10. A Brilliant Plan Goes Awry
The French paratroopers were dropped into Dien Bien Phu, whose main feature was an airstrip in a valley encircled by hills. Things quickly turned sour, as many French assumptions were proven mistaken. The French had assumed the guerrillas lacked anti-aircraft capabilities. Instead, the surrounding hills were soon studded by flak guns that formed a deadly gauntlet through which aircraft had to fly in order to take off from or land on the airstrip. So many planes were shot down that the French were forced to rely on airdrops for supply, many of which missed their targets and landed within enemy lines instead.
