On 11 March 1954, Schoendoerffer was injured at Dien Bien Phu, in a minor skirmish (Cote 781 attack) before the main battle, and he was sent to the southern base located in Saigon aboard a C-47 transport plane. Since there were no other cameramen remaining on the battlefield, Schoendoerffer insisted on returning to document the event. Finally, on March 18, he was allowed to take off from the northern base Hanoi, located at 1H15 (252 km) from Dien Bien Phu, on a C-47 and to jump with the 5th Bawouan (Vietnamese Parachute Battalion) over Dien Bien Phu.