PANO – After the Geneva Accords in 1954, the USA, with its scheme to shape a neo-colonial system in Southern Vietnam, pulled the carpet under the French feet and set up a puppet government, known as the Saigon government. Backed by the USA, the Saigon forces frenziedly oppressed the local revolutionary movement, captured and killed revolutionaries. Against this backdrop, the 15th Meeting of the Party Central Committee defined that the basic path to develop the Vietnamese revolution was to rise up in arms to win the power and to turn from political struggles into armed struggles. Therefore, the need to support the South battlefield became increasingly high.

A numberless ship transporting supplies and weapons for Southern battlefields.

 

On May 19th, 1959, the General-Central Military Commission and the Defense Ministry decided to form a “Special military working mission,” then known as Mission 559. The unit was tasked to survey and open a route to transport ordnance and logistics to the South, and carry personnel from the North to the South and vice versa. Next on July 1959, the Defense Ministry founded maritime transport battalion 603, in charge of opening a route in the sea to transport humans, weapons and goods to the South. In order to blindfold the enemy, it operated in the sea in the name of “Gianh River Fishing Group.”

On the first days operating in difficult conditions without navigational experience and understanding of the situations of coastal Southern localities, the first crew failed to use a sailboat for transportation and the unit had to stop to find a more suitable approach.

The Politburo then instructed experienced crewmen to carefully survey the sea, study the enemy’s routine activities at sea and conduct pilot operations. Finally, feasible approaches were founded out and reported to the Politburo. On October 23rd, 1961, the highest organ of the Party and the Central Military Commission agreed to found Maritime Transport Group 759, the predecessor of Naval Brigade 125, which was coded the Numberless Fleet, under the direct leadership of the Defense Ministry. The birth of Group 759 and the formation of the North-South marine transportation approaches was significant. From that point of time, Southern coastal localities began to receive direct material supports from the North, serving as a great stimulus for armed forces in the Southern Battlefield.

The national resistance war against the American invaders entered a fierce phase but on-land roads could not reach distant battlefields in the enemy’s occupied areas so our armed forces there lacked weapons, ordnance and logistics to fight against the enemy. In August 1962, the Central Military Commission decided to start transporting weapons to the South. After good preparations, on the night of October 11, 1962, a wooden boat with machines of Group 759 led by Captain Le Van Mot and Party Secretary Bong Van Dia carrying more than 30 tons of weapons secretly left Quay K15, Do Son, Hai Phong.

After 9 days at sea, the boat reached Vam Lung, Ca Mau safely, marking an important event – “the Ho Chi Minh Maritime Route” was successfully opened.

In August 1963, the Navy took over Group 759 and directly led the mission of transporting weapons and logistics to the South Battlefield.  On January 24th, 1964, Group 759 developed into Naval Brigade 125. During 3 years (1962-1965), the brigade conducted 89 shipments via the by-sea Ho Chi Minh Path, successfully freighting nearly 5,000 tons of weapons, ammunitions and other materials to Zone 5, the extreme Southern Center and the South.

After Boat C143 was spotted by the enemy in Vung Ro, Phu Yen province in February 1965, the enemy enhanced patrolling to prevent our boats. Brigade 125 changed its itinerary. Accordingly, our transport boats went to the international sea lines and sought the appropriate times to head ashore and reach the destinations. In February 1968, the by-sea Ho Chi Minh transportation route had to temporarily stop operations since the enemy increased measures to prevent our ships from operating in their controlled seas. During 4 years (1965-1968), unit 125 conducted 27 shipments but only 7 shipments reached our forces in the South, transporting more than 400 tons of military equipment and weapons to southern battlefields.

However, after the 1968 Mau Than General Offensive and Uprising, Brigade 125 renewed its operations in the by-sea Ho Chi Minh Path. Its transport boats used various tactics, including going to Cambodian ports first, and then turned back to destinations along the Vietnamese coastal areas. With the tactics, unit 125 successfully freighted more than 90,000 tons of cargo, including 20,000 tons of weapons and ammunitions.

From the end of 1970, the route to the Cambodian ports was cut off. The Numberless Fleet had to found out another route. Numberless boats had to go along Hoang Sa archipelago (the Paracel), Truong Sa archipelago (the Spratlys), the sea off Northeastern Malaysia and toward the Thailand Gulf, then the Vietnamese archipelago of Nam Du; finally the boats reached the destinations in Southern Vietnam. That was a very long and difficult voyage but unit 125 transported 301 tons of weapons to the South Battlefield on the way.

Vung Ro relic site.

 

In 1973, the Paris Peace Accords were signed, the Central Military Commission and the Defense Ministry ordered Brigade 125 to postpone its operation. Until the Spring 1975 General Offensive and Uprising, the Numberless Feet renewed its operations, transporting a large number of weapons, ammunitions and logistics, supporting our forces to liberate coastal areas and islands.

From 1961 to 1975, Brigade 125 conducted 1,879 shipments, carrying 152,876 tons of weapons, ammunitions, equipment, medicines, and other logistics, and 80,026 personnel from the North to the South. During the voyages, the crewmen of the numberless boats fought hundreds of battles with enemy naval and air forces, and hundreds of soldiers lay in the sea forever. However, the by-sea Ho Chi Minh Path successfully fulfilled its mission.

Together with the Ho Chi Minh Path on the Truong Son range, the by-sea Ho Chi Minh Path has successfully inherited and brought into full play the Vietnamese tradition of fighting foreign invaders; what is more, it has reflected the Vietnamese nation’s creativity and unique military arts in the fierce war. The path has also become the symbol of national will and desire for independence, freedom and peace.

Written by Nguyen Duy Diep

Translated by Thu Nguyen