'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 confessed 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 as a laborer on the front line, transporting goods all the way to the Northwest, Dien Bien. Occasionally, his grandfather would recount memories of the rice 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 fire line of Inter-zone 4 transporting goods to serve the Dien Bien Phu campaign. Photo: Archive

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 poles to support the frame, fake forks, and tied the seat and poles to the cart before setting 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 carts, 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 and stayed at people's houses during the day, going through all the bumpy roads in the West of Thanh Hoa, then to Hoa Binh, Son La and finding their way to Lai Chau, 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. There were only 80kg left, but he struggled to get the goods onto the truck, so his teammates had to help. But then he got used to it, 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 tortured 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 crossed a deep stream, the whole group had to stop and help each other push each cart.

The trips were always hard but fun, on 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 the news that the enemy had surrendered unconditionally, the porters were ordered to push the carts back.

The road was jammed with a convoy 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, he saw black bunkers and loopholes lying around, then dense tunnels running around the Dien Bien basin, countless white parachutes dropped from enemy planes still stuck on treetops... He was given a few 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 who was called "The master of the motorbike taxi" by his brothers, who looked small but carried 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 displayed at the Military Region 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 strips 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