In this battle, Regiment 1-U Minh (now under Division 330, Military Region 9) was assigned the task of attacking in the main direction, destroying the enemy on the west bank of the Xang canal; Regiment 2, newly reinforced to the Military Region, took charge of the east bank of the Xang canal, destroying the enemy train on the Xang canal and the enemy force at the Eleventh base.

Troops of the 1st Regiment approached and attacked the Eleventh base. Photo archive.

Implementing the combat plan, on the night of November 5 to the morning of November 6, 1969, Company 2 (Battalion 309, Regiment 1) took charge of the main attack direction, led by comrade Ly Thanh Hung (Hung Mien), leading 12 comrades to penetrate deeply, of which 6 comrades penetrated deep into the enemy command post area. Receiving the signal, the force penetrated deep to drop an 8kg explosive, destroying the command post bunker of Brigade B, signaling the units to open fire and attack. Immediately, the enemy positions on both sides of the Xang Canal were engulfed in smoke and fire. With the raid style, each of our companies had from 1 to 3 secret spearheads to penetrate deep, quickly overcoming the minefields and infantry lines of the enemy on the outer ring. When the explosives of Company 1, Battalion 309 completely destroyed the enemy brigade command post, our units rose up to attack the enemy with hand grenades, grenades, mortar fire, close-range fire... from the inside out combined with outside in. Some units skimmed the targets outside to quickly get inside, destroy important targets, and then attack back out. By 3:15 a.m. on November 6, the unit basically controlled the battlefield.

On the East coast, Regiment 2 also controlled the situation and coordinated with Regiment 1 to destroy enemy ships. The DKZ batteries quickly moved in to join the attack on the ships. Despite the enemy artillery positions nearby firing heavily to support the Eleventh base, our troops still fought bravely. At the end of the battle, we completely destroyed the Eleventh mixed defense cluster, eliminated 680 enemies (including 4 American advisors), destroyed and sank 8 iron ships (including the command ship), 6 cannons, more than 20 mortars, DKZs and heavy machine guns; captured dozens of communication devices and guns of all kinds.

NGUYEN HUU DUY (former Information Platoon Leader, Battalion 309, Regiment 1, Military Region 9)