Saigon-Gia Dinh Party Committee orders preparations for general uprising

On April 20, 1975, we pursued the enemy who had fled from Xuan Loc. The Central Military Commission urgently sent a telegram to the Truong Son Command, instructing them to prioritize the transportation of ammunition and fuel. The Standing Committee of the Saigon-Gia Dinh City Party Committee instructed the forces to prepare for a general uprising.

The 1st Corps' deep penetration force crossed Route 16 to liberate Saigon. (Photo: Document/VNA)

On the evening of April 20, 1975, enemy forces in Xuan Loc fled in the pouring rain. The 4th Corps Command ordered all units to pursue. The 341st Division quickly captured Thi Mountain and the remaining targets in the town, and developed down to Ong Que rubber plantation.

The 7th Division captured the south of Tan Phong, blocking Route 2. The 6th Division organized forces to block the enemy in the Ong Que rubber plantation area. The Ba Ria local army battalion blocked and pursued the enemy on Route 2.

Due to slow detection, poor organization of blocking units, dark night and heavy rain, the enemy fled through the forest on foot towards Binh Son, Long Thanh, so we were only able to destroy the last unit running away, capturing the colonel of Long Khanh province.

At the same time, the 5th Division (Group 232) attacked the enemy's defense area in Thu Thua-Ben Luc and consolidated the foothold in the west of Tan An town, destroying enemy outposts and opening the way to bring technical weapons north of Route 4.

The 3rd and 9th Divisions organized their marches in small units, set up artillery positions right on the way to support the infantry, opened up the An Ninh and Loc Giang areas, and created a springboard to attack Saigon.

The 8th Division, the main force of Zone 8, the 24th and 88th Regiments reinforced by the Region, and two battalions of Long An local troops stepped up operations, destroying 45 military posts and sub-regions, liberating 12 communes in Chau Thanh, Can Duoc, and Tan Tru districts. The 4th Division (Military Zone 9) brought its forces close to Can Tho. Special forces attacked and controlled Tra Noc airport.

On April 20, 1975, to liberate the remaining land in the extreme South Central region, the Command of Military Region 6 decided to establish the Liberation Command of Binh Tuy province. The participating armed forces included a number of units of Regiment 812 (Military Region 6), Division 325 (Army Corps 2) and local armed forces of Binh Tuy province.

On the same day, deploying forces to occupy the battlefield in preparation for the Ho Chi Minh Campaign, Regiment 148 (Division 316, Corps 3) suddenly attacked and captured the Bau Nau and Tra Vo strongholds, then defeated the enemy counterattacking forces and controlled a 7km stretch of Highway 22 from Cam An to Ben Muong.

On April 20, 1975, the leading force of the 2nd Corps - the eastern wing - advanced to Rung La, nearly 20km from Xuan Loc.

Meanwhile, the 7th and 575th engineer regiments marched to Chon Thanh and immediately began opening two longitudinal axes and bypasses to serve the combined arms' mobility.

At the same time, Engineer Company 11 (Battalion 4, Regiment 7, Corps 3) completed the 50-ton ferry to Củi wharf; Company 5 also completed the second ferry to Tranh wharf, preparing for the mobile corps forces to move to the assembly position to prepare for the campaign.

The Standing Committee of the Saigon-Gia Dinh City Party Committee instructed the forces to prepare for a general uprising. The directive stated: Organizations need to proactively coordinate with the main army corps to complete the general uprising task, no later than May 1. Implementing this directive, the armed forces and people of Saigon-Gia Dinh urgently completed all preparations, ready to seize the opportunity to coordinate with the main army corps to liberate the city.

On the same day, the Central Military Commission urgently sent a telegram to the Truong Son Command with the following instructions: Prioritize the transportation of ammunition; 130mm, 100mm, D74, DKZ75 and DKZ82 ammunition, 120mm mortars; 85mm artillery, 122mm grenades. Priority for fuel is first of all mazut and auxiliary oil. At the latest, it must be available in Dong Xoai by April 29.

On the US side, on April 20, 1975, President Gerald Ford and Henry Kissinger officially informed Ambassador Martin that the US Government's policy was that Thieu must resign. The US hoped that a government without Thieu could negotiate with us to save face and for the lackeys to have some position in a coalition government.

NDO

Source: https://baohanam.com.vn/chinh-tri/ngay-20-4-1975-thanh-uy-sai-gon-gia-dinh-chi-thi-chuan-bi-tong-khoi-nghia-158230.html