The victory of the Dong Xoai Campaign in 1965 in general and the attack on Dong Xoai Sub-region - the key battle of the campaign (June 9 and 10, 1965) in particular marked the maturity of the art of siege warfare (attacking the enemy defending in solid fortifications) of our main force on the Southeast battlefield.

Dong Xoai town (called Don Luan district by the enemy) in Phuoc Long province (now Binh Phuoc province) is located in the outer defense system (North Saigon), built into a military base (including Dong Xoai sub-region, special forces area, mechanized area and strategic hamlet area), with a system of bunkers, underground tunnels and solid fortifications. Here, the enemy has 3 commando companies, 1 security company, 1 militia company, 1 artillery platoon, 1 police platoon, 2 AM motor vehicle squads, 42 American military advisors, 300 civil police and spy forces.

The Southern Liberation Army Command conducted a field survey to prepare for the Dong Xoai Campaign. Photo courtesy

After the first phase, the Campaign Command determined the main objective of the second phase to be to destroy Dong Xoai Sub-region and assigned the task to the 2nd Infantry Regiment (main force of the Southeast region) reinforced by the 8th Infantry Battalion, the 3rd Infantry Regiment (main force of the Southeast region) and a number of firepower units of the main force of the Southeast region. Among the units fighting this battle, only the 5th Infantry Battalion (2nd Infantry Regiment) was trained in siege tactics. In the book "History of the Vietnam People's Army's offensive tactics in the resistance war against French colonialism and American imperialism (1945-1975), QĐND Publishing House, Hanoi, 2008, it is stated: After a day and night of attack, we eliminated from combat more than 600 enemies (including 42 American advisors); shot down 7 helicopters, injured 2; captured 148 guns of various types, 4 AM vehicles, nearly 16,730 bullets and many military equipment...

The attack on Dong Xoai Military District demonstrated the art of striking and fortified positions. First of all, it was the art of establishing a solid offensive position right from the start. The purpose of the attack on Dong Xoai Military District was to destroy the military district, control the battlefield; and at the same time, create an opportunity to destroy reinforcements for the campaign. The battle was carefully prepared, from the reconnaissance stage to grasp the enemy and terrain to the construction of a suitable and practical battle plan, especially the use of forces to form an offensive position in all directions right from the start. In which, the main attack direction from the West and Northwest to attack the district was undertaken by the 5th Infantry Battalion; the secondary attack direction from the North and Northwest to attack the special forces area was undertaken by the 4th Infantry Battalion; the coordinated direction to conduct the encirclement in the East and South of the district was undertaken by the 8th Infantry Battalion. Regarding the attack formation, we organized 2 echelons: Echelon 1 consisted of 3 infantry battalions (4, 5, 8) and Echelon 2 was led by Infantry Battalion 6. After being controlled by artillery and mortar fire, our infantry attacked the center of the district from all directions, quickly destroying each unit and each firing point, and then destroying the entire enemy force.

At the same time, we concentrated our firepower, limited the enemy's strong points, and exploited their weak points when conducting attacks. Thoroughly grasping the basic principles of siege warfare, we used the majority of our firepower in the formation to conduct attacks. On the main attack direction, we concentrated our forces on the West and Northwest of the sub-region. Although the enemy's defenses in this direction were more solid and their firepower was stronger than in other directions, they also had many loopholes, especially in terms of terrain. There were no people, so we deployed our firepower to keep it secret better than in other directions. On the secondary attack direction and the coordination direction, we arranged attack forces and siege forces to intercept; at the same time, we had strong reserve forces ready to support the main direction. Thanks to that, during the attack, we dispersed part of the enemy's firepower and countermeasures to various directions to develop the attack and destroy the enemy.

The unique feature of the Dong Xoai Sub-region attack was that our troops effectively applied combat tactics. Through understanding the situation, we saw that the enemy stationed in the Dong Xoai Sub-region was completely different from those stationed in the wild. They organized a system of fortifications, obstacles, and many layers of fences combined with many minefields, including explosives, explosive traps, and directional mines around. Under the direction of the Campaign Command, the 2nd Infantry Regiment decided to choose the tactics of siege warfare and close combat, night combat, secret maneuvering to approach the target, suddenly blasting and opening doors... In particular, we flexibly applied combat tactics, such as: breaking through, encircling, penetrating deeply, intercepting, dividing the enemy troops, combined with flank attacks, rear attacks, and the center of their resistance, destroying resistance nests, rescue forces, clearing roads and air routes... to win, ending the Dong Xoai siege, which was also the key battle of the campaign.

The Dong Xoai Campaign was the first time on the Southeast battlefield in particular and the Southern battlefield in general that we organized a reinforced regimental-scale siege battle with the participation of many military branches and won a resounding victory. The art of siege warfare in the Dong Xoai Campaign continued to be creatively applied and effectively promoted by our Army throughout the resistance war against the US to save the country.

NGOC SON