35th anniversary of the founding of the heroic H15 Group (April 10, 1973 --- April 10, 2008): Strong raids, high mobility

• April 4, 2008 10:10

Regular maintenance checks

In the traditional house of the H15 Armored Corps, there is still a section of the T54 tank chain that traveled thousands of miles day and night to pour fire on the enemy's head in the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign from the Northeast of Saigon; there is still the radio station cover with the bloodstains of gunner Nguyen Van Vinh; the working hat of former Brigade Commander Dao Xuan Vinh, who commanded the unit on an international mission in Cambodia in 1979, and many more blood-written letters of determination from soldiers expressing their determination to "die for the Fatherland" on all fronts.

Days of bullets and fire

Exactly 35 years ago (April 10, 1973), the Ministry of National Defense signed Decision No. 75 to establish the 215th Tank Regiment, under the Armored Corps (TTG), stationed in the "land of tanks" Vinh Phuc. In the early days of its establishment, besides the core force of the 201 Heroic Regiment, there were only a few companies and battalions transferred from other units. After 2 months, through 2 transfers, the unit had completed the construction of barracks and tank shelters, ready for battle.

At the end of 1973 and the beginning of 1974, the situation on the battlefield had many major changes. In order to promptly supplement forces for the large front line, the unit officially became the H15 Armored Corps. The Corps Chief determined the task: "Urgently build the unit's forces, truly become the Ministry of National Defense's strategic reserve force, with strong assault power and high mobility...".

Crew 195 won first prize in the 2007 Army Competition

In that spirit, in February 1975, Group H15 marched from Cam Xuyen-Ha Tinh to the Southeast battlefield. Continuously on April 14, 17, and 20, 1975, the 1st and 2nd Tank Battalions and the 3rd Mechanized Infantry Battalion were present at Bu Dop. The 1,280 km long march through many dangers and hardships ended at the rendezvous point as planned.

Achievement list

l Awarded the title of Heroic Unit of the People's Armed Forces in the Renovation Period by the Party and State in 2004.

l Company 3, Company 7 was awarded the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces in 1972.

l President Ton Duc Thang presented a flower basket in 1976.

l 6 First and Second Class Military Exploit Medals in 1976, 1984, 1994.

l Received 39 rotating award flags from the Government, Ministry of National Defense, General Staff, General Department of Politics, General Department of Engineering, Central Youth Union, and Armored Corps Command.

l 23 times awarded the title of Determined to Win Unit by the Command.

l 15 times welcomed leaders of the Party, State, and Vietnam People's Army to visit and work.

l Thousands of individuals and groups with outstanding achievements were awarded many noble titles and rewards by all levels inside and outside the Army.

In the first battle, Battalion 1, under Division 341 (Military Region 4), attacked in the Northeast of Saigon, attacking the enemy in Trang Bom, Bau Ca, Long Lac, Ho Nai. Battalion 2, under Division 9, Army Corps 232, attacked in the West and Southwest of Saigon, capturing Phu Lam radar station, Phu Tho racetrack, Capital Special Zone, and coordinated with friendly units to capture the Presidential Palace of the Saigon puppet government. Many of the unit's achievements were recognized in the historic Ho Chi Minh campaign. The tracks of the H15 tanks were imprinted in the formation of our army advancing into Saigon, contributing to the Great Victory of Spring 1975. With those achievements, Tank Battalions 1 and 2 were awarded the Military Exploit Medal by the State.

After that, the tanks, still smelling of gunpowder, left the war to fight new battles, no less difficult and arduous. Following the mobilization order, the unit took up a new station in Quynh Luu - Nghe An, a desolate, barren semi-mountainous land, full of bomb craters and wild plants, where running water was a far-fetched dream.

But with the tradition of "Once in the army, we must win", the entire Group, with the help of the local government and people, leveled thousands of cubic meters of earth and rock, exploited tens of thousands of bamboo trees to build houses, build shelters, consolidate and build warehouses in a standardized and unified direction. A new foundation was born, although still simple, but already had a solid initial appearance. That was the end of 1976...

February 1978. Group H15 entered a new war to carry out international missions with a Light Tank Group consisting of 2 battalions and 5 subordinate companies. Together with the forces of the 3rd Corps, 4th Corps and the Navy, the unit participated in 34 battles from the beginning of the campaign to the last battle to sweep the enemy in the capital Phnom Penh (Cambodia).

The lightning-fast battles added another feat to the history of the Group. The K6385 vehicle battle - Company 11 crossed the river to capture the bridgehead of Kompongcham town, the battle where Company 10 coordinated with the enemy to liberate Cocong town. The Heroic Company 7 alone participated in 8 battles, of which 5 battles completed their missions excellently.

The tradition of "Once in battle, we must win" was highly promoted. The Armored Corps always led the battle line at lightning speed, penetrating deep into the enemy formation to dominate the battlefield. At the end of the campaign, 3 companies and 22 comrades were awarded medals of various types.

In 1979, after withdrawing from Cambodia, a tank battalion of the unit set out with the 3rd Corps to support the protection of the northern border. In 1985, the Group established the PT-76 battalion with the code name 1031 to continue its international mission in Cambodia. The tank tracks have not yet had a day of rest. The noble flower basket that Uncle Ton presented in 1976 was a great source of encouragement for the upcoming tasks of Group H15.

Forever quality"tank soldier"

From the midst of bullets and fire, the roar of battle vehicles, returning to the unit's rear base, starting to establish a solid rear base, embarking on a process, the spirit of "Once in the army, we must fight and win" was once again demonstrated. The task of combat readiness (SSCĐ) and fighting was still put first.

Marching formation rehearsal

Through 10 inspections by the Ministry of National Defense and 24 inspections by the TTG Corps, the Delegation has always achieved excellent results, plans A, A2, and regular on-the-spot combat have been carried out well. The task of preventing "Peaceful Evolution" and "Violent Overthrow" has always been completed excellently. The quality of training work has been actively promoted to be close to combat reality. There have been 25 technical innovation initiatives, 5 awards in the CTKT Initiative Competition at the Corps level, the Ministry of National Defense and the Prime Minister have awarded Certificates of Merit for excellent training in the years 1996-2000, 1998-2000, 2000-2001...

Party building work has always been focused on. Over the past 22 years, the entire Party Committee has admitted 571 new Party members. From 1987 to now, the Party Committee has always achieved the title of a clean and strong unit. The close affection and attachment between the unit and the locality is also easily felt through the telling numbers: Helping the commune with 5,000 working days to repair roads (30km), giving 19 savings books, supporting 2 Vietnamese Heroic Mothers, the entire Youth Union has 23/23 units that are twinning with the locality.

Simple, familiar, and warm with the soldiers' affection is what we felt when visiting H15. In any battalion's campus, lawns and flower beds are tended and trimmed like a miniature park. The unit's growing area is carried out with the motto of 3 greens: Green in the garden, green on the trellis, green in the warehouse. The unit has been self-sufficient in 100% of green vegetables, 40% of meat and fish, annually harvesting 60-70 tons of various kinds of green vegetables.

To have tens of thousands of square meters of lush green vegetables, spacious and airy livestock pens, fish ponds with hundreds of chickens and ducks, the soldiers had to completely remove the barren soil, transport thousands of cubic meters of soil from Nghia Dan to create a new layer for the hill soil, and sweat flowed down to make the trees and fruits grow green. The officers and soldiers worked hard to exploit hundreds of cubic meters of rock to create a clean water reservoir, which is the source of daily life and irrigation for the entire unit.

Despite the difficulties, only by walking around the premises can one know the will of "Our hands make everything..." of TTG soldiers. The office building, 2-3 storey command post, traditional room, garage, workshop, housing with a total area of 18,762 m2, 100% of internal roads are concreted, a 100 KVA transformer station with 5 km of internal power lines, a system of stadiums, training grounds, flower gardens... There are many achievements of the unit through sports festivals and exercises, bringing a great honor to Group H15 in 2004 when the Party and State awarded the noble title "Hero of the Armed Forces in the period of renovation".

The H15 Regiment, the vanguard, the "iron fist" on the enemy's head, now lives peacefully in the hearts of the people, extremely proud of its 35th year.

Tran Hai