The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was the climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War between French Union forces and committed Viet Minh revolutionaries. The battle occurred between March and May 1954 and ended in a disastrous French defeat that would influence negotiations over the future of Indochina. History has the defeat of the French forces at the battle of Dien Bien Phu due largely to the failure in the application of professional military skills by the Commander-in-Chief, General Henri E. Navarre. In this work, the author, a U.S. Army officer analyzes the actions of General Navarre, to determine if the judgment of history is supported.