In the silent “General’s Forest”, birds still chirped, streams murmured in the melodious mountain breeze, as if remembering the talented general of the nation, about a time of war that had passed. There, the relic of the Dien Bien Phu Campaign Command Headquarters was simple but imprinted with the story of the strategic talent, the correct and talented decisions of the Campaign Command headed by Commander-in-Chief Vo Nguyen Giap, which created a victory that “resounded throughout the five continents, shook the world”.
The huts and offices of the Dien Bien Phu Campaign Command were simple, made of bamboo and thatch.
The vast National Highway 6 led us to Dien Bien Phu City in the cool mountain breeze, amidst the heroic sounds of the songs "Through the Northwest, the mountains tower far and wide/ Deep streams, high passes, we overcome many difficulties/ Our soldiers obey our Father's orders"... On this road, 70 years ago, generations of young people, frontline laborers, and youth volunteers enthusiastically transported food and ammunition, marched to the front with a steadfast oath to die for the Fatherland.
From that road, turn into Muong Phang commune (Dien Bien Phu city), the Dien Bien Phu campaign headquarters relic is hidden in the old forest at the foot of Pu Don mountain. This is the third stop, also the last stop of the Dien Bien Phu campaign headquarters, headed by the eldest brother of the Vietnam People's Army, the brilliant and talented general of the nation - General Vo Nguyen Giap. In just 105 days of staying, from January 31 to May 15, but from here, the right decisions and orders were passed to the front, deciding the fate of the French colonialists on the entire Indochina battlefield.
After the difficult decision to change the motto of "fight fast, solve quickly" to "fight sure, win sure", here, General Vo Nguyen Giap and the Campaign Command studied, calculated and made decisions for each battle, step by step pushing the French army into a dead end. Then, on May 6, 1954, an order that decided their fate was coded and transmitted to the front. That was the order for a general attack on the entire Dien Bien Phu front, signed by the General Ngoc, and a photo of it is still on display at the Dien Bien Phu Historical Victory Museum. That order stated: The time is set at exactly 8:30, no delay. At 8:30: Hill A1 exploded. Artillery and H6 fired the first attack. Infantry from all directions charged. Hang Cung immediately suppressed enemy artillery. All places had to set the right time...
Tourists visit and take souvenir photos in the Dien Bien Phu Campaign Command Headquarters relic site in Muong Phang commune (Dien Bien Phu city).
The next day, the historic moment had arrived. Our artillery roared, the sound of explosives shook the heavens and the earth, our troops rushed into battle. The enemy was in danger, rescue planes could not land at the airport, and our army blocked the escape route. The old fox general De Castries and thousands of enemy soldiers struggled like rats in the trenches, finally had to raise their hands and surrender. After “Fifty-six days and nights of digging mountains, sleeping in trenches, pouring rain, rice balls, blood mixed with mud”, our troops planted the Determined to Fight, Determined to Win flag given by Uncle Ho on the roof of De Castries’ bunker. The Dien Bien Phu campaign was a complete victory.
70 years have passed since the victory that “resounded throughout the five continents and shook the world”, at the foot of Pu Don mountain, in the primeval forest that the Muong Phang people call by the popular name “General’s forest”, the campaign headquarters is still there, simple and quiet. It is a field command and defense system consisting of trenches, huts and camps along a small stream, in a natural forest of up to 73 hectares. Here, all the camps, from the workplace of General Vo Nguyen Giap, of Major General Hoang Van Thai, the hut of the Head of the Campaign Information Department Hoang Dao Thuy, to the workplace of the Chinese military advisory group,... are all makeshift, made of bamboo and thatch, in contrast to the solidity of the De Castries bunker that was conquered by our army.
According to the introduction of the relic tour guide, because he was located not far from the front line, General Vo Nguyen Giap often carried binoculars, climbed mountains to observe Muong Thanh valley, witnessed historic clashes on Him Lam hill, Doc Lap hill, along Nam Rom river... to make the right decisions. And only later, when the Dien Bien Phu campaign was completely victorious, did the Thai Muong Phang village elders know that there were commanding troops in the forest of their hometown.
The war has passed, Muong Phang today is renovating and moving forward with a solid stilt house next to lush green rice and corn fields, still bearing the glorious mark of a time of fire and war that has passed. These days, the relic of the Dien Bien Phu Campaign Command Headquarters is constantly visited by Vietnamese people from all over the country. They come and quietly step on the mossy stone steps winding through the "forest of Generals", like me, bowing before history, before the hardships, courage, before the brave sacrifices of our fathers and brothers to create a great victory. There, not only is there the correctness and creativity in the Party's and Uncle Ho's guidelines, strategies and art of People's War, the military talent of General Vo Nguyen Giap, but also affirms a shining truth, the enemy's steel, bombs and bullets could not overcome the will and strength of burning patriotism.
Article and photos: Do Duc
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