Bernard B. Fall
Encyclopedia
Bernard B. Fall was a prominent war correspondent
, historian
, political scientist, and expert on Indochina
during the 1950s and 1960s. Born in Austria
, he moved with his family to France
as a child after Germany
's annexation, where he started fighting with the French Resistance
at age 16, and later the French Army
during World War II
.
In 1950 he first came to the United States
for graduate studies at Syracuse University
and Johns Hopkins University
, returning and making his residence there. He taught at Howard University
for most of his career and made regular trips to Southeast Asia to learn about changes and the societies. He predicted the failures of France and the United States in the wars in Vietnam because of their tactics and lack of understanding of the societies.
, Austria
, to Jewish parents Leon Fall and Anna Seligman, Bernard Fall and his family migrated in 1938 when he was a child to live in France
, when Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany
. After France fell to Germany
in 1940, his father Leon Fall aided the French Resistance
. Leon Fall was captured, tortured and killed by the Gestapo. Also captured, his mother Anna Seligman was deported to Auschwitz, where she died.
In 1942 at age 16, Bernard Fall followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the French Resistance, after which time he fought the Germans in the Alps
. As France was being liberated in 1944, Fall joined the French Army
, in which he served until 1946. For his service, he was awarded the French Liberation Medal
. Following World War II
, Fall worked as an analyst for the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal, in which capacity he investigated Krupp
Industries.
. From 1949 to 1950, he attended the University of Munich.
After completing his studies in Europe
, Fall traveled to the United States
in 1950 on a Fulbright Scholarship, where he studied at the University of Maryland
for a time. In 1951, Fall enrolled at Syracuse University
, where he received a masters degree in political science
in 1952. Fall did post-graduate study at the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies
, where he was encouraged to study Indochina
. Fall took the idea to heart.
Not content to study Indochina from afar, Fall traveled to Vietnam
in 1953, where the First Indochina War
was being waged between the Viet Minh
and French Union forces. Due to his French citizenship
, Fall was allowed to accompany French soldiers and pilots into enemy territory. From his observations, Fall predicted the French would fail in Vietnam. When the French were defeated in the critical Battle of Dien Bien Phu
, Fall claimed the United States was partly responsible for France’s loss. Fall believed that the United States had not supported France to a sufficient extent during the First Indochina War.
In 1954, Fall returned to the United States and married Dorothy Winer. In 1955, he earned a doctorate
from Syracuse University and became an assistant professor at American University
in Washington, DC.
In 1956, he began teaching international relations
courses at Howard University
, also in Washington. Fall became a full professor
at Howard in 1962 and taught there intermittently until his death.
Never losing his interest in Indochina, Fall returned to the region five more times (in 1957, 1962, 1965, 1966, and 1967) to study developments firsthand. Fall was given a grant by the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization
to study the development of Communism
in Southeast Asia
. He used it to document the rise of Communist activity in Laos
. Fall was particularly interested in the tensions between North Vietnam
and South Vietnam
. While teaching at the Royal Institute of Administration in Cambodia
in 1962, Fall was invited to interview Ho Chi Minh
and Pham Van Dong
in Hanoi
. Ho Chi Minh told Fall his belief that Communism would prevail in South Vietnam in about a decade’s time.
Fall was a political scientist, but one who had been a soldier and who spoke the soldier’s language and lived the soldier's life at the front line. He obtained his data on the war while slogging through the mud of Vietnam with French colonial troops, with American infantry, and with South Vietnamese soldiers. He combined the usual academic analysis of Indochina with a perspective of the war from the soldier’s point of view.
military presence in South Vietnam, believing it could stop the country from falling to Communism. But, he strongly criticized Ngo Dinh Diem
’s American-backed regime
and the tactics used by the United States military in Vietnam. As the conflict between the American forces and the Communists in Vietnam escalated throughout the 1960s, Fall became increasingly pessimistic about the U.S.'s chances of success. He predicted that if it did not learn from France’s mistakes, it too would fail in Vietnam. Fall wrote extensive articles detailing his analysis of the situation in Vietnam, and lectured a great deal about his ideas on the Vietnam War
. Fall's research was considered invaluable to many U.S. diplomats and military officials, but his negative opinions were often not taken seriously. By 1964, Fall concluded that the U.S. forces in Vietnam were losing. Fall’s dire predictions caught the attention of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI), which began to monitor his activities.
Many have noted Fall's accuracy and comprehension in his writing about the Vietnam War. In Colin Powell
's 1995 autobiography, My American Journey, he wrote:
Noam Chomsky
has called Fall "the most respected analyst and commentator on the Vietnam War".
on Operation Chinook II in the Street Without Joy
, Thua Thien Province
, Fall stepped on a Bouncing Betty
land mine and was killed, along with Gunnery Sergeant Byron G. Highland
, a U.S. Marine Corps combat photographer
. He was dictating notes into a tape recorder, which captured his last words: "We've reached one of our phase lines
after the fire fight and it smells bad- meaning it's a little bit suspicious... Could be an amb--". Fall left behind his wife and three daughters.
was named The Bernard B. Fall Memorial Medical Library in his honor.
War correspondent
A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...
, historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, political scientist, and expert on Indochina
Indochina
The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
during the 1950s and 1960s. Born in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, he moved with his family to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
as a child after Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
's annexation, where he started fighting with the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
at age 16, and later the French Army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
In 1950 he first came to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
for graduate studies at Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
and Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
, returning and making his residence there. He taught at Howard University
Howard University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
for most of his career and made regular trips to Southeast Asia to learn about changes and the societies. He predicted the failures of France and the United States in the wars in Vietnam because of their tactics and lack of understanding of the societies.
Early life
Born in ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, to Jewish parents Leon Fall and Anna Seligman, Bernard Fall and his family migrated in 1938 when he was a child to live in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, when Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. After France fell to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in 1940, his father Leon Fall aided the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
. Leon Fall was captured, tortured and killed by the Gestapo. Also captured, his mother Anna Seligman was deported to Auschwitz, where she died.
In 1942 at age 16, Bernard Fall followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the French Resistance, after which time he fought the Germans in the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
. As France was being liberated in 1944, Fall joined the French Army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
, in which he served until 1946. For his service, he was awarded the French Liberation Medal
French Liberation Medal
The French Liberation Medal or more precisely Liberated France Medal is a decoration of the French Republic which is issued to any veteran of the Second World War who participated in the liberation of France....
. Following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Fall worked as an analyst for the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal, in which capacity he investigated Krupp
Krupp
The Krupp family , a prominent 400-year-old German dynasty from Essen, have become famous for their steel production and for their manufacture of ammunition and armaments. The family business, known as Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp, was the largest company in Europe at the beginning of the 20th...
Industries.
Academic career
From 1948 to 1949, Fall studied at the University of ParisUniversity of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
. From 1949 to 1950, he attended the University of Munich.
After completing his studies in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Fall traveled to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1950 on a Fulbright Scholarship, where he studied at the University of Maryland
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
for a time. In 1951, Fall enrolled at Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
, where he received a masters degree in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
in 1952. Fall did post-graduate study at the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies
Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies
The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies , a division of Johns Hopkins University based in Washington, D.C., is one of the world's leading and most prestigious graduate schools devoted to the study of international affairs, economics, diplomacy, and policy research and...
, where he was encouraged to study Indochina
Indochina
The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
. Fall took the idea to heart.
Not content to study Indochina from afar, Fall traveled to Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
in 1953, where the First Indochina War
First Indochina War
The First Indochina War was fought in French Indochina from December 19, 1946, until August 1, 1954, between the French Union's French Far East...
was being waged between the Viet Minh
Viet Minh
Việt Minh was a national independence coalition formed at Pac Bo on May 19, 1941. The Việt Minh initially formed to seek independence for Vietnam from the French Empire. When the Japanese occupation began, the Việt Minh opposed Japan with support from the United States and the Republic of China...
and French Union forces. Due to his French citizenship
Citizenship
Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
, Fall was allowed to accompany French soldiers and pilots into enemy territory. From his observations, Fall predicted the French would fail in Vietnam. When the French were defeated in the critical Battle of Dien Bien Phu
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was the climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War between the French Union's French Far East Expeditionary Corps and Viet Minh communist revolutionaries. The battle occurred between March and May 1954 and culminated in a comprehensive French defeat that...
, Fall claimed the United States was partly responsible for France’s loss. Fall believed that the United States had not supported France to a sufficient extent during the First Indochina War.
In 1954, Fall returned to the United States and married Dorothy Winer. In 1955, he earned a doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
from Syracuse University and became an assistant professor at American University
American University
American University is a private, Methodist, liberal arts, and research university in Washington, D.C. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on December 5, 1892 as "The American University", which was approved by President Benjamin Harrison on February 24, 1893...
in Washington, DC.
In 1956, he began teaching international relations
International relations
International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...
courses at Howard University
Howard University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
, also in Washington. Fall became a full professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
at Howard in 1962 and taught there intermittently until his death.
Never losing his interest in Indochina, Fall returned to the region five more times (in 1957, 1962, 1965, 1966, and 1967) to study developments firsthand. Fall was given a grant by the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization
Southeast Asia Treaty Organization
The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization was an international organization for collective defense in Southeast Asia created by the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty, or Manila Pact, signed in September 1954 in Manila, Philippines. The formal institution of SEATO was established on 19 February...
to study the development of Communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
. He used it to document the rise of Communist activity in Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
. Fall was particularly interested in the tensions between North Vietnam
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
and South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
. While teaching at the Royal Institute of Administration in Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
in 1962, Fall was invited to interview Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh
Hồ Chí Minh , born Nguyễn Sinh Cung and also known as Nguyễn Ái Quốc, was a Vietnamese Marxist-Leninist revolutionary leader who was prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam...
and Pham Van Dong
Pham Van Dong
Phạm Văn Đồng was an associate of Ho Chi Minh. He served as prime minister of North Vietnam from 1955 through 1976, and was prime minister of a unified Vietnam from 1976 until he retired in 1987.- Early life :...
in Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
. Ho Chi Minh told Fall his belief that Communism would prevail in South Vietnam in about a decade’s time.
Fall was a political scientist, but one who had been a soldier and who spoke the soldier’s language and lived the soldier's life at the front line. He obtained his data on the war while slogging through the mud of Vietnam with French colonial troops, with American infantry, and with South Vietnamese soldiers. He combined the usual academic analysis of Indochina with a perspective of the war from the soldier’s point of view.
Vietnam War
Fall supported the AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
military presence in South Vietnam, believing it could stop the country from falling to Communism. But, he strongly criticized Ngo Dinh Diem
Ngo Dinh Diem
Ngô Đình Diệm was the first president of South Vietnam . In the wake of the French withdrawal from Indochina as a result of the 1954 Geneva Accords, Diệm led the effort to create the Republic of Vietnam. Accruing considerable U.S. support due to his staunch anti-Communism, he achieved victory in a...
’s American-backed regime
Regime
The word regime refers to a set of conditions, most often of a political nature.-Politics:...
and the tactics used by the United States military in Vietnam. As the conflict between the American forces and the Communists in Vietnam escalated throughout the 1960s, Fall became increasingly pessimistic about the U.S.'s chances of success. He predicted that if it did not learn from France’s mistakes, it too would fail in Vietnam. Fall wrote extensive articles detailing his analysis of the situation in Vietnam, and lectured a great deal about his ideas on the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. Fall's research was considered invaluable to many U.S. diplomats and military officials, but his negative opinions were often not taken seriously. By 1964, Fall concluded that the U.S. forces in Vietnam were losing. Fall’s dire predictions caught the attention of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
(FBI), which began to monitor his activities.
Many have noted Fall's accuracy and comprehension in his writing about the Vietnam War. In Colin Powell
Colin Powell
Colin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military...
's 1995 autobiography, My American Journey, he wrote:
Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and...
has called Fall "the most respected analyst and commentator on the Vietnam War".
Death
On 21 February 1967, while accompanying a company of the 1st Battalion 9th Marines1st Battalion 9th Marines
The 1st Battalion 9th Marines is an infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. Formed during World War I, it served until the mid-1990s when it was deactivated to make room for one of three light armor reconnaissance battalions...
on Operation Chinook II in the Street Without Joy
Street Without Joy
Street Without Joy or La Rue Sans Joie was the name given by troops of the French Far East Expeditionary Corps to the stretch of Route 1 from Huế to Quảng Trị during the First Indochina War.-Situation:...
, Thua Thien Province
Thua Thien-Hue Province
Thừa Thiên-Huế is a province in the North Central Coast of Vietnam, approximately in the center of the country. It borders Quang Tri Provice to the north and Da Nang City to the south, Laos to the west and the South China Sea to the east. The province has 128 km of coastline, 22,000 ha of...
, Fall stepped on a Bouncing Betty
S-mine
The German S-mine , also known as the "Bouncing Betty," is the best-known version of a class of mines known as bounding mines. When triggered, these mines launch into the air and then detonate at about . The explosion projects a lethal spray of steel balls and fragments in all directions...
land mine and was killed, along with Gunnery Sergeant Byron G. Highland
Byron G. Highland
Byron G. Highland was a United States Marine Corps combat photographer during the Vietnam War who was killed by a landmine alongside the war correspondent and historian Bernard B...
, a U.S. Marine Corps combat photographer
War photography
War photography captures photographs of armed conflict and life in war-torn areas.Although photographs can provide a more direct representation than paintings or drawings, they are sometimes manipulated, creating an image that is not objectively journalistic.-History:Photography, presented to the...
. He was dictating notes into a tape recorder, which captured his last words: "We've reached one of our phase lines
Phase line (cartography)
In cartography, a phase line is a line to show some positional dependency or relation to the passage of time, most often changing phases of a military operation, or changing borders in histogeographic maps.-Military usage:...
after the fire fight and it smells bad- meaning it's a little bit suspicious... Could be an amb--". Fall left behind his wife and three daughters.
Legacy and honors
The medical library at the main civilian hospital in Da NangDa Nang
Đà Nẵng , occasionally Danang, is a major port city in the South Central Coast of Vietnam, on the coast of the South China Sea at the mouth of the Han River. It is the commercial and educational center of Central Vietnam; its well-sheltered, easily accessible port and its location on the path of...
was named The Bernard B. Fall Memorial Medical Library in his honor.
Books
- The Viet-Minh Regime (1954)
- Street Without Joy (1961)
- The Two Vietnams (1963)
- Viet-Nam Witness, 1953-66 (1966)
- Hell in a Very Small Place: The SiegeBattle of Dien Bien PhuThe Battle of Dien Bien Phu was the climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War between the French Union's French Far East Expeditionary Corps and Viet Minh communist revolutionaries. The battle occurred between March and May 1954 and culminated in a comprehensive French defeat that...
of Dien Bien PhuDien Bien PhuĐiện Biên Phủ is a city in northwestern Vietnam. It is the capital of Dien Bien province, and is known for the events there during the First Indochina War, the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, during which the region was a breadbasket for the Việt Minh.-Population:...
(1966). - Last Reflections on a War (1967), published after his death.
- Anatomy of a Crisis: The Laotian Crisis of 1960-1961 (1969).
External links
- Website for biography, Bernard Fall: Memories of a Soldier-Scholar, includes first chapter ("The Last Departure") and 48 photographs [retrieved January 28, 2007]
- "A Casualty Of War and Then of Love", David Chanoff, The Washington PostThe Washington PostThe Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, October 3, 2006; Page C02. - "The unquiet Frenchman", an interview with Dorothy Winer Fall by Sarah Stillman, October 6, 2006