Operation Vulture

Operation Vulture (French: Opération Vautour) was the cover name for the American air battles against Viet Minh during the Battle of Điện Biên Phủ. The plan was abandoned in the face of lack of political support within the United States and the United Kingdom. Edit HistoryQual

During the Indo-American war, the United States supports the French colonial power materially in the struggle against the communist independence movement of Viet Minh.

In January 1954, Admiral Arthur W. Radford, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, brought the possibility of US air raids to strengthen the French position at Dien Bien Phu. On the occasion of the escalation of the battle, Radford promised the French general Paul Ély, who had been sent to the United States, to re-discuss this option. Internal US Air Force plans for the deployment of 60 to 98 Boeing B-29 bombers from Bases in the Philippines against artillery and supply routes of the Viet Minh. Apart from conventional attacks, the plan also included an option for the use of tactical nuclear weapons. The French commander-in-chief, General Henri Navarre, positively opposed the idea, but feared an escalation with retaliation by the Chinese Air Force against the bases of the French Air Force in Indo-China. On the night of April 5, 1954, the French government, under Joseph Laniel, made a formal request to the US government to carry out Operation Vulture. In addition to Radford, John Foster Dulles was one of the main advocates of the operation. A fierce opponent of the idea was Matthew B. Ridgway, the Army General Staff.

The US Congress, however, wanted to give the president only the power to intervene when this was part of a broad coalition involving Great Britain. A unilateral intervention by the United States was not to be politically congressional in the face of the recently concluded Koreak war. The British government under Winston Churchill categorically rejected an intervention in the Indo-Chinese war. At the end of April, Navarre was of the opinion that the battle could not be ended without the bombardment. On April 29, the US government committed itself internally against carrying out the operation. Within the US population, a majority voted against the intervention of Điện Biên Ph.. Single-level Edit source text

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