PANO – President Ho Chi Minh chaired a conference of the Politburo on December 6th 1953 to review preparations and combat plans for the Dien Bien Phu campaign. One of the proposals submitted to the Politburo by the Central Military Commission was the construction of roads to transport weapons, equipment and supplies for the campaign.
Accordingly, engineering troops were entrusted to team up with other relevant units to immediately upgrade and build new roads to the battlefield. Being a newly-established unit, the Engineering Arm did its utmost to fulfill its tasks and was conferred with a flag embroidered with four golden words of “Mo duong thang loi” (Building roads for the victory) by Uncle Ho after the Northwest Campaign 1952.
Engineering units created pontoons made of bamboo, joined ferries together to transport vehicles, artilleries and troops, cleared the enemy’s time bombs and minefields, and leveled rapids to construct roads.
Engineering troops building a road to transport weapons, equipment and supplies for the Dien Bien Phu campaign. File photo
The Engineering Regiment 151 worked with some units to build roads for moving artillery to the set positions. Notably, it took them only 20 days to complete 6 roads with the total length of more than 70km. After the Dien Bien Phu victory, many French prisoners of war said that just the construction of these roads was enough for Vietnam to win against the colonialists, as they went straight from these roads to the stockades.
In addition, engineering troops built up a 400km network of shelters, trenches and fortifications and concrete positions for our artillery pieces on mountain slopes and other protected places that the French troops failed to anticipate. Furthermore, they also constructed mock battlefields to waste the enemy’s bombs and ammunition.
Many military experts considered the network as a noose that little by little throttled the throat of French troops in Dien Bien Phu.
Moreover, engineering troops also directly participated in the fight during the campaign. Especially, they dug a 50m tunnel and transported one ton of TNT into the tunnel to blow up the enemy’s post on A1 hill. The massive explosion was the signal for Vietnamese troops to simultaneously launch the general offensive against the French troops in Dien Bien Phu.
A French general admitted that Vietnamese troops’ shovels and pickaxes are as strong as aircraft and tanks.
The Party, State and Army drew many lessons from the Dien Bien Phu campaign, especially the use of the engineering force in difficult but important situations and missions. For their part, engineering troops have continued bringing into play their tradition to make considerable contributions to the national resistance war against foreign invaders and to the national construction cause.
Translated by Van Hieu
Đăng ký: VietNam News