sentences:  At the height of the Battle of Hòa Bình, Giáp had 40 battalions fighting his enemies at different locations throughout the province.In January 1952, French forces were winning when De Lattre had to return to France for cancer treatment and General Salan was appointed to take his place.General Salan, who saw the province as an area that was hard to support and to defend, decided to withdraw his troops (Operation Amarante).