35th anniversary of the founding of the heroic H15 Group (April 10, 1973 --- April 10, 2008): Strong raids, high mobility

Regular maintenance checks

Days of bullets and fire

Exactly 35 years ago (April 10, 1973), the Ministry of National Defense signed Decision No. 75 to establish the 215th Tank Regiment, under the Armored Corps (TTG), stationed in the "land of tanks" Vinh Phuc. In the early days of its establishment, besides the core force of the 201 Heroic Regiment, there were only a few companies and battalions transferred from other units. After 2 months, through 2 transfers, the unit had completed the construction of barracks and tank shelters, ready for battle.

At the end of 1973 and the beginning of 1974, the situation on the battlefield had many major changes. In order to promptly supplement forces for the large front line, the unit officially became the H15 Armored Corps. The Corps Chief determined the task: "Urgently build the unit's forces, truly become the Ministry of National Defense's strategic reserve force, with strong assault power and high mobility...".

Crew 195 won first prize in the 2007 Army Competition

After that, the tanks, still smelling of gunpowder, left the war to fight new battles, no less difficult and arduous. Following the mobilization order, the unit took up a new station in Quynh Luu - Nghe An, a desolate, barren semi-mountainous land, full of bomb craters and wild plants, where running water was a far-fetched dream.

But with the tradition of "Once in the army, we must win", the entire Group, with the help of the local government and people, leveled thousands of cubic meters of earth and rock, exploited tens of thousands of bamboo trees to build houses, build shelters, consolidate and build warehouses in a standardized and unified direction. A new foundation was born, although still simple, but already had a solid initial appearance. That was the end of 1976...

February 1978. Group H15 entered a new war to carry out international missions with a Light Tank Group consisting of 2 battalions and 5 subordinate companies. Together with the forces of the 3rd Corps, 4th Corps and the Navy, the unit participated in 34 battles from the beginning of the campaign to the last battle to sweep the enemy in the capital Phnom Penh (Cambodia).

The lightning-fast battles added another feat to the history of the Group. The K6385 vehicle battle - Company 11 crossed the river to capture the bridgehead of Kompongcham town, the battle where Company 10 coordinated with the enemy to liberate Cocong town. The Heroic Company 7 alone participated in 8 battles, of which 5 battles completed their missions excellently.

The tradition of "Once in battle, we must win" was highly promoted. The Armored Corps always led the battle line at lightning speed, penetrating deep into the enemy formation to dominate the battlefield. At the end of the campaign, 3 companies and 22 comrades were awarded medals of various types.

In 1979, after withdrawing from Cambodia, a tank battalion of the unit set out with the 3rd Corps to support the protection of the northern border. In 1985, the Group established the PT-76 battalion with the code name 1031 to continue its international mission in Cambodia. The tank tracks have not yet had a day of rest. The noble flower basket that Uncle Ton presented in 1976 was a great source of encouragement for the upcoming tasks of Group H15.

Forever quality"tank soldier"

From the midst of bullets and fire, the roar of battle vehicles, returning to the unit's rear base, starting to establish a solid rear base, embarking on a process, the spirit of "Once in the army, we must fight and win" was once again demonstrated. The task of combat readiness (SSCĐ) and fighting was still put first.

Marching formation rehearsal

Party building work has always been focused on. Over the past 22 years, the entire Party Committee has admitted 571 new Party members. From 1987 to now, the Party Committee has always achieved the title of a clean and strong unit. The close affection and attachment between the unit and the locality is also easily felt through the telling numbers: Helping the commune with 5,000 working days to repair roads (30km), giving 19 savings books, supporting 2 Vietnamese Heroic Mothers, the entire Youth Union has 23/23 units that are twinning with the locality.

Simple, familiar, and warm with the soldiers' affection is what we felt when visiting H15. In any battalion's campus, lawns and flower beds are tended and trimmed like a miniature park. The unit's growing area is carried out with the motto of 3 greens: Green in the garden, green on the trellis, green in the warehouse. The unit has been self-sufficient in 100% of green vegetables, 40% of meat and fish, annually harvesting 60-70 tons of various kinds of green vegetables.

To have tens of thousands of square meters of lush green vegetables, spacious and airy livestock pens, fish ponds with hundreds of chickens and ducks, the soldiers had to completely remove the barren soil, transport thousands of cubic meters of soil from Nghia Dan to create a new layer for the hill soil, and sweat flowed down to make the trees and fruits grow green. The officers and soldiers worked hard to exploit hundreds of cubic meters of rock to create a clean water reservoir, which is the source of daily life and irrigation for the entire unit.

Despite the difficulties, only by walking around the premises can one know the will of "Our hands make everything..." of TTG soldiers. The office building, 2-3 storey command post, traditional room, garage, workshop, housing with a total area of ​​18,762 m2, 100% of internal roads are concreted, a 100 KVA transformer station with 5 km of internal power lines, a system of stadiums, training grounds, flower gardens... There are many achievements of the unit through sports festivals and exercises, bringing a great honor to Group H15 in 2004 when the Party and State awarded the noble title "Hero of the Armed Forces in the period of renovation".

The H15 Regiment, the vanguard, the "iron fist" on the enemy's head, now lives peacefully in the hearts of the people, extremely proud of its 35th year.

Tran Hai