More than 4,000 soldiers sacrificed to protect Vi Xuyen border

To protect the Vi Xuyen border (Ha Giang) in the 1980s, nine main divisions and many Vietnamese army units directly participated in the battle, repelling the invasion of the Chinese army.

On the morning of July 14, at the Ministry of National Defense Hall (Hanoi), nearly 600 delegates representing veterans of units that fought at the Vi Xuyen front (Ha Giang) during the border war met for the first time. The Liaison Committee of the Vi Xuyen - Ha Giang Front Veterans Association, consisting of 31 members, was introduced. Major General Nguyen Duc Huy, former Deputy Commander of Military Region 2, was the Head of the Liaison Committee. Lieutenant General Dang Quan Thuy, former Vice Chairman of the National Assembly and former Commander of Military Region 2, was the Honorary Chairman.

Major General Nguyen Duc Huy, former Chief of Staff of the Vi Xuyen front from 1985 to 1989, is the head of the liaison committee. Photo: PX

The delegates reviewed the historical years of the war to defend the Ha Giang border. Major General Nguyen Duc Huy recalled China's assistance in the two resistance wars and affirmed that the Vietnamese people would not forget that. However, he also recalled the times China violated Vietnam's sovereignty in 1974, 1979, 1988 and reminded that "they are still finding ways every day, every hour to create fait accomplis with the aim of annexing Vietnam's border and island territories".

In February 1979, more than 600,000 Chinese troops invaded the Vietnamese border, in some places going 50 km inland, destroying and leveling Lao Cai and Cao Bang towns, part of Lang Son town and many villages. As part of that war, from April 1984 to May 1989, China successively sent more than 500,000 troops from 8 of the 10 major military regions to comprehensively attack the Ha Giang border, focusing on Vi Xuyen district with the plot to redraw the border to the north of Thanh Thuy stream.

"This was the largest-scale war of aggression since Vietnam defeated the US imperialists in 1975. At its fiercest, in just 3 days, China fired more than 100,000 artillery shells into the Vi Xuyen area. The war lasted more than 5 years (1984 - 1989), if counting from 1979, the war lasted up to 10 years," said the former Chief of Staff of the Vi Xuyen front during the period 1985 - 1989.

To maintain the border, 9 main divisions along with many regiments and battalions directly participated in the battle at Vi Xuyen front.

The battles to defend the land of the Vietnamese army took place extremely fiercely on the high points 1509, 1100, 772, 685, Doi Dai, Co Ich, Bon Ham... After the war ended, some high points were flattened by more than 3m due to artillery fire, so fierce that they were called "lime kilns of the century". The Vietnamese army and people destroyed and injured tens of thousands of Chinese troops, forcing them to retreat across the border.

According to the Major General, the above victory was thanks to the leadership of the Party, directly the Politburo - Central Military Commission, the direction of the Ministry of National Defense and the solidarity of our army and people. He also mentioned the generation of leaders of that period who were present in the hall such as Mrs. Ha Thi Khiet, who was then Vice Chairman of Ha Tuyen Province, Lieutenant General Dang Quan Thuy, who was then Commander of the Front, later Commander of Military Region 2. Or Ms. Quy, store manager and Ms. Phuong, deputy store manager of the famous "Fire Line" store that served goods to soldiers at that time.

"The victory was heroic but the losses were also huge. More than 4,000 officers and soldiers were killed. Most of them were in their 20s - the same age as our children and grandchildren today," General Huy emphasized.

To date, there are still more than 2,000 martyrs scattered across the Vi Xuyen battlefield whose remains have not been collected. Many wounded soldiers have not yet received policies, martyrs' graves have not been named in the cemetery, thousands of hectares of hills and mountains still contain explosives that affect people's lives. Celebrating major holidays every year still has moments of silence, not mentioning the great sacrifices of thousands of martyrs and the victory of the war to protect the Vi Xuyen border in accordance with the scale of the war.

The Vi Xuyen Front Liaison Committee was launched in Hanoi this morning. Photo: PX

Lieutenant General Dang Quan Thuy, former Vice Chairman of the National Assembly and former Commander of Military Region 2, was moved because this was the first time the meeting was held in more than 30 years. According to him, in the battle to protect the Vi Xuyen border, our army and people did not have to confront small forces but large, strategic Chinese armies. But we still defeated them, which was a victory of determination to maintain border sovereignty. "History does not forget, cannot be forgotten and no one is allowed to forget," he affirmed.

Provincial Party Secretary Trieu Tai Vinh informed that in this war, Ha Giang mobilized 12,000 frontline laborers and 20,000 lowland militiamen to participate in digging tens of thousands of meters of trenches, roads, and providing food and provisions... to build a border defense line against encroachment.

"During the 5 years of fighting to protect the border (1984 - 1989), Ha Giang was the place that faced the war from the beginning and was the last locality to escape the war, suffering many losses. More than 4,000 soldiers were sacrificed, more than 9,000 officers and soldiers were injured," he said.

To commemorate the martyrs' merits, the Central Party Secretariat has agreed to let Ha Giang coordinate with relevant ministries and branches to renovate and embellish Vi Xuyen martyrs' cemetery into a national cemetery and build a cluster of victory monuments.

"The province also has a policy to establish a historical relic site project in the West Lo River - North Vi Xuyen to recognize the contributions of the units that fought here, experience tourism on the old battlefield, and educate the younger generation about traditions," he said.

The liaison committee leaders also made 6 recommendations to the Party, State and army, namely: propagandizing and educating the people, especially the young generation, about the Ha Giang border war with the meaning of "Completely defeating China's war of aggression against Vietnam's border"; organizing a team to clear mines and explosives during the war to liberate the land; organizing a team to search and collect martyrs' remains; units directly fighting in Ha Giang need to compile history worthy of the war, display war artifacts to educate their children and grandchildren; build a memorial area, a victory monument, re-plan Vi Xuyen cemetery; hold a ceremony to honor heroic martyrs who sacrificed at the front and organize a scientific seminar on this war to protect the border.

According to VNE