in Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start The Fire"

[@thecommentguy9380]

Imagine you entrench yourself in your final strongholds, hoping that the terrain would be a deterrence to enemy advance and heavy weaponry and the security of said strongholds would be enough to fend them off, but in the end you realize all you did was digging yourself a grave and didn't even know it. The French were effectively cut off from all reinforcement, and most of the supply drops were intercepted. Gets even worse that they didn't even know the Vietnamese forces were literally pulling heavy artillery and anti-air up the hills/mountains surrounding the region, a feat that shouldn't be possible due to how risky it was and due to lack of trucks to make the trip, yet they didn't care. There was one Vietnamese hero who sacrificed himself when an artillery slipped and went rolling down hill, he died jamming himself under the artillery to stop it. All that risk paid off in the end as they shelled those strongholds to hell.

[@GreenWitch234]

​@@thecommentguy9380 1

[@phungquyen3511]

@@thecommentguy9380 The Vietnamese here's name was Tô Vĩnh Diện, and the artillery piece that he saved was a 37 mm anti-aircraft gun. The gun survived the war and is displayed in a museum in Vietnam today.

[@baystgrp]

The best books on this pivotal battle are “Hell in a Very Small Place” by Bernard Fall and “The Battle of Dienbienphu” by Jules Roy. Fall also wrote “Street Without Joy”, a second book about the French experience in their war in Indochina. The book takes its title from the name given to Vietnam’s Highway One, the main north-south road of Colonial French Vietnam, by the French Union forces that fought endless battles and ambushes along its. length. This Most notable of these was the ambush and massacre by Vietminh Communist forces of a fortified regimental truck convoy of soldiers and artillery known as Mobile Group 100 (Group Mobile 100) at the Mang Yang Pass in Vietnam’s Central Highlands in June 1954. Fall was considered one of the foremost historian of the French Indochina War. Ironically, he was killed by a land mine while accompanying US Marines in 1967, on an operation during the American Indochina War, along the very same Highway One, the “Street Without Joy”, he had chronicled in his book.

[@sleepvark1]

When I was much younger I got to jump with the French Foreign Legion. Some of the older guys were veterans of the battle of Dien Bien Phu. I will never forget a segment from Hell in a very small place, where the night before the surrender, about 100 or so of the paratroopers who were still physically intact were given permission to attempt a breakout. 100 against 100 thousand, they fixed bayonets and went into the night. Oddly enough, most of them got through. This leads me to speculate that General Giáp knew all abythe impending breakout, and gave orders to just get out of the way and let them through, knowing that these paras would most likely just go home, and this is what the Vietnamese wanted anyway. Besides, why capture these large, healthy Europeans with their large appetites, when he would be responsible for feeding them. Giáp lived to the ripe old age of 105. This leads me to believe that basic human decency contributes to a person’s longevity.

[@baystgrp]

Fred. You were fortunate to do some jumps with the French. Was that at their parachute school at Pau? I remember Fall’s account of the breakout attack by the legionnaires, as he wrote, “under the ghostly light of the parachute flares”, which I got to know only too well, in my two deployments to Vietnam in ‘68 during “Tet” and again in ‘69. I have always resented the term “tour” used to describe the one-year assignment to Vietnam in our war, as though our travels had been arranged by the firm of Thomas Cook & Sons…

[@congthanhtruong89]

about the Mang Yang Pass battle from vietnamese's side: that battle from PAVN was an unexpected result of "operation Atlante" - the 96th regiment "Big Brother of 5th interzone" to evading the attack from french in the Operation Atlante, move up from the southern central to Central Highland. And while setting up new base in the central highland, scouting party inform the commander of the 96th that there's a french position without any trench or fortification, only canvas tent. And being too frustrated from running, he ordered a night attack, by 40th battalion with extensive support from artillery of the 96th regiment. And the rest is history. The 96th commander does only know the identity of the ambushed troop - the GM100 after the battle ended and the transmission from the GM100 commander was intercepted by the 96th, and because of the Dien Bien Phu result, the French are so afraid of falling into another meat grinder, and assuming the moblie of the force was leaked, pullout all the troops in the An Khe area.

[@wealrok]

Excellent presentation.

[@cassandraralph5906]

I never knew about this particular military battle, I knew something about the Vietnam war, but this video really changed my perception regarding the Vietnam war! Thank you so much, Simon and your team!

[@bamboo9666]

This should be one of the most iconic battle in 20s, one of the French worst defeated.. It ended the colonization era. But seem like they want to keep in low😅

[@mrtrailesafety]

See Bernard Fall’s classic “Hell in a very small place” for details.

[@margretsdad]

True, I iniatially read it before going ' in country ' in '69.

[@bondisteve3617]

Great story Simon...thanks.

[@leaukey3669]

This is awesome! Not nearly enough DBP content on KZbin!

[@spankyx813]

"Dien Bein Phu, I see you." - Lincoln Osiris

[@baystgrp]

One more comment on a relatively little-known aspect of the Vietnam ‘experience’. During WW II, Ho Chi Minh’s Communist Vietminh guerrilla forces fought against the Japanese, who had ejected the French and occupied the country. His efforts became known to the American Office of Strategic Service, the OSS, who parachuted a team of French-speaking specialists into Vietnam to supply and train Ho’s forces. The team, code named DEER, found Ho dying of an unknown illness, probably a combination of malaria and other causes. The DEER mission’s American medic saved Ho’s life. When the war ended peremptorily with the dropping of the atomic bombs in late 1945, Ho declared the establishment of the Independent Republic of Vietnam. His American OSS advisors were empathetic to Ho’s political objectives but were instructed to refrain from getting involved. In the vacuum existing after the surrender of the Japanese, the Allied forces sent a British division from Burma to provide stability until the French could return. The British forces were commanded by a General Gracey. Ho attempted to meet with Gracey, but the British general would not see him, and did not recognize Ho’s political movement. Ho’s forces began to fight with Gracey’s British troops in sporadic engagements. Gracey’s jungle-hardened soldiers killed several thousand of Ho’s men by the time the French returned in late 1945. As a side note, while his forces were engaged fighting Ho’s guerrillas, Gracey released surrendered Japanese troops from their imprisonment, armed them, and used them to provide security in the British rear areas while his forces were off fighting the Communist guerrillas. This 1945 British experience in Vietnam is one reason the British said ‘no thanks’ to Lyndon Johnson when he tried his classic arm-twisting to get Britain involved in the American war in Vietnam. While Australia and New Zealand did commit forces, the British stayed out.

[@AugustusOakstar]

Simon you are wonderful, urbane, and so well spoken.

[@cuz129]

What riveting content! Thank you for what you do.

[@ember-evergarden]

btw this is where Isayama got the idea of naming walls after females for Attack on Titan. he said in an interview

[@blitztt94]

Can you explain it ? Thank you

[@martinkaufmann5205]

I would love an episode about the WW 1 Hindenburg line!

[@bruns.like.spoons9251]

That would be great for Megaprojects, hear hear!

[@peterbustin2683]

Fascinating !

[@BelowAmbient]

i love your videos!

[@canadianbacon9819]

"I dont want no god damn Dein Bien Phu" ~Lyndon B Johnson

[@Frank-mm2yp]

DITTO- "We dont want American boys to have to do the fighting that South Vietnamese boys should do". That did not work either. Although the USA did avoid "our Dien Ben Phu" @KHE SANH the final result was the same. To paraphrse the old Bruce Springsteen song: "CHARLIES" STILL THERE- WE ARE ALL GONE"

[@leonardwei3914]

*ramps up troop involvement*

[@richardque4952]

Lbj under pressure not just mcgeorge bundy and mcnamara but also from below.

[@nathanlong8295]

To think this all started with a history teacher.

[@stephenwright8824]

When interviewed, Diem still spoke French in the Eighties.

[@artman7780]

Wasn’t it started by the French colonialists?

[@sphinxrising1129]

When you enslave a group of people, your greatest enemy can & often dose stem from someone you never deemed significant.

[@acctadmin4073]

It started with the end of the last ice age

[@deusexaethera]

A bad history teacher, yes.

[@MCorpReview]

Been waiting for this one. Very rarely covered 😯

[@cillianwebster4886]

A brilliant vid, Love to see more battlefield video.

[@JerryEricsson]

Back in the 60's this battle was not very well known. The first time I heard of it was while I was serving in South Vietnam with the United States Army in 1970. One of my fellow soldiers, a fellow from New York City, who had a bit of college under his belt, but not enough to be an officer had studied it in college and told me of the horrors of that battle. To be honest it sort of scared the shit out of me, since at the time we were in a pretty much secure area that felt very safe and almost like being on American soil except for the few small off colored people who spoke a funny language who worked on the base, cleaning our quarters, polishing our boots and burning our shit on a daily basis. Things did change over the year I was there, and I did become aware that the combat pay we received for serving in that little backward part of the world would indeed be earned after a fashion.

[@bichdaovo6476]

Wow, you invaded another country and then like "being on American soil except for the few small off colored people who spoke a funny language who worked on the base"

[@JerryEricsson]

@@bichdaovo6476 To be honest with you, I found the Vietnamese people very nice. Most could speak English very well, and I respected that since I could only sputter a few cuss words in Vietnamese or French. Most of the folks I had contact with were very intelligent, even the gals who shined our boots and swept out our rooms, made our beds and such for a few bucks a week. Most all of them could speak several langages, the result of the many occupiers of the nation. Many could speak French, a langage I studied in High School and only remembered a few phrases, as well as their native tounge and English. Sure they could have well been VC at night but for me, they were, well not friends, good acquaintances. The gal who ran the Pizza ovens at the NCO Club was a very nice lady, and used to joke with us all the time. I can't say that I invaded another nation, well not personally, I joined the US Army after I found that jobs were not hanging off of trees in the US at that time, and the Army would pay me enough to support my growing family. I never asked to go to Vietnam, but was ordered by my nation to go, and being a good soldier, I went where I was told, and did what I was told for 14 months, then returned to "The World" and continued on with my life, after 8 years in the Army, I went on to become a Police Officer, a job that I served in for over 24 year when an accident left me permantly totally disabled. Now I live off of Workman's Comp and Social Security. I recently lost my wife of 51 years and 4 days, I miss her so much it nearly kills me every day, and as a secondary note, I miss her Social Security check that helped pay the bills nearly as much.

[@bichdaovo6476]

@@JerryEricsson So sorry to hear that sir, maybe i misunderstood something from your comment.

[@toothpick5932]

The people who you think that they speak funny language they could well be a Viet Cong and they kicked your ass ! What a small minded person you are ! Lol

[@toothpick5932]

Oh I did not realised two comments are of the same person. Ops .. I should put my glasses on . Lol

[@specter707]

"Dien Bien Phu falls, Rock Around The Clock" -Billy Joel

[@jacquelinerodenbush6691]

This is why I clicked, lol.

[@ramsesv5339]

9:50 --- that was great --- "Ironicly those were french Perro bikes" love that

[@steveclapper5424]

A really excellent break down giving the true scope of the thinking and back ground of this epic slaughter of people.

[@ChrisCVW]

Domino theory positing that communism might succeed in Australia or New Zealand is pretty wild. Have you ever met any Australians?

[@LogieT2K]

Unfortuantely communism is actually becoming increasingly popular here in nz 😐

[@ChrisCVW]

@@LogieT2K ah man, rip your factories.

[@finiteenergy7155]

Americans would already view our healthcare as communism

[@pakde8002]

@@LogieT2K liberals aren't communists any more than conservatives are fascists. Constant demonization of well meaning political opponents is more of a danger to democracy than communism ever was.

[@pakde8002]

@@finiteenergy7155 please clarify when talking about Americans. I'm sure you're aware that we have a lot of progressive liberals who have tried to get socialized medicine but it's continually demonized by the right as communism. Ordinary people have been brainwashed since the cold war so all one needs to say that you're a communist and it knee jerk reaction.

[@paddy2875]

Was there in 2014. The locals never forgot.

[@stephenwright8824]

Why should they? Dioxin exposure is killing their people even now.

[@Mrgunsngear]

thanks

[@charlespawl364]

Nice to see this done ✔

[@ZombryaTheDark]

I remember when I watched Apocalypse Now and the part where the French plantation owner talked about how badly they lost in Dien Bien Phu. It sounded like hell

[@chibatadayoshi278]

Dien Bien Phu; end of French's long bloody affair with static defense.

[@Frank-mm2yp]

No they scewed up again in ALGERIA in the 1960's . They lost that one too,,,,

[@hmoobmeeka]

@@Frank-mm2yp the French were winning militarily but lost politically in Algeria. The same happened to the US in Vietnam

[@unclecolt]

You would think that the uselessness of the Maginot Line would have sunk in.

[@thevalorousdong7675]

@@hmoobmeeka Not the same thing as the US and Vietnam. The U.S government knew it was going into a losing battle and used 'undesirable' people as cannon fodder.

[@jheck2722]

You think they would have learned their lesson after the likes of Weygand, and Gamelin, got steamrolled during Fall Gelb. I mean no army could pass through the Ardennes, well except the Germans, twice.

[@vhltu]

my grand mother shared a story about my father died during Indochina war. My father was the only one in his family who had continued education till he graduated high school. there are only 2 students was chosen by the French to go study aboard in Japan for the entire central region. he told my grand mother that the french did not want Vietnamese to be educated. Many Vietnamese just finished elementary school and their education ended. my father told my grand mother that he did not want to see his children and Vietnamese children had no education and he did not want to see the french killing Vietnamese so he decided not to go to Japan to study. He joined Vietminh and fight against France. He is one of those Vietnamese soldier pulling tanks, machine gun with legs and arms to Dien Bien Phu. He said "nothing lasts, the french have to go home." till these days, every time i am about to give up something that i do, I remember my father who moved tanks and heavy artillery up to Mountain to fight against the french...he reminded of his "mission impossible". He taught me a lesson about determination and willingness for not giving up. there is nothing that i can't do. My father also taught me when i was a kid "you want to be happy, you have to let the past go". If you are foreigners coming to Vietnam to visit, you see Vietnamese having no hatred against the American, French, Spaniard, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Filipino...they still smile at you with open arm welcome. i am in 50's living in US. if any country wages war against Vietnam, i will return to my home land and fight till i die like my father did. Period.

[@robertharrison1482]

Been to many places in north and south Vietnam, must visit DBP, great vid, great narration

[@ThePizzahero1]

I'm german and my grandpa joined the french foreign legion when he was a young man in the early 50's, looking for the adventure of his life, and he signed a contract for five years. We still have his service journal, which states that he fought in Indochina and after that as a paratrooper in Algeria. I don't even want to imagine what these young men had to witness.. It's no wonder that he never talked about the war.

[@azuregriffin1116]

Ich würde sagen, dass er hätte interessante und schreckliche Geschichten, die ich gern hören würde, aber ich weiß nicht, ob ich mich an sie erinnern möchte. Entschulidigung für mein schlechtes Deutsch. Ich bin Student und kann nicht eine Gelegenheit zum Üben ignorieren. Doch bin ich ehrlich: es scheint mir interessant.

[@SoldierXXL]

My Grandfather was also in the Legion in Indochina and his best friend and legionnaire brother was German also. My grandfather barely ever talks about his time in the legion and even less about Indochina Dien Bien Phu all I know is that his German friend died from a blast and that my Grandfather was seriously injured by shrapnel and bares the scars of this to this day both physically and mentally.

[@andrewsimpson4786]

@@SoldierXXL More Majorum

[@joycegroeneveld4329]

So your grandpa was a ss? Like most germans joining the foreign legion after the war

[@drpureinsanity]

@@joycegroeneveld4329 You realize the SS and the Wehrmacht were two seperate entities right?

[@pakde8002]

It's amazing how often armies that perceived superior against less well equipped armies have been defeated through history. It just occurred to me as the next video in my playlist is Gettysburg. Of course there's many more battles with the expected victory going to those with superior weapons etc, but it's impressive when the underdog wins.

[@hochigaming14yearsago90]

Ukraine?

[@justinyates1154]

Simon- "I'm a pretty busy guy myself" understatement of the year

[@joeyr7294]

2:25 looks like a picture from a depressing Dr. Seuss book lol As always keep up the hard work!

[@deph5183]

An even higher ground? *Obi-wan loves this*

[@patavinity1262]

My girlfriend's grandfather fought there as a French paratrooper. I gather he had a bad time.

[@neiltappenden1008]

My respect to him

[@angloaust1575]

They had to drop at quite a low height due to ever shrinking perimeter Also many volunteers with no parachute training went in

[@Dubbudha]

It is said that Giap took a lot of inspiration for his military strategies from studying famous historic battles and legendary military leaders.

[@lainehays3330]

Slowly but surely learning all the lyrics to “we didn’t start the fire” thanks to simon’s limitless channels

[@mj99a]

great work!! when i first began to read history seriously (1981) the first book i read was: Hell In A Very Small Place: The Siege Of Dien Bien Phu by Bernard Fall

[@grapeshot]

I just read an excellent book about the Battle of Dien Bien Phu called The Last Valley. Then I read a book about The siege at Khe Sanh. There are similarities but there are many more differences. For one thing Dien Bien Phu is in a valley. Khe Sanh is on a plateau. Also the Marines controlled the high ground. And of course we have B-52s. Something the French wish they had.

[@motocommando2477]

Which book about the siege of Khe Sanh? There are several.

[@SnoopReddogg]

Tha Last Valley is considered one of the definitive books on Dien Bien Phu.

[@hennemant]

Simon, I listen to your videos at work. I swear you're the next David Attenborough. I love the videos man!

[@jamesclendon4811]

Does David Attenborough just read scripts that are shoved in front of him, but do it so persuasively that he convinces a lot of people that he knows what he's talking about? I thought he had a little more substance than that.

[@Catbirdmom2]

My late father in law was an “advisor” prior to the Vietnam War. I do not think the army has ever even admitted he was there. My ex husband knows more of what happened there, but I know that in his final days when he was old, sick and dying, he didn’t sleep much. My MIL said he was having nightmares about it again. He would often have waking dreams it seemed and he would be back in a warehouse trying to get someone out. This was a horrible experience for those involved that haunted them their whole lives.

[@wjcastillo0814]

New idea for a channel, Battlegraphics.

[@Matteus2109]

Damn, suicide by grenade. That's pretty hardcore.

[@pakde8002]

When you really really really want to commit suicide.

[@AffinityShadow00]

Thanks for the wonderful video I am always amazed at all the crazy shit that happens around the world. I'm also happy you can put it together so nicely, and getting to learn even more. While watching this I was thinking of my grandfather who was in the Korean war, made me wonder what storys are still out there. If I could make a request something about Korea? Please and thank you.

[@arnaldoteodorani277]

They have a couple of great videos about Korea. One about the DMZ (demilitarized zone) and a really fantastic one about the Rugyong Hotel in PyongYang. Crazy story!

[@SnoopReddogg]

The french troops put up one hell of a fight. In the final stages of the battle, without the ability to evacuate the wounded and defeat imminent, some french machine guns were manned by multiple amputees. A one armed legionnaire firing the gun and another two one handed amputees doing the work of one able body man, reloading the machine gun.

[@connorrivers995]

I've always admired Giap. Given his success in three different wars over the course of 34 years, I have to believe that he was most likely the greatest general since Napoleon and by far the greatest general of the twentieth century.

[@BrickworksDK]

He certainly made the most out of what he had to work with.

[@pingukutepro]

Yeah. He practically propaganda civilians into meatshield for his victory. If you admire him, you admire the equivalent of Hitler

[@TheChainreaper]

@@pingukutepro everyone is hitler! How very uneducated and biased

[@pingukutepro]

MoreBagsThanLipton I'm a Vietnamese I'm sure I know Giap and his battle more than you. Do you think Vietnamese racist? Yes we are, we are racist to the point that 91% of our population is only one race. That fact & number speak for me

[@HelloWorld394]

@@pingukutepro , Bub Huynh, sao ba.n ba xàm vây ?! are you a VietNamese educated ?

[@michelletran2637]

Was listening to “We didn’t start the fire” and heard him say dien bien phu so here I am

[@lynthornealder6735]

I kept getting distracted so I have relistened to this several times trying to get through it and somehow the part I always tune in for is the part with "he did not bother counting to ten."

[@CrystalSmith-uk6hd]

Gotta say that Hans sense of humor is phenomenal. This man had both his legs blown off and tells the nurse hes gonna take her dancing!