[Photos] Vietnamese Women: An Important Factor in the Dien Bien Phu Campaign

On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu campaign (March 13-May 7, 1954), here is a closer look back at the women across the country contributing to its great victory.
Fanasy Nguyen Le
May 07, 2024 | 12:17

In 2024, the nation celebrates the 70th anniversary of the resounding Dien Bien Victory on May 7, 1954. This is the victory of the entire Vietnamese people and army in their nine-year resistance war against the French, leading to the Geneva Accords returning peace in Indochina.

On December 19, 1946, responding to President Ho Chi Minh's call for nationwide resistance, the entire Party, army, and the people of Vietnam entered the war against the French invaders.

With the slogan "All for the front line, all for victory", the main army units quickly open mountain roads, towing artillery, and building battlefields,.. The people of Vietnam worked in a fiery spirit for the Dien Bien Phu front.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of women who were civil servants, volunteers, nurses, orderlies.., headed to Dien Bien Phu to serve the campaign. In the locality, women also replaced men to shoulder the burden of housework. They worked day and night to provide food for the battlefield.

Out of the 18 campaigns of the resistance war against the French colonialists, women contributed 9,578,000 working days. In the Dien Bien Phu campaign alone, women contributed over 2,000,000 workdays. As President Ho Chi Minh once commented: "In our nation's great resistance war, our women are shouldering an important part."

[Photo] The Women of the Legendary Dien Bien Phu Campaign
Women from all ethnic groups joined the civil service and engineers to build the road from Tuan Giao to Dien Bien Phu (Photo: phunuvietnam.vn)
[Photo] The Women of the Legendary Dien Bien Phu Campaign
In 195, Phu Tho province had 47,500 women working on transporting 4,318 tons of rice for the Dien Bien Phu campaign (Photo:phunuvietnam.vn).
[Photo] The Women of the Legendary Dien Bien Phu Campaign
Citizens of Cao Bac Lang on their ways to transport food supplies during the Dien Bien Phu campaign (Photo phunuvietnam.vn).
[Photo] The Women of the Legendary Dien Bien Phu Campaign
Nung ethnic women loaded ammunition in the Northeast campaign in 1949 (Photo: phunuvietnam.vn)
[Photo] The Women of the Legendary Dien Bien Phu Campaign
Thai ethnic women prepare rice to send to the battlefield, during the resistance war against the French colonialists (Photo:phunuvietnam.vn).
[Photo] The Women of the Legendary Dien Bien Phu Campaign
Thai people carry rice on their heads to transport them to serve the Dien Bien Phu campaign (Photo: phunuvietnam.vn).
[Photo] The Women of the Legendary Dien Bien Phu Campaign
Ethnic minorities in Ta Khoa, Bac Yen, Son La serving wounded soldiers at Treatment Team 1, Dien Bien Phu, 1954 (Photo: phunuvietnam.vn).
[Photo] The Women of the Legendary Dien Bien Phu Campaign
Women participating in the People's Grassroots Sewing Group are sewing clothes to support the soldiers (Photo: phunuvietnam.vn).
[Photo] The Women of the Legendary Dien Bien Phu Campaign
The 312th Army's performing troupe served the soldiers at the Dien Bien Phu front (Photo: phunuvietnam.vn).
[Photo] The Women of the Legendary Dien Bien Phu Campaign
Nurses take care of wounded soldiers on the Dien Bien Phu fire line, taken in 1954 (Photo: phunuvietnam.vn).
[Photo] The Women of the Legendary Dien Bien Phu Campaign
Female nurse feeds wounded soldiers on the Dien Bien Phu fire line, taken in 1954 (Photo: phunuvietnam.vn).
[Photo] The Women of the Legendary Dien Bien Phu Campaign
Women of the military medical facility 7 produced bandages for the Dien Bien Phu campaign, taken in 1954 (Photo: phunuvietnam.vn).
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Fanasy Nguyen Le
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