 General Giáp planned to wait until the French supply lines were overextended at which point they could be harassed and eventually forced to withdraw.Instead of cancelling his offensive into the T'ai country, Giáp detached Regiment 36 of the 308th Division and Regiment 176 of the 316th Division to defend the important supply bases at Yên Bái and Thái Nguyên.While the French seized large amounts of stores, the Việt Minh withdrew rather than engaging and the operation had failed to distract Giáp from the T'ai country.