Word: indo
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...supplies and many paratroop reinforcements drifted into the enemy lines. In one sector the Communists were only about 700 yards from the French center, and the front lines were often less than 40 yards apart. The Red field gunners and mortarmen had perhaps the most concentrated target in all Indo-China: the French perimeter was only 2,000 yards wide. The French artillery was ineffective by comparison: it had lost about half of its guns. The surviving French tanks were bogged down in the muck of the early monsoon, and French tactical air was often blinded in the haze...
...were confident: they parachuted into Dienbienphu and cut the Red garrison to pieces in the tall elephant grass. Commanding General Navarre then built an entrenched camp 175 miles inside enemy territory. He dared the enemy to come and get him and itched for a set-piece battle instead of Indo-China's usual, fruitless chases through the jungle. Navarre flew in light tanks and 155-mm. artillery; his officers installed their mess silver, their embroidered white tablecloths and their wine cellars, and (though a few high-placed officers were dubious from the beginning) they echoed Navarre's confidence...
...crucial meeting with the Cabinet. He fought down those who wanted peace at any price and at once, even if it meant dealing directly with the Viet Minh. He won "a free hand" to negotiate at Geneva, but only coupled with a specification-"to bring back peace in Indo-China...
...they had both viewed with misgivings. But such a pact could net be negotiated in the next critical few days. So the three turned to the painful consideration of what terms might be acceptable for a ceasefire. Dulles asked Bidault for assurance that the French would fight on in Indo-China at least until the Geneva conference got under way and the West had a chance to see what the Communists offered. Bidault agreed. But his promise went no further than that...
...regional pact would have cultural and economic advantages equal to its military significance. If a free state were established in Indo-China, it would be easy prey to economic catastrophe during the first years following its separation from France. The stabilizing effect of close co-operation with the other nations of Southeast Asia would stave off domestic Communism...