The role of transportation in the Dien Bien Phu Campaign was a crucial factor contributing to the historical victory. Despite facing fierce bombardment from the French Air Force, a rudimentary but effective transport system ensured the supply of essential materials to the battlefield.
Image illustrating civilian cyclists carrying supplies to the Dien Bien Phu battlefield.
To cut off the flow of personnel and supplies from the rear to the Dien Bien Phu battlefield, the French army concentrated its air force to fiercely bomb transportation routes. In particular, the key route Co Noi – Yen Bai was frequently subjected to 69 tons of bombs daily. Jules Roy, in his book “The Battle of Dien Bien Phu from a French Perspective,” had to acknowledge the resilience of the Vietnamese transportation system: “Hundreds of tons of bombs were dropped on the transportation lines and supply routes of the Vietnamese People’s Army, but they never managed to sever those roads…”
Despite difficulties due to harsh weather and enemy interdiction, convoys of civilian cyclists, packhorses, and small boats bravely overcame bombs and bullets to advance towards Dien Bien Phu. Tens of thousands of civilian laborers and youth volunteers, regardless of sacrifice, day and night crossed forests and streams to transport food and ammunition to the front lines.
The strength of rudimentary transport combined with motorized vehicles helped transport over 95% of the planned logistical needs to the assembly area by early March 1954. Food, weapons, and ammunition were transported via the Khau Hu and Ban Tau routes to the 308th Division in the West, Route 43 to Na Loi for the 312th Division in the Northwest, and artillery haulage routes supplying the 316th Division and other units in the East.
Image depicting civilian frontline workers carrying ammunition and food supplies on their backs and shoulders to the battlefield.
On March 13, 1954, when the Dien Bien Phu Campaign began, transport units on the logistics lines continued to move rice and weapons to the depots of the divisions, ensuring that combat units had sufficient food reserves. Even within range of enemy artillery fire, transport soldiers and civilian laborers persistently carried rice and ammunition by any means, including traveling in trenches or carrying loads on their shoulders. After each battle, civilian transport workers also undertook the task of evacuating and treating the wounded.
In the second phase of combat, civilian cyclist convoys and labor forces overcame enemy bombs and bullets, overcame all difficulties and shortages, and transported with increasingly high efficiency and volume. By April 30, 1954, the volume of goods transported to the front exceeded the target by 8% compared to the plan for the second phase of combat and exceeded the target by 3% of the material needs of the troops in the third phase of combat.
The Dien Bien Phu victory on May 7, 1954, was the culmination of the strength of the entire nation, in which transportation in the Dien Bien Phu Campaign made a significant contribution. This rudimentary but effective transport system is a testament to the strength, creativity, and resilience of our military and people, creating a unique feature of the decisive strategic battle, leaving valuable lessons learned that were applied in the resistance war against the Americans and continue to be inherited in the current national construction and defense.
