COLD WAR: Waiting for Dienbienphu

A bloodstained Indo-China valley with a barely pronounceable name was transformed last week from a scratch on the map into one of the most important places in the world. At Dienbienphu, a faraway fortress overcast with gun smoke, 15,000 French troops fought a battle that could decide the fate of all Southeast Asia. Shock waves from the battle swept over Asia and Europe, endangering the French Cabinet, threatening the prospects of the European Army, menacing the unity of the Western Big Three as they prepare to meet the Big Two of Communism—Russia...

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