Charles Piroth

Charles Jean Clément Piroth (14 August 1906 – 15 March 1954) was a French artillery officer and World War II veteran. He served three tours in Vietnam during the First Indochina War. Piroth commanded the artillery during the Battle of Điện Biên Phủ. He was bold and optimistic before hostilities erupted, exulting "I've got more guns than I need." After failures by his artillery batteries to provide adequate support, he committed suicide in his bunker. Charles Piroth was the son of a brewer Charles Piroth and Marie Mathilde Bogli. He married Odette Marie Maillot in Champlitte on August 30, 1926 Piroth served as an artillery officer in the Italian Campaign during World War II. His last regimental command was with the 41st Colonial Artillery Regiment. Piroth served a total of three tours in Indochina, arriving at first with General Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque as a major in October 1945. He and his artillerymen were pressed into service as infantry, due to the need for soldiers on the front line and the lack of targets for artillery. Piroth proved a popular and respected commanding officer when serving north of Saigon in an area known as Thu Dau Mot. On 17 December 1946, Piroth was critically wounded during an ambush though he remained in command until he was eventually evacuated to Saigon, where his arm was amputated without anaesthesia. Piroth was sent to recover in France. He returned to Indochina, but a year later, in 1950, newly arrived General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny dismissed him from the general staff. In late 1953, Piroth was given command of the artillery force at Điện Biên Phủ by its commander Colonel Christian de Castries. The French artillery at Điện Biên Phủ comprised only 30 medium and heavy guns, although large stocks of shells were airlifted into the zone before the siege began.