French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu on Monday visited the two most prominent relics of the Dien Bien Phu battle, which marked the victory of the Vietnamese revolutionary army over French colonialists on May 7, 1954.

Minister Lecornu, who is visiting Vietnam at the invitation of Vietnamese Minister of National Defense Phan Van Giang, arrived in Dien Bien Phu, the capital city of northern Vietnam’s Dien Bien Province, on May 6 to call at two famous relics associated with the Dien Bien Phu battle.

The visit was made before the French minister attended the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory in Dien Bien Phu City on Tuesday.

On May 7, 1954, the Vietnamese revolutionary army won a world-resounding victory over French colonialists after a 56-day military campaign in Muong Thanh Valley, Muong Thanh Valley, located in what is now Dien Bien Province.

Lecornu and his entourage first visited the A1 Hill and then the command bunker of French General Christian de Castries, the commander of French troops in Dien Bien Phu in 1954, who died in 1991.

At the A1 Hill relic site, located in the city’s Muong Thanh Commune, the French guests looked at a massive crater atop the hill created by three Vietnamese soldiers who detonated a 960kg explosive block on May 6, 1954, in a large attack on the hill, which played a crucial role in protecting Muong Thanh and the entrance to the command bunker of the French general.

This successful attack opened the way for Vietnamese revolutionary forces to capture the entire A1 base of the French troops on the following day.

At the relic site, Minster Lecornu met with three former French soldiers who fought in Dien Bien Phu 70 years ago.

Following the A1 Hill visit, the French guests stopped over at the De Castries bunker area, which was captured also on May 7, marking the complete victory of the Vietnamese revolutionary army over the French colonialist troops.

In the bunker, an underground tunnel eight meters in width and 20 meters in length, Lecornu and other French officials looked at some military maps, the desk of the French commander De Castries, and some other relics.

Before the trip, Minister Lecornu met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Monday and had talks with Minister of National Defense Phan Van Giang on Sunday, focusing on steps to further expand and deepen the strategic partnership set up in 2013 between the two countries.

The two ministers signed a letter of intent on strengthening cooperation in defense after their talks on Sunday.

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