Following the spirit of great spring victory

The 1975 Spring General Offensive and Uprising ended with the victory of the historic Ho Chi Minh campaign that completely liberated the South and reunified the country. The great 1975 spring victory not only recorded in our nation's history as the most brilliant milestone in the twentieth century, but also left many valuable lessons and experience with lasting value to the construction and defense cause of the socialist rule-of-law State of Vietnam in the new era. During the past 47 years, the Party, army and people of Song Be - Binh Duong inherited and promoted the spirit of the great 1975 spring victory with dynamic and creative strategies to achieve great achievements in the cause of building and developing a more civilized and beautiful homeland.

Part 1: Feelings of April

21 years of long-term resistance war against the US, along with the whole country, the revolutionary struggle movement of the land with war zones, namely War Zone D, Iron Triangle, Bau Bang, Dau Tieng... spent indomitable years, staunchly clinging, bravely fighting with many hardships and sacrifices. During the 1975 Spring General Offensive and Uprising, Thu Dau Mot provincial Party Committee led the local army and people to fight against the enemy to liberate the homeland while ensuring the task of opening the way for the main force to attack Saigon-the last stronghold of the US - puppet regime, joining hands with the whole country to make the historic 1975 spring victory, liberating the South and reunifying the country.

People participated in the meeting to celebrate the liberation of Thu Dau Mot town

Although hearing Nguyen Thi Mot to recount the historical moment when she received the task of placing the flag of the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam on the roof of Phu Cuong working house on the historic April 30 for many times, but we still can't help being overwhelming by her emotions mixed with pride and happiness. For her, the memory of the historic moment of the day of complete liberation of the South and reunification of the country remains intact even though nearly half a century has passed.

“On April 30, 1975, I and another comrade were assigned the task of flying the flag on the roof of the Phu Cuong working house. At that time, I did not know how to enter Phu Cuong working house. Holding the flag, I clung to the door of the annex, climbed onto the balcony, and then entered Phu Cuong working house, pulled down the three-stick flag and raised the flag of the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam…”, she recounted the historic moment 47 years ago with as much detail as what happened yesterday.

The days of April are also an emotional time for Nguyen Minh Giao, former member of provincial Party Standing Committee, former Head of provincial Party Committee’s Education-Training Commission. April always reminds him of unforgettable memories of the boiling days of preparing for the final battle to liberate his homeland.

In his memoirs "Unpeaceful Childhood", Mr. Giao spent many pages on bringing readers back to the heroic days of Thu Dau Mot army and people during the general offensive: "...more than 5:00 - 6:00 a.m. on April 30, the artillery of the liberation troops fired at the Phu Loi base. At nearly 8 o'clock, a number of artillery shells were fired at provincial Chief’s palace, but the bullets did not reach the palace, but fell outside the fence, exploding in the area of ​​​​soldier families on Ngo Quyen street near the Piscine intersection. No matter where the artillery shells exploded, we immediately understood that it was a general signal for attack!”.

On that day, Mr. Giao was in the force to liberate Thu Dau Mot town. At that time,  when the general signal was issued, a series of external troops together with on-site forces approached the target and performed their assigned task. The troops were divided into many attacks to occupy and liberate assigned targets. There was a troop capturing the Ken, the “Up Noi” pagoda military posts and then attacking Chanh hamlet in the Lo Chen area. There was a troop occupying Ba Lua sugar factory in Phu Tho hamlet and Phu Van hamlet. Many other troops also occupied My Hao hamlet, Chanh Loc hamlet and attacked the School of Engineering Officers...

At 10:30 am on April 30, 1975, the flag of the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam flew over the roof of Phu Cuong working house, marking the complete liberation of Thu Dau Mot town. The half-blue, half-red flag with a five-pointed yellow star fluttering at that moment was also an unforgettable image in the mind of Mr. Giao, Mrs. Mot and all the people in that great historical moment.

The victory of the uprising offensive of Thu Dau Mot army and people on April 30, 1975 contributed to the whole country's decisive victory in the historic Ho Chi Minh campaign, successfully ending the great resistance war against America to regain national independence and freedom, uniting the mountains and rivers and the country was full of joy... (to be continued)

Under the policy of general offensive and uprising from central authorities, on April 18, 1975, Thu Dau Mot’s Liberation Front Committee and Revolutionary People's Committee issued a call to all cadres, soldiers, all-level authorities and sectors and localities to be determined with compatriots to continuously attack and smash the enemy's apparatus, taking power into people. On April 29, 1975, provincial Party Committee gathered more than 400 cadres at Rung Tre base in Vinh Tan commune to implement an uprising plan. The targets of the attack on the town were determined, including: Phu Loi Sub-Region, Chau Thanh Military Zone, Administrative Building, Police Department, School of Engineering Officers, Sugar Factory... About 10 hours 30 minutes on April 30, 1975, the liberation flag flew over the roofs of the enemy’s agencies. We completely controlled the situation of Thu Dau Mot town. The people joyfully poured into the streets to greet the liberation fighters and celebrate the victory. The whole town was brightly colored with the flags of the Fatherland and the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam.

Reported by Tri Dung-Translated by Kim Tin