Artists from Vietnam played an integral role in both the First Indochina War (1946-1954), where they fought for independence from French colonial rule, and the Second Indochina War (commonly known as the Vietnam War or the American War), which continued until 1975. Artists documented conditions for soldiers in the battlefields, as well as for civilians in the cities and the countryside. In the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam or DRV), artists were employed by the military or the state; sometimes their works were created as personal mementoes, but they also created propagandistic and sometimes romantic images to articulate and advocate ideological positions. Sometimes these images were exhibited or published during the wartime. This artwork depicts the transportation of goods to the front line. According to interviews conducted with the artist, certain goods like guns and ammunition, food and other military equipment were transported by truck, while petrol and gasoline normally went by train. Vehicles were camouflaged, for example with strips of bamboo, so that the enemy could not detect them. The work has a descriptive, anecdotal character, conveying the day-to-day logistics of life in the war zone.This artwork is part of a significant collection of drawings, sketches, paintings, posters and photographs in Singapore’s National Collection. These works reflect the diversity of artistic production during the First and Second Indochina Wars among artists affiliated with the communist side of the conflict. Many key figures active as war artists during this period have also had a lasting impact on the development of modern art in Vietnam and beyond.