#French defeat at Dien Bien Phu

[johnpodlaski]

The French Foreign Legion, the Waffen SS, and Vietnam

Many believed that thousands of former Nazi Waffen SS soldiers joined the French Foreign Legion after World War II and fought against the Viet Minh at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. How did they escape being tried for war crimes? Was this France’s way of condemning them to death? Here are two different points of view. Did you know this? By Georgy_K_Zhukov, December 11, 2012 Following the myths and…

[pregnantseinfeld]

"The winning of constitutional independence in any given African territory has to be correlated with winning of independence everywhere else on the continent and in Asia, so as to determine to what extent the so-called peaceful handover of power was really peaceful and was due to the goodness of the colonizers, and to what extent it was an option forced on them by examples of violence in particular colonies and by the threat of violence implicit in any nationalist movement which had shaped the people into a single resolute force. It is, for example, palpably obvious that the French learned from defeats in Vietnam that they should quit the whole of Indochina 'peacefully', rather than perish at other Dien Bien-Phus. The French repeated their high-handed actions in Africa and found that the national war of liberation threatened to reduce the French 100-franc note to a piece of worthless paper, and had already bequeathed the National Assembly in Paris with a succession of jack-in-the-box premiers. There was clearly a connection with the unsuccessful French wars of repression in Algeria and the haste with which they tried to establish acceptable African governments in West Africa.

As for the British, Malaya haunted them in Asia and the example of Kenya gave them diarrhoea in Africa. True, they did suppress the Mau Mau land and freedom army, but at what cost! Imperialism is not imperialism if it costs more to suppress the exploited than the imperialists receive in surplus. The British knew that it was wise to proceed with African independence rather than court more Mau Mau. Even in far-off British Guiana, the popular movement of the 1950s could exert some leverage on the British by threatening them with Mau Mau.

India is often given as the classic example of non-violent transfer of power from the imperial power to the indigenous nationalist forces. But it should be remembered that India had a powerful current of mutinous soldiers and other political traditions opposed to the non-violence of Gandhi. The British retreated as much from the threat of millions of Indians lying peacefully on the roads and railways as from the possibility that they might get up and strike back, given the example of those nationalists who were attacking British life and property before and during the Second World War."

Walter Rodney, The British Colonialist School of African Historiography and the Question of African Independence

[howieabel]

"In August 1945, the capitulation of the Japanese forces before the Soviet Army and the Allied forces, put an end to the world war. The defeat of the German and Nippon fascists was the beginning of a great weakening of the capitalist system. After the great victory of the Soviet Union, many people's democracies saw the light of day. The socialist system was no longer confined within the frontiers of a single country. A new historic era was beginning in the world. In view of these changes, in Viet Nam, the Indo-chinese Communist Party and the Viet Minh called the whole Vietnamese nation to general insurrection. Everywhere, the people rose in a body. Demonstrations and displays of force followed each other uninterruptedly. In August, the Revolution broke out, neutralising the bewildered Nippon troops, overthrowing the pro-Japanese feudal authorities, and installing people's power in Hanoi and throughout the country, in the towns as well as in the countryside, in Bac Bo as well as in Nam Bo. In Hanoi, the capital, in September 2nd, the provisional gouvernment was formed around President Ho Chi Minh ; it presented itself to the nation, proclaimed the independence of Viet Nam, and called on the nation to unite, to hold itself in readiness to defend the country and to oppose all attempts at imperialist aggression. The Democratic Republic of Viet Nam was born, the first people's democracy in South-east Asia. But the imperialists intended to nip the republican regime in the bud and once again transform Viet Nam into a colony. Three weeks had hardly gone by when, on September 23rd, 1945, the French Expeditionary Corps opened fire in Saigon. The whole was to be carried on for nine years at the cost of unprecedented heroism and amidst unimaginable difficulties, to end by the shining victory of our people and the crushing defeat of the aggressive imperialists at Dien Bien Phu. … Never before had there been so many foreign troops on the soil of Viet Nam. But never before either, had the Vietnamese people been so determined to rise up in combat to defend their country." - Võ Nguyên Giáp, People’s War, People’s Army (1962)

[world-cinema-research]

Week 2: Seven Samurai -Yanissa Agbigay

The movie I chose for this week is called Seven Samurai, directed by Akira Kurosawa. This 1954 film has a 4.8 overall rating and has a handful of viewers who enjoyed this film. Some even commented saying that they feel this movie is a legendary classic, that is influential and unforgettable, while others out there don’t agree and think the movie is quite lengthy while having poor quality. For myself, I would have to agree that this movie was very well made and has a very authentic feel to it. I too enjoyed watching this film and seeing how determined the six villagers were in protecting their own people and village. I decided to watch this film because it reminded me of my childhood, spending time watching older classic movies with my dad. The movie captures a struggling village of farmers who are being forced to give up all their food to bandits giving these villagers the reason to end their lives. Now, the hope for this village is that they will find a samurai who will train 6 men amongst the villagers, to protect their village from the bandits. Luckily for them, they were able to find a veteran samurai who would then help fight the bandits off along with the other men. This man is to be called Kambei Shimada. Kambei was first seen shaving his whole head in front of the villagers, which is an important scene because he was portraying a monk with intent to save a little boy from a thief who snuck in. We can then see that his plan worked and was able to save this young innocent boy, with no injuries to anyone except for the thief himself.

When Kurosawa directed this movie, their costing budget was around ¥210 million, equaling to $580,000 in USD. Other numbers involving this film were within its releases. Starting off with the domestic release which was $318,649. With the international release they were able to make $27,609 and lastly their worldwide release made about $346,258. Again, I would like to say that this film is quite a success and has lots of viewers who keep coming back to watch.

I would also like to share some historical events that has happened within the movie’s first release in 1954. They include the ruling of the Supreme Court rules on Brown v. Board of Education, stating that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional. In this milestone decision, the Supreme Court ruled that separating children in public schools on the basis of race was unconstitutional. It signaled the end of legalized racial segregation in the schools of the United States, overruling the "separate but equal" principle set forth in the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case. Along with the first Indo-China war ending, which ended with the French defeat at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu and French withdrawal from Vietnam after the Geneva Accords. There are many other historical events that happened within the year Seven Samurai was released, but these are the two I decided to choose.

The style of the film is known as Hollywood action. Not only did Kurosawa create a legendary film but he didn’t have a normal plot between the characters. For example, Good Vs. Evil. When watching, We can learn in this movie that some of towns villagers also preyed on class samurai’s but ended up on the other side of things and now have to seek help from a samurai.

This film is such an incredible work of art and is still such a classic, with many viewers who appear to also agree. Overall, this film reflected time and effort on Kurosawa’s part and has shown us a reality of poor villagers and their experiences. As well as, how skilled and trained samurai’s are and must be.

[ugf-viridis]

[…] “This year, 2024, coincides with the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of Dien Bien Phu (May 1954), in which Vietnamese revolutionaries inflicted a crushing defeat on French colonialists. It also marks the 70th birthday of the Algerian revolution, which began in November of the same year. The Algerian and Vietnamese resisted colonial oppression for decades before leading two of the most significant revolutions in the twentieth century, against France (and its local collaborators), which was the second biggest European colonial power in the world at the time and which was also supported by NATO forces. No discussion of decolonization and anti-imperialism can be complete without understanding the importance of Vietnam and Algeria, and how their revolutionary liberation struggles were (and continue to be) so inspiring to oppressed people all over the world, including the Palestinians.”

[ebelal56-blog]

Vietnam War: The War That Never Ended (Legacy)

The United States' involvement in Vietnam was a complex web of historical, political, and ideological factors that ultimately led to one of the most controversial wars in American history. It all began with French colonial rule in Vietnam, a country that had been under French control until World War II. After the war, the Vietnamese nationalist movement, led by Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh, sought independence from French colonial forces. This desire for independence sparked the First Indochina War from 1946 to 1954, a bloody conflict between the Viet Minh and the French that ultimately ended with the Geneva Accords in 1954. The Geneva Accords temporarily divided Vietnam at the 17th parallel, with the Viet Minh controlling the North and the French-backed State of Vietnam controlling the South. Following their defeat at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, the French withdrew from Vietnam, leaving a power vacuum that the United States would soon fill. The US saw Vietnam as a crucial battleground in the larger Cold War context, viewing it as a strategic location to contain the spread of communism in Southeast Asia. With the fear of the "domino theory" looming large - the idea that the fall of one country to communism would lead to the fall of neighboring countries - the US felt compelled to support the government of South Vietnam against the communist North. As tensions escalated between North and South Vietnam, the US began providing economic and military aid to the South Vietnamese government. The US military presence in Vietnam increased steadily as they sought to combat the communist forces of the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (NLF or Viet Cong) and the North Vietnamese Army (NVA). The turning point came in 1964 with the Gulf of Tonkin incident, where North Vietnamese forces allegedly attacked US naval vessels. This incident led to the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which gave President Lyndon B. Johnson broad authorization to escalate US military involvement in Vietnam. This marked the beginning of large-scale US military intervention in what would become known as the Vietnam War.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 5.7 (after 1930)

1930 – The 7.1 Mw  Salmas earthquake shakes northwestern Iran and southeastern Turkey with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). Up to three-thousand people were killed. 1931 – The stand-off between criminal Francis Crowley and 300 members of the New York Police Department takes place in his fifth-floor apartment on West 91st Street, New York City. 1937 – Spanish Civil War: The German Condor Legion, equipped with Heinkel He 51 biplanes, arrives in Spain to assist Francisco Franco's forces. 1940 – World War II: The Norway Debate in the British House of Commons begins, and leads to the replacement of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain with Winston Churchill three days later. 1942 – World War II: During the Battle of the Coral Sea, United States Navy aircraft carrier aircraft attack and sink the Imperial Japanese Navy light aircraft carrier Shōhō; the battle marks the first time in naval history that two enemy fleets fight without visual contact between warring ships. 1945 – World War II: Last German U-boat attack of the war, two freighters are sunk off the Firth of Forth, Scotland. 1945 – World War II: Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel signs unconditional surrender terms at Reims, France, ending Germany's participation in the war. The document takes effect the next day. 1946 – Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering (later renamed Sony) is founded. 1948 – The Council of Europe is founded during the Hague Congress. 1952 – The concept of the integrated circuit, the basis for all modern computers, is first published by Geoffrey Dummer. 1954 – Indochina War: The Battle of Dien Bien Phu ends in a French defeat and a Viet Minh victory (the battle began on March 13). 1960 – Cold War: U-2 Crisis of 1960: Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev announces that his nation is holding American U-2 pilot Gary Powers. 1964 – Pacific Airlines Flight 773 is hijacked by Francisco Gonzales and crashes in Contra Costa County, California, killing 44. 1986 – Canadian Patrick Morrow becomes the first person to climb each of the Seven Summits. 1991 – A fire and explosion occurs at a fireworks factory at Sungai Buloh, Malaysia, killing 26. 1992 – Michigan ratifies a 203-year-old proposed amendment to the United States Constitution making the 27th Amendment law. This amendment bars the U.S. Congress from giving itself a mid-term pay raise. 1992 – Space Shuttle program: The Space Shuttle Endeavour is launched on its first mission, STS-49. 1992 – Three employees at a McDonald's Restaurant in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada, are brutally murdered and a fourth permanently disabled after a botched robbery. It is the first "fast-food murder" in Canada. 1994 – Edvard Munch's painting The Scream is recovered undamaged after being stolen from the National Gallery of Norway in February. 1998 – Mercedes-Benz buys Chrysler for US$40 billion and forms DaimlerChrysler in the largest industrial merger in history. 1999 – Pope John Paul II travels to Romania, becoming the first pope to visit a predominantly Eastern Orthodox country since the Great Schism in 1054. 1999 – Kosovo War: Three Chinese citizens are killed and 20 wounded when a NATO aircraft inadvertently bombs the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, Serbia. 1999 – In Guinea-Bissau, President João Bernardo Vieira is ousted in a military coup. 2000 – Vladimir Putin is inaugurated as president of Russia. 2002 – An EgyptAir Boeing 737-500 crashes on approach to Tunis–Carthage International Airport, killing 14 people. 2002 – A China Northern Airlines MD-82 plunges into the Yellow Sea, killing 112 people. 2004 – American businessman Nick Berg is beheaded by Islamic militants. The act is recorded on videotape and released on the Internet.

[lboogie1906]

Nancy Leftenant, also known as “Lefty”, was born on 29 September 1920 to the late James and

Eunice Leftenant in Goose Creek, South Carolina. She graduated from Amityville High

School, Amityville, New York in 1939.

Nancy Leftenant graduated from New York’s Lincoln School of Nursing in 1941. She then

tried to sign up for the Armed Forces but was informed that the military was not accepting

Black nurses. Nancy persevered and in January 1945, she volunteered and was accepted into

the Army Nurse Corps as a reservist. Nurses of Color were not permitted into the regular Army

at that time. She was given the rank of Second Lieutenant and her first assignment was to

Lowell General Hospital, Fort Devens, Massachusetts where she treated World War II

wounded. She and other black nurses impressed the doctors due to their superior performance so they were promoted to

First Lieutenant after only 11 months.

In 1946, Major Leftenant-Colon was assigned to the 332nd Station Medical Group, Lockbourne Army Air Base (now

Rickenbacker Air Force Base), Ohio. She became the first black woman integrated into the regular Army Nurse Corps.

She was assigned at Lockbourne Army Air Field when then President Harry Truman issued Executive Order 9981,

abolishing segregation in the United States military. In 1948 she applied for and received Regular Army Nurse Corps status.

One year later, in 1949, the 332nd Fighter Group was deactivated at Lockbourne Air Force Base, ending the Tuskegee

Airmen Experience.

Once the Tuskegee Airmen were disbanded, Major Leftenant-Colon switched services, joining the newly formed United

States Air Force. She moved on to other assignments in support of the Korean Conflict and the Vietnam War. She served

in Germany, Tokyo (Japan), Alaska, Ohio, Alabama, Maryland, New York and New Jersey. From 1953-1955, Major

Leftenant-Colon was a Flight Nurse with the 6481st Medical Air Evacuation Group, Tachikawa, Japan. During this time,

she set up hospital wards in Japan and in active war zones. She was credited with saving many lives during the wars. She

had to wait five years for her certification as a Flight Nurse. Major Leftenant-Colon went on to an assignment as a Flight

Nurse, evacuating French Legionnaires from the Dien Bien Pu Province, Vietnam. She was aboard the first medical

evacuation flight into the defeated French outpost in Dien Bien Phu. Her final assignment was to McGuire Air Force Base,

New Jersey where Major Leftenant-Colon retired as Chief Nurse in 1965. Upon her retirement, Major Leftenant-Colon

returned to Amityville High School, Amityville, New York as the School Nurse. She held that position from 1971 – 1984.

In 2018, Amityville High School authorities announced that a new Media Center was being constructed to commemorate

the life and military service of Major Leftenant-Colon.

She was initially a member of the East Coast Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., having joined at its inception in 1973.

However, she is currently a member of the Hannibal Cox Chapter. Major Leftenant-Colon held numerous positions in TAI

at the National level including National Treasurer, First Vice-President and the first female President of the organization

In 1989, Major Leftenant-Colon was the first woman elected to the office of National President, Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.

(TAI). She also served as National Treasurer and First Vice President of TAI. Major Leftenant-Colon holds honorary

degrees from the Tuskegee University and Mount Saint Vincent College.

Major Leftenant-Colon’s military education includes: Flight Nurse Courses

Major Leftenant-Colon’s civilian education includes: Nursing Degree, Lincoln School of Nurses, Bronx, New York. An

honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Tuskegee University, Tuskegee Alabama and an honorary Doctorate of Humane

Letters from Mount Saint Vincent College in Riverdale, New York.

Major Leftenant-Colon’s military awards include: Unknown

Major Leftenant-Colon’s civic awards and honors include: Nominated for women of distinction, 1987; Dr James C. Evans

award for leadership, 1988; honored at the Martin Luther King celebration, 1991; appeared in “Essence Magazine”, January

1991; Special Congressional honor granted by the Commemorative Committee for World War II and the Legislative Black

Caucus, presented by President Clinton, 1995, inducted into the Long Island Air and Space Hall of Fame, 1995; the Intrepid

Sea-Air Space Museum Foundation Leadership Award, 1999; the Nassau County Community Service Award, 100 Black

Men Award; Nassau-Suffolk Counties Service Award; the Kappa ETA Chapter of the Chi ETA Phi Sorority Inc. Award;

the Cradle of Aviation Museum Award and the Big Brothers-Big Sisters “Pass It On” Award.

Major Leftenant-Colon married Air Force reserve Captain Bayard K. Colon after retirement. Unfortunately, he died of a

heart attack in 1972 before departing for the war zone. She and five of her twelve siblings served in the military. Her

younger brother, a Tuskegee Airman pilot, died in April 1945 and his remains have yet to be found and identifie

[thaoworra]

"Uncle Bryan how do you keep all of those dates memorized?"

"It's pretty easy, kiddo. 1954 is the same year as Godzilla, the birth of Burger King, and the battle of Dien Bien Phu when the Vietnamese decisively defeated the French and the US began to ponder intervention in Southeast Asia that would one day lead all of the way up to King of the Hill's first Lao cartoon character."

"..."

[historical-crisis-council]

France defeat in the battle of Dien Bien Phu (6 May) 

An excerpt from a French newspaper:

It is an undeniable fact that we are delaying our own defeat. 

Thousands and thousands of our soldiers are dead, and there seems to be a growing consensus among everyone that this is a war we will not win. 

It is only further proven by the fact that the Vietnamese have emerged victorious from the previous clashes between both armies.

There is a mother somewhere who awaits her son’s return from a war her country claims to be necessary. His body lies on the battlefield, picked apart by vultures. His comrades all lay scattered around him. 

There is a child who awaits her father’s return from the war. She thinks he is a hero for fighting against the Vietnamese. She does not know that to be her hero, he has given up his life.

There is a young man who is in an oversized uniform. His helmet tips over the side of his head, and his boots are three sizes too large. His uniform was salvaged from the body of a dead soldier, and it still bears his name. He fights, knowing he is doomed, because the country demands him to do so.

So many people have died, yet do you hear the radio broadcasts? They claim that it is still possible for us to win! At what expense then, I ask? How much more do we have to give up, just for the smallest chance of victory? Merde! Do you not know the plight of your own citizens? We are all tired of war.

The question to ask now is: Will the French diplomats finally call for a cessation of this meaningless war? Or will we see more of our comrades go off to war, never to return?

This is a plea from all of your citizens. Please, for the sake of all of France, draw a white flag lest more of us die in vain.

[workingclasshistory]

On this day, 7 May 1954, French colonial forces in Vietnam were effectively defeated by the pro-independence Viet Minh in the battle of Dien Bien Phu. The French army, receiving significant aid from the US, had occupied the town of Dien Bien Phu the previous year in an attempt to cut supply lines for the anti-colonial forces. But the Viet Minh took them by surprise, surrounding the French base with 40,000 troops and eventually overrunning it on May 7. In the wake of the defeat, France was forced to surrender and, following a peace agreement, retreat temporarily into South Vietnam pending an election to unify the country within two years. These elections were later blocked by the US as they predicted a communist victory, leading to the direct US invasion of Vietnam. Learn more about this conflict in our podcast episode 14 with Noam Chomsky. Listen and subscribe on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts, or on our website: https://open.spotify.com/show/3dqQUrBAmXgoU1Q6hcUnBX https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/1981685405349933/?type=3

[reidio-silence]

Lying about Vietnam: it was now a Washington way of life. The lies started with the war’s ontological premise. We were supposed to be defending a “country” called “South Vietnam.” But South Vietnam was not quite a country at all. Vietnamese independence fighters had begun battling the French since practically the day they stopped fighting side by side in World War II. In 1954 they fought their colonial overlords to a final defeat at the stronghold of Dien Bien Phu. It was the first military loss for a European colonial power in three hundred years. Though these stalwarts, the Vietminh, now controlled four-fifths of the country’s territory, at the peace conference in Geneva they made a concession: they agreed to administer an armistice area half that size, demarcated at the seventeenth parallel (but for some last-minute haggling, it would have been the eighteenth). A government loyal to the French would administer the lands to the south. The ad hoc demarcation was to last twenty-four months, at which time the winner of an internationally supervised election in 1956 would run the entire country.

Instead, the division lasted for nineteen years. The reason was the United States, which saw to it the reunification election never took place. American intelligence knew that Ho Chi Minh, the Communist leader of the independence fighters, would have won 80 percent of the vote. The seventeenth parallel was read backward as an ordinary international boundary. If “North Vietnam” crossed it, they’d be guilty of “aggression.” Meanwhile, the CIA launched a propaganda campaign to depopulate North Vietnam, whose sizable Catholic population was shipped to “South Vietnam” via the U.S. Seventh Fleet. There, they found themselves part of a citizenry that had no reason for being in history, culture, or geography; even as the U.S. pretended—then came to believe—they were a brave, independence-loving nation of long standing. Actually the great city in the South, Saigon, had been France’s imperial headquarters. There, France had crowned a figurehead emperor at the tender age of twelve.

— Rick Perlstein, Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America (2008)

[orthodoxcrusader729]

Antaritius Conflict, 2016-19. The Ukrainian and Estonian garrison, 30km away from the Azeri, Assyrian and French garrison. Romanian and Bosnian garrison and outpost are stationed in the Novo Afghanipt region. Serbian 2nd Division and French Foreign Legion patrolling in road 628, when Pro-Knet Korean and Japanese rebels ambushed during a night patrol, leaving 7 dead, 3 wounded from the Serb-FFL side, while knetz lost 55 men. The next day, the Ukrainian-Estonian Garrison was attacked by Pro-Knetz and Mnet espionage agents. When reinforcements trying to reach the garrison, the Romanians were attacked by Mnet shock troopers, Bosnians were busy defending the Garrison where it is experiencing attacks from the Southern part of the base. The confrontation lasted for 3 weeks, and after the Antaritius Forces took out the invading Knet-Mnet forces. The day after that week, 3rd Bulgarian Corps and Afrikaner Defense Corps encountered 3 Mnet battalions and 1 Knet Guerrilla formations near the Bamania border. Where it lasted 4 months, until it became a full-scale war. 3 Far-right Ultranationalist and fascist groups was formed to help fight against the Knet-Mnet forces. Volunteers from Sweden, Norway, Bulgaria, Croatia, Mongolia, Libya, Italy and Palestine came to fight for the Antaritius authorities. Many European descendants from South America and Africa who has ultranationalist and fascist beliefs joined the Paramilitaries. The war ended in Antaritius Forces victory. Knetz and Mnet forces were expelled from the region.

The Far-right Confederation are the ones commanded by General and Field Marshal Andre Rapaelovic Bonzon, and the most loyal Far-right paramilitary groups that are part of the 7 Loyalist groups. 2 of them are the Grill and the Black Ocean Group. Uniforms used by the Confederates are assorted mostly Rain camo, BDU, ERDL, Tiger, Lizard, Mlok, Dubok, Brushstroke, MARPAT desert, Cadpat, Latpat, VZ Pust, VZ 85, DPM, 3rd PNP camopat, Oakleaf, Plane tree, and the Egyptian Rock Camo. They all use M1 helmets, & PASGTs and are armed with AK-47s, AKMs, MG43s, M250 cals, Fals, Vectors and Galils. They still exist up to this day, they formed their political party called the Confederate National Party alongside the Confederacy of Tropentarctica’s main party, Greater Confederacy Party. They are part of the 7 Far-right alongside the Ultranationalist groups who fought with the Coalition against the Turks, Knetz and also fought in Jang Dien Phu Island. Mostly notable for fighting bravely in New Dien bien Phu and the Western Front.

Maugeria Territorial Forces is an auxiliary that are restoring peace and order in Maugeria, the Pro-knet Korean, Chinese and Filipino population rebelled against the Ukrainian Self defense Force and the Constabulary, Maugeria is under South Tropentarctican administration. The White and Levantine Minority started arm themselves by joining the ST Constabulary and Territorial defense force, 신조선 Sinjoseon Army started to attack the ST forces, pushing them back to the Southern part of Maugeria which forms the majority of the minority. Maugeria is 3 Km away from Jang Dien Phu, the Pro-Knet Korean-Vietnamese held territory from the Southwest that was soon captured by the French government-in-exile in Casmania and the East Casmanian Foreign legion. Azeris and small numbers of Slavs started defending their homes and farms from Sinjoseon Koreans, others flee their homes. Central region became a trench warfare, South Maugeria is now where the ST forces and allied Militias are currently residing and garrisoned. The flag flown by the Knetz are the flag of the Former Joseon dynasty and the Korean Empire. The war is still ongoing up to this day. Southern Maugeria’s ST force. The battle of Algierople which led to the ST’s defeat politically, but militarily successful. South Tropentarcticans, Azeris, Slavs and Levantines formed a Militia, and are now fighting in the central region or named by the locals as Maugeria’s trench land. Due to it’s trench wars. The war ended in 2026, which partitioned Maugeria, Maugeria moving to the South, Algierople becoming under the control of Maugeria, and central region became a buffer zone for the 2 factions.

Sierra Lucia War

The ongoing conflict started in 2017, which began when 2 Ultranationalist groups, Azerbaijani Loyalists and a Turkish expeditionary Corps declared war on each other. Azeri Christians were forced to side with the Ultranationalist due to being feared of execution and muslim Azeris were either volunteers due to the promise that they will be sent home if they join the Ultranationalist. In June, 2017, Eastern Casmania and North Tropentarctica or Northern Republic sent troops to aid the Ultranationalist, and fight against the Turks and Turkmen volunteers. The last day of the Turkics were at October 23, 2017. Turkic Christians remained, and even joined the Northern Republic’s ranks and the Sierra Lucia Frontier Force. While muslim ones and POWs were sent back to their respectable nations.

[worldhistoryfacts]

Vietnamese forces plant their flag in the fort at Dien Bien Phu after defeating the French military. The battle was the turning point of the First Indochina War, in which Vietnamese forces led by Ho Chi Minh gained their independence from France. The war lasted eight years, as France struggled bitterly to hang on to its colonial possessions. After Dien Bien Phu, the French military withdrew from Vietnam, but the country would not be able to find peace -- it soon became embroiled in a Cold War struggle for power.

{WHF} {HTE} {Medium}

[asiajanuary2020]

January 12, 2020

One of the best days ever! Today we did a Hanoi City tour with Backstreet Tours. In the morning we traveled in an old army Jeep around the city, and in the afternoon we each got on the back of an old army motorcycle and traveled through surrounding areas of Hanoi.

Our tour guide’s English translation of her name is Snow. She was so much fun to travel the streets of Hanoi with! She told us a bit about her background- she went to university and got her degree in banking, but decided she wanted to be a tour guide and is now studying to become a professional tour guide. We asked how she spoke English so well and she told us it was from watching Ellen! They learn written English in school, but most of the English teachers in Vietnam do not have good pronunciation, so they have to learn how to speak English another way. Snow was very enthusiastic and entertaining and knowledgeable. This all made for an excellent tour!

We started out by traveling to the real Hanoi area - the Black Market area. People used to sell goods here “under the table” out of their homes, but now the government has made it legal, so they sell EVERYTHING out of little stalls in front of their homes.

Then snow took us to Train Street, which is a very narrow street that the passenger train travels through and houses front onto the railroad tracks. There is just enough room for a narrow sidewalk on either side of the tracks. This area started becoming popular to visit, so many of the people living along the tracks opened little businesses on the ground floor of their homes.

Next we traveled to The President Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. It is a mausoleum which serves as the resting place of Vietnamese Revolutionary leader & President Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi, Vietnam. It is a large building located in the center of Ba Dinh Square, where Ho, Chairman of the Workers' Party of Vietnam from 1951 until his death in 1969, read the Declaration of Independence on September 2, 1945, establishing the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. It is also known as Ba Đình Mausoleum. The embalmed body of President Ho Chi Minh is preserved in the cooler, central hall of the mausoleum, which is protected by a military honour guard. The body lies in a glass case with dim lights. The mausoleum is generally open to the public. Snow told us that they have to close the mausoleum in the hot summer months and move his body to a cooler spot in order to keep preserving it. We had no idea that they had preserved him so that the public could visit him.

Next we visited the Temple of Literature. Map

The Temple of Literature or Temple of Culture (Vietnamese: Văn Miếu, Hán-Nôm: 文廟[1][2])) is a Temple of Confucius in Hanoi, northern Vietnam. The temple hosts the Imperial Academy (Quốc Tử Giám, 國子監), Vietnam's first national university. The temple was built in 1070 at the time of Emperor Lý Thánh Tông. It is one of several temples in Vietnam which is dedicated to Confucius, sages and scholars. The temple is located to the south of the Imperial Citadel of Thăng Long. The various pavilions, halls, statues and stelae of doctors are places where offering ceremonies, study sessions and the strict exams of the Đại Việt took place. The temple is featured on the back of the 100,000 Vietnamese đồng banknote. Just before the Vietnamese New Year celebration Tết, calligraphists will assemble outside the temple and write wishes in Hán characters. The art works are given away as gifts or are used as home decorations for special occasions.

Next we drove through the French Quarter on our way to the “Hanoi Hilton” prison. Hỏa Lò Prison was a prison used by the French colonists in French Indochina for political prisoners, and later by North Vietnam for U.S. prisoners of war during the Vietnam War. During this later period it was known to American POWs as the Hanoi Hilton. The prison was demolished during the 1990s, although the gatehouse remains as a museum. The name Hỏa Lò, commonly translated as "fiery furnace" or even "Hell's hole", also means "stove". The name originated from the street name phố Hỏa Lò, due to the concentration of stores selling wood stoves and coal-fire stoves along the street in pre-colonial times.

The prison was built in Hanoi by the French, in dates ranging from 1886–1889 to 1898 to 1901, when Vietnam was still part of French Indochina. The French called the prison Maison Centrale, ‘Central House', which is still the designation of prisons for dangerous or long sentence detainees in France. It was located near Hanoi's French Quarter. It was intended to hold Vietnamese prisoners, particularly political prisoners agitating for independence who were often subject to torture and execution. A 1913 renovation expanded its capacity from 460 inmates to 600. It was nevertheless often overcrowded, holding some 730 prisoners on a given day in 1916, a figure which rose to 895 in 1922 and 1,430 in 1933. By 1954 it held more than 2000 people; with its inmates held in subhuman conditions, it had become a symbol of colonialist exploitation and of the bitterness of the Vietnamese towards the French.

The central urban location of the prison also became part of its early character. During the 1910s through 1930s, street peddlers made an occupation of passing outside messages in through the jail's windows and tossing tobacco and opium over the walls; letters and packets would be thrown out to the street in the opposite direction. Within the prison itself, communication and ideas passed. Many of the future leading figures in Communist North Vietnam spent time in Maison Centrale during the 1930s and 1940s. Following the defeat at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu and the 1954 Geneva Accords the French left Hanoi and the prison came under the authority of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Thereafter the prison served as an education center for revolutionary doctrine and activity, and it was kept around after the French left to mark its historical significance to the North Vietnamese. During the Vietnam War, the first U.S. prisoner to be sent to Hỏa Lò was Lieutenant Junior Grade Everett Alvarez Jr., who was shot down on August 5, 1964. From the beginning, U.S. POWs endured miserable conditions, including poor food and unsanitary conditions. The prison complex was sarcastically nicknamed the "Hanoi Hilton" by the American POWs, in reference to the well-known Hilton Hotel chain. There is some disagreement among the first group of POWs who coined the name but F8D pilot Bob Shumaker was the first to write it down, carving "Welcome to the Hanoi Hilton" on the handle of a pail to greet the arrival of Air Force Lieutenant Robert Peel.

Beginning in early 1967, a new area of the prison was opened for incoming American POWs; it was dubbed "Little Vegas", and its individual buildings and areas were named after Las Vegas Strip landmarks, such as "Golden Nugget", "Thunderbird", "Stardust", "Riviera", and the "Desert Inn". These names were chosen because many pilots had trained at Nellis Air Force Base, located in proximity to Las Vegas.[11] American pilots were frequently already in bad shape by the time they were captured, injured either during their ejection or in landing on the ground. The Hanoi Hilton was one site used by the North Vietnamese Army to house, torture and interrogate captured servicemen, mostly American pilots shot down during bombing raids. Although North Vietnam was a signatory of the Third Geneva Convention of 1949, which demanded "decent and humane treatment" of prisoners of war, severe torture methods were employed, such as rope bindings, irons, beatings, and prolonged solitary confinement. When prisoners of war began to be released from this and other North Vietnamese prisons during the Johnson administration, their testimonies revealed widespread and systematic abuse of prisoners of war.

Regarding treatment at Hỏa Lò and other prisons, the North Vietnamese countered by stating that prisoners were treated well and in accordance with the Geneva Conventions. During 1969, they broadcast a series of coerced statements from American prisoners that purported to support this notion. The North Vietnamese also maintained that their prisons were no worse than prisons for POWs and political prisoners in South Vietnam, such as the one on Côn Sơn Island. Misstreatment of Viet Cong and North Vietnamese prisoners and South Vietnamese dissidents in South Vietnam's prisons was indeed frequent, as was North Vietnamese abuse of South Vietnamese prisoners and their own dissidents.

Beginning in late 1969, treatment of the prisoners at Hỏa Lò and other camps became less severe and generally more tolerable. Following the late 1970 attempted rescue operation at Sơn Tây prison camp, most of the POWs at the outlying camps were moved to Hỏa Lò, so that the North Vietnamese had fewer camps to protect. This created the "Camp Unity" communal living area at Hỏa Lò, which greatly reduced the isolation of the POWs and improved their morale. After the implementation of the 1973 Paris Peace Accords, neither the United States nor its allies ever formally charged North Vietnam with the war crimes revealed to have been committed there. In the 2000s, the Vietnamese government has had the position that claims that prisoners were tortured at Hoa Lo and other sites during the war are fabricated, but that Vietnam wants to move past the issue as part of establishing better relations with the U.S. Tran Trong Duyet, a jailer at Hoa Lo beginning in 1968 and its commandant for the last three years of the war, maintained in 2008 that no prisoners were tortured. However, eyewitness accounts by American servicemen present a different account of their captivity.

After the war, Risner wrote the book Passing of the Night detailing his seven years at the Hanoi Hilton. A considerable amount of literature emerged from released POWs after repatriation, depicting Hoa Lo and the other prisons as places where such atrocities as murder, beatings, broken bones, teeth and eardrums, dislocated limbs, starvation, serving of food contaminated with human and animal feces, and medical neglect of infections and tropical disease occurred. These details are revealed in famous accounts by McCain (Faith of My Fathers), Denton, Alvarez, Day, Risner, Stockdale and dozens of others. In addition, the Hanoi Hilton was depicted in the 1987 Hollywood movie The Hanoi Hilton. The prison continued to be in use after the release of the American prisoners. Among the last inmates was dissident poet Nguyễn Chí Thiện, who was reimprisoned in 1979 after attempting to deliver his poems to the British Embassy, and spent the next six years in Hỏa Lò until 1985 when he was transferred to a more modern prison. He mentions the last years of the prison, partly in fictional form, in Hỏa Lò/Hanoi Hilton Stories (2007). Most of the prison was demolished in the mid-1990s and the site now contains two high-rise buildings, one of them the 25-story Somerset Grand Hanoi serviced apartment building. Other parts have been converted into a commercial complex retaining the original French colonial walls.

Only part of the prison exists today as a museum. The displays mainly show the prison during the French colonial period, including the guillotine room, still with original equipment, and the quarters for male and female Vietnamese political prisoners. Exhibits related to the American prisoners include the interrogation room where many newly captured Americans were questioned (notorious among former prisoners as the "blue room") is now made up to look like a very comfortable, if spartan, barracks-style room. Displays in the room claim that Americans were treated well and not harmed (and even cite the nickname "Hanoi Hilton" as proof that inmates found the accommodations comparable to a hotel's). Propaganda in the museum includes pictures of American POWs playing chess, shooting pool, gardening, raising chickens, and receiving large fish and eggs for food. The museum's claims are contested by former prisoners' published memoirs, and oral histories broadcast on C-SPAN identify the room (and other nearby locales) as the site of numerous acts of torture.

After the prison, we hopped on the back of the motorcycles and headed to lunch. This was a true authentic Vietnamese experience- driving through the very congested streets of Hanoi on the back of a motorcycle! This is the main mode of transportation and it is crazy because just about anything goes!!!! Signals and street signs and laws are just “guidelines” and pretty much ignored. But it all seems to work pretty seamlessly! What a blast!!!!

Snow took us to a restaurant for a delicious Vietnamese lunch. She took care of ordering for us with attention to everyone’s dietary wishes. It was a great lunch and a nice break in the day. Back onto the motorcycles where we started our way out of the City Center, traveling over the oldest bridge in Hanoi. Long Biên Bridge (Vietnamese: Cầu Long Biên) is a historic cantilever bridge across the Red River that connects two districts, Hoan Kiem and Long Bien of the city of Hanoi, Vietnam. It was originally called Paul Doumer Bridge. The bridge was built in 1899-1902 by the architects Daydé & Pillé of Paris, and opened in 1903.[1] Before North Vietnam's independence in 1954, it was called Paul-Doumer Bridge, named after Paul Doumer - The Governor-General of French Indochina and then French president. At 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) in length, it was, at that time, one of the longest bridges in Asia. For the French colonial government, the construction was of strategic importance in securing control of northern Vietnam. From 1899 to 1902, more than 3,000 Vietnamese took part in the construction.

It was heavily bombarded during Vietnam War due to its critical position (the only bridge at that time across the Red River connecting Hanoi to the main port of Haiphong). The first attack took place in 1967, and the center span of the bridge was felled by an attack by 20 USAF F-105 fighter-bombers. CIA reports noted that the severing of the bridge did not appear to have caused as much disruption as had been expected. The defence of Long Bien Bridge continues to play a large role in Hanoi’s self-image and is often extolled in poetry and song. It was rendered unusable for a year when, in May 1972, it fell victim to one of the first co-ordinated attacks using laser-guided "smart bombs". Some parts of the original structure remain intact, while large sections have been built later to repair the holes. Only half of the bridge retains its original shape. A project with support and loan from the French government is currently in progress to restore the bridge to its original appearance.

Today trains, mopeds, bicycles and pedestrians use the dilapidated bridge, while all other traffic is diverted to the nearby Chương Dương Bridge and some newly built bridges.

Under the bridge, poor families live in boats on the Red River, coming from many rural areas of Vietnam.

We then traveled through a large agricultural area, and then reached our destination of the Bat Trang Ceramics Village . It is a 14th century porcelain and pottery village near Hanoi, housing local artisans who combine both traditional and modern techniques to create beautiful porcelain artworks. Not only are you able to purchase some of the finest handmade ceramic products in Vietnam, you can also see them made right before your eyes during your visit.

 

Located next to the Red River within the Gia Lam District, Bat Trang Ceramics Village Hanoi holds an important place in history of the ceramics industry in Asia, as it’s close to trading ports Thang Long and Pho Hien. Today, visitors can explore its many ceramic stores and workshops to browse through a vast selection of vases, bowls, cups, and plates.

Snow took us all around the village where we visited with different artisans and saw different stages of making the ceramic pieces.

Then we headed back to the City Center to the Hidden Gem coffee shop for a final stop for refreshments. Some choose to try the famous egg coffee. I had a coconut coffee and Mike had hot chocolate. Then we got dropped off at our hotel where we said our goodbyes to Snow and the other drivers. It was by far one of the best tours we have ever experienced!