The French, seeking to destroy their enemy the Vietminh in a decisive battle, instead found themselves fighting for survival at Dien Bien Phu. Desperate for help, France’s president tried to persuade President Eisenhower to use American air power on their behalf. Eisenhower had to walk a fine line between looking like a strong anti-communist in public while avoiding getting the U.S. mired in an full-blown war in Vietnam that he felt would be a “tragedy”.
France’s Situation Worsens
As their situation at Dien Bien Phu became more severe, the French implored the U.S. government to provide air strikes against General Vo Nguyen Giap and the Vietminh forces he was leading. While the United States had been funding France’s war in Vietnam, President Eisenhower remained adamant that he would not allow America to be drawn into an active military role. He did agree, however, to send 200 Air Force mechanics to aid the French which became America’s first presence in Vietnam.
To provide political cover on his decision not to allow the requested air strikes, Eisenhower chose to involve Congress in the process, knowing they would likely put strong conditions on any U.S. military involvement in Vietnam. Congress did just that, stipulating that in return for American military aid France fight the war to a definite conclusion and that they free their colonies at the end of the war. Ike then added one more requirement, that the British government commit to sending troops in to help the French.
Eisenhower was sure the British would never agree to this since they were far more concerned with the situation in post-war Europe than with French colonies in Indochina. During this time Eisenhower publicly played the part of a good cold warrior, rattling the United States’ saber with statements that implied he would be ready, if necessary, to intervene against any communist aggression. But when British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden refused to send in British troops to help the French in their fight, Eisenhower had his out.
France's Defeat at Dien Bien Phu
France’s situation at Dien Bien Phu continued to deteriorate throughout March and April of 1954 with fierce fighting on both sides. The Vietminh were being supplied by the Chinese who no longer had to battle America in Korea with that war having ended a few months earlier.
Finally, on May 7, the French were forced to surrendered to the Vietminh. About 10,000 French soldiers died during the battle with around 8,000 taken prisoner. On the opposing side, 23,000 Vietminh soldiers died. When the war officially ended on July 21 of that year, Vietnam was divided into north and south at the 17th parallel.
Back in Washington, President Eisenhower viewed the results with satisfaction. He had managed to maintain his status as a Cold War warrior while keeping American soldiers out of France’s colonial conflict in Vietnam where he saw no vital American interests. By all appearances America’s involvement in Vietnam seemed over.
Such was the situation he left for his successor, John Kennedy, when he assumed the presidency in 1960.
Sources
- Billings-Yun, Melanie; Ike and Vietnam, History Today Magazine, Vol. 38, Nov. ‘88
- Billings-Yun, Melanie; Decision Against War: Eisenhower and Dien Bien Phu, 1954, Columbia University Press (24 Aug 1988)
- Morgan, Ted; Valley of Death: The Tragedy at Dien Bien Phu That Led America into the Vietnam War, Random House, February 2010
Lawrence Koppy - Lawrence Koppy is an Oregon native living in the high desert of Central Oregon. He has been a small business owner for many years ...
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