Sách General Võ Nguyên Giáp'S Hardest Decision: Điện Biên Phủ, January 1954

The Vietnamese Battle of ĐIện Biên Phủ against France lasted fifty five days and nights, from March 13 through May 7, 1954. In his memoir, Điện Biên Phủ: Rendezvous with History, General Võ Nguyên Giáp describes his "hardest decision as a military commander". On January 26, 1954, General Giáp abandoned the plan ("Fast Strike, Fast Victory") for a battle lasting three nights and two days. He immediately ordered withdrawal of Vietnamese frontline infantry forces and artillery encircling the French cluster of entrenched camps to their training sites. That same day, he reframed the strategy as "Steady Attack, Steady Advance" for the battle that history knows.