Division 341 and its resounding victories in the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign

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During these April days, the whole country is jubilantly celebrating the 50th anniversary of the complete liberation of the South and the reunification of the country. Many officers, soldiers and veterans of Division 341 - the unit twice awarded the title of Heroic Unit of the People's Armed Forces - gathered in Quang Binh, where half a century ago Division 341 marched to the battlefield, participating in the General Offensive and Uprising in the Spring of 1975.

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Division 341 (Military Region 4), also known as Song Lam Division, was established on November 23, 1972 in Nam Dan district, Nghe An province. Stationed in Quang Binh province and Vinh Linh special zone, the Division's mission is to fight to protect the southern area of the Military Region and is the strategic reserve force of the Ministry of National Defense.

On February 3, 1975, in My Ha village, My Thuy commune, Le Thuy district (Quang Binh), Division 341 held a ceremony to send off troops, participating in the fight to liberate the South and unify the country.

More than 12,000 officers and soldiers of the Song Lam Regiment, along with weapons, technical equipment, and nearly 1,000 vehicles of all kinds, marched across the Truong Son mountain range to the battlefield in the Southeast region, in the formation of the 4th Army Corps.

The 341st Division was one of the main units assigned to attack Xuan Loc, which was considered by the enemy as the “steel gate” protecting Saigon. During many days of fierce fighting, the Division closely coordinated with friendly units, shaking the enemy’s solid defense line, decisively contributing to the rapid disintegration of the Saigon puppet army.

The victory of Division 341 at Xuan Loc is a milestone in the history of the Vietnam People's Army, a testament to the brave fighting spirit, indomitable will and absolute loyalty to the Fatherland.

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Immediately after the victory in Xuan Loc, Division 341 continued to be assigned the task of attacking the Trang Bom breakthrough point, developing along Highway 1 into Bien Hoa and Saigon.

This was a battle within the Ho Chi Minh Campaign, destroying an important part of the enemy's forces and technical weapons in Trang Bom.

According to the memory of writer Dau Thanh Son, who was then a soldier of Division 341 participating in the battle of Trang Bom: At 5:00 p.m. on April 26, in the military camp, the whole company solemnly gathered to listen to political commissar Quach Thanh Tien announce the Politburo's decision to launch the Ho Chi Minh Campaign, a general attack on Saigon-Gia Dinh city.

The Battle of Trang Bom by Division 341, April 26-27, 1975. ( Photo: PV of the 4th Corps Newspaper, kept at the 4th Corps Traditional House)

The battle in Trang Bom was a key battle in the Ho Chi Minh Campaign in the southeast direction, with all four regiments of the 341st Division participating. The political commissar repeatedly repeated the call of the Division Command: "Every cadre, party member, and union member in the division, unite to fight for victory, to dedicate to Uncle Ho's birthday."

Writer Dau Thanh Son recalled: "In that sacred moment, perhaps because I was so emotional that my skin crawled, my heart was filled with indescribable joy. All the brothers in the unit who participated in this battle were excited. This was an extremely heavy task, but very glorious and meaningful."

The division was born in Uncle Ho's hometown, named "Song Lam Division" - the gentle river of Uncle Ho's hometown, and now it has opened fire to launch the campaign named after Uncle Ho.

Result: At 10:00 a.m. on April 27, the 341st Division smashed the enemy's defensive area, taking control of Trang Bom sub-region occupied by the 18th Infantry Division and the 5th Armored Regiment. The attack to liberate the Trang Bom military base destroyed the majority of the forces and important technical weapons of the 18th Division and the enemy forces in the Trang Bom and Bien Hoa areas. The battle took place in a large space, in a short time, a battle that closed the siege, boldly attacked and destroyed a large number of enemy troops, creating favorable conditions and opportunities for the forces of the 4th Corps and the mobile forces of the Ministry of National Defense to break the defense line to the East of Saigon, opening the way to quickly attack Bien Hoa and Saigon-Gia Dinh. It can be said that this was one of the key battles, contributing to creating the position and strength for our army to advance into Saigon-Gia Dinh.

Division 341 assembled and participated in the Ho Chi Minh campaign. Photo: Archive

On April 28, Division 341 used the 55th Artillery Regiment to restrain enemy artillery positions. Infantry Battalion 7 was reinforced with four tanks and coordinated with Battalion 4 to break into Ho Nai, but was fiercely blocked by the enemy and had to stop to organize the breakthrough. It was not until the afternoon of April 28 that our troops reached Ho Nai 1 hamlet. Many fierce battles took place right in the center of town.

On the morning of April 29, the 341st Division led by tanks successively destroyed many enemy resistance nests. At the Ho Nai intersection, they encountered a deep trench that could not be crossed. The tanks circled north and attacked Bien Hoa. Meanwhile, the 273rd Regiment destroyed the enemy at Long Lac station and then advanced to Bien Hoa airport to occupy the base of the puppet Air Force Division 3. After capturing the armored base of the puppet 18th Division in Yen The, the 270th Regiment coordinated with the 6th Division to capture the Hoc Ba Thuc artillery base, then together with the 266th Regiment circled Ho Nai and attacked Long Binh. On the night of the 29th, the 6th Division destroyed the enemy's defense line at the Ho Nai intersection.

From 7:00 to 9:00 on April 30, Division 6 (4th Corps) coordinated with Regiment 3 (341st Division) to occupy the headquarters of the puppet 3rd Corps, at 11:00, took control of the headquarters of the 3rd Air Force Division and Bien Hoa airport. At 9:00 a.m. on April 30, Division 341 captured Hoc Ba Thuc, at 13:00 moved on to liberate Thu Duc.

The Battle of Trang Bom by Division 341, April 26-27, 1975. ( Photo: PV of the 4th Corps Newspaper, kept at the 4th Corps Traditional House)

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After successfully completing its mission in the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign, Division 341 continued to perform military management duties in Saigon city. Not long after, the officers and soldiers of the Division marched to fight to protect the southwestern border of the Fatherland; then, together with the revolutionary armed forces and the Cambodian people, liberated the people from the Pol Pot genocidal regime, completing the noble international mission, and was recognized by the Central Executive Committee of the Cambodian People's Revolutionary Party: "The Fatherland of Cambodia will forever record in its golden book of revolutionary struggle the feats and images of the officers and soldiers of Division 341"...

From December 1980, the Division returned to Military Region 4, stationed in Nghe An and Thanh Hoa provinces, with the task of combat readiness, training, and building reserve mobilization forces.

With its outstanding achievements and feats of arms, Division 341 was twice awarded the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces, the Ho Chi Minh Medal, the First Class Military Exploit Medal and many other noble awards by the Party and State; the Cambodian State awarded the First Class Apsara Medal; thousands of cadres and soldiers were commended and honored; many comrades became generals, senior cadres of the Party and State, scientists, successful businessmen...

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On the journey of training, fighting and winning of Division 341 - Song Lam Group, thousands of officers and soldiers of the Division fell on the battlefields, their blood added to the glorious history of the Division. The wounded, sick soldiers, and veterans sacrificed a part of their blood and bones and devoted their youth to the resistance. Returning from the flames of war, overcoming countless difficulties, they continued to contribute to their homeland and country. Wherever they are, in any circumstance, the veterans of Division 341 still maintain the quality of "Uncle Ho's soldiers", being a shining example for the younger generation to follow.

Half a century has passed since the 1975 Spring General Offensive and Uprising, Division 341 has gone through many arduous but also glorious stages. The heroic memories and historical lessons from the victories of Xuan Loc, Trang Bom... of the Division have been, are and will always be promoted, being an important asset for the cause of building the Army and protecting the Fatherland in general, and building a strong and comprehensive Division 341 in particular.

Today, in the period of renovation, generations of cadres, soldiers and veterans of the Division continue to promote the tradition of "Unlimited loyalty, strict discipline, determination to fight, determination to win", building a strong and comprehensive Division "exemplary model", with high combat power, elite and gradually modernized, contributing to building and defending the Fatherland, performing well the tasks of reserve mobilization training, search and rescue, disaster prevention, forest fire prevention, natural disasters... to forever be worthy of the trust and love of the Party, State and People.