French Engineering Corps at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu

Abstract

The significance of the battle of Dien Bien Phu was already apparent for the contemporary observer too, and history has acknowledged it as the decisive battle of the First Indochina War. The siege, fittingly to the age it was fought in, involved all services, yet mostly it is mentioned in connection with sacrifice of the encircled legionnaires fighting until the bitter end, or in connection with the efforts of the French Far Eastern Air Force in trying to resupply them. The military engineering troops that participated in the siege are highlighted less frequently, even though without their expertise the fortress could not have even come to being, and these units held on until the very end as well. In this essay, I strive to honour the memory of these lesser known heroes by presenting their units and their respective roles.