Typical images of the legendary Ho Chi Minh trail

(Dan Tri) - The Truong Son Road was opened to support the Northern rear with human and material resources to secretly and safely bring troops, weapons, ammunition, supplies... to support the Southern battlefield.

After the Geneva Agreement (July 1954), the country was divided. To maintain communication and ensure timely direction from the Party Central Committee for the revolutionary movement in the South, the Politburo and the Party Central Committee decided to open the Truong Son road and chose Khe Ho as the starting point to advance to the South. From here, the human and material support from the Northern rear helped the army "eat well, fight and win", gain resounding victories on the battlefields, moving towards the day of total victory and national reunification. To commemorate the 49th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification (April 30, 1975 - April 30, 2024); 65th anniversary of the opening of the Truong Son road - Ho Chi Minh road (May 19, 1959 - May 19, 2024), the Thang Long - Hanoi Heritage Conservation Center organized the exhibition "Truong Son Road - Legendary Ho Chi Minh Road". Dan Tri would like to introduce to readers some typical images in this exhibition.

The Central Military Commission discussed building the armed forces in the South and finding ways to secretly and safely send some military units, weapons, ammunition, and supplies to support the battlefields in the South. In 1960, General Vo Nguyen Giap met at the General Staff to study the opening of the Ho Chi Minh trail to support the South.

Major General Vo Bam - the person assigned to open the Truong Son road. Group 559 was chosen as the "special military task force" to deploy engineering, logistics, medical, infantry and air defense forces to ensure the operation of this route.

With the spirit of "All for the front, all to defeat the American invaders", the shared will to "cut through Truong Son to save the country" and the determination to "fight the enemy and advance, open the way and advance", layers of forces from soldiers, youth volunteers, frontline laborers, traffic workers and people of all ethnic groups have always been persistent and resilient in holding on to the battlefield, holding on to the road, keeping this traffic artery open.

On August 13, 1959, the first shipment officially crossed the Truong Son mountain range, through deep rivers, high passes, fierce streams and the enemy's strict system of outposts to reach the people and soldiers in the South. Photo: Convoys of vehicles defied bombs and Agent Orange to continue to support the South on the Truong Son road.

The information corps always conveys orders promptly to ensure smooth communication in all situations.

Bicycle convoy carrying food and goods on the portage route through Quang Binh .

The reconnaissance engineers approached the scene and marked the area for the bomb disposal team to carry out their mission.

Soldiers of the 24th Anti-Aircraft Battalion of the 591st Regiment heroically protected the transport vehicle formation across the Truong Son road.

In May 1961, the Truong Son Trail was opened, nearly 100km long, from Route 9 to Muong Phalan connecting Central Laos and Lower Laos. Initially, the trail only used pack horses, pack elephants, pack carts and some motor vehicles. Photo: Lieutenant General Dong Sy Nguyen - Commander of Group 559 - cutting the ribbon to inaugurate a section of the Truong Son Trail, 1972.

"Live traffic cones" on Ho Chi Minh roads.

From a single route, it became a system covering the Truong Son mountain range, with a total length of 20,000km, crossing the North - South and three Indochinese countries, reaching all battlefields, transporting more than 1 million tons of materials and weapons; bringing more than 2 million troops from the great rear of the North to the great front line of the South, contributing especially importantly to the victory of the resistance war against the US to save the country.

Company 128 of Thai Binh province's laborers cut through the forest to open a motorized road, 1964.

From 1968 to 1973, the US military spent about $1 billion a year on the McNamara Electronic Fence, a system of electronic means to detect infiltration by the Liberation Army along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Photo: Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara talks to reporters about plans to build an electronic fence between North and South Vietnam, 1967.

During the 3 years (1968-1972), there were an average of 22-30 B.52 bombing missions per day over the Truong Son range.

The roads are bare because of the heavy impact of destructive chemical toxins.

The convoy crossed Truong Son to support the South with the slogan "All for the beloved South".

A-shaped crab in the ATP center west of Quang Binh on 20 Quyet Thang road.

The 52nd heroic transport vehicle battalion (Station 14, Command 559) transported goods on Kin road (Sang Le forest) from Sub-station C (near Cua Chu A) to Ka Toc (Laos) in February 1972.

Throughout the war, the Ho Chi Minh Trail was always the focus of fierce attacks by the enemy using all kinds of modern and sophisticated weapons. The US and the puppet regime launched many large campaigns with hundreds of planes spraying toxic chemicals along the transportation corridor, nearly 4 million tons of bombs and mines dropped on Truong Son to destroy the road, destroy convoys, and destroy all life to the point that "the forest had no leaves, the rocky mountains turned to mud".

Female officers and soldiers on Truong Son road.

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Source: https://dantri.com.vn/xa-hoi/nhung-hinh-anh-tieu-bieu-ve-duong-ho-chi-minh-huyen-thoai-20240427155134277.htm