Vietnam celebrates 70 years since Dien Bien Phu battle that ended French colonial rule
DIEN BIEN PHU, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam on Tuesday celebrated the 70th anniversary of the battle of Dien Bien Phu in which the French colonial army was defeated by Vietnamese troops, marking the end of the French occupation of Indochina.
At Dien Bien Phu, Vietnamese troops led by General Vo Nguyen Giap, surprised French forces with heavy artillery fire at their mountainous garrison in northwestern Vietnam.
When Dien Bien Phu fell in 1954, it spelled the end of almost a century of French colonial rule.
“The historic Dien Bien Phu victory is a remarkable event, not only for the Vietnamese revolution,” Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said in a speech at the ceremony. “It is also a monumental saga that inspired countries rising up to fight for independence and freedom, marking the collapse of the colonialism all over the world.”
On Tuesday morning, the commemoration was held at a stadium in the center of Dien Bien Phu, once a village in a valley dense with trenches, barbed wires and bomb craters. It is now a city of more than 80,000 people.
Related articles
- The former wife of a Formula 1 tycoon has been told to pay him £2.3million in a bitter five-year row2024-05-07
Tear gas as crowds clash with riot police in Russia
A video grab taken from a footage by SOTA on 17 January 2024 shows Russian police (Rear) disperse pr2024-05-07Chinese city reports coronavirus found on ice cream
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here2024-05-07Tauranga bars to close earlier under booze rule changes
Bars in Tauranga will be calling last drinks before 2am from July. Photo: 123RF2024-05-07Agricultural Bank of China sees loan increase of 1.2 trln yuan in Q1
BEIJING, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), one of the country's largest commercial2024-05-07Cancer patients' travel funding boost: 'Important no one falling through the gap'
Rates for mileage for cancer patients driving for treatment will rise from 28c to 34c a kilometre. F2024-05-07
atest comment