Most of the time the French High Command could read, on charts and maps prepared by its various intelligence sections, the full order of battle of Viet Minh units, with an accuracy that was often greater than, and rarely less than, 80 percent. Almost never did the Viet Minh initiate an operation of major significance that had not been anticipated by these services. At the lower levels, however, battalion commanders and detachment commanders were often victims of the most brutal surprises—in the form of road mines, ambushes, and grenade attacks. When a French Union patrol would enter a village,
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