Page:Pentagon-Papers-Part-V-B-3b.djvu/69



14. On February 2 and 3, I went by U.S. aircraft to Hanoi and from there by French C-47, a commercial chartered airlift plane, to Dien Bien Phu, arriving there at 1400. I was met by Colonel de Castres, CO of troops at Dien Bien Phu and was briefed by him and taken on a tour of battle positions. There are twelve French Union Battalions in the area, supported by what I consider sufficient air, armor, and artillery. The defenses lie in a valley and are sitting across the road intersection which joins there. Hills rising as high as 1000 feet or more surround the area at a distance of 3000 to 5000 yards. The defenses are heavily wired-in in with barbed wire, bunkers have been built and a good job of construction of fortifications is being done. Dugouts and bunkers are topped with timber and dirt. I had the impression that wet weather would cause much trouble through crumbling walls and leaking roofs. The defense area is twelve kilometers long and six kilometers wide. I feel that it can withstand any kind of an attack that the Viet Minh are capable of launching. However, a force with two or three battalions of medium artillery with air observation could make the area untenable. The enemy does not seem to have this capability at present. The morale of the troops is high; they are confident that they can stop any attack. I believe that if I were charged with the defense of the area, I would have been tempted to have utilized the high ground surrounding the area, rather than the low ground, and when I asked about this, the commander said that fields of fire were better where they were. I returned to Hanoi arriving there at 1820 after a flight of one hour and twenty minutes. Rh