Colonel Ho Huu Lan (left) and former General Secretary Le Kha Phieu

During that time, Regiment 3 contributed to the victories of A Bia (the US Army called it Hamburger Hill), Hill 935 (the US Army named the base Ripcord), Coc Bai (O'Reilly), Dong Tranh (Bastogne)... and before participating in the campaign to liberate Hue in March 1975, Regiment 3 participated in the Thuong Duc - Quang Nam campaign.

Talking about the Hue liberation campaign in March 1975, Colonel Ho Huu Lan, former Commander of Regiment 3, said: Receiving orders from Major General Nguyen Huu An, Commander of the II Corps, on March 15, 1975, Regiment 3, Division 324 handed over Thuong Duc to Division 304 for defense. The regiment quickly marched to A Luoi and arrived in Nam Dong on March 20, 1975.

At Truoi cave, Division Commander Nguyen Duy Son and Political Commissar Nguyen Trong Dan directly assigned the task to Regiment 3 to coordinate with Company 4, Battalion 1, Armored Brigade 203 (II Corps) commanded by Company Commander Bui Quang Than (the one who planted the flag on the roof of Independence Palace at noon on April 30, 1975) with the task of attacking Bong mountain, Nghe mountain and La Son base and then penetrating deep into Hue city.

At dawn on March 23, 1975, 85mm artillery and 120mm mortars of the 324th Division rained down on the battlefield. According to the plan, units of the 3rd Regiment simultaneously charged. Battalion 7 under the command of Battalion Commander Le Trong Minh charged at Bong Mountain; Battalion 9 under the command of Battalion Commander Nguyen Xuan Tien attacked Nghe Mountain. These two mountains were adjacent to each other. From hills 75 and 76, Lieutenant Bui Quang Than's tank company accelerated. The two leading T54s made it through, but the third tank was hit by an anti-tank mine, causing its tracks to break, forcing it to retreat to make way for the remaining 4 tanks to advance and take over the battlefield.

The enemy could not fight back, fled and used artillery to fire at the formation. Due to heavy casualties, the two battalions retreated. The enemy sent troops to retake the position. The 3rd Regiment and the tank company were forced to use heavy firepower to fire at the enemy formation, creating an opportunity for the infantry to retake Bong and Nghe mountains. The battle was fierce, with no clear winner. Bong and Nghe mountains were divided into two. This was the longest and most intense battle of the 3rd Regiment.

Faced with that situation, the Commander of Regiment 3 sought a different way to attack. Battalion 9 had 2 T54 tanks directly attacking the front; Battalion 7 and the remaining 4 T54 tanks divided into 2 groups to retreat to the northeast flank and attack the enemy tanks and infantry in the rear. In the early afternoon of March 23, after using artillery, mortars and DKZs to concentrate on shelling the front line, Battalion 9 divided into many groups to attack.

While the enemy was concentrating its forces to fight back at Bong Mountain and Nghe Mountain, Battalion 7 and tanks followed Route 14 to the east, threatening La Son base. Losing their support, the enemy fled. At exactly 2:00 p.m. on March 23, Battalion 9 took control of Bong Mountain and Nghe Mountain, and on the night of March 23 to 24, Battalion 7 and Bui Quang Than's 4th Tank Company captured La Son base and then advanced to Hue.

After the tanks crossed the Phu Bai River, they discovered that the enemy had left behind 2 GMCs and 1 M48 tank on the north side of the burned bridge (a temporary bridge made of pine wood). The regiment used this spoil of war to occupy Huong Thuy. From there, the regiment marched straight into Hue. Leading the way were 7 tanks (including 1 American M48), followed by 2 GMC military transport trucks and many buses and Lambro vehicles volunteered by the Huong Thuy People to carry the troops into Hue.

When arriving at Dong Ba market area, according to the assignment, the units of the Regiment occupied Mang Ca area, Tay Loc airport, Ky Dai, Provincial Governor's Office, Thua Phu prison, Thuan Hoa hotel, bank...

At exactly 11:00 a.m. on March 25, 1973, the flag of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, raised by the Reconnaissance Company of Regiment 3 - Division 324, was raised on the Hue Flag Tower.

When hearing that the enemy was fleeing and being cornered at Tan My port, the Regiment sent Battalion 9, followed by Battalion 7 and 7 tanks of Company 4 to Thuan An port to prevent the enemy from fleeing. Here, Regiment 3 received 3,000 prisoners and deserters and gathered them at Thua Phu prison.

After a night in Hue, on the afternoon of March 26, Regiment 3 was ordered to hand over Hue to Regiment 6 of Thua Thien Hue to march to capture Da Nang. Regiment Commander Ho Huu Lan and the leading force arrived at Khe Tre that night to receive the mission of attacking from the west of Hoa Vang; the remaining units took turns to march along Highway 1.

Attacked from many sides, on March 29, 1975, Da Nang was liberated.

In the army marching towards the Han River that day, there were officers and soldiers of the heroic 3rd Regiment, 324th Division, II Corps.

Pham Huu Thu

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/chinh-tri-xa-hoi/theo-dong-thoi-su/trung-doan-3-truoc-nhung-ngay-giai-phong-hue-152800.html