Dien Bien Phu victory relics on display in Ho Chi Minh City

Bicycles, military uniforms, cotton blankets, cassette players... of soldiers in the Dien Bien Phu campaign are displayed at the Military Zone 7 Museum, Tan Binh District.

The exhibition Military Zone 7 - Continuing the epic is organized by the Museum of the Armed Forces of the Southeast Region (also known as the Museum of Military Zone 7), to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu victory (May 7, 1954) and the 49th anniversary of national reunification (April 30, 1975).

The exhibition displays about 200 artifacts, images, and documents about the Dien Bien Phu victory, the Southern resistance war against the US, the war to firmly protect the southwestern border against Pol Pot invasion...

Ms. Luu Lan Phuong, 63 years old (right), Tan Binh district, looks at a bicycle at the exhibition. Her father once participated in the anti-aircraft artillery team in Dien Bien Phu. "I feel emotional when looking at the exhibition's memorabilia, as if seeing the image of my father and the soldiers fighting," she said.

Each bike can carry an average of 50 to 100 kg, equivalent to the carrying capacity of 5 people, faster speed and can transport bulky materials and liquids such as gasoline and oil.

Therefore, in addition to transportation by motor vehicles, the bicycles helped ensure logistics for the fighting troops. During the Dien Bien Phu campaign, bicycles were mobilized to the maximum, the number of which reached 20,000.

The parachute fragment (front) was captured by soldier Nguyen Ngoc Sung, Deputy Political Commissar of Company 5, Battalion 3, Regiment 165, Division 312, while participating in the battle in Muong Thanh basin.

Next to it is the garrison shirt, a type of uniform worn by soldiers when fighting on the Dien Bien Phu battlefield. This is a short cotton shirt reaching to the waist, without sleeves, sewn with the wings crossed, split into diamond-shaped panels and tight-fitting, worn by soldiers to avoid the cold. The garrison shirt model was researched and produced by the Quartermaster Department in September 1946. On the initiative of President Ho Chi Minh, on October 17, 1946, at the Hanoi Opera House, the Soldiers' Winter Mobilization Committee held a conference to mobilize the entire population to make shirts for soldiers. At the conference, the Ministry of National Defense introduced the garrison shirt model.

The cotton blanket of Mr. Vu Minh Chau, a veteran who participated in logistics work during the Dien Bien Phu campaign, is on display.

The casette used by Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Cam (1920 - 2013) during his time fighting in Dien Bien Phu. At that time, he was the Commander of Regiment 209, Division 312 - the unit that penetrated deep into the central area of ​​Muong Thanh, capturing General De Castries and the entire staff of the French military base.

His real name is Do Van Cam, he joined the revolution in 1945, was a soldier of the Hanoi Liberation Army. He held the positions of Inspector General of the Army, Deputy Commander, Chief of Staff of the Liberation Army of South Vietnam, Vice Chairman of the Saigon - Gia Dinh Military Management Committee, and Commander of the 4th Army Corps.

Next to it is the water marble of General Hoang Cam.

The Angola of the Dien Bien Phu soldiers. This item is made of aluminum and used to hold food for the soldiers.

Memorabilia such as badges and books and newspapers about the Dien Bien Phu victory are on display. In the photo is the Nhan Dan newspaper issue dated May 12-15, 1954 with articles praising the Dien Bien Phu victory on the front page.

Two Dien Bien Phu soldier badges awarded to soldiers who fought in the campaign.

Many documentary images of the Dien Bien Phu victory are on display. The exhibition runs until the end of May and is free to visit.

On the afternoon of May 7, 1954, the flag of the Vietnam People's Army flew over the roof of General De Castries' bunker, ending the 55-day and night campaign of "digging mountains and sleeping in tunnels", destroying the French Dien Bien Phu stronghold in Indochina, contributing to the end of the 9-year resistance war against France.

One day after the defeat, France had to sit at the negotiating table at the Geneva Conference to discuss the Indochina issue. After the conference, France recognized the freedom, unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Indochinese countries, including Vietnam, and ended the colonial regime in these countries.

The Battle of Dien Bien Phu is considered by many military experts to be one of the greatest battles of the 20th century, initiating the struggle for independence of many nations around the world.

Quynh Tran - Vnexpress.net

Source: https://vnexpress.net/nhung-ky-vat-chien-thang-dien-bien-phu-trung-bay-o-tp-hcm-4739243.html