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Russia

Russian Veterans Urge Putin to Tell the Truth About Syrian Mission

In an intriguing turn of events, Russian veterans want the Russian government to acknowledge that private military contractors are fighting in the war in Syria, doing the country’s bidding to keep Russian “troop” strength low. They want to secure financial and medical benefits for the contractors as well as their families.

The statement breaks years of public silence about a secret operation involving thousands of Russian civilians fighting in Syria on the side of President Bashar al-Assad whom Moscow has been helping militarily since September 2015.

Based on accounts of people who knew killed fighters and a military medic, Reuters earlier reported that over a hundred contractors had died in combat since the start of the operation in Syria. The Kremlin denies such an operation exists.

“For three years already, we have been receiving complaints and appeals from Russian citizens who were injured in Syria and cannot undergo medical treatment in Russia,” said the statement, signed by retired Colonel-General Leonid Ivashov, retired Colonel Vladimir Petrov and Yevgeni Shabayev, a Cossack leader.

“Soldiers and officers of these combat units have no social, medical or financial support from the state … We demand that the status of combat participants in private military companies be recognised,” the statement said.

The Kremlin is often criticized by the liberal opposition for its foreign military campaigns but rarely faces objections from Russia’s military elite, which is generally happy that Moscow is in a standoff with the West.

Moscow says that while some Russian civilians may fight in Syria, they went there on their own initiative and have no connection to the military, which is conducting air strikes with a limited presence on the ground.

According to Russian law, being a mercenary is a crime.

The Russian contractors are hired by a company called Wagner and is owned by Dmitriy Valeryevich Utkin, a former Ukranian citizen who was a Colonel and brigade commander of a special forces Spetsnaz unit of Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU).

Wagner has training facilities for their contractors on Russian military bases at Molkino near the village of Molkin. Wagner, (named after Utkin’s callsign) also has been linked to Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is also a close friend of Russian President Putin.

Putin was photographed with Utkin and several of his lieutenants which set off speculation in the past. The contractors have been active in Ukraine, Central African Republic, Sudan, Yemen, and Libya.

To read the entire article from US News and World Report, click here:

Russia Withdrawing Troops and Aircraft from Syria

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that the Russians have withdrawn a large number of troops and aircraft, according to state-run news agency Tass,

Putin said they withdrew more than 1,000 military personnel and more than 20 aircraft from Syria in the last few days.

“Only over the past several days, 13 planes, 14 helicopters and 1,140 personnel have been pulled out [of Syria],” the Russian leader said, state news agency Tass reported. Putin explained that Russia has been removing its forces from the Middle Eastern country since he visited in December.

Tass also reported on Thursday that the Black Sea Fleet frigate Admiral Essen had “accomplished” its mission in the Mediterranean and is headed back to the city of Sevastopol, on the Crimean Peninsula. Russia has a permanent task force in the Mediterranean, with a naval base located in the Syrian coastal city of Tartous.

Putin praised the Russian military’s success in Syria, saying the “army clearly demonstrated its growing potential and better coordination among military units in the struggle with terrorists.”

Earlier this month, Assad said in an interview that he believes the conflict will come to an end in “less than a year.” He added that his army will take back “every inch” of the country, claiming that he has the “support” of his people.

Assad’s army has turned its attention to the country’s southwest region, as the last remaining pockets of rebels have been defeated near Damascus and Homs. Now, the military aims to reconquer the opposition-held area near the border of Jordan and the disputed Golan Heights, which are claimed by Israel and Syria.

But the region has recently become more complicated, with neighboring Israel launching strikes on Iranian-backed militias, which support Assad, stationed in the region. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Iran and Tehran-backed militias began withdrawing from the disputed Golan Heights border with Israel last week, as part of a Russian-brokered deal with Israel.

President Trump has reportedly been seeking the help of Putin to curb the Iranian military presence in Syria. Their basing of rockets, especially along the Golan Heights on the border with Israel will only lead to further warfare in Syria and beyond.

To read the entire article from Newsweek, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Russia Calls Off Ceasefire With US in SW Syria, Israel Hits Iranian Base

With what was termed breaches of the ceasefire agreements by insurgent groups in southwest Syria, the Russian air force in Syria announced the end of the ceasefire agreement they reached with the United States and Jordan in the area.

Meanwhile, government forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are staging a new offensive to retake one of the last rebel-held regions in that area of the country.

The Hmeymim base, an airfield located in the west coast province of Latakia, is one of two major Russian-leased military installations in Syria, the other being a naval base about 40 miles down the coast in Tartous. Russian warplanes—likely based in Hmeymim—reportedly struck targets Monday in the southwestern province of Daraa, where Russia and Syria had agreed last year to a ceasefire with rebel groups attempting to overthrow Assad since a 2011 uprising backed by the U.S., Turkey and Gulf Arab states.

“The end of the period of reduced escalation in southern Syria can be confirmed after it was breached by extremist groups and illegitimate armed groups operating against Syrian government forces, while the agreement remains in the Syrian province of Idlib,” the Central Channel for the Hmeymim Military Base wrote on Facebook.

The base also denied reports of civilian casualties in a later message, maintaining that “Russian bombers do not target civilian sites by any means. Our missions are limited to the destruction of the terrorist bases belonging to the Nusra Front and ISIS [Islamic State militant group] terrorists, in order to support friendly land forces advancing on the ground.”

The ceasefire collapse also occurred as airstrikes reportedly struck Damascus International Airport on Tuesday. While the attack remains unclaimed, it has been widely blamed on Israel, who rarely takes responsibility for strikes against Iranian and pro-Iran targets in neighboring Syria. The U.K.-based, pro-opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Israeli warplanes struck “a shipment of Iranian weapons” that had arrived at the airport, while Russia’s state-run Sputnik News highlighted reports claiming an Iranian cargo plane may have been the target.

Iran-backed groups, such as the Lebanese Shiite Muslim Hezbollah movement, have reportedly pulled back from southwestern Syria as part of a recent agreement, but Iran has maintained that it would not leave Syria unless asked to do so by the local government. The latest airstrikes in Damascus, however, may indicate that the deal has fallen apart or did not preclude Israeli attacks elsewhere in the country. Last week, unclaimed airstrikes blamed on both the U.S. and Israel reportedly killed dozens—including Iraqi militias—in Syra’s far eastern province of Deir Ezzor.

Assad has kept close relationships with both Moscow and Tehran during the Civil War but has called for the forces of both the United States and Turkey, which they claim are in their country illegally and without permission to leave immediately.

To read the entire article from Newsweek, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Russian Northern Fleet Sails 36 Ships in No-Notice Exercise

Russia’s Northern Fleet has released a statement that they’ve departed the port in their largest exercise in the past 10 years. The purpose of this large unplanned, no-notice exercise was to counter a large enemy attack.

A total of 36 warships and support vessels are currently on their way out to the Barents Sea. Also, about 20 aircraft are in the air. Along the coast of the Kola Peninsula, more than 150 different rocket- and artillery weapon systems and special equipment are deployed.

Larger areas in the Barents Sea are now closed off for civilian shipping and overflights by civilian passenger aircraft. The drill will last until the end of next week.

The press-service of the Northern Fleet explains the exercise to be a full-range defensive-aimed drill to combat a massive enemy attack. The fleet will carry out shootings with different naval weapons, including launching of cruise-missiles, mines and torpedoes and other missiles.

Among the warships are the missile cruiser «Marshal Ustinov,» anti-submarine ship «Severomorsk», the destroyer «Admiral Ushakov», the large landing ships «Kondapoga», «Georgy Pobedonosets» and «Aleksandr Obrakovsky».

Without specifying classes or names, the Northern Fleet says both nuclear-powered and diesel submarines participate.

Press-spokesman at Norway’s military Joint Head Quarters, Major Brynjar Stordal, says to the Barents Observer that Norway was not informed about the naval drill.

Russian forces in the north has over time had a relatively high level of activities in different fields, something they have all rights to do within own territory and in international waters and airspace

The Norwegians have an understanding with the Russians that any large exercises outside of each nation’s territorial waters is normally shared as to keep the other side abreast and understanding of the current situation.

Russia’s Northern Fleet, headquartered in Severomorsk north of Murmansk, is the largest of Russia’s four fleets.

To read the entire article from the Barents Observer, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Top US, Russian Military Leaders Meet in Finland

The top U.S. military leaders of the United States and Russia are meeting in Finland to exchange views on U.S.-Russia military relations, Syria, and the current international security situation.

Finnish news agency FNB said Friday’s meeting of Gen. Joseph Dunford, current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Russia’s chief of the military’s General Staff, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, took place in a Finnish state-owned manor used for meetings, negotiations and receptions north of the capital, Helsinki.

No news conference or statement was planned.

FNB said Finland hosted a similar a meeting in 2008.

In April, NATO’s top military officer, U.S. Army Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, met with Gerasimov in Baku, Azerbaijan, for the first such encounter since relations between Moscow and the alliance sank to post-Cold War lows over the Ukrainian crisis.

Despite the bluster that we see in the press coming from each country, to include the militaries, the generals are the ones who know the cost of war and a failure in diplomacy could be devastating for both parties. They’ll try to sift thru the tough talk and work out the details of ensuring that a war between the two superpowers doesn’t happen.

To read the entire article from ABC News, click here:

Photo courtesy AP of Russian military leaders arriving at the conference.

Poland Wants a Permanent US Base to Counter Russian Aggression

Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak wants a permanent U.S. presence in his country to balance against Russian aggression and has already had talks with American officials about establishing a base there.

The Poles are even willing to pay up to $2 billion dollars to help build the base and needed infrastructure for a permanent U.S. base there.

Blaszczak said he had the talks recently in Washington that were prompted by security concerns following Russia’s illegal annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and its support for pro-Russia separatist fighters in eastern Ukraine.

“The result of our efforts is that the U.S. Senate has contacted the Pentagon about an assessment of…[the] permanent presence of U.S. troops in Poland,” Blaszczak said on state Radio 1. “Such presence is of great importance because it deters the adversary.”

Poland currently hosts a contingent of U.S. troops on a rotational, temporary, but open-ended mission.

In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said that an increase in NATO’s military presence near Russia’s borders “certainly does not contribute to security and stability on the continent in any way.”

“These expansionist steps, certainly, result in counteractions of the Russian side to balance the parity which is violated every time this way,” Peskov told Russia’s state-run TASS news agency on May 28.

Vladimir Dzhabarov, first deputy head of the Russian Federation Council’s Foreign Affairs Committee, said that “Poland becomes the object of a retaliatory strike by placing the base.” Dzhabarov, added that this “makes Poland one of the main targets in case of a possible conflict.”

To read the entire article from Radio Free Europe, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Putin, Russia Appears Pleased Where the Syrian Conflict Is

The Syrian Civil War is moving towards a stalemate with the government of President Assad regaining control of 60 percent of his territory. The U.S.-led coalition will continue to hold ground in the east and the Turks have made it clear they will not return Syrian territory around Idlib.

And Russian President Vladimir Putin is fine with all of that. He’s already managing similar conflicts like this in Georgia and Ukraine.

 Other significant players in Syria, including Israel, the United States, Turkey, and the remaining Sunni Arab rebels, may likewise discover they’d be satisfied with this new reality. The clearest losers, by contrast, would be the Assad regime and Iran.

What are the indications Syria is moving in the direction of frozen conflict? Consider the recent visit by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to Russia to meet with Putin. At the press conference following the meeting, Putin told reporters that, “Following the Syrian Army’s notable successes in fighting terrorism, and with the activation of the political process, the foreign forces based in Syria will start to withdraw from the country.” This seemed to hint that the Russian president wasn’t interested in assisting the Assad regime’s reconquest of the entirety of Syria. And absent the Russian air support that the Syrian military has relied on in major combat operations (including the siege of Aleppo and the destruction of rebel-controlled Eastern Ghouta), such reconquest would be impossible.

Some have speculated that Putin was referring only to the withdrawal of foreign forces opposed to the regime. In the past, Moscow has sought to differentiate between its own presence in Syria (at the invitation of the “legitimate” Syrian authorities) and the uninvited presence of other foreign elements. On this occasion, however, Russia’s Syria envoy, Alexander Lavrentiev, clarified that the president was referring to “all foreign military forces stationed in Syria, including American, Turkish, Hezbollah, and Iranian [forces].”

The Russian statement was followed by an angry response from Tehran. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi told reporters in Tehran that, “No one can force Iran to do anything. … As long as terrorism exists and the Syrian government wants, Iran will have presence [in Syria].” The dueling statements are just one indication among many of differences between Moscow and some of its allies about the future of Syria.

Iran has been pushing for the regime to attempt an assault on remaining rebel enclaves in southwest Syria. The arrival of Iran-supported units to the border, however, brings with it the possibility of a large-scale Israeli response. Russia has no interest in such an outcome, which could plunge Syria into a new war and threaten the gains the Assad regime has already made.

Putin it seems is content with the consolidation of his main ally in the Assad regime and continuing to work with both Turkey and Israel as well as the continuing undermining of the West’s influence in the area.

To read the entire article from Foreign Policy, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

European Spy Chiefs Warn of Russian Hybrid Threats

The Russian meddling in the United States, as well as other elections, is now going to be the norm, in addition to cyber warfare, disinformation campaigns and more traditional espionage the European heads of intelligence warned on Monday.

The Sergei Skripal assassination attempt in the UK is a prime example. After the attack, it was quickly followed by Russian denials and then nearly 30 alternate theories being spread by Russian propaganda using social media among other means.

“Our respect for Russia’s people … cannot and must not stop us from calling out and pushing back on the Kremlin’s flagrant breaches of international rules,” the head of Britain’s MI5 spy agency, Andrew Parker, told an intelligence gathering in Berlin.

“Whatever nonsense they conjure up, the case is clear,” said Parker.

He later told reporters that since allied governments were first briefed on Russia’s involvement in the attack by the British government, “the case, if anything, has got stronger since then.”

Germany’s domestic intelligence chief, Hans-Georg Maassen, said his agency, known as BfV, blames Russian authorities for orchestrating a persistent cyberattack aimed at stealing sensitive data so it can be used in future intelligence campaigns, such as what happened with the Democratic National Committee emails leaked during the 2016 U.S. presidential election campaign.

Sir Julian King, the EU’s security commissioner, warned that social media had “turbocharged” state actors’ ability to spread disinformation, citing the recent revelations about Cambridge Analytica’s gathering of personal data from Facebook users to help manipulate elections.

King warned of future threats posed by sophisticated fake videos that are undiscernible from real footage, calling it an example of a “deadly weapon of mass disinformation” that societies need to find ways of becoming resilient to.

He also said the European Commission is working with social media companies such as Facebook and Twitter to better inform users about why they are seeing certain posts and who is paying for them, to help protect against disinformation campaigns by groups or governments outside the country.

The European spy agencies have vowed to work together and cooperate against this new and insidious form of warfare. One worrisome subject for all the agencies is the possible funding of extremist groups aiming to divide European societies, and they are preaching for greater awareness of hybrid attacks to counter any threats.

To read the entire article from Associated Press, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Israeli Airstrikes Hit All Major Iranian Infrastructure in Syria

Responding to an Iranian missile attack on their troops in the Golan Heights, Israel launched a major airstrike targeting Iranian bases in Syria. Of the 20 rockets fired at Israel, four were shot down by the Israeli Iron Dome air defense system and the rest landed in Syrian territory.

In a statement, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said that the Israelis hit all of the major Iranian infrastructure in Syria.

The IDF responded with airstrikes against around 50 Iranian military training sites, Iranian Revolution Guard Corps intelligence collection and logistics, rocket firing positions, airfield positions and weapons storage facilities.

Liberman said that not a single Israeli civilian or piece of Israeli property was harmed. “Last night, Iran tried to attack Israeli sovereign territory and failed,” he said.

The defense minister also threatened Iran going forward, stating that “if Iran hits us with rain [a small number of rockets] – we will hit them with a deluge [of airstrikes].”

He said that Israel “will not let Iran turn Syria into a base for attacking Israel. There are many radical Islamists, but Iran is the only one which is really” implementing its ideology “all over the Middle East and Africa.”

“Iran has wasted $13 billion in the Syrian civil war and continues to spend $2 billion a year there. Iran is wasting its next generation with its efforts to expand,” he stated.

Liberman explained that Israel has no interest in conquering any part of Syria and cautioned against celebrations on the Israeli side or anything that might push for further escalation.

The defense minister seemed to signal to Iran that Israel would prefer to return to quiet following the exchange of attacks. It is only Iran, he said that wants to build a new base for attacking Israel – a goal he thinks even most Iranians oppose.

The Russian claimed that they shot down the majority of the Israeli missiles during their retaliatory strike. But the tensions remain high. Lieberman made it clear that there will be no peaceful coexistence with Iran or their proxies in Hamas, as they want to destroy Israel.

To read the entire article from the Jerusalem Post, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

On This Date in 1954, The French Surrender at Dien Bien Phu

The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was the culminating piece of the guerrilla war fought between the French and the Viet Minh from 1949 until the garrison was overrun and the French withdrew from the country.

After fighting a losing guerrilla war, the French dropped paratroopers and Foreign Legionnaires into Dien Bien Phu, a small mountain outpost on the border with Laos. The base was ringed by mountains with the base occupying lower ground, which would prove to be decisive.

The siege began in late November 1953 and by March the Viet Minh with massive Red Chinese support were ready to attack and they kept the pressure upon the French, slowly sinking the perimeter of the base and closing the airfield until they capitulated on May 7, 1954, nine years to the day that the Germans surrendered in World War II in Europe.

When it was over, the French were out of Vietnam and the Geneva Accords temporarily would split the country at the 17th parallel between North and South Vietnam and the United States would get dragged into the fray.  

Background: As World War II was winding down, Ho Chi Minh tried to establish a free Vietnam, free from French colonial rule once the Japanese were ousted from South East Asia. Just hours after the Japanese surrender, Ho proclaimed the independent Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

In 1946, Ho accepted a French proposal to allow Vietnam to function as an autonomous state within the French union. But the French soon reneged on that and tried to reassert colonial rule. That began an increasingly costly and bloody guerrilla war.

By 1953, the French had grown weary of the guerrilla war and had gone thru a series of commanders. In May of 1953 French Premier René Mayer appointed Henri Navarre as the commander of the French Union forces in Indochina. In a book by historian LTG Phillip Davidson, Navarre’s first impressions were not favorable.

On arrival, Navarre was shocked by what he found. There had been no long-range plan since de Lattre’s departure. Everything was conducted on a day-to-day, reactive basis. Combat operations were undertaken only in response to enemy moves or threats. There was no comprehensive plan to develop the organization and build up the equipment of the Expeditionary force.

Finally, Navarre, the intellectual, the cold and professional soldier, was shocked by the “school’s out” attitude of Salan and his senior commanders and staff officers. They were going home, not as victors or heroes, but then, not as clear losers either. To them the important thing was that they were getting out of Indochina with their reputations frayed, but intact. They gave little thought to, or concern for, the problems of their successors.

The French were hoping to repeat a victory at Nà Sản, where they established an air/land base in the Viet Minh’s rear area to deny him unfettered access to equipment, supplies, and reinforcements and cut off their attempts to take Laos.

But Navarre’s staff planners made several critical blunders that would lead to disaster. First, at Nà Sản, the French controlled the high ground and had a massive superiority in artillery. At Dien Bien Phu the base was surrounded by high peaks that the Viet Minh would ring with artillery. And the French troops would be outnumbered 4-1.

Opening Moves: The French began dropping paratroopers into Dien Bien Phu on the 20th of November 1953. Utilizing three different drop zones, the French had landed six battalions of airborne troops and a bulldozer to complete the airstrip by the end of November.

The French commander, Colonel Christian de Castries was a poor choice to direct the defenses. He was a cavalryman by his training and unsuited for a set-piece battle. He set up seven outposts each code-named with names starting with the first seven letters of the alphabet.

Christian de Castries, French Commander at Dien Bien Phu.

The French force totaled about 16,000 troops and included airborne troops, Foreign Legionnaires as well as Moroccan mercenaries and local troops. They also had ten light M-24 Chaffee tanks and aircraft. The French failed to secure the high ground surrounding the valley which was a tactical blunder and the Viet Minh quickly filled the gaps around the high ground where they massed their artillery. The Viet Minh commanded by Võ Nguyên Giáp had much more artillery than the French envisioned there and had more than five divisions with 50,000 men.

By the end of January, the Viet Minh began sporadic shelling of the base and the French patrols were finding contact in every direction. Dien Bien Phu was surrounded.

The Outposts Fall One by One: The Viet Minh were ready by March 13, 1954, and opened fire with extremely well-aimed artillery fire on Outpost Beatrice. One artillery round took out the entire French command group. By 1800, a massive infantry assault hit the French lines and by midnight they had overrun the base. Over 500 Legionnaires were killed. In the morning, a French counterattack was stopped cold by massed artillery fires.

The Viet Minh artillery had been skillfully dug into the sides of the mountains. French counter-battery fire was completely ineffective. By the second day, the French artillery commander, Colonel Charles Piroth, so distraught over his inability to fire on the enemy committed suicide by using a hand grenade in his bunker.

On the morning of March 14, the Viet Minh next turned their attention to Outpost Gabrielle. Following a massive bombardment, the French airstrip was now permanently put out of commission. All supplies would now have to be delivered via air drops. The tough Algerian troops holding Gabrielle were hit with a coordinated attack at 1700 hrs and were then reinforced by elements of the 5th Vietnamese Parachute Battalion early the next morning.

The counterattack failed and the Algerians abandoned Gabrielle to the Viet Minh. The die was already cast. The French could not hold Dien Bien Phu and now their enemy could rain down direct artillery fire right into their positions.

The Outpost Anne Marie was manned by troops of the Tai minority in Vietnam, but loyal to the French. For weeks, Giap had rained down leaflets telling the Tai, that this wasn’t their fight. During the night of 17 March under heavy fog, the Tai abandoned their posts and Anne Marie was lost.

The French in Hanoi realized too late the blunder of putting de Castries in command, but with no airstrip functioning, they were powerless to change. To the chagrin of his paratrooper officers, de Castries remained in his bunker and virtually had no feel whatsoever of the battle all around him.

Mass Assaults on Dominique and Eliane: On March 30, the Viet Minh attacked the Outposts Dominique and Eliane where some of the most brutal fighting took place.

After taking half of Eliane, the French unleashed a powerful counterattack that took it back. But the next day, the Viet Minh rushed in more reinforcements and took it back again. Just as it seemed the French would lose their grip on the outposts, the M-24 light tanks entered the battle and were instrumental in forcing the Viet Minh back.

The fighting took on a World War I feel to it with both sides taking part in trench warfare. The Viet Minh massed their troops for another assault and were hit hard by French aircraft providing close air support.

Morale of the Viet Minh units which had taken a lot of casualties plummeted. Giap was forced to bring in fresh troops from Laos. The fighting went back and forth like this for several weeks.

The Viet Minh Final Attacks Overrun the French:  By the first of May, the French defenses were wearing down under the sheer weight of the attacking forces. Isolated outposts inside Eliane, Dominique and Huguette were overrun. The situation was becoming desperate for the French defenders. By May 7, Giap had 25,000 troops surrounding just 3,000 defenders. Giap ordered a full frontal assault.

The French radio operator inside the command bunker radioed French headquarters that the enemy troops were directly outside the headquarters bunker and that all the positions had been overrun. His last words stated: “The enemy has overrun us. We are blowing up everything. Vive la France!”

The remaining troops tried to breakout but none made it out of the valley. On one outpost, Isabelle, about 70 of the 1700 troops made it to Laos and safety.

French prisoners march to prisoner of war camps. Less than half would survive the 500 mile-forced march.

Death March: The Viet Minh captured 8000 French soldiers of which nearly half were wounded. They then marched them 500 miles on foot to their prisoner of war camp. Less than half of them survived the march. Of the nearly 11,000 total prisoners (French and Vietnamese) the Viet Minh captured, only 3290 were repatriated four months later.

The disastrous outcome for the French would set the stage for the United States to become involved in the war between North and South Vietnam.

Photos: Wikipedia