March 13 in Military History — On This Day

⚔️📍 Petrograd, Russia1917

Russian February Revolution — Tsar Nicholas II Abdicates

Mass protests over food shortages and the catastrophic costs of WWI exploded into revolution as soldiers refused to fire on protesters. Within days the Tsar abdicated, ending 300 years of Romanov rule. The calendar date was February 27 in Russia's Old Style calendar.

The February Revolution ended the Russian Empire but installed a Provisional Government that fatally chose to continue the war, opening the door for Lenin's Bolshevik coup in October.

Outcome

Tsar abdicates; Provisional Government established

Battle of Dien Bien Phu

The decisive battle that ended French rule in Indochina. General Giap surrounded a French garrison at a remote valley with 50,000 Viet Minh troops and, impossibly, hauled artillery over jungle mountains to shell the airstrip. Resupply became impossible. After 57 days, the surviving garrison of roughly 10,800 surrendered. France's defeat was total and humiliating.

Ended 80 years of French colonial rule in Indochina. The Geneva Accords that followed temporarily divided Vietnam at the 17th parallel — North Vietnam under Ho Chi Minh, South Vietnam under US-backed Ngo Dinh Diem. Eisenhower, fearing a communist 'domino effect,' began sending military advisors to South Vietnam. American involvement had begun.

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