Ninh Binh shares the fire with the Dien Bien Phu battlefield

The Dien Bien Phu victory on May 7, 1954 has entered the history of the Vietnamese nation as a brilliant milestone, a symbol of revolutionary heroism. This is the heroic epic of the miraculous people's war, "recorded in the history of the nation as a Bach Dang, a Chi Lang or a Dong Da in the 20th century and entered the history of the world as a brilliant feat, breaking through the stronghold of the colonial slavery system of imperialism". In that brilliant milestone, Ninh Binh is proud to have made many great contributions, contributing to the victory of the campaign.

Responding to President Ho Chi Minh's call for national resistance (December 19, 1946), our entire Party, people and army bravely entered the long-term resistance war against the French colonialists. The Politburo decided to launch the Dien Bien Phu Campaign, established the Campaign Command and the Front Party Committee with General Vo Nguyen Giap as Commander and Secretary of the Campaign Party Committee; decided to concentrate 4 infantry divisions, 1 artillery division with a total strength of over 40,000 generals, officers and soldiers. The whole country concentrated its strength on the Dien Bien Phu front; the main army units quickly gathered together with hundreds of thousands of youth volunteers and frontline laborers, regardless of bombs and bullets, day and night clearing forests, cutting mountains to open roads, pulling artillery, building battlefields, ready to attack the enemy, and ensuring logistics for the campaign.

Together with the people and soldiers of the whole country, 70 years ago, with the slogan "All for the front, all for victory", the army and people of Ninh Binh devoted all their resources and efforts to the Dien Bien Phu campaign. The whole of Ninh Binh devoted all their efforts to Dien Bien, the Provincial Party Committee, the Provincial Resistance Committee, the districts and towns in the province, including the temporarily occupied areas, all established the Front Supply Committee, mobilizing food, provisions, medicine and other essential items to serve the battlefield, ensuring that the troops "ate well and fought to win".

The movement to join the army and enlist was very active, many petitions were written in blood. The call to Dien Bien to destroy the enemy became a sacred call deeply ingrained in every young person's heart. By early 1954, the number and types of means of transport serving the battle had increased by one and a half times compared to previous years; tens of thousands of laborers were mobilized and organized to serve the campaign, transporting rice from the No. 1 Forward Station in Nho Quan District to the foot of Pha Din Pass.

From February to April 1954 alone, the whole province had 3,716 young men enlisted, joining the main army units of the Ministry, the Inter-zone and the locality. Soldiers from Ninh Binh were present in many main units directly participating in the battle in Dien Bien such as Division 351, Division 312, Division 304, Division 316 and a number of other main units... Many officers and soldiers were present from the beginning, crossing forests, streams, digging mountains, digging trenches, opening roads to Dien Bien. They all carried within them the tradition of the heroic ancient capital, revolutionary enthusiasm, "Despite bombs and bullets, bones and flesh torn apart. Undaunted, unsparing in youth", they lived beautifully, lived to the fullest for the independence and freedom of the Fatherland.

Among the Ninh Binh frontline laborers who served the campaign and transported rice that day was Mr. Hoang Cao Son, 94 years old this year, currently living in Binh Yen Tay Street, Ninh Khanh Ward (Ninh Binh City). He was the one who directly participated in transporting food from the No. 1 Forward Station in Nho Quan District to the Dien Bien Phu battlefield by bicycle.

Recalling the time he participated in "sharing the fire" with the Dien Bien Phu battlefield 7 decades ago, Mr. Son recalled: At that time, I was just over 20 years old and was assigned to transport 5 barrels of black sugar to the Northwest. Receiving the mission, I and the frontline militiamen did not hesitate to endure hardships, day and night crossing forests and streams (mainly carrying food at night, during the day having to stop to take shelter, avoiding enemy aircraft). Along the way, the frontline militiamen had to face countless difficulties, such as the constant cold winds from the Northwest mountains and forests, the dangers from steep slopes, deep ravines, dense forests, and the pursuit of enemy aircraft.

However, with the spirit of "All for the front, all for victory", I, like many other Ninh Binh frontline workers, always tell ourselves: No matter how difficult it is, we must strive to overcome it, to contribute to serving the revolution, to enhance the tradition of the heroic children of the ancient capital Hoa Lu. After transporting 5 barrels of sugar from Ninh Binh to our army's food storage warehouse in Son La, Mr. Hoang Cao Son continued with the frontline workers to receive the task of transporting food, ammunition, stretchers...

Thanks to the contributions of the frontline laborers and other forces, our soldiers on the battlefield were provided with enough food, medicine, and ammunition, making an important contribution to the final victory of the war. After the Dien Bien Phu campaign was completely victorious, Mr. Hoang Cao Son returned to his hometown to continue promoting the tradition of frontline laborers, actively participating in labor production. In 2020, he was certified by the Military Region 3 Command to participate in the frontline laborers. "I am honored to have contributed a small part to the Dien Bien Phu campaign. The years of participating in the frontline laborers will always be unforgettable memories" - Mr. Hoang Cao Son proudly shared.

While devoting all their efforts to serving the Dien Bien Phu Campaign, the army and people of Ninh Binh took advantage of every opportunity to continuously attack and destroy enemy posts and outposts in the area, quickly liberating their homeland; closely coordinating and directly serving the main force in fighting the enemy locally, creating a position and force to weaken the enemy's forces, leaving no conditions to reinforce the stronghold group.

The great contributions of the Party Committee, army and people of Ninh Binh in the resistance war against French colonialism in general, and in the Dien Bien Phu campaign in particular, have contributed significantly to the victory of Dien Bien Phu with the people of the whole country. During the fighting and serving in the Dien Bien Phu campaign, the army and people of Ninh Binh were awarded 11,677 orders and medals of various types by the National Assembly and the Government; 3,426 certificates of merit from the Prime Minister; in particular, 1 district, 25 communes and 2 individuals were honored by the President with the title of Hero of the Armed Forces during the anti-French period.

At the end of the war, many outstanding sons of Ninh Binh were left behind or left a part of their blood and bones on the battlefield; their blood and bones were turned into the Motherland, so that today Dien Bien has become a rendezvous for peace. After fighting and returning from victory, the Dien Bien soldiers, Youth Volunteers, and frontline workers of the past, regardless of their positions, still maintained the qualities of "Uncle Ho's soldiers", continued to contribute to building their homeland and country, and were shining examples for their descendants to follow. They were the ones who contributed to the victory not only of Dien Bien Phu but also added to the tradition of patriotism against foreign invaders, the bravery, character, and spirit of the land and people of Ninh Binh - the land of "spiritual land and talented people".

Article and photos: Mai Lan

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