Storm Over Dien Bien Phu

Hello friends, 

not many of you know that I am a huge Indochina War buff. I recently got back to some hex and counters games thanks to Jim better known as Oriskany at the Beasts of War (or OnTableTop as it is called now - thanks political correctness) or The SitrepPodcast. So we were playing some Valor & Victory games concentrating on the Dien Bien Phu siege that took place in the northern part of modern Vietnam known at that time as Tonkin. So far we have played one game which simulated a French patrol trying to gather some intel and locate Viet Minh positions around the base. Second game concentrated on the Viet Minh assault on Strongpoint Beatrice-1 that was held by the 9th company of the13th Demi-Brigade of Foreign Legion. Historically Strongpoint Beatrice was the one that got overrun first on the night of 13/14th of March 1954. Here are some links if you would like to catch up:

• Dien Bien Phu Bonus Stream part 1
• Dien Bien Phu Bonus Stream Conclusion 
• Dien Bien Phu Assault on Strongpoint Beatrice part 1
• Dien Bien Phu Assault on Strongpoint Beatrice part 2

Something to listen to while reading

The game that we're going to play is Storm over Dien Bien Phu  from Multi-Man Publishing. It's from the Area-movement Series and so we do not have hexes but areas that you can move between and fight for them. As the title suggests the game focuses on the siege of Dien Bien Phu that took place in 1954 and which led to the French defeat and ultimately withdrawal from Indochina. 

Notice the beer near the fridge. :) 

Historical background

I don't want to get into the whole history of the war. To make it short you may find some information as oversimplified but that is only because this is not a historical paper in a journal but a simple paragraph that should make you feel the background for the game.
The Vietnamese people have a long history of fights against people that tried to invade their homeland. The main opponent throughout the ages was mainly China but in the second half of the XIX century the French established their colony here. During the Second World War Vietnam got occupied by the Japanese which forced the French administration to cooperate and obey the new rule. The Japanese were plundering the so called Indochina. By the end of the war the situation got complicated. After the Japanese surrender in 1945 British forces were set up in the Southern part of Vietnam and the North was administrated by the Chinese forces of Chiang Kai-shek. Throughout negotiations the French administration and forces came back to Indochina with China and England pulling back from the area (the former with pleasure). During the transition period Ho Chi Minh established a let's call it people's government that the French had ambivalent feelings about. To cut it short in the beginning the administration and army tried to cooperate and talk with Ho but it changed especially after Leclerc left what we call now Vietnam. The Communists who at first supported the French in Indochina after some time and many misunderstandings on the way started to fight the European occupant. Main battles took place in North Vietnam called at that time Tonkin around Hanoi and Hajfong in the Red River's Delta and near the Chinese border. The French were using a lot of paratroopers and the Foreign Legion Forces in the battles and setup a lot of defensive strongpoints because they were unable to control the vast areas. In the second half of 1953 the French found out that the Vietnamese division started to relocate towards Laos they decided to (without a former order from Paris) to defend Laos and set up a base in the Dien Bien Phu Valley. Operation Castor started on 20 November 1953. First of all the French established an airbase and and number of strongpoints called after women's names. The problem with the base was that it was far away from Hanoi and that France had too little airplanes to fully supply the base. Secondly, it was in a valley surrounded by hills and mountains. Last but not least they underestimated the determination of the enemy and the logistical effort of the Viet Minh. When they got to know that they are surrounded by regular divisions and outnumbered 5:1 it was too late. A decisive battle started on the 13th of March 1953 and ended on the 7th of May 1954 with a total defeat of the French forces and the loss of Indochina. The peace that was signed soon after divided the country which in effect soon led to another war.

Turn 1 March 13

Setup

So, after the initial setup the game started. The Viet Minh decided to grab area 11 for free. In response the French player decided to play B-26 Bombers and do some damage on area 7. 4 Viet Minh units had to be turned upside down and could not participate in the initial assaults. Next the Viet Minh forces assaulted Beatrice in area 14 and captured it forcing the 3rd Battalion of 13 Demi Brigade defenders to retreat. More B-26 bombed Vietnamese units in area 7 forcing them to retreat. Assault on the French controlled territory West of this area was an unsuccessful one. Huguette 7 had fallen for a second but a French Counter attack card and support mortars was a success and all Viet Minh units got wiped out. Assault on Gabrielle in the North was unsuccessful but Viet Minh captured area 5 just West of the Strongpoint. At the end of Turn 1 the situation looked as shown on the pictores below. 

Viet Minh Assaults

Battle over Huguette 7

Reinforcements Turn 1

Turn 2 March 20

Second turn means the Viet Minh Player must have a level 3 trench in an area in order to conduct an assault. So, the only means to do that is to either discard cards or spend units on that. This is to reflect the Vietnamese trench works after the initial assaults. In areas 25 and 11 I have decided to increase the level to maximum. The rest of the turn was spent by the French player on shooting at the enemy and moving units around. 4th Company of the 5 BPVN managed to wipe out three Vietnamese companies that took control of area 5 last turn. The Vietnam forces applied some casualties to the 13 DBLE forcing it to retreat out of area 17 down South but before they could take over the area French forces pulled in some reinforcements. 

MVP roll of the turn

End of turn 2 North

End of turn 2 South

Turn 3 March 27

Gabrielle up North is taking some heavy shelling and some of the units need to withdraw West to the earlier recaptured Area 5 but the French manage to hold on. South of Gabrielle in Area 10 Viet Minh infantry successfully launch a second assault and get into field but the French use a Counterattack card and get in to the place denying the Vietnamese victory. Forces mass up in the South with both sides shelling each other and the Viet Minh building up more trenches for the future. More paras drop into area 10. 

End of turn 3 situation up North. French forces in area 4 are out of supply meaning they are left spent for the turn and cannot perform any actions.

Situation down South with the Viet Minh reinforcements and fresh trenches allowing the Viet Minh player an assault next turn.

Turn 4 April 3

The week begun with the fall of Gabrielle and Anne-Marie in the North and some heavy fighting took place around area 10 but French paras managed to hold ground and repel the incoming Viet Minh attacks. However, the battered 13 Demi Brigade did not manage to hold to Dominique 1 in the middle and had to pull back Dominique 3. In the South the Viet Minh did not manage to capture Elian 3. In the mean time during the battle reinforcements from Isabelle came and entered from Area 38. More paras, namely 2 Battalion was dropped into the encircled base. 

End of turn 4

Fall of Gabrielle and Anne-Marie

Fighting in the South.

Turn 5 April 10

Heavy loses of terrain for the French player but I admit he put up a fight especially in the middle at Dominique 1 almost pushing back all of Viet Minh units. Despite that success Viet Minh 75mm artillery went into play softening defenders at Elian 1 and Dominique 5 which fell at the end of the week. Also the long contested area 10 in the North fell into Vietnamese hands. In the South reinforcements which came from Isabelle were wiped out but it stalled the advance in Elian 3. Slowly the base defenses are falling apart despite heavy loses taken by the Viet Minh regulars.

End of turn 5 with Area 10 secured in the centre of the Northern part

Ellian 1 and Dominique 5 captured

Turn 6 April 17

Despite best French attempts to repel the Vietnamese forces from the centre of the defense perimeter they did not make it. Heavy Viet Minh artillery caused many French forces to become spent stalling their possible moves. Meanwhile enemy infantry is digging trenches preparing for future assaults. Little success got the Viet Minh player to finally clear area 5 west of Gabrielle. 

Heavy fighting for Area 10. French forces manage to stall the Vietnamese advance over here.

Stalemate in the South.

Turn 7 April 24

Finally the Viet Minh soldiers managed to take over Elian 3 in the South getting closer and closer to the French command bunker and de Castries. Despite many loses they managed to hold the captured terrain in all areas. The French forces are blocking the Vietnamese. Yet, Uncle Ho'es forces have been spotted in the West Area 15 and they are prepared for the push into the airfield. 

Area 32 Elian 3 captured despite heavy Viet Minh loses.

Fire going all across the northern reaches of the base... but enemy lingers in the West.

Turn 8 May 1

Last week of the fighting saw the fall of Huguette 7 in the North and a lot of successful attempts from the French to stop the Viet Minh and even regain some ground. Namely, area 17 which became a major battlefield was captured by the French paras. Nevertheless, despite horrendous loses the Viet Minh player managed to win controlling 6 defensive level 3 areas. It's a minimum Giap needs to capture in order to obtain victory.

End of game

 Afterthoughts 

I really like the game! The rules are straightforward and not many things got me thinking if I am playing it right. From a historical standpoint the Viet Minh divisions did worse and the French counterpart managed to stall the attacks. One thing I like about the game are the cards which add a lot of flavor. So we have for example Rats of Nam Yum - which simulate the deserters from French forces during the siege, they were particularly annoying because they were stealing supply drops if possible, Giam demands results - you may re-roll assaults but each re-roll costs you one assaulting unit, Mines - the Strong Points had mines on the outer perimeter and they can cause to spent attacking units before they can do so. We also have night assaults, flares etc. etc. You can feel the pressure while playing the French forces but you have two options either only react to what the Viet Minh is doing or try to take over the initiative and successfully block the assaults where possible. Nevertheless, obtaining a win by the Vietnamese is not that hard to achieve but doing it in historical style can be a challenge. 

Selected reading:

Boylan, Kevin & Luc Olivier (2018). Valley of the Shadow: The Siege of Dien Bien Phu.

Brodecki, Bogusław (1989). Dien Bien Phu 1954.

Davidson, Phillip (1988). Vietnam at War: The History, 1946–1975. 

Fall, Bernard B. (1967). Hell in a Very Small Place. The Siege of Dien Bien Phu.

Leszczyński, Michał (2019). Dien Bien Phu 1954.

Windrow, Martin (2004). The Last Valley.