People of Ba Ria town welcome the Liberation Army. (Photo: Archive)
Ba Ria-Vung Tau was the only sea route to Saigon, more than 80% of US aid was transferred through this gateway. Ba Ria-Vung Tau was built by the US-puppet regime into a large military base, a training center and a rear base, providing services for the war of aggression .
After Phan Rang, Phan Thiet, and Xuan Loc fell, Ba Ria-Vung Tau became a pocket for the remnants of the puppet army from all over.
At 5:00 p.m. on April 26, 1975, 19 heavy artillery pieces poured fire into enemy bases, fired the signal gun, and opened the attack to liberate Ba Ria-Vung Tau.
At 11pm on April 26, 1975, Regiment 12 launched an attack on Duc Thanh district. In Duc Thanh sub-region, the enemy relied on solid fortifications to counterattack fiercely; however, they could not withstand the continuous attacks of the liberation forces.
On the morning of April 27, 1975, Duc Thanh district was liberated. This was the first district of the province to be liberated.
In Ba Ria town, after the opening artillery barrage at 5 p.m. on April 26, 1975, Regiment 141, together with local troops and commando forces, led the way to attack the town and Van Kiep Training Center. The fighting in the town was fierce, with our troops and the enemy fighting for every corner of the street.
At dawn on April 27, the attack forces simultaneously launched attacks to capture key enemy targets.
At 3:00 p.m. on April 27, we completely occupied the enemy's outposts in the inner city. Ba Ria town was liberated. The flag of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam flew high on top of the Water Tower (Round House).
In the areas of Xuyen Moc and Long Dat, local armed forces also launched simultaneous attacks. On the morning of April 27, Xuyen Moc armed forces attacked, approached, and surrounded the sub-regions. The enemy fled in chaos. At noon on April 27, Xuyen Moc was liberated.
Phuoc Thanh, Phuoc Tho, and Phuoc Hoa Long communes were liberated at 12:30 on April 27, 1975. The national flag and the Front flag flew all over Long Dat.
At 4 p.m. the same day, Phuoc Loi commune was liberated. With the spirit of attack, on April 28, 1975, units of the 3rd Sao Vang Division divided into two groups and advanced towards Vung Tau.
At 1:30 p.m. on April 30, 1975, Vung Tau city was completely liberated.
On the evening of April 27, 1975, the Operations Department reported on the war situation in the suburbs of Saigon. Our army basically carried out the campaign plan in all directions.
In the book “Great Spring Victory,” General Van Tien Dung wrote: On the evening of April 27, 1975, after a day and night of fighting, at the Campaign Command Headquarters, the situation was summarized as follows: In the East, the 2nd Corps opened fire exactly at 5:00 p.m. on April 26. Nearly ten artillery battalions poured fire on the enemy. As soon as the artillery stopped, our troops rushed out from the rubber forests to the sound of trumpets echoing through the forest. In less than two hours, the 304th Division captured the Armored Training School and part of the Nuoc Trong base.
In coordination with Division 304, soldiers of Division 325 captured Long Thanh district, crossed Highway 15, liberated Phuoc Thuong and surrounded Long Tan. Division 3 of Military Region 5 at that time was under the command of Corps 2 with heavy artillery and tanks directly supporting the attack like a storm, after three hours of fighting, captured Duc Thanh district, at 3:00 p.m. on April 27, completely liberated Ba Ria town, and was developing towards Vung Tau when the enemy collapsed Co May bridge.
The 3rd Division had to stop to wait for the bridge to be repaired. In coordination with the main force, local troops and Ba Ria militia, they captured the outposts, district capitals and sub-regions, liberating a large part of Ba Ria province.
In the southwest direction, we cut off Highway 4 from Ben Luc bridge to Trung Luong intersection north of My Thuan ferry and the section from Cai Lay to An Huu, blocking and attracting forces of the 7th, 9th, and 22nd puppet divisions, creating favorable conditions for other directions to operate.
In the North, the 1st Corps destroyed a number of enemy artillery positions and controlled Route 16 to deploy forces to penetrate deeply, reaching 7km north of Thu Dau Mot. On the night of April 27, 1975, Binh My - an enemy stronghold on Route 16 was lost. All enemy outposts on the East side of Route 16 disintegrated and fled. The enemy's defense line on Route 16 was completely broken.
In the Northwest, the 3rd Corps in one day and night destroyed 11 out of 18 enemy artillery positions, cut off Routes 22 and 1, blocked the regiments of the 25th Puppet Division from Tay Ninh to Dong Du and forced a battalion of the 50th Puppet Regiment to surrender.
A commando unit and the Gia Dinh Regiment captured and controlled the Saigon beltway from Binh Phuoc bridge to Quan Tre and opened the door through the obstacles north of Tan Son Nhat airport to prepare for the main force to attack.
In the East and Northwest directions, the enemy fought back and counterattacked fiercely in order to prevent us from capturing the Nuoc Trong and Ho Nai bases to open the way to deploy forces deep into the inner city and they tried to prevent us from cutting off the connection of the 25th Division between Tay Ninh and Saigon. But the time came when the efforts of the puppet army could not prevent the collapse of their entire defense system.
In another development, on April 27, 1975, Cu Lao Thu and Phu Quy islands - the last piece of land of Binh Thuan province - were completely liberated.
At Truong Sa archipelago, at 1:30 a.m. on April 27, 1975, ship 673 carrying the invasion force left Son Ca island towards Nam Yet island. At 10:30 a.m. the same day, ship 673 arrived at Nam Yet island. A part of Squad 3 quickly landed and occupied the island. At 11:30 a.m. on April 27, 1975, we completely controlled Nam Yet island.
After occupying Nam Yet Island, Ship 673 continued to send a part of the force to liberate Sinh Ton Island. At 10:30 a.m. on April 28, 1975, we completely controlled Sinh Ton Island./.
[Source: VNA; General Headquarters in the Spring of Victory, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2000; Battles that Made History, People's Army Publishing House, Hanoi, 2015; Great Spring Victory, People's Army Publishing House, 5th reprint, Hanoi 2024] |
According to Vietnamplus
Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/50-nam-thong-nhat-dat-nuoc-ngay-2741975-giai-phong-thi-xa-ba-ria-post1035283.vnp
Source: https://baolongan.vn/50-nam-thong-nhat-dat-nuoc-ngay-27-4-1975-giai-phong-thi-xa-ba-ria-a194215.html
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