While most history lessons consider American involvement in the Vietnam conflict to have originated with the Marines landing at Da Nang in 1965, in actuality began almost a decade earlier. With a call for help from an unlikely source, the French Army, who themselves were entrenched in a quarrel against the Viet Cong. Brought to video by PBS, this documentary tells the legacy of the battle for Dien Bien Phu, starting with the guerilla assault against outnumbered and outgunned French soldiers in the spring of 1954. The aftermath of the conflict would divide the Southeast Asian nation and be the launching pad for the deployment of American forces.