Operation Vulture

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Operation Vulture ( French:  : Opération Vautour ) was the code name for the planning of US air strikes against the Viet Minh during the Battle of Dien Bien Phu . The plan was abandoned in the face of a lack of political support within the US and the UK .

history

During the Indochina War , the USA provided the French colonial power with material support in the fight against the communist independence movement of the Viet Minh .

In January 1954, Admiral Arthur W. Radford presented President Dwight D. Eisenhower with the possibility of US air strikes to strengthen the French position at Dien Bien Phu in the game. As the battle escalated, Radford promised French General Paul Ély , who was sent to the United States, to raise this option again. Internal plans of the US Air Force envisaged the use of 60 to 98 Boeing B-29 bombers from bases in the Philippines against artillery positions and supply routes of the Viet Minh. In addition to conventional attacks, the plans also included an option for the use of tactical nuclear weapons. The French commander-in-chief of General Henri Navarre in Indochina was positive about the idea, but feared an escalation with retaliatory strikes by the Chinese air force against the bases of the French air force in Indochina. On the night of April 4th to 5th, 1954, the French government under Joseph Laniel made a formal request to the US government to conduct Operation Vulture . Along with Radford, John Foster Dulles was one of the main proponents of the operation. Army Chief of Staff Matthew B. Ridgway was a vehement opponent of the idea .

The US Congress only wanted to give the president the power to carry out air strikes if this was part of a broad coalition with the participation of Great Britain. A unilateral intervention by the USA could not be politically enforced in Congress in view of the Korean War that had just ended . The British government under Winston Churchill categorically refused to intervene in the Indochina War. At the end of April Navarre was of the opinion that the battle could not be victorious without the bombing. On April 29, the US government internally decided against carrying out the operation. A majority of the US population spoke out against intervening in Điện Biên Phủ.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Christopher E. Goscha : Historical Dictionary of the Indochina War , Copenhagen, 2011, p. 482
  2. ↑ Christopher E. Goscha: Historical Dictionary of the Indochina War , Copenhagen, 2011, p. 482
    Martin Windrow: The Last Valley - Dien Bien Phu and the French Defeat in Vietnam, Cambridge 2004, pp. 564-589
  3. ^ A b Martin Windrow: The Last Valley - Dien Bien Phu and the French Defeat in Vietnam, Cambridge 2004, pp. 564-589