We Didn T Start The Fire Analysis

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Dien Bien Phu was a French town where troops were stationed in North-Western Vietnam. It was completely unexpected that the town would fall to the attacking communists freedom - fighters. Dien Bien Phu was a major battle of the first Indochina war where the French fought against the Viet Minh communists. The French objective had been to support the soldiers at Dien Bien Phu in northwestern Vietnam to cut off Viet Minh supply lines into the neighboring country. The Viet Minh, however, were able to drag heavy artillery through the jungle and position them overlooking the French encampment. When Dien Bien Phu fell to the Viet Minh on May 7, in 1954, after nearly two months of bitter fighting, it marked the first time a non-European colonial independence movement had been able to defeat a modern …show more content…

The song “We Didn’t Start the Fire” speaks to how the problems we face today are anything but new and they will remain issues. Now, it makes sense why Billy Joel decided to include Dien Bien Phu in the song. War is something that has remained constant through time and seems to be getting more and more destructive as we go forward, especially when fighting for a cause you’re passionate about.

The battle of Dien Bien Phu may have occurred half a century ago, but it still remains relevant today. As Dien Bien Phu and the Viet Minh’s struggle for independence demonstrated, no amount high-tech gadgets could defeat an army of people who were committed to their cause and prepared to die for it. At Dien Bien Phu, the Viet Minh showed its willingness to suffer unspeakable losses and its ability to bear the sacrifice that may come.

The “lessons” learned from Dien Bien Phu inform our understanding of today’s world because we know the lengths people would go for their side of the conflict. People are willing to sacrifice and risk it all for the