 Complete the following phrase:  The French decision to conduct Operation Pollux can only be described in hindsight as incredibly arrogant. It alienated most of the Tai Federation, who viewed the decision as a humiliation. As a result these troops were to support the remaining French war effort less than enthusiastically while accounting for nearly one quarter of the troops at Bien Dien Phu when the battle began four months later. Many fled to the mountains or defected to the Viet Minh during the battle. Together with the other Montagnard - black Tai, Hmong, Yao and others - they aligned with the Viet Minh. They helped build and support the unprecedented artillery pounding and the encircling and undermining of the French outpost in what was ultimately 