Applying the Logistic Lessons of the French Defeat at Dien Bien Phu | Australian Army

"At Dien Bien Phu, there were many chokepoints that inhibited the effectiveness of the supply chain. One of the most significant issues in the last two months of the battle was the collection of scattered airdrops from within the defensive position. One-ton airdrop loads were easy to emplane at the airbases, helped maximise aircraft space and were more accurate on delivery. However, the French progressively lost their vehicles to enemy action within the camp so they were required to gather packages by hand.[ii] These loads were large and attracted enemy fire, and because they were too heavy to move intact they had to be broken down on the spot, often leading to significant porter casualties.[iii] Initially, once the loads were collected, they were taken to a central collection point and distributed evenly amongst the defensive position, however as the siege drew on, each strongpoint retained the supplies that were dropped in their area because it was too risky to return them to the central position and they didn’t know when they would receive their next resupply. This obviously resulted in ‘great waste and imbalances’[iv] across the position."