In a way the very concept was a study in Western arrogance, for the war had already been going on for seven years, and even casual study of the other side should have given the French commander a healthy respect for the Vietminh’s bravery, combat skills, and, above all, their ability to conserve resources. Navarre believed that General Giap, the Vietminh commander, could bring at most a reinforced division to bear upon this distant position. It proved to be a terrible miscalculation, one of the worst of many such in this war, for Giap eventually moved three divisions into play. It would be a
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