April 2, 1945: We called for the surrender of stronghold 311, the enemy launched many counterattacks to occupy hill A1.

At 11 o'clock, enemy reinforcements from Muong Thanh coordinated with the defending force, trying to launch many counterattacks to retake A1.

There were only more than fifty of us left on the battlefield. Under the direct command of the Regiment Commander, the officers and soldiers were divided into many groups in charge of each trench. The battalion officers, including the Regiment Commander, repeatedly used submachine guns, hand grenades, and explosive tubes to fight the enemy counterattacks, repelling many of their attacks.

At midnight they organized a new attack but without results.

Military hero Nguyen Quoc Tri (top right) and soldiers are attacking Muong Thanh airport.

French troops parachuting into Dien Bien Phu. Photo: VNA

Enemy side :

The enemy ordered the 2nd battalion of the 1st colonial parachute regiment to begin parachuting into Dien Bien Phu, commanded by Bréchignac.

The battalion command post is located at Eliane 4 (C2).

The Vietnamese puppet paratroopers in the base were also under the command of Bréchignac.

The enemy lost the Huguette 7 base (106), the Huguette 6 base (105) became the next target for our army to attack.

Under the leadership and direction of the Party Central Committee and the Government, during the Dien Bien Phu Campaign, the "Front Supply Council" from the Central to the inter-regional, regional and provincial levels, together with the Army Logistics, local logistics and people's logistics, developed synchronously, had close relationships and supported each other, and promoted the role of mobilizing local human and material resources to ensure an increasingly sufficient and timely victory for the combat campaign.

Soldiers and ethnic minorities in the Northwest cut mountains and built roads to the battlefield.

In the article "Front Supply Council - Creativity in organizing logistics support for the Dien Bien Phu campaign", Colonel, Master Ngo Nhat Duong (Proceedings of the Scientific Conference Dien Bien Phu Victory - Historical and Realistic Values (May 7, 1954 - May 7, 2019) wrote that the results of the "Front Supply Council" at all levels and logistics support forces mobilized more than 260,000 laborers, over 20,000 bicycles, 17,000 pack horses, over 11,800 boats and rafts and 628 cars to transport goods, weapons and ammunition for the campaign.

The total amount of material ensured was up to 20 thousand tons, including 1,200 tons of ammunition, 1,783 tons of gasoline, 14,950 tons of rice, 268 tons of salt, 577 tons of meat, 1,034 tons of food and 177 tons of other materials.

Thanks to the contribution of the "Front Supply Council" at all levels, the logistics work successfully completed its mission of ensuring the Dien Bien Phu Campaign achieved great victory.