Operation Castor

Operation Castor
	Part of First Indochina War
	; French Union paratroops dropping from a C-119 over Battle of Dien Bien Phu
Date	20–22 November 1953
Location	Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam
Result	French Union victory Successful establishment of the Dien Bien Phu outpost by France and the State of Vietnam;
Belligerents
French Union France; French Indochina State of Vietnam; ;	Democratic Republic of Vietnam Việt Minh;
Commanders and leaders
Jean Gilles; Jean Dechaux; Henri Navarre	Võ Nguyên Giáp
Strength
4,195 (as of 22 November)	One infantry battalion and one artillery battery
Casualties and losses
By 20 November:; 11 killed,; 52 wounded	Unknown

Operation Castor was a successful French Union's airborne operation in the First Indochina War. This operation of France and the State of Vietnam established a fortified airhead in Điện Biên Province against the communist Việt Minh, in the north-west corner of Vietnam and was commanded by Brigadier General Jean Gilles. The Operation began at 10:35 on 20 November 1953, with reinforcements dropped over the following two days. With all its objectives achieved, the operation ended on 22 November. Castor was the largest airborne operation since World War II.