奠邊府
A number of factors were significantly different between Khe Sanh and Điện Biên Phủ. Khe Sanh was much closer to a US supply base () compared to a French one at Điện Biên Phủ (). At Khe Sanh, the U.S. Marines held the high ground, and their artillery forced the North Vietnamese to use their own artillery from a much greater distance. By contrast, at Điện Biên Phủ, the French artillery (six 105 mm batteries and one battery of four 155 mm howitzers and mortars) was only sporadically effective. Furthermore, by 1968, the US military presence in Vietnam dwarfed that of the French, and included numerous technological advances such as effective helicopters.