Lesson 1: Boiling before the historic moment
During the Ho Chi Minh campaign in 1975, along with the entire South, the army and people of Binh Duong province fought steadfastly with the main troops, defeating the last entrenched bases of the US – puppet. At exactly 10:30 a.m. on April 30, 1975, the army and people of Binh Duong took complete control of Thu Dau Mot Town. The offensive springboard base in the northern direction of Saigon gateway was quickly expanded, creating conditions for our main army corps to quickly attack and penetrate deep into the last stronghold of the Saigon regime, completing the attack. the liberation of the South and the unification of the country.
49 years ago, with the spirit of “Speed, more speed, more daring, more daring, taking advantage of every minute, every minute, rushing to the front, liberating the South. Decisive battle and complete victory”, the atmosphere of the days of April 1975, in Thu Dau Mot was seething with the spirit of attack.
“One day equals 20 years”
According to Major General Nguyen Van Phe, former Commander of the Provincial Military Command (CHQS), with the spirit of “one day equals 20 years”, all preparations for the attack and uprising of the forces have been carried out. The armed forces in the province were carried out very urgently. Officers and soldiers were excited about the revolutionary offensive, determined to win the final strategic battle.
Coordinating with the general battlefield, the Ministry of Military Affairs of the province decided to use the 3rd force of the province’s armed forces for the offensive and uprising campaign to liberate the province. Specifically, Phu Loi 1 Battalion was responsible for guiding Division 320B (1st Army Corps) to attack Saigon. Then, invade and liberate Lai Thieu Branch. Company 74 of special forces coordinated with local forces to capture Bung area, An Thanh commune. Phu Loi 2 Battalion will receive artillery support from Division 312 (1st Army Corps) to liberate Binh My commune (formerly Tan Uyen district); After that, the battalion handed over to the commune’s guerrillas and joined the main army to capture Phu Loi Sub-area and Thu Dau Mot Town. Phu Loi 3 Battalion and Phu Loi 2 Battalion took over the town. Engineer Company 506 coordinated with Phu Chanh commune’s guerrillas to attack and liberate Phu Chanh commune, then hand it over to the locality and develop forces into the town. The 73rd Special Forces Company and Di An district forces (with support from the 113th Special Forces Group above) attacked the branches and expanded to the Di An train depot. The districts of South Ben Cat, Phu Giao, and Tan Uyen also used district forces and commune guerrillas to coordinate general battlefields, combining attacks and uprisings, capturing and liberating towns, then developing to other targets. other.
Ma Sau Ngau (third, from left) provided the commander of the 27th Regiment with a map and instructions on how to advance to Saigon. Photo: Documents
During this period, along with the establishment of Battalion 3, Special Forces Company, and Provincial Artillery Company, local district companies, town commandos, and commune guerrillas were all supplemented with troops and equipment. weapons, organize learning, thoroughly understand tasks, and train. Hundreds of officers and soldiers of the provincial armed forces and civilians on the fire line continuously transported more than 40 tons of weapons and ammunition, more than 117 tons of food and medicine to warehouse locations in the South of Road 16 for recovery. battlefield incident. Officers and soldiers of the Provincial Armed Forces in the last days of April 1975 were boiling with revolutionary spirit to attack.
In towns, townships, and strategic hamlets, many secret party members, thousands of secret guerrillas, and secret bases have overcome dangers and stuck to the areas to mobilize the masses, secretly preparing every aspect like sewing flags. battle, prepare medicine, food… step up military operations, ready for uprisings.
By April 26, 1975, the province’s armed forces and the two main divisions of the 1st Army Corps and the 113th Special Forces Group of the military region had overcome enemy bombs and bullets, and were ready at the starting position to attack targets. destroy the enemy according to the proposed plan…
Mom’s map
Referring to the boiling days before the general offensive campaign, we cannot help but mention Sau Ngau’s mother (real name Huynh Thi Sau) in Thuan An city. Thanks to the map Sau Ngau’s mother gave (a map of the city) and “advised” the commander of the 27th Regiment on the evening of April 29, 1975, the 27th Regiment of the 1st Army Corps “did not fall into ambush”. Strike and decisively defeat the enemy from the solid outer defense line into the assigned target of the “Factory Army” with few casualties and losses in forces and vehicles; “Excellent completion of tasks assigned by superiors.”
| With the spirit of “one day equals 20 years”, all preparations for the attack and uprising of the armed forces in the province were carried out very urgently. Officers and soldiers were excited about the revolutionary offensive, determined to win the final strategic battle… |
Meeting Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Huy Hieu, former Regiment Commander of the 27th Regiment many times, every time, to him it was like something that happened just yesterday. According to him, during the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign, Regiment 27, Division 320B, Army Corps 1 was assigned the task of attacking a deep thrust from the North flank along Route 13 to capture Vinh Binh Bridge and other key bridges. , at all costs we must open the northern door so that our army can enter and liberate Saigon. And Sau Ngau’s cheek is closely associated with the regiment’s history. According to Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Huy Hieu, “during the historic moment of April 30, if it weren’t for the map of Saigon and the timely information provided by Mother Sau, perhaps today would have been a heroic history.” of the 27th Regiment had to be rewritten”.
At this time, every day the enemy reinforced Lai Thieu’s forces. This was originally a bustling district capital with famous orchards throughout the region, but now it has become noisy and cramped, with soldiers returning, disasters have befallen the people. Pouring money and soldiers into defense lines, the Saigon puppet commander hopes to stop our attacks and possibly prolong the existence of the Saigon puppet government.
As for Sau Ngau’s mother, according to Ms. Huynh Thi Kim Ngan (Sau Ngau’s daughter), on April 28 and 29, she could not sit still. Mom continuously urged the guerrilla team to closely follow the war situation in Ben Cat and Route 13. Mom continued to carefully review the map of Saigon and the northern gateway, carefully preparing advice. his combat. The map records the special locations of large enemy bases, transportation systems and outer firepower layers from the inner city area to the northern gateway and the entire enemy defense line in Thu Dau Town. One. On the evening of April 29, 1975, Sau Ngau’s mother had a premonition that the moment to fulfill her husband’s dreams and wishes had come. The oil lamp was lit before it was dark. And now “G” has arrived, around 7:00 p.m. on April 29, the vanguard troops of Regiment 27, Division 320B arrived at the factory…
Therefore, on April 30 every year, veterans of the 27th Regiment still travel thousands of kilometers from all parts of the country to come here to review old memories together and offer incense to commemorate Sau Ngau’s mother and grandmother. The South has contributed to the country and to the regiment. Thanks to the map of the capital city of Saigon and Sau’s mother’s detailed instructions, they helped the unit successfully complete its mission in the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign.
Recognizing the contributions of Sau Ngau’s mother, commemorating the 94th anniversary of the Party’s founding on February 3, 2024, the Thuan An City Party Committee posthumously awarded the President’s First Class Resistance Medal to Sau Ngau’s mother for her achievements. achievements in the resistance war against America, to save the country… (to be continued).
THU THAO
