The flag of the Provisional Revolutionary Government flies on the flagpole of Hue city. Photo: Document

Choose strategic attack

The West - South of Hue is an area with bare hills and young forests, an area to protect the strategic traffic route Hue - Da Nang and Phu Bai airport, a very dangerous area for the enemy. If our large force captures this area, the enemy will be cut off from the strategic route, their forces in Thua Thien Hue (now Hue City) will be surrounded and isolated. But one thing is, the enemy does not believe that our army can bring a large amount of weapons, ammunition, food, and provisions through the rugged mountains of A Luoi, Nam Dong (old), Khe Tre to attack this area. Therefore, in this direction, the enemy only uses defensive forces on the outer ring, focusing mainly on the areas of Mo Tau, high point 303, Kim Sac mountain range, Truoi cave and holding important traffic sections from Lang Co to Da Bac, their defense system in this direction is not deep and not tight.

Grasping the enemy's intentions, the Party Committee and the Front Command considered and thought carefully in choosing the main direction of attack for this historic war. With the high consensus of the Party Committee, the armed forces commanders decided to choose the main direction of attack as the West - South of Hue and Highway 14. This was considered a creative and strategic decision, demonstrating the determination of the entire Party, the entire army and the entire people to destroy the enemy regardless of all difficulties and hardships. In order to carry out that determination, the Party Committees mobilized more than 2,000 laborers, mainly ethnic minorities from the mountainous areas, along with the main force and local troops to open routes to transport food, ammunition, medicine, etc.

By the end of 1974, we had completed 210km of Route 74, together with Routes 71, 72, 73 built in previous years, creating a continuous network of motorized transport routes from the mountains to the plains. Vehicles were able to clear the route from Khe Tre, Nam Dong, A Luoi, the most difficult areas of the campaign. We had opened 30 secret and public corridors from the Ho Chi Minh Trail (Truong Son Road) to the border areas and the plains. Thanks to this transportation network, artillery, tank, anti-aircraft units, infantry units, and working teams could move forward to prepare for combat, something the enemy did not believe we could do and do so well. Never before had the preparation of forces for the Spring-Summer of 1975 been as elaborate, thoughtful, and successful as this time. This is considered a great success in the leadership and direction of the provincial leaders (now Hue City).

Diversion to distract the enemy

Along with the change in direction of attack, we organized a live-fire exercise in Quang Tri to distract the enemy, and at the same time withdrew the 325th Division and the 9th Regiment of the 304th Division from Northern Quang Tri to Southern Thua Thien to concentrate forces for the main direction of the 1975 Spring-Summer campaign in Hue. The exercise made the enemy panic, passive, and unable to predict our main direction of attack. Accordingly, the enemy increased its defense forces on the Quang Tri line, which was a favorable condition for us to concentrate forces according to the attack plan in the direction of Southwest Hue.

According to the plan, on the morning of March 8, 1975, on the main direction of the campaign, the forces of the Military Region and the 2nd Army Corps simultaneously opened fire to attack the enemy on Highway 14. Division 324, commanded by Division Commander Nguyen Duy Son and Political Commissar Nguyen Trong Dan, attacked the Mo Tau area (Mo Tau is 325m high, a shield protecting the south of Phu Bai base and the west of National Highway I, the enemy's eye on the western defense line of Thua Thien Hue), high points 302, 201, 136, 139, the Phu Bai airport warehouse system, controlling National Highway 1 - the strategic traffic route Hue - Da Nang.

With our preemptive attacks, we attracted most of the enemy's forces to this key area, creating favorable conditions for us to attack the entire province (now Hue City). Meanwhile, in the Northwest direction of Hue, the enemy considered it our main attack direction, so they concentrated their forces on a very solid defense. With the spirit of determination to destroy the enemy, the officers and soldiers of Battalion 6, Battalion 2, Regiment 4 launched many attacks on the enemy's base, creating a threatening position from the west, attracting enemy forces into this area, forcing them to stretch their forces thinly along the entire border line. With this victory, the enemy was confused, passive in response, unable to predict our main attack direction. At the same time, this was an attack that created position, created force, created opportunities and prepared for the opportunity to launch a General Offensive and Uprising to seize power by the army and people of Thua Thien Hue.

LE THI MAI AN

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/chinh-tri-xa-hoi/theo-dong-thoi-su/su-chuyen-huong-tan-cong-chien-luoc-trong-xuan-1975-153084.html