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.
Emily Ratajkowski takes a fashion risk in a ripped midriff
Guangdong into playoffs semis, oust Zhejiang
WADA invites 'independent prosecutor' to examine Chinese swimmers case
The nine California towns where you can still snap up a home for $150,000
Russia defends veto of UN resolution to prohibit nukes in outer space
Table for two? That'll be £400 thanks to 'scalper' touts muscling in on high
CHINADA ready to cooperate with WADA in regular compliance review
Conservative MP Dan Poulter defects to Labour in the latest blow to Rishi Sunak
They shared a name — but not a future. How two kids fought to escape poverty in Baltimore
'Hideous' newbuild house with a 'kitchen floor' outside is slammed for crucial design flaw