On the night of April 17, 1954, three trenches of Regiment 36 surrounded stronghold 206 - located north of Muong Thanh airport, one of the enemy's important strongholds.
Base 206 (Huguette 1) is located north of Muong Thanh airport, one of the enemy's important bases; together with bases 203, 204, 208, 311A, 311B, it forms a peripheral defense line to protect the central area and Muong Thanh airport, blocking our troops from the north and northwest.
On the night of April 17, 1954, three trenches of Regiment 36 surrounded stronghold 206. Also on April 17, 1954, a convoy of 12 vehicles of Company 209 carrying 105mm artillery shells was on its way to the front.
Three trenches of Regiment 36 surrounded stronghold 206.
The French colonialists tried to protect the 206 stronghold at all costs, so they prioritized elite units to guard the stronghold with lots of weapons and ammunition, with tanks and artillery in the center ready to support at any time.
The enemy force in the stronghold had the 4th company of the 1st battalion of the 13th Foreign Legion, with 148 troops, equipped with firepower including six heavy machine guns, 23 medium machine guns, one 57mm DKZ, two 60mm mortars, and one grenade launcher.
On our side, after temporarily stopping the second attack on the eastern bases, Regiment 36, Division 308 was assigned the task of destroying base 206, in order to create conditions for the division and friendly units to cut the airport in half and tighten the siege, destroying the enemy in the central area of Muong Thanh.
Our forces had the 80th, 84th, and 89th battalions of the 36th Infantry Regiment, an 82mm mortar company; in addition, the supporting companies of the battalions had two 57mm DKZs, four heavy machine guns, two 82mm mortars and were reinforced by a 75mm mountain artillery company, a 120mm mortar company, a light flamethrower and were directly supported by the campaign's 105mm artillery company.
Based on the actual situation, the 36th Regiment built the battlefield according to the "encirclement" tactic. The 80th Battalion was in charge of the western front, the 84th Battalion was in charge of the northwest front, the 89th Battalion used a platoon in charge of the southern front, and the majority of the forces in the south were ready to attack for reinforcements.
The 75mm artillery company, 120mm mortar company and 82mm mortar company formed the regimental fire position and were deployed in front and behind the starting line of attack, mainly supporting the spearhead.
On the night of April 17, 1954, from the starting position of the attack 300m west of the stronghold, the 36th Regiment built an attack position using the method of crawling and digging combined with underground digging, using cover in front and on both sides such as straw "bows", bundles of reeds, sandbags, and anti-tunnel equipment to gradually encroach on the stronghold. They used the "bows" as shields, bringing the trenches from afar to approach the stronghold.
The 2-meter long, 1.5-meter diameter straw blocks absorbed all the direct bullets, ensuring the safety of the trench diggers behind them. By nightfall, the three trenches of the 36th Regiment had completely surrounded the 206th stronghold, only a few dozen meters from the barbed wire fence.
On the side of Regiment 88, Nguyen Quoc Tri Battalion also brought the trench close to Muong Thanh airport. At this time, the trenches of Regiment 165 from four sides had penetrated inside the barbed wire fence of stronghold 105 (Huguette 6), with 15 gun emplacements in the front line being destroyed by our DKZ.
Many fences were cut down. Soldiers had no food or water, and if they stuck their heads out of their bunkers, they would be shot by our snipers. On the night of April 18, the Regiment ordered an attack. Only a few enemy troops escaped to Muong Thanh.
Base 105 was destroyed by our army, so the last base at the northern end of the airport no longer exists.
A convoy of 12 vehicles of the 209th Company carrying 105mm artillery shells on the way to the front.
In the book " The Story of Dien Bien Phu Victory" recounted that: On April 17, 1954, a convoy of 12 vehicles of Company 209 carrying 105mm artillery shells was on its way to the front. When it arrived at Co Noi, it was almost dawn. The vehicles were preparing to hide when there was an order from comrade Dinh Duc Thien - Director of the Transport Department: "Let the vehicles continue running during the day, bringing the shells straight to the artillery site."
Comrade Dam Quang Doan - Deputy Company Commander ordered the drivers to prepare: check oil, water, gasoline, spare tire, tie up the cargo, add camouflage leaves, and rearrange the formation.
At around 10am the convoy began to cross Pha Din Pass. While the convoy was climbing the slope, enemy planes suddenly appeared, four B-26s swooped down, fired heavy machine guns, and dropped bombs. In that dangerous situation, Deputy Company Commander Dam Quang Doan calmly commanded the vehicles to quickly disperse to the edge of the road to hide.
The vehicle driven by soldier Chu and commanded by squad leader Nguyen Ngoc Truc, with the consent of Deputy Company Commander Doan, continued to run to attract bombs and bullets from enemy aircraft, creating conditions for the entire convoy to disperse into ravines and bushes. While Chu's vehicle was running, the enemy aircraft shot down the front and rear tires, damaging them.
The two soldiers driving the car threw the gasoline barrel to the side of the road, causing the car to turn sideways into the middle of the road. Squad leader Truc ordered Chu to get out of the car, then he started the car and drove down the edge of the banana grove that covered the car. The enemy planes circled around a few times but could not find the target, so they left.
Soldiers in the company came to rescue the wounded Truc and pulled the cart and carried the ammunition; 11 other vehicles safely continued to transport ammunition to the artillery positions./.
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