Bollardière was in command of a paratrooper demi-brigade at the outbreak of the First Indochina War. He took part in commando actions in Laos, Cambodia and Tonkin. He subsequently said that having initially understood the Indochina War as an action to restore legitimate French rule in the area after the Japanese occupation, he came to draw parallels between the anti-colonialist forces he was fighting against and the "maquis" group he led during the Second World War.