General uprising of Spring 1975 – the resonance

Update: 25-04-2024 | 19:01:48

49 years ago, with the spirit of liberating the South and resolve to fight and achieve total victory, the atmosphere of the days of April 1975, in Thu Dau Mot, was filled with advancement.

A day meant twenty years

By telling words of Major General Nguyen Van Phe, former Commander of the provincial Military Command, with the spirit of "one day equals 20 years", all preparations for the attack and uprising of the armed forces were being carried out in the province urgently. Officers and soldiers were excited about the revolutionary offensive with determination to win the final strategic battle.

In coordination with the general battlefield, the Provincial Military Command decided to use the province's three 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, invaded and liberated 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 handed 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) attacked the sub-areas 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.

Sau Ngau (third from right) gave a map with guidance for Regiment 27 to move forward to Saigon. Documented photo.

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, equipment, and weapons, organized learning to thoroughly understand tasks, and train. Hundreds of officers and soldiers of the province's armed forces and civilians continuously transported more than 40 tons of weapons and ammunition along with more than 117 tons of food and medicine to warehouse locations in Nam Duong days and nights to serve on the battlefield. Officers and soldiers of the province's armed forces in the last days of April 1975 were highly 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 battle flags, preparing medicine, and food step up military operations to be 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 were ready at the starting position to attack on enemy targets according to the proposed plan.

The map of a mother

Referring to the days before the general offensive campaign, we could not help but mention Sau Ngau – a mother of real name Huynh Thi Sau in Thuan An city. Thanks to the map that Sau Ngau gave with her guidance, 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 and ambush to strike and decisively defeat the enemy from the solid outer defense line into the assigned target with few casualties and losses in forces and vehicles.

Meeting Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Huy Hieu, former Regiment Commander of the 27th Regiment many times, and every time to him 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 to open the northern door so that our army can enter and liberate Saigon. And Sau Ngau was 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 Sau Ngau, perhaps today would have been a heroic history of the 27th Regiment that 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, according to Mrs. Huynh Thi Kim Ngan (Sau Ngau's daughter), on April 28 and 29, she could not sit still. She continuously urged the guerrilla team to closely follow the war situation in Ben Cat and Route 13. She continued to carefully review the map of Saigon and the northern gateway, carefully preparing advice for the combat. The map recorded 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 Mot. On the evening of April 29, 1975, Sau Ngau had a premonition that the moment to fulfill her husband's dreams and wishes. The oil lamp was lit before it was dark. And the "G" around 7:00 p.m. on April 29 stroke when the vanguard troops of Regiment 27, Division 320B arrived at her home.

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. The South has contributed to the country and to the regiment. The map of the capital city of Saigon and Sau Ngau’s detailed instructions helped the unit successfully complete its mission in the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign.

Recognizing the contributions of Sau Ngau and commemorating the 94th anniversary of the CPV founding on February 3, 2024, Thuan An city Party Committee posthumously awarded the President's First Class Resistance Medal to Sau Ngau for her achievements in the resistance war against the US Army to liberate the nation.

Reported by Thu Thao – Translated by Vi Bao

Share

General uprising of Spring 1975 – the resonance

HIGHLIGHTS

MOST READ