In Việt Nam, as elsewhere in Asia, the defeat of the European Allies during the early years of World War Two shattered the image of western colonial supremacy, unleashing the forces of incipient nationalism. Driven out of the country during the August Revolution of 1945, the French returned the following year, but their subsequent attempts to resume power precipitated the outbreak of war, leading to their calamitous defeat on Highway 4 (October 1950), followed two years later by the loss of Hòa Bình (March 1952). Thereafter the Vietnamese army went on the offensive all over the north west, over-running upper Laos in conjunction with Pathet Lao forces and threatening the Lao capital of Luang Prabang. At the end of 1953, with American support, the French parachuted an expeditionary force of 16,000 men into the Mường Thanh valley, in an attempt to counter Việt Minh incursions into Laos and to tempt them into open combat. However, the Expeditionary Force under Colonel (later General) Christian de Castres quickly found itself trapped, surrounded by Việt Minh artillery. After 59 days of bitter fighting the French surrendered on 7 May 1954, the eve of the Geneva Conference. Some 3,000 French and 20,000 Vietnamese are believed to have died during the course of this historic battle. Their humiliation at Điện Biên Phủ led the French to sue for peace at the subsequent Geneva Conference, the terms of which effected the fateful division along the 17th parallel between the Communist north and the capitalist south. Therein lay the seeds of a further 20 years of warfare in Việt Nam. Some of the vestiges listed below may be viewed as part of the brief guided tour included in the price of admission to the Điện Biên Phủ Historic Victory Exhibition Centre (Điện Biên Provincial Museum), though visitors are expected to supply their own transport. At the time of writing all of the monuments are undergoing restoration in advance of the 50th anniversary of the victory against France in May 2004.