In 1953, the Chinese People's Liberation Army supplied the division with up to 48 American M101 105mm howitzers captured from defeated Nationalists under Chiang Kai-shek during the Chinese Civil War and from US/UN forces during the Korean War, which was still raging on at that time.

At the end of November 1953, Engineer Regiment 151 was ordered to improve Route Provincale 41 between Sơn La and Tuần Giáo to support the build-up of Viet Minh forces around Điện Biên Phủ, in preparation for its showdown with French Union forces gathering in the valley there.

[2]: 260 The division fought during the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, and prior to the battle, had successfully hauled 200 dismantled artillery pieces up the hills to the east of Dien Bien Phu's valley and established well-hidden fortified positions overlooking the French fortress and outlying small garrisons from there (the Viet Minh placed their heavy artillery to the east of the French positions, while their mortars were mainly sited opposite, to the west).

Throughout the battle, it maintained a deadly rain of fire from its 75 mm and 105 mm howitzers, destroying much of the French garrison holed up in the valley and subsequently destroying the two vital runways in it, while anti-aircraft artillery, serving as combat support, put all aircraft flying into the valley at great risk of getting shot down, severely restricted French aerial resupply and parachute/air-drop missions.

[3] The 105 mm howitzers were divided into two sections, one positioned north-east of French strongpoint Beatrice and the other in the north of the valley, with each gun having 217 men allocated to it, of whom 118 were porters.