President Ho Chi Minh, General Vo Nguyen Giap, leaders of Dien Bien Phu Campaign

On December 6, 1953, President Ho Chi Minh chaired a Politburo meeting approving the strategic plan to attack French colonialists during the Winter-Spring of 1954 and decided to launch the Dien Bien Phu Campaign (Photo: VNA)

President Ho Chi Minh, General Vo Nguyen Giap and other leaders of the Party and State discuss plans to open the Dien Bien Phu Campaign (1954) (Photo: VNA)

On behalf of the Party Committee and the Government, President Ho Chi Minh directly assigns General Vo Nguyen Giap to develop a battle plan and launch the Dien Bien Phu Campaign. (Photo: VNA)

The Dien Bien Phu Campaign headquarters under the direct guidance of General Vo Nguyen Giap discuss the combating plan for each battle. With the motto of ‘fighting firmly, advancing firmly’, our troops carried out ‘encircling’ the base from outside to inside, destroying each cluster of bases, completely destroying the enemy (Photo VNA)

The Dien Bien Phu Campaign headquarters in 1954 discuss battle plan under the leadership of General Vo Nguyen Giap (Photo: VNA)

General Vo Nguyen Giap and members of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army study combating plan for the 1954 Dien Bien Phu Campaign (Photo: VNA)

General Vo Nguyen Giap and members of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army study combating plan for the 1954 Dien Bien Phu Campaign (Photo: VNA)

General Vo Nguyen Giap directs the combating plan in the 1953-1954 Winter-Spring battle (Photo: VNA)

President Ho Chi Minh visits an army unit participating in the 1954 Dien Bien Phu Campaign (Photo: VNA)

General Vo Nguyen Giap observes the battlefield for the last time before issuing an order to open fire to start the Dien Bien Phu Campaign. In order to deal with the strong defensive capability of the enemy, the campaign’s Party Committee, and Command decided to change the motto of ‘fighting fast, winning fast’ to ‘fighting firmly, advancing firmly’ (Photo: VNA)

After 56 days and nights from March 13 to May 7, 1954, Vietnamese troops smashed the Dien Bien Phu stronghold, killed or captured 16,200 French soldiers, shot down 62 aircraft, and seized all enemy weapons and military equipment (Photo: VNA)

General Vo Nguyen Giap presented President Ho Chi Minh's ‘Determination to fight, Determination to win’ flag to the units achieving feats. Dien Bien Phu is one of the strategic battles in Vietnamese history, confirming the immense maturity of the Vietnam People's Army (Photo: VNA)

President Ho Chi Minh awarded badges to soldiers who made many feats in the Dien Bien Phu Campaign. (Photo: VNA)

Major General Hoang Van Thai (second row from the left, standing next to General Vo Nguyen Giap) and President Ho Chi Minh visited and encouraged officers and soldiers who made outstanding achievements during the 1954 Dien Bien Phu Campaign (Photo: VNA)