The Dien Bien Phu victory has been over for 71 years, but its echoes still reverberate. In the endless flow of history, there are places and people that have become immortal symbols. The Co Noi crossroads , the "coordinates of fire" that year, and the youth volunteer soldier Nguyen Hung Thinh , are an inseparable part of that epic. He and his comrades contributed to the "earth-shaking" victory.
Mr. Nguyen Hung Thinh, former youth volunteer of Dien Bien Phu campaign. Photo: Mai Loan. |
Co Noi Fire Coordinates: Bombs falling, bullets exploding, danger, death imminent
Co Noi junction (Mai Son district, Son La province) is about 45km southeast of Son La city. This is the intersection between Highway 13 (National Highway 37) and Highway 41 (National Highway 6 today). During the Dien Bien Phu campaign, Co Noi junction had a particularly important strategic position in terms of military .
To support the Dien Bien Phu battlefield, a transportation network serving the campaign consisting of 3 main routes was formed: the route from Viet Bac down through Ba Khe - Co Noi - to Dien Bien Phu; the route from Zone IV starting from Nghe An - Thanh Hoa - Suoi Rut through Moc Chau - Co Noi to Dien Bien Phu and the route from Lien khu III - Nho Quan - Hoa Binh - Suoi Rut through Moc Chau - Co Noi to Dien Bien Phu.
Memorial to the Youth Volunteers, at Co Noi Intersection. Photo: TNMT. |
All three main transportation routes leading to Dien Bien Phu must pass through Co Noi Intersection. Co Noi was chosen as the largest assembly and transit point for the Dien Bien Phu battlefield.
This is the gateway to the Northwest, so Co Noi Junction became one of the focal points of the war. In his memoirs, General Vo Nguyen Giap wrote: "Co Noi Junction is a pass that all those who go to battle must pass through."
Soldiers and laborers cleared the road from Tuan Giao and Dien Bien Phu. Photo: Document. |
The French colonialists and their allies wanted to keep Dien Bien Phu as well as maintain their position in Indochina, so they had to block the Co Noi lifeline. At the peak of the enemy's bombardment, the Co Noi Intersection area had about 1,000 youth volunteers and forces from 5 units of Teams 34 and 40 directly performing their duties there.
"I am proud that my teammates and I participated in protecting the "fire coordinates" of Co Noi (Mai Son, Son La), contributing to the heroic victory of Dien Bien Phu", Mr. Nguyen Hung Thinh, a member of Company 401, Team 40 of the Youth Volunteers, emotionally shared.
71 years have passed, but the memories of those heroic years in Mr. Nguyen Hung Thinh's (currently living in Thinh Quang ward, Dong Da, Hanoi) are still as fresh as yesterday.
Mr. Thinh was born on August 19, 1935 in Thanh Hoa. In 1950, after finishing 7th grade (10/10 system), he became the Deputy Head of the local Farmers' Association for National Salvation, then Secretary of the Youth Union for National Salvation of the commune, Chief of Office of the Administrative Resistance Committee of Yen Son commune (Ha Trung district, Thanh Hoa province).
In October 1953, the commune mobilized cadres from the three provinces of Nghe An, Ha Tinh, and Thanh Hoa to join the youth volunteer force. All gathered in Vang village, Tho Xuan district, Thanh Hoa, marching on foot from Thanh Hoa, through Hoa Binh, Pha Din pass, to Moc Chau to go to Dien Bien Phu. Arriving in Moc Chau (Son La), Mr. Nguyen Hung Thinh belonged to the 401st company, 40th team of the youth volunteer force, participating in protecting the "fire coordinate" Co Noi.
“There was a peak day when French planes dropped 300 bombs of various types weighing nearly 70 tons of explosives here. Their purpose was to cut off the vital road that supplied troops, laborers, and transported weapons to the battlefield. The road surface was plowed up by bombs, causing many obstacles and difficulties in repairing and ensuring smooth traffic. Bombs fell, bullets exploded, danger and death were imminent,” Mr. Thinh recalled.
Bursting with joy, the Dien Bien Phu campaign was a complete victory.
However, no matter how fierce the battlefield was, Mr. Thinh and his teammates still maintained their spirit of devoting all their efforts to the campaign, to the front line, always striving to complete the assigned tasks to the best of their ability.
On May 7, 1954, the entire enemy stronghold in Dien Bien Phu was destroyed by our army, the "Determination to fight, determination to win" flag fluttered on the roof of De Castries' bunker. Photo: VNA. |
“What made me and my teammates overcome those years? It was because we always remembered Uncle Ho's advice to the youth: "Nothing is difficult/ Only fear that the heart is not steadfast/ Digging mountains and filling seas/ With determination, we will succeed". It was Uncle Ho's advice that helped us overcome all difficulties and forget all fatigue", Mr. Nguyen Hung Thinh was moved.
Mr. Thinh said that among the countless dangers, facing unexploded bombs was the most difficult and arduous challenge for the youth volunteers. His unit had the daily task of climbing high hills to observe when planes dropped bombs, then determining the bomb's location and marking it, so that if the bomb did not explode, the engineers could handle it, and in places where the bombs had damaged the roads, the youth volunteers would level the roads.
Every time the French planes dropped this deadly weapon, the Youth Volunteers were ordered to climb up the high hills, hold their breath, observe, and memorize the location of each bomb. These were vital signals for the engineers to approach and destroy the detonator. However, death still lurked. There were many times when his teammates were carefully removing the detonator, the bomb suddenly exploded, taking the lives of his teammates.
“Between the thin line between life and death, seeing myself still alive, still being able to see the sunlight after each bombing is a miracle, an unforgettable memory for me,” Mr. Thinh recalled.
Then the historic moment came. At 3:00 p.m. on May 7, 1954, the general attack order from General and Commander-in-Chief Vo Nguyen Giap resounded: "No need to wait for dark, immediately launch a general attack on Muong Thanh... Must attack hard, surround tightly, not let De Castries or any enemy escape". Mr. Nguyen Hung Thinh recalled that it was the moment when the boiling spirit of the entire army and people seemed to multiply. All were filled with a determination to fight, to win. And then, bursting with joy, the Dien Bien Phu campaign was completely victorious, marking a brilliant milestone in the history of the nation.
“Those will forever be the most beautiful and heroic years, never fading in the minds of us soldiers,” Mr. Nguyen Hung Thinh was moved.
According to statistics, during the Dien Bien Phu campaign, the number of porter bicycles mobilized was up to 20,000, transporting 1/3 of the total load of the campaign. During the entire campaign, our people contributed 261,453 porters with 18,301,570 working days, 25,056 tons of rice, 1,824 tons of meat and dried food, and thousands of tons of vegetables. The porter force also built many roads through extremely difficult mountainous terrain to transport artillery by car to the battlefield. Along with that, they participated in repairing and reinforcing the roads that were sunk and muddy due to enemy bombs, or caused by floods and vehicles.
Dear readers, please watch the video of former youth volunteer Nguyen Hung Thinh sharing his memories of the Dien Bien Phu campaign. Source: Mai Loan.
Source: https://khoahocdoisong.vn/tu-co-noi-toa-do-lua-den-dien-bien-phu-toan-thang-ky-uc-hao-hung-post270234.html
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