50 years ago, the army and people of Binh Dinh launched a general attack and uprising to liberate Quy Nhon town and the entire Binh Dinh province.
I was fortunate to meet Colonel Ho Quoc Thuc (81 years old, from Hoai Nhon Town, currently living in Ho Chi Minh City), former officer of the National Defense Strategy Institute, former Battalion Commander of Battalion 8 - the unit directly involved in liberating Quy Nhon on March 31, 1975.
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The joy of Colonel Ho Quoc Thuc (second from left) on the day he reunited with his comrades. Photo: HP |
Recalling the historic March days in Binh Dinh, Colonel Thuc said: From March 29, the enemy in Go Boi sub-region began to flee along the river to Quy Nhon. When there was a plan to attack Quy Nhon and liberate Binh Dinh, our army deployed the 52nd Battalion in the Lang Song sub-seminary area, the 8th Battalion in Phuoc Hiep commune and the 50th Battalion in Phuoc Quang commune.
On March 31, when ordered, Battalion 50 received the mission to attack the enemy from Lam Son Street (now Tay Son Street) to Cuong De Street (now Tran Phu Street); Battalion 8 attacked the enemy from Cho Dinh to Cau Doi, Vo Tanh Street (now Le Hong Phong Street) to Gia Long Street (now Tran Hung Dao Street), from Dong Da Street to Quy Nhon Port; Battalion 52 was at Lang Song Minor Seminary, acting as a reserve to intercept the puppet 22nd Division on its way back to Quy Nhon.
“At 8:00 p.m. on March 31, 1975, the flag of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam flew on the roof of the puppet government's administrative building in Binh Dinh province, marking the historic moment of the liberation of Quy Nhon town and Binh Dinh province. At that moment, we were so happy that we cried, the emotions at that moment are indescribable,” Mr. Thuc said emotionally.
The Liberation Front flag was flying on the roof of the provincial puppet government's administrative building, however, according to Mr. Thuc, the fighting was not over yet. The puppet 22nd Division was defeated by the 3rd Sao Vang Division, along with local troops and civilians, on Highway 19, losing its fighting power. On the night of March 31, 1975, they gathered over 6,000 troops, 300 military vehicles, dozens of heavy artillery pieces, gathered at Ba Gi bridge to reorganize their forces to risk their lives on the morning of April 1 to open a bloody path to escape to Quy Nhon to find the shortest escape route by sea.
Knowing the enemy's plot, the Forward Command Center decided to destroy the Song Ngang bridge, forcing the enemy to run around Lam Son road (now Tay Son road), where the terrain was favorable and Battalion 52 set up an ambush to destroy and disintegrate the enemy, in order to limit the level of destruction in Quy Nhon town.
According to our plan, at 12 noon on April 1, the ambushes of Battalion 52 simultaneously launched an attack, destroying the enemy formation on Lam Son Road. By 4 pm on April 1, the gunfire had completely stopped.
HONG PHUC
Source: https://baobinhdinh.vn/viewer.aspx?macm=1&macmp=82&mabb=343542
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