War has played a key role in the history of the United States, from the nation's founding

right down to the present. War made the U.S. independent, kept it together, increased its size,

and established it as a global superpower. Understanding America's wars is essential for understanding American history.

Welcome to Key Battles of American History,

a podcast in which we discuss American history

through the lens of the most important battles of America's wars.

Here is your host, James Early.

Thank you. host, James Early. Hello and welcome back to Key Battles of the Vietnam War, a 10,000-foot survey of the war

that defined a generation. I'm your host, James Early, as always. And as always, I am joined by my co-host, Sean McGuire.

All right, so before we jump into the episode, as I always do, let's recap the last episode.

In that episode, we saw that the Vietnam, under the leadership of the brilliant, charismatic, and ruthless Ho Chi men fought back against

the French effort to re-establish control over Vietnam. We also saw that the French overall

military commander Henri Navarre decided to strike a fatal blow against the Vietnam and the

north, where they were the most powerful. Navarre planned to do this by establishing a strong

base in the valley of Dien Buf, which was 175 miles west of Hanoi, and near the border with Laos.

From this position, Navarre hoped to limit the Vietnam's mobility and to cut their supply routes,

especially to Laos, where insurgents had just established key bases.

We discussed how, by March 1954, the Vietnam had placed about 50,000 soldiers on the hills

and mountains around the French base. And on March 13th of that year, they launched an artillery

barrage that wreaked havoc on the French. Soon after, Vietnam infantry attacked, and in less than two months on May 7th, the last

French position had surrendered.

Although French and Vietnam forces would continue to clash over the next few months,

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