French paratroopers dropping on Dien Bien Phu, November 1953.

The Battle of Dien Bien Phu (French: Bataille de Dien Bien Phu; Vietnamese: Chien dich Dien Bien Phu) was the climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War between the French Union's French Far East Expeditionary Corps and Viet Minh communist revolutionaries. The battle occurred between March and May 1954 and culminated in a comprehensive French defeat that influenced negotiations over the future of Indochina at Geneva. (Photo by: Pictures From History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)