Editing Battle of Dien Bien Phu (section)

=== Prisoners ===
[[File:Dien Bien Phu 1954 French prisoners.jpg|thumb|Captured French soldiers from Dien Bien Phu, escorted by Vietnamese troops, walk to a prisoner-of-war camp]]
On 8 May, the Viet Minh counted 11,721 prisoners, of whom 4,436 were wounded.<ref name="losses">{{cite web|url=http://www.dienbienphu.org/english/html/bataille/losses.htm|title=Breakdown of losses suffered at Dien Bien Phu|publisher=dienbienphu.org|access-date=24 August 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070509023227/http://www.dienbienphu.org/english/html/bataille/losses.htm|archive-date=9 May 2007}}</ref> This was the greatest number the Viet Minh had ever captured, amounting to one-third of the total captured during the entire war. The prisoners were divided into groups. Able-bodied soldiers were force-marched over {{convert|600|km|abbr=on}} to prison camps to the north and east,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dienbienphu.org/english/html/captivite/long_walk.htm|title=The Long March|publisher=dienbienphu.org|access-date=24 August 2006|archive-date=9 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809130838/http://www.dienbienphu.org/english/html/captivite/long_walk.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> where they were intermingled with Viet Minh soldiers to discourage French bombing runs.{{sfn|Fall|1967|p=429}} Hundreds died of disease along the way. The wounded were given basic first aid until the [[Red Cross]] arrived, extracted 858 prisoners, and provided better aid to the remainder. Those wounded who were not evacuated by the Red Cross were sent into detention.<ref>[http://www.dienbienphu.org/english/html/captivite/captivity.htm "The Long March"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010821020701/http://www.dienbienphu.org/english/html/captivite/captivity.htm |date=21 August 2001 }}. Dienbienphu.org. Retrieved 12 January 2009</ref>

Only around 200 French soldiers managed to escape, going through the Viet Minh line towards Luang Prabang in Laos on the famous "Pavie Trail". Of 10,863 prisoners (including Vietnamese fighting for the French), only 3,290 were repatriated four months later;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cheminsdememoire.gouv.fr/en/battle-dien-bien-phu |title=Battle of Dien Bien Phu {{!}} Chemins de Mémoire – Ministère de la Défense – Ministère de la Défense |website=www.cheminsdememoire.gouv.fr |access-date=19 February 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819051922/http://cheminsdememoire.gouv.fr/en/battle-dien-bien-phu |archive-date=19 August 2016}}</ref> however, the losses figure may include the 3,013 prisoners of Vietnamese origin whose fate is unknown.<ref>Jean-Jacques Arzalier, ''Les Pertes Humaines'', ''1954–2004: La Bataille de Dien Bien Phu, entre Histoire et Mémoire'', Société française d'histoire d'outre-mer, 2004</ref>