INDOCHINA
A slim woman in a blue linen suit spoke into the radiotelephone at French GHQ: "This is Mme. de Castries calling Dienbienphu. Is that you, darling?" In the fortress command post 175 miles away, Colonel de Castries came to the set. Asked Mme. de Castries: "Are you all right, Christian?" Said the colonel: "Never better." Mme. de Castries warned of the coming monsoon: "I hope your raincoat has not been destroyed." The colonel later messaged his wife for razor blades and shaving cream. "He is extremely confident," Mme. de Castries told a...