The first victory of the armed forces of Cho Lach district, Ben Tre province, made great contributions to the success of the Mau Than General Offensive and Uprising in spring 1968 (Spring Mau Than 1968). At the second regional conference on guerrilla warfare after the Spring Mau Than 1968, the district’s armed forces were lauded for their great feats of arms, especially the victory on the first day of Lunar New Year 1968. After 30 minutes, a team of five commandos occupied Cai Mit post, making contributions to liberating more than 80% of the district.
In Cho Lach district, the enemy built 3-4 strategic hamlets in each commune which were guarded by 1,000 troops. Some of them were cruel commanders who had owed local people and revolution a blood debt. The situation challenged the Vietnamese force as the enemy reinforced their forces to control the areas and spread misinformation about the Vietnamese people’s revolution, the Vietnamese forces did not receive support from Catholic followers in the locality.
Duc recalled that to prepare for the Mau Than General Offensive and Uprising in Spring 1968, Party Committee and Military Command of Cho Lach district made contact with secret bases and reorganized the armed forces, especially regular troops. In a short time, the district was able to gather and send an infantry company and a commando regiment to the province. In the district, there were only 18 ground troops and ten commandoes who were divided into two teams. Duc was assigned to command one of the commando teams.
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Senior Colonel Nguyen Huynh Duc (first from right) and his comrades |
In the afternoon of January 28, 1968 (the 29th day of the 12th month of the lunar year), forces operated to Cai Nhum Church in Long Thoi commune where troops and local people held parties to welcome Lunar New Year 1968 and listened to President Ho Chi Minh’s letter wishing troops and people across the country a happy new year on the radio. Local people were so happy when listening to the warm voice of Uncle Ho - the father of the nation through the Voice of Vietnam’s channel for the first time. Uncle Ho’s poem that night was like an order to start the general offensive and uprising.
While troops and local people were celebrating New Year, the enemy’s troops opened fire at Hoa Thanh hamlet of Hoa Nghia commune, injuring two Vietnamese troops and killing another. The human losses aroused the Vietnamese troops’ and people’s hatred against the enemy’s troops and all of them showed determination to fight to the last breath.
On the night of Lunar January 1st, Cho Lach district’s armed forces were ordered to return to the allocated locations and prepared to open fire. Duc commanded his five-member commando team to attack Cai Mit post, 600m from Cho Lach town. At 5a.m. on January 2, secret bases decoyed the post’s head and shot him dead. Immediately, the team launched an attack at the enemy target, killing four troops and capturing two others. The rest survived and ran away.
After 30 minutes of fighting, the Vietnamese troops and people seized control of Cai Mit post, seizing 14 guns and a signal machine. This was the first post in Cho Lach district in particular and in Ben Tre province in general which had been eliminated at the beginning of the Mau Than General Offensive and Uprising in spring 1968.
After the first victories which worried the enemy, the Vietnamese forces continued besieging and wiping out other posts in the district. After ten consecutive days of the general offensive and uprising, troops and people in Cho Lach destroyed 46 posts, injuring or killing 800 of the enemy’s troops and seizing 540 guns of different kinds and military equipment and vehicles. More importantly, the forces liberated completely six communes and occupied four others, helping expand the liberation area and freeing 60,000 people.
Translated by Tran Hoai