Thursday, October 31, 2019

What different kinds of immigration to Europe have there been since Essay

What different kinds of immigration to Europe have there been since World War II, and why - Essay Example xxx). After the end of the World War, numerous types of immigration policies were set up. The explanation for these policies were chiefly economic; however, in some cases they were also political (Parsons, Smeeding, pp. 310). However, there is no doubt that after 1945, Europe is marked as the continent that received an overall net flow (Salt, pp. 3). In addition, these migrations happened over a series of decades. Various dynamics and various states are involved. One type of immigration occurred within Europe. Western Europe consisted of the wealthier nations. These countries began employing labor from the less wealthy nations. Due to the imperative need for work force to rebuild the countries after the war, and the shortage of labor due to loss of military personnel, the European Voluntary Worker scheme was set up. The recruitment by Britain of about 200,000 male workers from refugee camps in Italy happened between the period of 1945 and 1951. The laws governing this immigration wer e quite harsh, since the regulations were quite severe. They were literally bonded labor with no rights to family reunions and their misconduct could lead to their expulsion. These people were largely known as ‘guest workers’. This system had provided the countries with the necessary labor to build the economies that were worn out by the war. However, at the beginning, as mentioned above, the guest worker system was highly strict. Eventually, the need to hold on to these workers led to the relaxation of some rules especially when it came to family reunions. This eventually led to the admittance of women as immigrants (Toro-Morn & Alicea pp.xxi). In addition, certain guest workers also came from Mediterranean countries to meet the growing demand for labor. This immigration played a prominent role in the 1950s and until the mid 1970s. Italy was the most important recipient ant of these types of guest workers (Nijkamp, pp. 66). Countries like Germany, which were devastated by the war, had to recuperate. After the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961, the inflow of East German workers had stopped. Hence, there was a shortage of workers (Jennissen, pp.128). Therein, became an inflow of workers. By 1970, West Germany almost had 2.1 million foreign workers (Nijkamp, pp.66). A very prominent type of immigration that occurred in the post war era was due to the decolonization process. Many French, British, Portuguese colonies had acquired freedom after the war, because these nations could not simply afford to keep their colonies intact. This led to the influx of people in two ways. The European colonial officers and colonists all returned to Europe. Besides that, various countries notably Great Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Portugal, all documented a large number of immigration from their former colonies (Nijkamp, pp.66). London Transport enlisted members directly from the New Commonwealth countries that included African countries, the In dian sub-continent, and the Caribbean. A number of people also arrived directly in search for better employment pursuits. Contrary to the strict regulations imposed upon the guest workers, around 350, 000 Irish men moved with their families in the period 1945 to 1959, and faced no such restrictions. They enjoyed full civil rights. Most of this type of migration was centered on three empires; Dutch, French and Portuguese, and these migrations had received a large amount of scholarly interest. It is because after Britain, they were one of the largest

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Effects of Terrorist Attack Essay Example for Free

Effects of Terrorist Attack Essay Although often caused by nature, disasters can have human origins. Often it is the unpredictability of such disasters that causes fear, confusion and stress that have a lasting effect on the affected community. In recent history, the Sept 11th terrorist attack is one such example. This paper will examine the terrorists’ motivation towards committing the attack and the effect it had on the American society. According to Pedahzur (2006), terrorist groups exist for the purpose of planning and executing attacks to accomplish their mission. Included among the objectives of terrorism are demonstrating the group’s power over population and government, exact revenge for perceived persecution and satisfy the group’s vengeance while at the same time gaining publicity for their actions. Accordingly, the September 11 attacks can be interpreted both as a direct signal to the United States to behave in a certain way and as an indirect signal to potential sympathizers that the united states is not invulnerable. Looking at it from this point of view, it can be debated that the most important cause of the terrorist attack was to diminish US prestige in the Arab world by sending the message that the symbols of UC economic, military and political power could be attacked (Pedahzur, 2006). Terrorism can cause cascading effects that can have global effects. As the term alludes, terrorism is designed to evoke fear in its victims. This can lead to psychological as well as social effects, such as suspicion and exclusion of certain religious or ethnic groups even though they may have no association with the terrorist or terrorist organization. Fear for the unknown can cause people to react in an unpredictable manner. Before the attack, of September 11th 2001, Americans did not worry much about terrorism; after the attack, they were extremely worried. This Psychological effect of terrorism brought about hate and racial prejudice in a society that had tolerated diversity (Pedahzur, 2006). Considering the economic effect of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack can be depressing at times. The U.  S monetary loss as a result of the September 11 attack is estimated at $ 500 billion (Butler, Allison, Panzer Goldfrank, 2003). Besides the loss of a huge number of jobs, the economy of lower Manhattan, which by itself is the third largest business district in the United States, was devastated in the immediate aftermath of the attack. Butler et al (2003), approximate that 30% of lower Manhattan office space was either damaged or destroyed. It is also worthwhile to remember that NASDAQ and the New York Stock Exchange did not open on September 11th till September 17th. This closure of the market was the longest since the great Depression of 1929. In conclusion, Since September 11th 2001, things have not been the same in the United States of America. Thanks to premeditated hate actions by an extremist jihadist group, a lot of lives were lost, people were hurt and property worth billions destroyed in just a few hours. The effect of such actions cannot be overemphasized, and the only protection that innocent citizens have is to hope that such disasters will not occur again.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Control on Remote Sensing Network Using Cloud Computing

Control on Remote Sensing Network Using Cloud Computing CHAPTER 3 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS The system requirements usually specify the needs of the system to accomplish the project successfully and the requirements can be classified as software and hardware requirements and hence the requirement specification of this project is as mentioned below. 3.1 Software Requirements Express PCB and express schematic Keil micro-vision 3 real view IDE Flash utility software for programming Embedded C JDK Visual studio 2010 Windows XP Hardware Requirements Microcontrollers ARM 7 ZigBee Modules Temperature, humidity, motion sensors LCD Display Power supply 12V i.e. 1A Relays 3.3 Functional requirements The functional requirements can be defined as the services that a developed system will provide to the user Administrative functions An individual sensor node will check the availability, Else the status of the devices will be 0, if availability is present, then the data is forwarded to the monitoring station Then the device status can be seen and control measures can be taken, to save the power and utilize it in an efficient way. Authorization levels The authorized user of the cloud drop box can access the data in the cloud to know the status of the house hold equipments. 3.4 Non-functional requirements Non functional requirements define the frame work within which the system should work. Scalability The controlling and monitoring of the devices can be extended to, many other devices apart from house hold equipments, like vehicles and security systems etc. Availability The availability of the devices purely works on the internet connection i.e. one can know the status of the devices in the house with the availability of the internet. 3.5 Technologies Used A. Cloud computing technology Cloud computing is a technology that is upgrading day by day and today many of the technologies have their own architecture so does the cloud also as the own architecture and the cloud also as its distinguishing features and the properties that make the cloud unique which are discussed below briefly. Figure 3.1: Cloud Architecture Cloud can majorly be classified into three levels of service models the first level is the SaaS (software as a service) and the work of this layer is to provide the user with the opportunity to make use of the applications which are running on the infrastructure of the cloud and the second layer of the cloud is the Platform as a Service (PaaS) the work of this layer is to provide the user with the opportunity to deploy the applications which are created or acquired by the user and the third layer of the cloud is infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and the work of this layer is to provide the user with the opportunity to run and deploy arbitrary software on to cloud and these three layers are different for the users since the functions and services provided by these layers are different. But for the technical staff these three layers are not different and they are dependent on each other and hence for e.g.: consider SaaS needs the Paas layer to provide platform for the deployment of the services or the services can be directly deployed on to the IaaS layer, and the IaaS layer services and products are also built up using the services provided by the Paas layer hence cloud layers are inter dependent on each other in technical perspective view. The other important part of the cloud computing is the management of the system in cloud and the objective of this management is to run the cloud securely and maintain stability in the cloud environment, unfortunately many of the users are unaware of the management of system in cloud and this management is the base for the well functioning of the cloud and hence good services can be provided with proper system management and these management of system helps in the aspects of maintaining the services and operations involved in the cloud. Figure 3.2: Cloud Management Framework In the present scenario of the internet environment the layer is as mentioned above in the diagram 3.2 and for the maintenance of the devices with remote control in cloud environment the developer need to select the proper services in the cloud to satisfy the requirement of the customer and SaaS is one of the most suitable and earliest services provided in the cloud and using these service the user can directly connect to the cloud and with the help of browser we can directly run the application residing on the cloud and advantage of these service is that the service provider is responsible for the maintenance of the services weather it is hardware or software and is charged as per usage or free of cost. Neither the developer nor the user needs to worry about the upgrades, installations, attacks etc. And more importantly one need worry about the initial investments and license approvals. The present scenario in the cloud is that some providers are giving customized clouds to the companies, for the user the cloud is always free but the companies need to build their own cloud computing services for e.g.: FeiBit corporation as launched a cloud recently and meets almost all requirements of its customers. B. ZigBee wireless sensor network The name ZigBee was given to the device because of observing the procedure of bees flying and the dance of the bees was in the shape of Z and the bees are very small and hence the amount of energy that is needed to transfer the pollen is also less keeping this features in mind they named the device as ZigBee as it has features like less consumption of energy, low price, small size but works very efficiently and its IEEE standards is 802.15.4 and it creates the wireless personal area network for the communication purpose. When the IEEE standard was given the agreement was also made which is divided into two parts and hence according to the agreement the 804.15.4 will define the two layer one is the physical layer and the other I the MAC (media access control ) layer and the ZigBee alliance will define the specifications for the network, security and application layer and later the ZigBee stack also was defined that helps in communication and these was defined by individual layers protocol which was grouped together to which it gives the user API and this can be used to coordinate among many of the sensors for the purpose of communication and can also send data form one sensor to another and hence the energy consumed is very less in this process and communication efficiency is very high and hence due to this the remote controlled equipment can be controlled and monitored efficiently. Figure 3.3: Composition of ZigBee The ZigBee as the capability of the self organizing networks for proving this scenario take the e.g.: as follows where the group of paratroopers in which each group member as the ZigBee devices with them and then they land on ground they can connect each other in the forest if they have landed with the range in which the ZigBee devices can communicate and moreover the module can identify the device and contact the person and hence this is the special property of the ZigBee where clearly we can find the property of self organization. We can also use ZigBee in the industry but cannot always guarantee the usage of channels which are unblocked, like the lights in city streets, car accident, etc. the emergence of road traffic is interrupted due to accident, likewise with the usage of channels in industry and hence self organization of the network is very important because of the errors that may occur during the transmission of the data. The paths are not always set for sending the data and hence one as to find the path that is best and short and send the data in that path in the network, but if the desired path is blocked due to traffic then the data needs to sent in the other path so that it reaches the destination correctly and here in ZigBee the so called dynamic routing for data transmission is used for the sending of the data in the network. The ZigBee works with using the technology called the DSSS (direct-sequence spread spectrum) underlying which is the non beacon mode and the ZigBee network can be expanded that is scalable, within one second or even in less time the node joins the network and rejoins the network again and starts the transmission and hence this is very less rime when compared to Bluetooth which takes around three seconds and ZigBee has high reliability in networks and it supports multicast and broadcast applications and the ZigBee is one of the major network in today’s communication technology and also its importance is increasing day by day due to its distinctive application in many fields like health, sports etc. Figure 3.4: ZigBee wireless sensor Network The access to the cloud computing platform is free of cost and hence through this platform the developer can use ZigBee wireless sensor technology via the gateway through which it is connected to the internet and from there the information reaches the cloud through GPRS and the cloud here provides the real time accessing and monitoring of the data that is acquired through the sensors data socket communication and this real rime monitoring depends only upon the internet or network environment, without increasing delay time. And the cloud platform today supports the latest technology like html5 technology and hence this is a boon to many of the companies and customers and life is much simpler and easier with the upgrading technology. CHAPTER 4 SYSTEM DESIGN System design specifies the flow chart, block diagram, which gives the outlay for the system and also helps in the constructing the project and implementing it so that the desired output can be obtained. 4.1 Generalized Block Diagram The below figure 4.1 explains the overall block diagram of the work done, Figure 4.1: System Design of Home Automation 4.1.1 Operation involved The operations involved here consists of mainly two modules one is the transmitter and the other is the receiver and the transmitter has many sensors connected to it which include light intensity, temperature, motion detection sensors etc. here the data acquired by the sensors are uploaded to the transmitter through which the data is remotely passed to the receiver and from heir the data is uploaded to the cloud in serial form and the data in the cloud is displayed using the ASCII format and this data can be stored in the cloud drop box and the data in the cloud can be seen anywhere but the internet connection is mandatory and there is a graphical user interface that is been developed using the visual basic/dot net and through that also we can see the output when the server is turned on. 4.1.2 Cloud Data Base Center The design of the cloud data base centre is as shown below, Figure 4.2: Design of Cloud Database Center The cloud stores the data that it received from the network and the received data can be retrieved back from anywhere and the status of the devices can be known and the required actions can be taken. In the above diagram 4.2 we can see the cloud data base centre where the data base centre and the web server are connected together by the HTTP and the web server as the apache connected to the internet and the web server is also connected to the client browser where the client can access the data and hence the procedure of how the data base centre of cloud is designed. 4.1.3 Functioning of the System The control command from the server in the Cloud are first sent to the home gateway through TCP/IP protocol and then transmitted to the appliance with ZigBee wireless communication. The home gateway is a server which is used to receive the user command from the far-end place on the Internet, and to transmit the status as well as the power consumption information of appliances back to the database server. The gateway will then transmit the received commands to a ZigBee transceiver through the universal asynchronous transmitter and receiver (UART) interface With the proposed structure, authorized users or the system manager can log into the web server which will be in connection with the database, and devices in the house can be remotely monitored and also the power can be utilized without any wastage. Overall Block Diagram: The block diagram is as shown below which gives the description of the entire work carried out, Figure 4.3: Overall System Design of Home Automation with Monitoring Station The Above Figure (4.3) works in the same as described in the Functioning of the System, this is the method in which the devices in the house can be remotely accessed and controlled over the internet, in the other phase the world is facing the shortage of energy in terms of oil, water etc. and hence how to make use of the resources is one of the big challenge, hence this proposed system helps in the utilization of the resources efficiently. 4.1.4 Block Representation of the Diagram The below figure 4.4 represents the block representation of the diagram of the system design Figure 4.4: Overall Block Representation of the system where one recognizes the relays, sensors, alarms for motion detection are connected together to Microcontroller and the microcontroller is connected to the ADC (analog to digital conversion) where the data from analog form are converted to the digital form and the data obtained after conversion are sent to the ARM 7 board where the data is been transferred and also received through the ZigBee where the received data is stored in the cloud and the data can been seen the cloud with the help of PC. Hence from these design we can see the overall working blueprint of the system which also recognizes to be one of new technology with the combination of both hardware and software and hence this technology is one of the upgrading and ever growing technology in the field of internet of things (IoT). 4.1.5 Data Flow Diagram of the System Figure 4.5: Data Flow Diagram of the System The data flow diagram is as shown above in figure 4.5, that consists of two boards, and there are one ZigBees attached to each of the boards, the 8051 board has different sensors attached to it which will monitor the devices in the house and this status is fetched by the ZigBee and transferred wirelessly to the ARM 7 boards ZigBee and then the GPRS which is connected to the cloud uploads the data , by the information obtained through ZigBee and the data can be viewed by the end user and hence the status of the devices data obtained are visible on the LCD screen attached to both the boards. 4.1.6 Flow Chart Representation of the System The below figure 4.6 gives the complete description of the working of the system represented in terms of flow chart and the flow chart represents mainly the activity in the control center i.e. in cloud network, first the system is started and then initialization of the system is done then the network is built that is establishing the connection with server and then the system is in standby mode and then if the interrupt is received by the user to join the network, if no connection is present then the connection is again reestablished and if the connection is established then the status of the devices is noted and the end devices are controlled if it is not possible to control the connection is again restarted and checked. Hence the working of the system is represented in the terms of flow chart and this system is considered to be one of the advanced technology through which the devices in the house can be controlled and monitored through cloud. N Y N Figure 4.6: Flow Chart of the working of the system 4.1.7 Picture of the 8051 and ARM 7 Boards In the below two pictures we can see the pictures of the 8051 and ARM 7 circuit boards, The picture 4.7 below represents the 8051 micro controller board, Figure 4.7: Snapshot of MC 8051 That is connected to different sensors like light, temperature etc. And also to ZigBee and hence this board represents the home and the devices that can be controlled and monitored using the cloud. In the picture 4.8 below, we can see the ARM 7 board Figure 4.8: Snapshot of ARM 7 That is connected to ZigBee for the purpose of communication with the devices in the house, the GPRS module for the purpose of uploading the data to the cloud and the LCD screen for the display of the information and all these are connected to the ARM 7 board. BIBLIOGRAPHY [1] â€Å"IOT’s Gateways: Bridging Wireless Sensors Networks into Internet of Things† Qian Zhu, Ruicong Wang, Qi Chen, Yan Liuand Weijun Qin 2010 IEEE [2] â€Å"A Security Aspect in Cloud Computing† by Gurudatt Kulkarni Jayanth Gambir Teiswini Patil Amruta Dongare  ©2012 IEEE [3] † Technologies and Protocols for Data Centers and Cloud Networkings† by Nabil Bitar, Steven Gringeri, and Tiejun J. Xia, Verizon Laboratories © 2013 IEEE. [4] â€Å"Dynamic merging of ZigBee’s Homes Networks into Home Gateways Using OSGi’s Services Registry’s† by Young-Guk Ha ©2009 IEEE. [5] â€Å"ZigBee source route technology in home application â€Å"by Yao-Ting Wu in 2008 IEEE. [6] â€Å"Research of ZigBee’s data securities and protections† by Li Chunqing1, Zhang Jiancheng, 2009 International Forum on Computer Science-Technology and Applications © 2009 IEEE. [7] â€Å"ZigBee and UPnP Expansion for Home Electrical Appliance Control on Internet† by Kuk-Se Kim, Chanmo Park ,Kyung-SikSeo, Il-Yong Chung, Joon Lee2007 ICACT2007. [8] â€Å"ZigBee’s Wireless Sensors Applications for Health, Wellness and Fitness† by ZigBee’s Alliances © 2009 ZigBee Alliance. [9] â€Å"Z-Phone: Implementation Design and of Embedded Voice over ZigBee Applications† by A.Meliones and E. Touloupis. [10] † Bluetooth based homes automation systems using cell phones† by R.Piyare, M.Tazil2011 IEEE 15th International Symposium on Consumer Electronics.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Mona Lisa’s Smile: Single-sex Education for Girls Essay -- Movies Femi

Mona Lisa’s Smile: Single-sex Education for Girls â€Å"Men Are from Mars - Women Are from Venus,† it is the title of a bestseller book, which tells us how different boys and girls are. Single-sex education was introduced because of the huge differences, and it once flourished in the United States. Since the 1970s, however, it began to be regarded with a degree of suspicion. Many girls’ schools closed or amalgamated and the trend towards co-education continued to spread. Until nowadays, the debate between single-sex education and coeducation still carries on. Single-sex education benefits girls especially, by offering equally rigorous academic opportunities, and helping them cultivate leadership and greater confidence; yet it also creates over-confidence and social problems. Thus a real solution is to offer â€Å"single-sex classrooms at coed schools†, which combines the advantages of both single-sex education and coeducation. The huge differences between boys and girls provide the foundation of single-sex education, and especially for girls, whose potential is not fully nurtured in an elitist male education system. Among a great number of gender differences, girls differ most distinctively from boys in brain and learning style. Many studies demonstrate sex differences in the structure of the brain. According to researchers at Johns Hopkins, â€Å"the higher association cortex, the part of the brain thought to be responsible for our most complex boystal operations, is markedly asymmetric in boys but not in girls; and in boys, the area is larger on the left, whereas to the extent that there was asymmetry in the brain, girls' association cortex is larger on the right.† ( qtd. in NASSPE 3) . In another study, L. S. Allen and R. A. Gorsk... ...g environment. Meanwhile, they could socialize with guy friends at coed schools, which will prepare them for later entering into society much better than had they not interacted with boys at girls’ schools. Admittedly, this â€Å"single-sex classrooms at coed schools† education is not perfect, but it makes the most of both single-sex education and coeducation. It might be the future of single-sex education. Works Cited Gu, Tong. Telephone interview. 1 December 2004. Grà ¶n, Georg et al. â€Å"Brain activation during human navigation: gender-different neural networks as substrate of performance.† Nature neuroscience. April 2000, 3(4):404-408. National Association for Single Sex Public Education (NASSPE). Brain Differences. January 2002. . The National Coalition of Girls’ Schools (NCGS). Benefits of Attending. December 2004. < http://www.ncgs.org/type0.php?pid=16>.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Back to the Dream Time

NORTHERN UNIVERSITY OF MALAYSIA COLLEGE OF LAW, GOVERNMENT AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES SBLE 1043(GROUP D4) TITLE: BACK TO THE DREAMTIME LECTURER: MADAM HAZNUR NADIN BINTI HASSAN PREPARED BY: TEOH BOON KHAI (219673) The two main characters in the novel ‘Back To The Dreamtime’ were Richard and Tom. This novel is talking about how a boy complete the mission that given by his father who had died when he was two years old and how a family maintain their relationship although Richard is adopted by McDonald. Richard Oenpelli McDonald was a smart, rational and filial piety boy.He has a sibling which is Judy and Tom. His mother named Sonya and his father, Oenpelli, tribal name, was died when he was two years old. He was adopted by the Joe McDonalds. However, his parents had hidden him about his background and heritage. Although Richard was Aborigines, he lived in city since he was a kid. He study in University Of Sydney which is same with his brother, Tom. Richard was interesting i n History and he intention to take this course in the university. Tom is Richard’s brother however Tom is a white man and Richard is Aborigines.Tom study in the same university with Richard which is University Of Sydney. Tom was older than Richard exactly two month. Tom was interested in photography and he may continue his study in photography. He found it very interesting and it’s not usual nine to five job. The relationship this two main character was good. They went to school to school together everyday. Besides that, they used to sit and chi-chat beside the railway tracks every morning before going to school. Besides that, Richard, Tom and their sister, Judy were playing cricket in their house backyard.It was their favourite pastime on the weekend. During the break time in school, they and their friend, Bradley used to left the school grounds secretly to go to their favourite place at cliff. Moreover, Richard and Tom decided joined the year’s senior class ca mp which location at Alice Springs with a friend who named Bradley. The year’s camp was taking five days in Alice Springs. Tom volunteer himself to go to Alice Springs with Richard. The purpose they went there is to burn the tjuruga in Richard’s father burial ground at Uluru. At the end, they succeeded to find the burial ground and buried the tjurunga.During the trip, it had drained them physically and emotionally and they experienced it together. They helped each other during the trip. In the conclusion, I feel that the way they maintain their relationship among Richard, Tom and their family is what we have to learn. Although they don’t have any relation in scientific prove, they still very respect and love each other. Nevertheless, they treat their family members very well and take care of each other. They can stay peaceful among each other. This kind of spirit and moral value is what we have to learn from.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Battle of Dien Bien Phu in the First Indochina War

Battle of Dien Bien Phu in the First Indochina War The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was fought from March 13 to May 7, 1954, and was the decisive engagement of the First Indochina War (1946-1954), the precursor to the Vietnam War. In 1954, French forces in French Indochina sought to cut the Viet Minhs supply lines to Laos. To accomplish this, a large fortified base was constructed at Dien Bien Phu in northwest Vietnam. It was hoped that the presence of the base would draw the Viet Minh into a pitched battle where superior French firepower could destroy its army. Poorly sited in the low ground of the valley, the base was soon besieged by Viet Minh forces which used artillery and infantry assaults to grind down the enemy while also deploying a large number of anti-aircraft guns to prevent the French from resupplying or evacuating. In nearly two months of fighting, the entire French garrison was either killed or captured. The victory effectively ended the First Indochina War and led to the 1954 Geneva Accords which split the country into North and South Vietnam. Background With the First Indochina War going poorly for the French, Premier Rene Mayer dispatched General Henri Navarre to take command in May 1953. Arriving in Hanoi, Navarre found that no long-term plan existed for defeating the Viet Minh and that French forces simply reacted to the enemys moves. Believing that he was also tasked with defending neighboring Laos, Navarre sought an effective method for interdicting Viet Minh supply lines through the region. Working with Colonel Louis Berteil, the hedgehog concept was developed which called for French troops to establish fortified camps near Viet Minh supply routes. Supplied by air, the hedgehogs would allow French troops to block the Viet Minhs supplies, compelling them to fall back. The concept was largely based on the French success at the Battle of Na San in late 1952. General Vo Nguyen Giap. Photograph Source: Public Domain Holding the high ground around a fortified camp at Na San, French forces had repeatedly beaten back assaults by General Vo Nguyen Giaps Viet Minh troops. Navarre believed that the approach used at Na San could be enlarged to force the Viet Minh to commit to a large, pitched battle where superior French firepower could destroy Giaps army. Building the Base In June 1953, Major General Renà © Cogny first proposed the idea of creating a mooring point at Dien Bien Phu in northwest Vietnam. While Cogny had envisioned a lightly defended airbase, Navarre seized on the location for trying the hedgehog approach. Though his subordinates protested, pointing out that unlike Na San they would not hold the high ground around the camp, Navarre persisted and planning moved forward. On November 20, 1953, Operation Castor commenced and 9,000 French troops were dropped into the Dien Bien Phu area over the next three days. Colonel Christian de Castries. US Army With Colonel Christian de Castries in command, they quickly overcame local Viet Minh opposition and began building a series of eight fortified strong points. Given female names, de Castries headquarters was located in the center of four fortifications known as Huguette, Dominique, Claudine, and Eliane. To the north, northwest, and northeast were works dubbed Gabrielle, Anne-Marie, and Beatrice, while four miles to the south, Isabelle guarded the bases reserve airstrip. Over the coming weeks, de Castries garrison increased to 10,800 men supported by artillery and ten M24 Chaffee light tanks. Battle of Dien Bien Phu Conflict: First Indochina War (1946-1954)Dates: March 13-May 7, 1954Armies and Commanders:FrenchBrigadier General Christian de CastriesColonel Pierre LanglaisMajor General Rene Cogny10,800 men (March 13)Viet MinhVo Nguyen Giap48,000 men (March 13)Casualties:French: 2,293 killed, 5,195 wounded, and 10,998 capturedViet Minh: approx. 23,000 Under Siege Moving to attack the French, Giap dispatched troops against the fortified camp at Lai Chau, forcing the garrison to flee towards Dien Bien Phu. En route, the Viet Minh effectively destroyed the 2,100-man column and only 185 reached the new base on December 22. Seeing an opportunity at Dien Bien Phu, Giap moved approximately 50,000 men into the hills around the French position, as well as the bulk of his heavy artillery and anti-aircraft guns. The preponderance of Viet Minh guns came as a surprise to the French who did not believe that Giap possessed a large artillery arm. Though Viet Minh shells began falling on the French position on January 31, 1954, Giap did not open the battle in earnest until 5:00 PM on March 13. Utilizing a new moon, Viet Minh forces launched a massive assault on Beatrice behind a heavy barrage of artillery fire. French M24 Chaffee light tanks firing during the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, 1954. US Army Extensively trained for the operation, Viet Minh troops quickly overcame French opposition and secured the works. A French counterattack the next morning was easily defeated. The next day, artillery fire disabled the French airstrip forcing supplies to be dropped by parachute. That evening, Giap sent two regiments from the 308th Division against Gabrielle. Battling Algerian troops, they fought through the night. Hoping to relieve the beleaguered garrison, de Castries launched a counterattack north, but with little success. By 8:00 AM on March 15, the Algerians were forced to retreat. Two days later, Anne-Maries was easily taken when the Viet Minh were able to convince the Tai (a Vietnamese ethnic minority loyal to the French) soldiers manning it to defect. Though the next two weeks saw a lull in fighting, the French command structure was in tatters. The End Nears Despairing over the early defeats, de Castries secluded himself in his bunker and Colonel Pierre Langlais effectively took command of the garrison. During this time, Giap tightened his lines around the four central French fortifications. On March 30, after cutting off Isabelle, Giap began a series of assaults on the eastern bastions of Dominique and Eliane. Achieving a foothold in Dominique, the Viet Minhs advance was stopped by concentrated French artillery fire. Fighting raged in Dominique and Eliane through April 5, with the French desperately defending and counterattacking. Pausing, Giap shifted to trench warfare and attempted to isolate each French position. Over the next several days, fighting continued with heavy losses on both sides. With his mens morale sinking, Giap was forced to call for reinforcements from Laos. While the battle raged on the eastern side, Viet Minh forces succeeded in penetrating Huguette and by April 22 had captured 90% of the air strip. This made resupply, which had been difficult due to heavy anti-aircraft fire, next to impossible. Between May 1 and May 7, Giap renewed his assault and succeeded in overrunning the defenders. Fighting to the end, the last French resistance ended by nightfall on May 7. French prisoners of war are marched out of Dien Bien Phu, 1954. Public Domain Aftermath A disaster for the French, losses at Dien Bien Phu numbered 2,293 killed, 5,195 wounded, and 10,998 captured. Viet Minh casualties are estimated at around 23,000. The defeat at Dien Bien Phu marked the end of the First Indochina War and spurred peace negotiations which were ongoing in Geneva. The resulting 1954 Geneva Accords partitioned the country at the 17th Parallel and created a communist state in the north and a democratic state in the south. The resulting conflict between these two regimes ultimately grew into the Vietnam War.