The battle of Dien Bien Phu, 1954 - a picture from the past

The First Indochina War between French colonial forces and the communist Viet Minh culminated with the ferocious 55-day siege of the last French stronghold in the north of the country, which began on 13 March 1954. The victory of the Vietnamese under General Giap led to the collapse of the French government and the eventual decline of their colonial empire. Vietnamese photographers restaged these scenes shortly after the real fighting occurred, with French casualties still lying on the battlefield