Liberating Truong Sa is a very important task.

In secret order No. 990B/TK sent to Political Commissar of Military Region 5 Vo Chi Cong and Commander Chu Huy Man at 5:30 p.m. on April 4, 1975, General Vo Nguyen Giap emphasized: "This is a very important task. If we do not act soon, we will be invaded by another country."

At the same time, Deputy Commander of the Navy Hoang Huu Thai also received a secret order from General Giap requesting the organization of forces to implement the Directive of the General Command of the Ho Chi Minh Campaign, taking advantage of the opportunity to liberate Truong Sa, determined not to let any other force come and occupy it first.

Accordingly, the Navy selected Group 125 and Special Forces Group 126 to carry out the mission of liberating Truong Sa under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Mai Nang, Hero of the Armed Forces, later Major General Commander of the Special Forces - who had commanded the sinking of many enemy warships on the Cua Viet - Dong Ha route.

Special forces liberated Song Tu Tay Island. Photo: Historical documents

Meanwhile, Colonel Nguyen Chon - Division Commander of Division 2, Military Region 5 assigned Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thanh Thi - Commander of Regiment 38 and Major, Political Commissar Tran Duoc to directly command Battalion 4 and a part of Artillery Regiment 368 to coordinate with 3 naval ship squadrons 673, 674, 675 of Group 125 led by Nguyen Van Duc, Pham Duy Tam, Nguyen Xuan Thom as captains and Special Forces Group 126 from Hai Phong to form Group C75 led by Group Commander Mai Nang.

Later, Major General Mai Nang recalled: "Although the special forces soldiers had fought and won hundreds of battles with a lot of experience, I was still worried when talking with Hoang Huu Thai that they had fought against warships, piers, ports... but this was the first time they were assigned to fight against a base on an island in the middle of the ocean when they were not familiar with the terrain, so the responsibility of liberating Truong Sa was not simple."

Hearing his explanation, the Deputy Commander of the Navy asked: "Can we attack?". After a few seconds of thinking, Mr. Nang firmly said: "Yes. But we must have a new tactic, which is both reconnaissance and firepower attack. With 3 fleets of ships and 250 officers and soldiers, we cannot attack the islands at the same time, so Group C75 implemented the plan to capture each island."

To avoid enemy aircraft control from the air, three fleets of ships 673, 674, 675 disguised themselves as foreign fishing boats leaving Da Nang port and heading towards Truong Sa. There was no nautical chart from the mainland to Truong Sa, only a magnetic compass, astronomical clock, and star navigation equipment.

When they first set sail for a stretch of the voyage, they encountered fierce waves and wind, but with the experience of the captains and deputy captains who had once commanded unnumbered ships following the Ho Chi Minh trail at sea to transport weapons to support the southern battlefield, the three fleets still overcame the storm and sailed to the sea.

After more than two days and nights of advancing at sea, at 7:00 p.m. on April 13, 1975, a black streak gradually appeared in front of the ship's bow on Song Tu Tay Island. The rubber boats were dropped into the sea when the big waves crashed strongly, many places had jagged coral reefs, but the three troops of Group C75 still steadfastly approached the edge of the island, sticking close to the target.

At 4:30 a.m. on April 14, 1975, the attack order was launched with DKZ rounds. The enemy returned fire, but our artillery provided timely support for the commandos and infantry to charge and capture the target. The liberation flag flew on Song Tu Tay Island at 5:00 a.m. the same day.

In response to Colonel Mai Nang's question about why he did not resist fiercely, Lieutenant Commander of Song Tu Tay Island at that time said: "If any other force comes to occupy the island, we will fight to the last drop of blood. We hand over the island to the liberation army because the North and the South are all Vietnamese."

When they learned that Song Tu Tay Island had been taken over by the liberation army, the enemy mobilized two ships HQ-16 and HQ-402 and helicopters from Vung Tau to Truong Sa to launch a counterattack, while the command center on Nam Yet Island strengthened its defense.

When seeing the liberation flag flying on Song Tu Tay island, two warships and reinforcement planes had to retreat, while the morale of officers and soldiers on Sinh Ton, Son Ca, Truong Sa, Nam Yet, and An Bang islands fell into a state of panic, rushing to get on warships, canoes, and motorboats to find a way to leave the island as soon as possible.

Taking advantage of the favorable opportunity, at dawn on April 25, 1975, the troops of Group C75 advanced to Son Ca Island. The sporadic and weak return fire could not stop the footsteps of the special forces and infantry, so nearly an hour later, Son Ca Island was liberated.

When attacking the islands of An Bang, Nam Yet, and Sinh Ton on April 27 and 28, 1975, our troops did not encounter any resistance because the enemy had recognized defeat. By the morning of April 29, 1975, Group C75 had taken control of Truong Sa Lon Island, successfully completing the mission assigned by the Central Military Commission to the Navy and Military Region 5.

In a meeting with the press, Major General Mai Nang - who directly commanded the battle to liberate Truong Sa as the Commander of Group C75 expressed: "We were extremely moved and proud to see the liberation flag flying on many islands in Truong Sa archipelago, and we admired the talent and military strategic vision of General Vo Nguyen Giap - the legendary general."

For generations of officers and soldiers of the Navy in particular and the Vietnam People's Army in general, the officers and soldiers of Group C75 liberating Truong Sa are the "Yet Kieu of the Ho Chi Minh era".

According to People's Police