Dien Bien Phu, France’s fortress in the jungle, fell on May 7, 1954, 65 years ago. The peace treaty that was signed on July 21, 1954, was the end of France’s empire in Indochina. Soon, Algeria would follow. Ruin of French tank in Dien Bien Phu today. Many of Algeria’s insurgents had learnt the lessons of asymmetrical warfare fighting for France. Strange as it may seem, most of the French forces were not native-born French at all. Apart from the Foreign Legion, there wer…
