the battle started when the french army tried to attack the viet minh after cutting of the supply line to get a easy defeat. the viet minh surrounded the french army with trenches and attacked using artillery. with the trenches the battle looked like a battle from world war 1. the french wanted to resupply the troops from the air but there were anti-aircraft guns that shot down the planes. the viet minh with all these advangtages won the battle, which caused the war to end shortly afterwards.