Victory Newsletter April 20, 1975: Directive on preparing for the General Uprising

The directive clearly stated: Organizations need to proactively coordinate with the main army corps to complete the task of the General Uprising, no later than May 1, 1975.

Immediately after the Directive of the Standing Committee of the City Party Committee, 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.

Before that, to prepare for the General Offensive and Uprising, from the beginning of April 1975, the Standing Committee of the Saigon - Gia Dinh City Party Committee assigned specific tasks to each force:

The armed forces are ready to fight to support the uprising masses, build corridors and springboards, capture bridgeheads in the suburbs and targets in the city;

The security forces were organized into four clusters ready to coordinate in capturing the General Police Department, the Metropolitan Police Department, and the district police departments; the military intelligence force was ready to capture the headquarters of the enemy's central intelligence agency;

Workers are ready to occupy and protect factories and enterprises, especially power and water plants;

The City Youth Union forces are ready to launch mass uprisings in the areas of Ban Co, Vuon Chuoi, Da Kao, Tan Dinh, Phu Nhuan, Khanh Hoi - Vinh Hoi, Tan Phu, and Bay Hien. The Hoa Van Committee arranges cadres to direct the uprising in 10 key areas in districts 5, 6, and 11;

The Women's Committee organized rescue, supply, medical, sanitation, and printing teams. The Military and Intelligence Committees carried out tasks according to their assigned functions. The people in the suburbs of Saigon coordinated the uprising in the Ho Chi Minh Campaign.

People in the suburbs of Saigon coordinated the uprising in the Ho Chi Minh Campaign. (Photo: Saigon Giai Phong Newspaper)

On the night of April 20, 1975, facing the risk of being annihilated, the enemy troops in Xuan Loc retreated along Interprovincial Highway No. 2 to Ba Ria. The 4th Corps and units of Military Region 7 intercepted and destroyed a large part of them.

Division 5 (Group 232) attacked the enemy's defense area in Thu Thua - Ben Luc and consolidated the foothold in the west of Tan An town, destroyed enemy posts and opened the way to bring technical weapons to the north of Highway 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.

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, they defeated the enemy counterattacking forces and controlled a 7 km long section of Highway 22 from Cam An to Ben Muong.

The 8th Division, the main force of Zone 8. The 24th and 88th Regiments were reinforced. Two battalions of Long An local troops stepped up their activities, destroyed 45 enemy posts and military sub-regions, and liberated 12 communes in Chau Thanh, Cau 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.

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Source: https://vtcnews.vn/ban-tin-chien-thang-20-4-1975-chi-thi-chuan-bi-tong-khoi-nghia-ar938775.html