Dien Bien Phu: The Epic Battle America Forgot (History of War)

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The author's physical presence at the site, plus his post war interviews added so much to reconstructing what both sides planned and executed. The description of the international composition of the French forces was surprising. Germans, French colonial units from Algieria, the Foreign Legion. The extreme struggle of a dwindling colonial power to retain their overseas holdings was told with insight seldom found in the literature. And the author's writing style was superb, making it difficult to put the book down. I put this on the shelf of my "ten best" reads, of all time. Kudos to Howard Spencer.

Howard Simpson is a talented author with a unique and interesting style of painting word pictures.The reader can feel the emotions of the action as men are filling sandbags to their utter dismay or fighting for their lives in the terror of combat. The frustrations of the men on the ground at the battle site with the commanders sitting in comfortable offices in Hanoi is noted throughout the account: reinforcements not sent, shortage of medical supplies, shortage of ammunition, commands to retain and defend too large an area, and setting up the fort in a low area surrounded by mountains housing Vietnamese artillery. Then on to the 50 days of hard fought survival. The bravery displayed by both armies is amazing. One must ask "How can a soldier survive that kind of close combat?"A thorough, riveting, personal historical account of the battle that ended France's influence in Southeast Asia. Highly recommended.

Once started, couldn’t stop reading. Still found it difficult to understand the suffering of the French troops as they fought and died in a battle their countrymen didn’t want them to win. Comparisons to Vietnam are so similar and one is caught up in familiar names from the past as the foundation is laid for our great American tragedy. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it as an excellent historical read.

I enjoyed reading this book. The author was an American diplomat in Vietnam in the 1950's and 1960's. He offers a complete description of the battle and its results. His narrative blends nicely with Bernard Fall and his book "Street without Joy" It also allows the reader insights into French mistakes and how the US made those same mistakes.

Had heard about the battle of Dien Bien Phu when I was in the Marine Corps. I had known for some time that an epic stand had taken place in the hills of North Vietnam in 1954 by the French, who at the time occupied the country known as French Indo-China. It reminded me of Khe Shan in which the Marines had made a similar stand and I wanted to know more about it. The book was well written and full of historic facts concerning both sides of the conflict. If your into Military history, human courage and sacrifice, or want to read about the biggest battle no one has ever heard of than this one is for you.

Outstanding account of seminal battle. New appreciation for both combatants.

If you want to learn history and relive it, pickup the book.The details are well researched and far from being overwhelming as it is the case in many history books

This account of what Bernard Fall called "Hell in a Very Small Place" shows the fatal consequences of underestimating one's enemy. There are many episodes of heroic behavior in combat here, but they play out against a background of political and diplomatic fecklessness. To appreciate the evolution of the USA engagement in Vietnam, be sure to turn to this story.

For all the students of military history, it's one story which shouldn't be missed!! The grit, grime, tenacity, tactics, valour, struggle, leadership and lessons have been brought out so very clearly and lucidly. It seems as if you are living and breathing with each and every character. Great book!!!!!!

Howard Simpson gibt mit seinem 1994 veröffentlichten Buch einen guten Einstieg in das Thema Indochina-Krieg und Dien Bien Phu. Leider muss man sagen, dass die Informsationen etwas oberflächlich geraten sind und die Schlacht eher lau beschrieben wird. Besonders im Vergleich zum momentanen Standardwerk "Last Valley" von Martin WIndrow oder dem (leider veralteten) "Hell in a very small place" fällt auf, dass viele Infomationen weggefallen sind.Das Buch liest sich flüssig und gut, man kommt auch mit normalen Schulenglisch-Kentnissen durch. Nur aufgrund des Umfanges und der Informationen würde ich es als Einstieg in das Thema werten. Wer schon Kenntnisse hat oder tiefer einsteigen will kommt in meinen Augen um "Last Valley" nicht herum.

Quizás me he equivocado de libro. Éste está muy bien documentado y tiene testimonios directos únicos. Pero hubiese agradecido una literatura más amena. Resulta aburrido y sólo para lectores aguerridos que estén muy interesados en la temática.

Never think your enemy is weak... A great book if u like reading such war histories..

Gripping storyline