Full account of the French disaster in Vietnam in 1954, brought about by a peasant army of communist Viet Cong guerrillas. Based on interviews with participants on both sides.

Introduction by Neil Sheehan -- The birth of a myth -- The trap -- The chamber pot -- The match -- The twilight of the gods -- Requiem for the battle of Dienbienphu -- Dramatis personae of the battle of Dienbienphu.