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Spartacus
Guest
At the beginning of the attack in early March the Vietminh had dug over 100 kilometers of trenches around the northern French strong points of Beatrice, Gabrielle, and Anne-Marie. The attack began on March 13, 1954, with the strong point of Beatrice completely engulfed in artillery fire. The command post at Beatrice was destroyed in the initial artillery attack and all radio communications with the outpost ceased. At the same time, the Vietminh bombarded the airfield, leaving Dein Bein Phu completely cut off from reinforcements. Beatrice finally fell to human wave attacks by the Vietminh.