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Guess That Geographical Location—June 8, 2006

Photo courtesy Yahoo!

Congrats to Gordon.

See the extended entry for details.

This is Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam.

In the years following WWII, the French struggled to retain control of their colonial possessions in Indochina.  In 1946, the Viet Minh under Ho Chi Minh rebelled against the French, and the French Indochina War was on.

The French faced many of the same difficulties as the Americans in Vietnam—an elusive enemy, inhospitable terrain, and a lack of coherent strategy.  The French strategy was to form a solid defensive line, the De Lattre Line, and allow the Viet Minh to pound against it.  This strategy worked for years, but in 1953, the Viet Minh switched strategies—they invaded Laos.  In an attempt to defend their interests in Laos, the French established a series of defensive outposts stretching northwest from Hanoi to Laos.  One of these outposts was constructed in a series of hills overlooking the small hamlet of Dien Bien Phu.

By early 1954, the French had amassed 16,000 troops at the outpost.  Unknown to the French, the Viet Minh under General Giap had not only assembled 50,000-100,000 troops in the mountains surrounding Dien Bien Phu, but had also managed to transport heavy artillery and anti-aircraft guns into the mountains, where they could pound the base and its airstrip into submission.

On March 13, 1954, the Viet Minh began shelling the French positions.  The French were soon left with no option but to resupply by air, and the resupply aircraft were soon unable to land because the airfield was under constant attack.  Two American pilots, James McGovern and Wallace Buford were killed when their Civilian Air Transport C-119 was shot down on a resupply run.  (The CAT was a CIA front, the predecessor to the Vietnam-era Air America).

On May 7, Dien Bien Phu finally fell.  French losses were estimated at 2,200 killed.  Of the 50,000-100,000 or so Viet Minh involved, there were estimates of nearly 8,000 killed.  In the ensuing peace accords, Vietnam was divided into North and South Vietnam, setting the stage for America’s involvement a decade later.

Book recommendation—Bernard Fall’s Street Without Joy and Hell in a Very Small Place.

Posted by Jed at 0101 hrs
Off-Duty + Fun With Maps

1. Lots of trees…maybe Germany?  The Elbe?

   Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 08, 2006 at 0959 hrs
   
   
   

2. I was thinking Rhine.

   Posted by Fuzz Martin on June 08, 2006 at 1026 hrs
   
   
   

3. The Nile valley

   Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 08, 2006 at 1238 hrs
   
   
   

4. Nope.

   Posted by Jed on June 08, 2006 at 1241 hrs
   
   
   

5. That’s the Amazon River valley. Maybe. I hope.

   Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 08, 2006 at 1319 hrs
   
   
   

6. Nope.  It’s the site of a famous battle.

   Posted by Jed on June 08, 2006 at 1326 hrs
   
   
   

7. Famous battle huh…

   Is it the spot my car was at when I told my wife “as long as I am making the money, I will make all the decisions”?

   Posted by David on June 08, 2006 at 1330 hrs
   
   
   

8. Maybe, hopefully it is the Yangtze River Valley in China where the Battle of Red Cliffs occurred in 208 AD.

   Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 08, 2006 at 1354 hrs
   
   
   

9. Vicksburg, TN on the Mississippi

   Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 08, 2006 at 1414 hrs
   
   
   

10. Nope.

    Posted by Jed on June 08, 2006 at 1416 hrs
    
    
    

11. Austerlitz?

    Posted by Owen on June 08, 2006 at 1420 hrs
    
    
    

12. Noooooope.   

    Just goes to show you how subjective these things can be.  I thought this would be a fairly easy one.

    Posted by Jed on June 08, 2006 at 1422 hrs
    
    
    

13. Mekong river?

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 08, 2006 at 1440 hrs
    
    
    

14. Getting warmer.

    Posted by Jed on June 08, 2006 at 1500 hrs
    
    
    

15. The Red River in Vietnam that enters into the Gulf of Tonkin??

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 08, 2006 at 1513 hrs
    
    
    

16. No.

    Posted by Jed on June 08, 2006 at 1517 hrs
    
    
    

17. Khwae Noi?

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 08, 2006 at 1525 hrs
    
    
    

18. Nope-a-rooni.

    Posted by Jed on June 08, 2006 at 1526 hrs
    
    
    

19. You’re having way to much fun with this, Jed.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 08, 2006 at 1533 hrs
    
    
    

20. Dien Bien Phu.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 08, 2006 at 1538 hrs
    
    
    

21. Not sure if a battle was fought there, but is it the River Kwai in Thailand.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 08, 2006 at 1541 hrs
    
    
    

22. See the extended entry.

    Posted by Jed on June 08, 2006 at 1546 hrs
    
    
    

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