Memories of Hanoi winter 1946

In Hanoi in those days, "every house was a fortress, every street was a battlefront, every citizen was a soldier"...

70 years ago, when President Ho Chi Minh called for national resistance, in Hanoi, the army and people of the capital were ready for the nation's long resistance. Those days have become unforgettable heroic memories for the people of Hanoi.

Hang Dao and Cau Go Street areas (Hanoi) in 1946 (Photo: Vietnam Military History Museum)

It has become a tradition that every time the cool breeze comes, the small house of Colonel Nguyen Trong Ham's family (Hong Ha Street, Chuong Duong Ward, Hoan Kiem District) is filled with the laughter of the former Capital suicide soldiers. And perhaps it has also become a tradition that in those meetings, the story that they talk about most is the battles and tactics of attacking the French army of the Capital Regiment fighting in Inter-Zone I under the condition of no correlation in force and weapons.

Colonel Nguyen Trong Ham recalled: “In the winter of 1946, the enemy's aggression in Hanoi made the people aware of their responsibility to be ready to fight to protect the Fatherland. The enemy's aggressive actions made the people see the enemy's face and ambition to fight again in Vietnam. All the people were excited, ready, enthusiastic, just waiting for the order to be ready to open fire.”

On the night of December 19, 1946, when the battle signal to begin the resistance war against the French was broadcast on the Voice of Vietnam radio, the armed forces opened fire simultaneously. Trams were overturned at the city's intersections; tables, chairs, rosewood beds, cabinets, and trunks were used as obstacles.

Workers destroyed the Yen Phu Power Plant, the whole city was plunged into darkness. Electric poles and trees were falling down. The sound of hoes digging the road, the sound of carts carrying soil, sand, and bricks to build mounds… the whole city rushed out to the streets to fight the enemy. Under the trenches, soldiers read to each other President Ho Chi Minh’s call for national resistance to strengthen their fighting spirit.

Colonel Nguyen Quoc Thinh, a former member of the Young Guard, recalled: “In Mai Dich, the people built a very large mound, then dug a pond and covered the road with leaves so that enemy tanks could not pass. The people evacuated, leaving only the youth and soldiers to fight. Our duty was to receive orders from the headquarters and pass them on to the fighting units in the city.”

In Hanoi in those days, “every house was a fortress, every street was a battle line, every citizen was a soldier”. The people of the capital did not hesitate to sacrifice or endure hardship, day and night building barricades on the streets of Hanoi to stop the enemy’s advance.

In the heart of the old town, slogans such as “Live and die with the Capital”, “Independence or death” could be seen everywhere. The liaison officers, under enemy fire, rushed to the battlefield to transmit secret combat orders, participated in supplying supplies, providing first aid, and sometimes directly took up arms to fight the enemy. The number of volunteer applications from the Capital Regiment soldiers asking to carry trident bombs to destroy enemy tanks increased day by day…

Being present in the capital during those fiery days, Ms. Le Thi Nha, a daughter of Hanoi, recalled those difficult and tense days and said that the reason why the country is like today is because we can see the great and great miracles of Hanoi and the capital.

70 years have passed, but the heroic and fierce source of a time of "determination to die for the Fatherland, determination to live" still resonates forever. Then, in these last days of the year, the people of the Capital remember those historic days and nights, to remind today's young generation how our ancestors lived and fought for the Capital. The victory of our army and people in the early days of the national resistance war, especially the capital Hanoi, greatly encouraged our army and people to continuously establish many feats of arms to defeat the French colonialists, the peak of which was the historic victory of Dien Bien Phu that resounded throughout the five continents and shook the world./.

According to VOV