Legendary Muong Phang...

In the silent “General’s Forest”, birds still chirp, streams babble in the melodious mountain breeze, as if remembering the talented general of the nation, about a time of war and war that has passed. There, the relic of the Dien Bien Phu Campaign Command Headquarters is simple but bears the story of the strategic talent, the correct and talented decisions of the Campaign Command headed by Commander-in-Chief Vo Nguyen Giap, which created a victory that “resounded throughout the five continents, shook the earth”.

The shelters and working places of the Dien Bien Phu Campaign Command were simple, made of bamboo and thatch.

The vast National Highway 6 led us to Dien Bien Phu City in the cool mountain breeze, amidst the heroic sounds of the songs "Through the Northwest, the mountains tower far and wide/ Deep streams and high passes, we overcome many difficulties/ Our soldiers obey our Father's orders"... On this road, 70 years ago, generations of young people, frontline laborers, and youth volunteers enthusiastically transported food and ammunition, marched to the front with a steadfast oath to die for the Fatherland.

From that road, turn into Muong Phang commune (Dien Bien Phu city), the Dien Bien Phu campaign headquarters relic hidden in the old forest at the foot of Pu Don mountain. This is the third stop, also the last stop of the Dien Bien Phu campaign headquarters headed by the eldest brother of the Vietnam People's Army, the brilliant and talented general of the nation - General Vo Nguyen Giap. In just 105 days of staying, from January 31 to May 15, but from here, the correct decisions and orders were transmitted to the front, deciding the fate of the French colonialists on the entire Indochina battlefield.

After the difficult decision to change the motto of "fight fast, solve fast" to "fight sure, win sure", in this place, General Vo Nguyen Giap and the Campaign Command studied, calculated and made decisions for each battle, gradually pushing the French army into a desperate situation. Then, on May 6, 1954, an order that decided their fate was coded and transmitted to the front. That was the order for a general attack on the entire Dien Bien Phu front, signed by the General Ngoc, and a photo of which is still on display at the Dien Bien Phu Historical Victory Museum. That order stated: The time is set at exactly 8:30, no delay. At 8:30: Hill A1 exploded. Artillery and H6 fired the first attack. Infantry from all directions charged. Hang Cung immediately suppressed enemy artillery. All places had to get the time right...

Legendary Muong Phang...

Tourists visit and take souvenir photos in the Dien Bien Phu Campaign Command Headquarters relic site in Muong Phang commune (Dien Bien Phu city).

The next day, the historic moment had arrived. Our artillery roared, the sound of explosives shook the heavens and the earth, our troops rushed into battle. The enemy was in danger, rescue planes could not land at the airport, and our army blocked the escape route. The old fox general De Castries and thousands of enemy soldiers, struggling like rats in the trenches, finally had to raise their hands and surrender. After “Fifty-six days and nights of digging mountains, sleeping in tunnels, pouring rain, rice balls, blood mixed with mud”, our troops planted the Determined to Fight, Determined to Win flag given by Uncle Ho on the roof of De Castries’ bunker. The Dien Bien Phu campaign was a complete victory.

70 years have passed since the victory that "resounded throughout the five continents and shook the world", at the foot of Pu Don mountain, in the primeval forest that the Muong Phang people call by the popular name "General's forest", the working place of the campaign command post is still there, simple and quiet. It is a field command and defense system consisting of trenches and huts along a small stream, in a natural forest of up to 73 hectares. Here, all the huts, from the working place of General Vo Nguyen Giap, of Major General Hoang Van Thai, the hut of the Head of the Campaign Information Department Hoang Dao Thuy, to the working place of the Chinese military advisory group,... are all makeshift, made of bamboo, reed and leaves, in contrast to the solidity of the De Castries bunker that was conquered by our army.

According to the introduction of the relic tour guide, because he was located not far from the front, General Vo Nguyen Giap often carried binoculars, climbed the mountain to observe Muong Thanh valley, witnessed the historic clashes on Him Lam hill, Doc Lap hill, along Nam Rom river... to make the right decisions. And only later, when the Dien Bien Phu campaign was completely victorious, did the Thai Muong Phang village elders know that there were commanding troops in the forest of their homeland.

The war has passed, Muong Phang today is being renovated and moving forward with a solid stilt house next to lush green rice and corn fields, still bearing the glorious mark of a past time of war and war. These days, the relics of the Dien Bien Phu Campaign Command Headquarters are constantly being returned by Vietnamese people from all over the country. They come and quietly step on the mossy stone steps winding through the "forest of Generals", like me, bowing before history, before the hardships, courage, before the brave sacrifices of our fathers and brothers to create a great victory. There, not only is there the correctness and creativity in the Party's and Uncle Ho's guidelines, strategies and art of People's War, the military talent of General Vo Nguyen Giap, but also the affirmation of a shining truth, the enemy's steel, bombs and bullets could not overcome the will and strength of burning patriotism.

Article and photos: Do Duc

Source