Dienbienphu

Cultural  

1. A place in Indochina, now Vietnam, where Vietnamese communists decisively defeated French forces in 1954. The defeat led to the French withdrawal from Indochina. (See Vietnam War.)

---

Example Sentences

Before long, that dramatic discovery led to a place and turning point called Dienbienphu.

From Time Magazine Archive

Ten months later, just weeks before the French defeat at Dienbienphu, Paris granted his demand and Sihanouk returned home in triumph.

From Time Magazine Archive

When its 6,200-man garrison came under siege and heavy artillery bombardment from the North Vietnamese in mid-January, some observers saw an ominous similarity to Dienbienphu.

From Time Magazine Archive

From time to time, its crackerjack pilots moonlighted, accepting such missions as dropping French paratroopers into Dienbienphu in 1954.

From Time Magazine Archive

Dulles first raised the possibility of U.S. military intervention soon after the siege of Dienbienphu began.

From Time Magazine Archive