21. Catastrophically Underestimating the Enemy’s Strength
The French military dropped paratroopers 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 catastrophically wrong. The French had assumed the Viet Minh lacked anti-aircraft capabilities. The surrounding hills were soon studded by flak guns, forming a deadly gantlet through which aircraft had to fly when taking off or landing from the airstrip. So many planes were shot down that the French were soon forced to rely on airdrops for supply, many of which missed their targets and landed within enemy lines, instead.
The French had also assumed the Viet Minh would have no artillery. Their commander, General Vo Nguyen Giap, organized tens of thousands of porters into a supply line that hauled disassembled howitzers and the ammunition over rough terrain to the hills overlooking the French. There, they were ingeniously dug in to make them immune to counter-battery fire.
