April 30, 1975 of the generals

On the morning of April 30, 1975, General Vo Nguyen Giap and members of the Politburo and the Central Military Commission received the good news that the liberation army had entered the Independence Palace at the meeting room at Nha Con Rong, Hanoi Citadel.

According to the memoirs of General Vo Nguyen Giap in the book “General Headquarters in the Great Spring Victory”, the Supreme Command received the first news about the liberation army led by tanks entering Saigon from the Japanese Radio at 10:00. At 10:50, Department 2 (Military Intelligence) reported that the liberation army had entered the Presidential Palace of the Saigon government. Immediately after that, Western radio stations also reported this news.

At 11:30, Mr. Nguyen Duy Phe, Deputy Director of the Cipher Department, brought into the meeting room a telegram from Lieutenant General Le Trong Tan (Commander of the Eastern Army) reporting: A unit of the Eastern Army had raised a flag on the Independence Palace.

After directing the telegram to be sent "We have received the news that we raised the flag on the Independence Palace at 11 o'clock. The comrades in the Politburo are very happy, very happy" at 12:25, General Vo Nguyen Giap instructed the Propaganda Department under the General Political Department to immediately call the Vietnam News Agency and the Voice of Vietnam to promptly convey the news of the victory, and prepare to write a victory announcement. Only 15 minutes later, the station stopped its regular broadcast, repeatedly broadcasting the news: The Ho Chi Minh Campaign was completely victorious. Mixed with the sound of loudspeakers, cheers and applause for victory resounded throughout the streets.

At 12:50, at the Command Center, there were Major General Cao Van Khanh, Deputy Chief of the General Staff; Colonel Le Huu Duc, Director of the Operations Department; Colonel Nguyen Trong Yen and Lieutenant Colonel Pham Chi Nhan, Director and Deputy Director of the Propaganda Department. In front of the map of Saigon - Gia Dinh city, everyone stood up and looked attentively in the direction General Vo Nguyen Giap pointed.

Senior Lieutenant Nguyen Tien Tro, the general's bodyguard, with a Kiev camera, recorded this historic image.

Photo taken at 12:50 on April 30, 1975 at the Command Center, Hanoi Citadel.

Meanwhile, in the South, on April 30, 1975, the Ho Chi Minh Campaign Command was stationed at the forward command post - Cam Xe base in Minh Thach commune, Dau Tieng district, Binh Duong province (now Minh Tan commune, Dau Tieng district, Binh Duong province).

When hearing the report that the liberation army had occupied the Independence Palace, President Duong Van Minh had to declare surrender, the entire Ho Chi Minh Campaign Command Center cheered. In the book “General Headquarters in the Spring of Great Victory”, General Vo Nguyen Giap recounted the events that were recounted at the Campaign Command Center at that time: “It was no longer a surprise, everyone was in tears, holding hands, excited and proud”.

Mr. Le Duc Tho, representative of the Party Central Committee at the front; General Van Tien Dung, Commander of the campaign; Pham Hung, Political Commissar of the campaign, were moved to hug and kiss everyone. Major General Dinh Duc Thien (Deputy Commander of the campaign) was the one who cried the loudest. Major General Tran Van Tra (Deputy Commander of the campaign) had red eyes, choked with joy. As for Mr. Pham Hung, he opened his Ao Ba Ba, laughed loudly, commented cheerfully, and ordered preparations to take over Saigon.

In the historic photo “Ho Chi Minh Campaign Command at the forward command post”, taken by author Vo Xuan Sang, a guard of General Van Tien Dung, in addition to the above-mentioned people, there are also Major General Le Ngoc Hien, Chief of Staff of the campaign; Le Xuan Kien, Deputy Commander, Chief of Staff of the Armored Corps...

Ho Chi Minh Campaign Command at the forward command post. Photo archive.

On the afternoon of April 30, 1975, at the Independence Palace, after bringing the President of the Saigon government, Duong Van Minh, and Prime Minister Vu Van Mau, to the radio station to read the declaration of unconditional surrender, Captain Pham Xuan The, Deputy Commander of Regiment 66, Division 304, was criticized by an officer in the 2nd Corps Command who was present at the time for doing that without reporting to his superiors.

Lieutenant General Pham Xuan The, later Commander of the 2nd Corps, then Commander of Military Region 1, said in his memoirs: “I didn’t know what to say, because honestly in that situation I just thought simply how to make them declare their surrender soon, the war would end soon, reducing unnecessary sacrifices. Immediately after that, Division Commander Nguyen An said: This is The, Deputy Commander of Regiment 66, Division 304, any mistakes will be reviewed later, so that he can return to command the unit."

After that, Mr. The got in the car to return to the unit, went to inspect Battalion 9, which had occupied the Navy Command and Ba Son port, but some people rushed into Ba Son port to rob property. He ordered Battalion 9 to protect the people from looting, close the gates and organize careful guard. "After that, I returned to Battalion 9 Command. At about 5:00 p.m., I took a bath and took out a brand new set of clothes from my backpack to wear, and threw away the old clothes that I had worn for many days. Later, I always regretted not keeping the dusty clothes that I wore during that memorable historical moment of the nation," he said.

"At about 5:30 p.m. on April 30, I returned to the Regiment Command Center at the old Saigon government's Ministry of Interior building, in front of the Independence Palace, about 500 meters to the left. When I arrived, I met Comrade Nguyen An, the Division Commander, at the Regiment Command Center. As soon as he saw me, Comrade An said: "You guys handled the matter of bringing Duong Van Minh to the Radio Station correctly, there was nothing wrong with that." Only then did I breathe a sigh of relief...", he continued.

Major General Hoang Dan, Deputy Commander of the 2nd Corps, in his memoir “From Ben Hai River to Independence Palace”, recounted the historic moment when he entered the headquarters of the Saigon government at noon on April 30:"When I entered, President Duong Van Minh had gone to the radio station. Brigadier General Nguyen Huu Hanh (acting Chief of the General Staff of the Saigon army) saw me and guessed I was the commander, so he reported on the situation in the palace before the liberation army arrived, introducing the main character present. I told Brigadier General Hanh, if there is still contact with any unit here, please let them know that you have surrendered unconditionally and inform that unit to quickly surrender. Brigadier General Hanh has contacted and transmitted orders to many different units."

"Vu Van Mau - Prime Minister - asked for permission to meet with the Front's representative with the intention of handing over to his home early. I told Mr. Mau that we were soldiers, so you guys just stay here, right in this room. Tomorrow a Front representative will come. You guys just sit and relax, today try a Viet Cong meal for fun. They also looked at ease, talking and laughing happily with each other," Major General Dan said.

"After finishing communiqué No. 1, at around 5 p.m., the comrades representing the 4th Corps entered (the 4th Corps was assigned by the Campaign Command to occupy the Independence Palace). The comrades said that they had the task of occupying the Independence Palace but were late in arriving, so they asked to hand it over. We happily handed it over immediately. Actually, we also wanted to hand it over quickly so we could go out, review the situation of the units, and first rest a little. We had not slept for 4-5 days and nights. On the road, vehicles and people were crowded together. We had to work very hard and it took 24 hours to get back to Thu Duc," Mr. Dan recalled in his memories.

Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Cam, Commander of the 4th Army Corps, told author Phan Hoang in the book "Interviews with Vietnamese Generals":“At 1:30 p.m. on April 30, 1975, when I arrived at the Independence Palace, I learned that Duong Van Minh and his cabinet had not eaten or drunk anything since early morning. Of course, they were afraid and did not dare to speak. I immediately told them: You can ask your family to bring you food, water and personal items, because hunger is unbearable… and that night, my fellow soldiers and I lay down on the porch of the Independence Palace to rest. Even though I was hungry, I could not sleep. I was already in the Independence Palace but I thought I was dreaming!”

General Cam continued: "I still remember that night. I - the Commander and Mr. Hoang The Thien - Political Commissar of the 4th Corps lay down together, chatting and sleeping right outside the porch of the Independence Palace. No mosquito net, blanket, mattress or pillow. When we woke up in the morning, mosquitoes bit us all red. We joked, the mosquitoes in Saigon are so terrible! Later, every time we met, Mr. Thien often recalled that memory. We both laughed out loud."

According to VNE