'Memories of the motorbike taxi' Dien Bien

(Baonghean) - During the war against the French, there was a special "army" that contributed to the victory - the "bicycle arm". The French once admitted that their defeat in Vietnam was due to the bicycles.

When he was a child, his grandfather's neighbor had a bicycle, often used to carry firewood, corn and rice home, the volume of transport was almost the same as a buffalo cart but went faster. He was very proud, because that bicycle had followed his grandfather to work on the front line, transporting goods all the way to the Northwest, Dien Bien. Occasionally, his grandfather would tell memories of the rice transport trips to the battlefield, the hardships, the dangers but also the pride and glory.

At that time, we thought that Dien Bien was as far away as the next village, Pha Din slope and Lung Lo pass were probably as dangerous as the two high slopes in the mountain range behind our house... When we grew up a little and studied history, we realized that Dien Bien was extremely remote and dangerous, surrounded by mountains on all sides, with a vast valley in the middle, and supplying supplies for the campaign was extremely difficult.

Bicycle packers of the 4th Inter-Zone frontline laborers transporting goods to serve the Dien Bien Phu campaign. Photo courtesy

Only the cart can overcome the steep and dangerous roads and only the feet can hold on to the streams and swamps. Then, reading the article “Memories of the cart” by veteran Tran Nhat Hoi in Dien Hanh (Dien Chau), I learned more about the journey of a farmer from Nghe An with his cart traveling hundreds of kilometers to support the Northwest battlefield.

Mr. Hoi said that in mid-March 1954, his frontline civilian labor squad made frame support poles, fake forks, tied the seat arms, and packing poles for the cart and then set off. On the first trip, when they reached Hoang Mai slope, it rained, the road was slippery, it was dark, and they were not used to pushing the cart, so they fell and fell behind. The deputy had to go back to find and support them before they could continue. They traveled at night, stayed at people's houses during the day, went through all the bumpy roads in the western part of Thanh Hoa, then went to Hoa Binh, Son La and found their way to Lai Chau, and then to the Dien Bien basin.

According to the regulations, each person had to carry 100kg of goods. At that time, Mr. Tran Nhat Hoi was still young and did not travel much, so the deputy squad leader agreed to help him carry 20kg. He only had 80kg left but he struggled to get the goods onto the truck, so his teammates had to help. But as time went on, he got used to it, and each trip was an effort. From the third trip onwards, he carried 100kg, then 150kg, 180kg and 200kg.

Photo of Mr. Cao Van Ty, (from Thanh Hoa) - "The master of the motorbike taxi" on the way to transport goods to the Dien Bien Phu battlefield. Photo archive

On the way, many people were tormented by malaria, including Mr. Hoi. At times like that, they had to stay behind, pull over to the other side of the road, and lie down, covered with blankets. Those who were lucky would meet army units passing by, and the medics would help by injecting quinine to stop the fever so they could continue their journey. Every time they went up a steep hill or through a deep stream, the whole group had to stop and help each other push each cart.

The trips were always hard but very fun, along the way everyone sang, recited poems, and recited folk songs, making the long journey seem closer and the goods on the carts less heavy. The last trip was in early May 1954, everyone knew that victory was very close so they asked to carry the goods to the front. Less than 10km ahead was Dien Bien Phu, everyone heard that the enemy had surrendered unconditionally, the porters were ordered to push the carts back.

The road was jammed with convoys of prisoners of war moving downstream, so Mr. Hoi and the others decided to temporarily leave their carts on the side of the road to go to the front to witness our army's victory with their own eyes. But after a few kilometers, a barrier blocked their way, and a unit of soldiers stood guard because there were unexploded bombs nearby. After much persuasion, the soldiers finally lent them binoculars and climbed up to the observation tower to see the battlefield.

Through binoculars, the black bunkers and loopholes were lying around, then the dense tunnels running around the Dien Bien basin, countless white parachutes dropped by the enemy from planes still stuck on the treetops... He was given some parachutes by the soldiers as souvenirs, those were memories from the Northwest - Dien Bien battlefield.

Mr. Tran Nhat Hoi once met and greatly admired Mr. Cao Van Ty, from Thanh Hoa - the man his brothers called "The master of the pack-cart", who looked small but could carry up to 320kg of goods each trip. Later, when we visited the Museum of Military Zone 4 (Vinh City), we understood more about this son of Thanh Hoa.

The bicycle is on display at the Military Zone 4 Museum. Photo: Cong Kien

Mr. Ty's bicycle has a reinforced frame, rim and handlebar, and a horizontal bar is attached along the body that can carry up to 200kg of goods. The rim and spokes are also braced with bamboo sticks to increase the load-bearing capacity, thereby increasing the vehicle's load capacity many times over. Currently, Mr. Cao Van Ty's bicycle is on display at the museum, helping the next generation better understand the hardships, difficulties as well as the creativity, will and determination of those who came before and to cherish and appreciate life today.

It is known that during the resistance war against the French, the Inter-zone 4 region (mainly Thanh - Nghe - Tinh) mobilized 250,000 people to work as laborers, mobilized more than 11,000 bicycles to transport 15,000 tons of rice and 400 tons of food to support the battlefield. It can be said that the Thanh - Nghe - Tinh region was the great rear base of the resistance war in general and the Dien Bien Phu campaign in particular.

And the bicycle is the embodiment of the will and strength of the Vietnamese people, contributing to the destruction of the "Impregnable Fortress" of the French army in Dien Bien Phu, causing this expeditionary army to suffer a bitter defeat. For that reason, the late General Secretary Le Duan affirmed: "Without Thanh - Nghe - Tinh, there would be no Dien Bien Phu campaign, no victory in the resistance war against the French".

Cong Kien