On May 7, 1954, the French command H.M. Him Lam fell at the hands of the Viet Minh in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in Vietnam (Union for the Independence of Vietnam). The area around the command center was littered with the corpses of many Viet Minh and others who had been killed.

　　On May 7, 1954, the French command H.M. Him Lam fell at the hands of the Viet Minh in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in Vietnam (Union for the Independence of Vietnam). The area around the command center was littered with the corpses of many slain Viet Minh and others. The Viet Minh campaign in Dien Bien Phu ended successfully, and the French stronghold in Dien Bien Phu was destroyed by the Viet Minh forces. The Viet Minh flag of determination to fight and victory fluttered in the camp bunker of the Him Lam command post. On the same day, French colonial troops in Vietnam were effectively defeated by the pro-independence Viet Minh at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. 

　On March 13, 1954, Viet Minh (Vietnamese League for Independence) artillery fired into the outermost enclave of Him Lam, breaking the silence in the remote northwestern valley and beginning Operation Dien Bien Phu. Some 49,000 Viet Minh, using manpower tactics, stormed the outer strongpoints of the French garrison. The airstrip was under constant fire, and French counter-battery fire to dislodge the Viet Minh artillery was hopelessly ineffective, with many French guns destroyed.

　 A brutal 55-day siege ensued, and on November 20, 1953, French paratroopers and engineers parachuted into Dien Bien Phu in the valley and began building defensive positions. During the first four days of fighting, three of the nine French forts were lost and more than 1,000 French soldiers were killed or wounded. After a fierce battle, the Vietnamese forces collapsed the Dien Bien Phu fort, killed or captured 16,200 French soldiers, shot down 62 aircraft, and captured all enemy French military supplies. The red and yellow flags of the Vietnamese army were raised over the bunker of the French commander, General de Castries. By midnight the same day, all French-led units were taken prisoner. About 2,000 more French soldiers were killed, and more than 10,000 were wounded or captured. The Viet Minh suffered more than 23,000 casualties.