80th Anniversary of the Founding of the Vietnam People's Army: Legend of the Cu Chi Female Guerrillas

In the steel land of Cu Chi, where every tree branch and blade of grass can become a brave warrior, people still talk about the story of the sisters in the Cu Chi Women's Guerrilla Platoon.

Brave, courageous and resourceful - these women, despite their weak legs and weak arms, have achieved many glorious victories in the resistance war against American imperialism to save the country. Coming to Cu Chi, hearing about the "long-haired army" In a house of gratitude in Nhuan Duc commune, Cu Chi district, Ms. Le Thi Suong (Nam Suong) told us about the days of holding guns and fighting of the Cu Chi guerrilla team. On November 10, 1965, when she was a member of the Trung Lap Thuong commune guerrilla team, Ms. Suong was included in the list of the Cu Chi female guerrilla team. At that time, the Cu Chi female guerrilla team had only 3 members including team leader Nguyen Thi Ne, political commissar Tran Thi Nho and Ms. Le Thi Suong.

Photo caption — Ms. Le Thi Suong (Nam Suong, second from the right), a member of the Cu Chi Women's Guerrilla Team, always receives attention from her teammates in the local Veterans Association. Photo: Xuan Khu/VNA

After that, the women mobilized 25 more people to join the female guerilla team and began training in gun use, sniper training, anti-sweep, raids, artillery attacks, etc. The mission of the Cu Chi female guerilla team was to both directly fight and serve in combat such as digging tunnels, transporting ammunition, transporting food, and doing reconnaissance, as well as performing major rear missions such as production, preventing conscription, and mobilizing young people to join the Liberation Army. Recalling the first battle of the female guerrillas of Cu Chi, Mrs. Nam Suong said: "Receiving secret information about the US-puppet raid in the direction of Phu An hamlet, Phu Hoa Dong, Ms. Nguyen Thi Ne, Ms. Tran Thi Nho and I combined with the city army to divide into 3 groups to hide and block the enemy at Cay Trac, Phu My hamlet. Initially, we were only assigned to be the secondary group, the two groups led by men were the main group to confront the enemy. However, the enemy advanced straight into the area where the female guerrillas were in charge. Without panic, the 3 female guerrillas of Cu Chi coordinated to open fire and destroy the enemy. As a result, the female guerrillas killed 3 enemies, captured 3 guns, 3 grenades, a lot of ammunition, military uniforms, and military equipment...". "After the first battle, the District Command decided to award a Certificate of Merit to the female guerrillas, and we celebrated with a big pot of sweet soup", Mrs. Suong recalled. Riding on the momentum of victory, the female guerrillas continuously competed to make achievements, some of whom became American-killing heroes many times. A typical example is Ms. Nguyen Thi Ne, who received the title of American-killing hero 8 times. Ms. Nam Suong herself also received this title many times. The reputation of the "long-haired army" of the Cu Chi female guerrillas spread further, and many women later joined the team. At one point, the team's number reached nearly 60 people. As in the case of Ms. Nguyen Thi Nga in Xuan Thoi Thuong commune, when she heard about the female guerrillas platoon, she ran away from home to join and directly took up arms to fight.

According to Mrs. Nam Suong, the most difficult and fierce period was after Mau Than 1968, when the enemy implemented the 3 clean strategy of "burn everything, destroy everything, kill everything", all revolutionary forces had to retreat to the tunnels for shelter. "The days living in the tunnels were extremely difficult, above were enemy tanks raiding and plowing, the Cu Chi female guerrilla platoon lived in the tunnels right next to the American base in Dong Du, we did not dare to speak loudly. Regarding daily life, the men had it easier, we women suffered a lot, we only got to bathe once a week. The enemy continuously used loudspeakers to call for surrender, but no one in the Cu Chi female guerrilla team was discouraged". During those times, she and her comrades passed on to each other the immortal poem "If the country is still there, we are fine if we are not there/If the country is gone, we are still there, it is as if we are not there". Glorious feats Ms. Vo Thi Mo (Bay Mo), Platoon Leader from 1967 - 1968, said that at that time, the female guerrilla platoon merged with Battalion 7 to conduct anti-sweep operations everywhere, so it was nicknamed "Fire Battalion", meaning that wherever it went, there was fire and bullets. Although the battlefield was fierce, bombs were falling, bullets were exploding, while food was running out, and there was no water to drink, the women in the team remained steadfast and endured.

Mrs. Bay Mo remembers most the battle against Thai My, attacking the fort three times in total, capturing many prisoners. From that victory, the platoon continued to fight in Phuoc Hung, Vuon Trau, anti-sweep battles in Phuoc Thanh, Dong Lon, Rung Tre... In 1968, the female guerrilla platoon and the main force attacked Cu Chi district, "capturing" the enemy fort. Just like that, by using lightning-fast attacks, the reputation of the Cu Chi female guerrilla platoon rose as a fear to the US and puppet army.

Ms. Vo Thi Trong, the last platoon leader from 1973 to 1975, will never forget her first battle when she joined the Cu Chi Guerrilla Platoon. At that time, she and her teammates with the Quyet Thang Battalion achieved great feats, shooting down 25 vehicles and killing many American and puppet soldiers. After Mau Than 1968, almost all of our bases were captured by the enemy, and the organization assigned the Cu Chi Female Guerrilla Platoon to stay in strategic hamlets to build bases and organize the destruction of evil. The female guerrillas often disguised themselves as farmers, traders, and office workers to coordinate together to assassinate notorious "evil" station chiefs. Ms. Le Thi Suong recalled that at that time, 3 sisters in the guerrilla team disguised themselves as farmers, hid guns in bundles of straw, broke into the house of the station chief in Tan Phu Trung, and shot him dead with just one shot. Not forgetting to leave the verdict on the table, the female guerrillas retreated safely. In another battle, the female guerrillas used a “beauty trick” to infiltrate a musical variety show in the enemy officers’ club and set off explosive mines. That battle resulted in 127 enemy casualties. However, there were also times when the female guerrillas of Cu Chi failed due to misfires, jammed guns, and enemy sweeps. Many were seriously injured and some died. As in the case of commander Nguyen Thi Ne, who fell at the age of only 22. There were 24 female guerrillas who devoted their youth to the country. “The sacrifice of the sisters did not discourage us but rather fueled the fire of hatred, vowing to fight until our last breath,” Ms. Nam Suong shared sadly.

After 1975, the Cu Chi Women's Guerrilla Platoon completed its mission and returned to normal life. Established in the period from 1965 to 1975, which were also the most arduous and fierce years of the war against American imperialism, the female guerrillas demonstrated the "indomitable heroic" spirit of Vietnamese women during wartime. In 2018, the President decided to award the Cu Chi Women's Guerrilla Platoon the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces for its outstanding achievements in the resistance war against American imperialism to save the country. Keeping the promise from the time of life and death that "The living must take care of the dead", every year, on November 10, Ms. Nam Suong and her teammates hold a memorial service for those who have passed away. This is also an occasion for the Liaison Committee of the Cu Chi Women's Guerrilla Team to meet and recall the beautiful memories of a time of war and war. Every time they met, the women sang together: “We sisters are determined to become brave warriors/To destroy the American invaders, to destroy the cruel ones…” (The song of the female guerrillas of Cu Chi). Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thoi-su/80-nam-thanh-lap-quan-doi-nhan-dan-viet-nam-huyen-thoai-nu-du-kich-cu-chi-20241222080810054.htm