Green Hell: A Vietnam War Podcast

Join me in discussing the epic story of the battle of Dien Bien Phu as the siege finally begins. In part two, we follow the tens of thousands of Viet Minh porters, bicycles, and men who dragged artillery through the mountains, see how badly short-changed the French fortifications were, and live through the first brutal days of March 1954 as strong points Beatrice and Gabrielle fall.

Chapters:

00:00 Intro and welcome back

00:57 Recap: Navarre's plan and the case for Dien Bien Phu

04:41 The open valley and the artillery assumption

06:07 Recap: the paratroopers take the valley, and Giap answers

07:39 Viet Minh preparations: 50,000 porters and 21,000 bicycles

09:23 Believers and conscripts

10:10 Soviet trucks, French strafing runs, and war communism

13:07 Hauling the guns: the Viet Minh artillery

15:49 Guns on the forward slopes, hidden in caves

17:44 French preparations: 36,000 tons needed

20:09 4,000 tons approved, and 3,000 of it barbed wire

21:14 Bulldozers, generators, and the underground hospital

22:02 The evacuation plan

22:55 Tired troops and half-built fortifications

24:21 The French artillery and the strong point layout

25:53 Into the battle: the downward spiral

26:48 March 11-13: the airfield under fire, and the wait

28:16 March 13, 1700 hours: the assault on Beatrice

29:26 The command bunker is hit

31:08 Beatrice falls

32:22 Giap's truce and the 192 survivors

33:43 March 14: the 5th Vietnamese Paratroop Battalion jumps in

34:40 The assault on Gabrielle

37:01 Marched through the wire: "He has done his duty"

38:08 Gabrielle falls, and the cost of three days

39:28 Colonel Piroth

40:59 Morale cracks: Keller and Anne-Marie

41:40 March 16: Bigeard jumps back in, and de Castries' message

42:48 March 17: the wounded handover gambit

44:02 Anne-Marie abandoned, and the Rats of Nam Yum

44:48 Landing under the guns: ambulances, AA, and night glide landings

46:36 Giap's strangulation phase begins

47:20 Two little nuggets: Thai families and the field brothel

48:18 Wrap-up and next episode

Recommended reading: Hell in a Very Small Place by Bernard B. Fall.

Join me in discussing the epic story of the battle of Dien Bien Phu, one of the craziest battles of all time and the final showdown of the French Indochina War. In part one, we dig into why General Navarre chose a remote valley near the Laotian border for his air-land fortress, meet the men who would answer for it, and jump in with the paratroopers who seized the valley in November 1953.

Recommended reading: Hell in a Very Small Place by Bernard B. Fall

Chapters:

00:00 Intro and welcome back

01:45 A "Train Wreck" cold open: Navarre, the evening news, and the lacquered box

04:44 Who's to blame? The French inquiry (declassified in 1994)

06:38 How bad did it get? Accounts from the hospital, the trenches, and both sides

09:53 The siege by the numbers: dates and casualties

13:50 Why Dien Bien Phu? The political case: the Thai Federation and Laos

16:23 A quick catch-up: Giap's 1953 invasion of Laos

19:11 The strategic case: supply routes, rice, and poppy

21:16 The Na San precedent

23:11 The tactical case: the valley, the hills, and the airstrip

25:04 The fatal assumption: "They're not going to bring in enough artillery"

27:23 Navarre's grand strategy and Giap's countermove

30:00 Navarre vs. Cogny: the start of a feud

31:38 The valley and the nine strong points

35:51 The rumor: strong points named after de Castries' lovers

36:35 Key leaders: Colonel Christian de Castries

38:59 Key leaders: General Henri Navarre

41:32 Responsibility, the objections, and Bernard B. Fall's Hell in a Very Small Place

43:31 Housekeeping: what's next for the series and the show

45:07 November 20, 1953: the paratroopers drop into the valley

48:30 Day three: Brigitte Friang jumps, and the hedgehog takes shape

50:24 Giap marches on Dien Bien Phu, and the Viet Minh consolidate power

52:43 Wrap-up and next episode

In this episode we dive into the ambitous Operation Lorraine, aimed at diverting General Giap's forces in Northwestern Vietnam, and luring him into a set-piece battle.

My buddy and host of The Talking Ass podcast joins me as my first ever guest to discuss modern parallels to Vietnam, plus Russia, Israel, and his experiences in both Finnish and Israeli military.

Green Hell: Lessons from Vietnam and Afghanistan | Stephen Comstock - The Talking Ass | Podcast on Spotify

www.youtube.com/@TalkingAssPodcast

open.spotify.com/show/4aAgHqDg0Z1kTOpWjezyUt

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-ass/id1795311770

A crazy tale of overwhelming odds and human endurance for the French 6th Colonial Parachute Battalion tasked with holding the line against 3 divisions of Viet Minh.

Join me in learning the history of the so-called "Meat Grinder" Battle of Hoa Binh as the French attempt to draw the Viet Minh into the grinder and the Viet Minh play the reverse Uno card.

On this July 4th join me in a special American Revolution episode dedicated to recounting the founding of this great country! USA USA USA!

This episode dives into the second attempt by General Giap to engage with and destory the French in conventional battle.

Join me in remembering several fallen Airborne Rangers on this special Memorial Day episode.

Join me as I discuss the Battle of Vinh Yen - the Viet Minh's first attempt at moving on and retaking Hanoi, and the largest French aerial bombardment of the ENTIRE French Indochina War.