Echoes of victory in the first battle

(Baonghean) - From the heavy defeat on the battlefield in South Vietnam, to deceive international public opinion, the US Congress and people, the US imperialists created the so-called "Gulf of Tonkin Incident" to fabricate and slander: The Vietnamese Navy attacked US Navy ships.

At 11am on August 5, 1964, US President Johnson appeared on US television, ordering the air force to “attack North Vietnam in retaliation for the US Navy ships attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin”. The news spread like lightning across the globe: the US war had escalated to North Vietnam.

88mm artillery position of Battalion 217 participated in the first victory. Photo archive.

Knowing the enemy's plots and tricks, the Vietnamese people's air defense forces are always ready to fight. At the Military Region 4 Command Headquarters, Colonel Nam Long - Deputy Commander of the Military Region deployed the order of the General Command, ordering the armed forces of the Military Region to raise their determination, stick to the target, shoot accurately, and promptly punish the flying enemies.

55 minutes after Johnson gave the order, the first large-scale invasion of the US Air Force into North Vietnam, named "Fiercerow" by 64 aircraft of the US Navy and Air Force, began, with groups of enemy planes flying aggressively to attack the areas of Lach Truong (Thanh Hoa), Vinh (Nghe An), Cua Gianh (Quang Binh) and Hon Gai (Quang Ninh).

In Vinh, 8 attack aircraft (including 4 A D1s and 2 F8Us, 2 AD6s) divided into 2 groups, flew low over the sea, sneaked into Cua Sot (Ha Tinh), took advantage of the Hong Linh and Nam Dan mountain ranges to cover, continued to fly low along the Lam River slope to break into the Ben Thuy oil depot from the Southeast and Southwest. The 14.5mm battery of the Vinh City Armed Forces Air Defense Platoon on the top of Quyet mountain was the first unit to open fire. Next, the 138th, 139th, 317th Companies with 90mm medium and high artillery and the 57mm and 37mm Companies fought back fiercely. The Vinh Power Plant Self-Defense Force and the Mill Self-Defense Force took advantage of the high floors of the factory to place machine guns and rifles to fight the enemy. The Vinh Tan Commune militia placed their guns on the dam bank to shoot at the aircraft. At 12:40, an American A-D6 plane was hit by bullets (crashed about 10km off Cua Hoi beach). Less than 5 minutes later, the Navy ship 187 in Hon Ngu coordinated with the positions on shore to shoot down the second plane. These were the first two modern jet planes of the American empire to be shot down in the North. The battle ended at 12:55.

At the same time, Cua Gianh and Cua Ron (Quang Binh), 8 A D4 aircrafts rushed from the sea to bomb the Gianh River Naval Base and Cua Ron. The militia of the communes of Quang Tho, Canh Duong, Quang Phu, Thuan Trach, and Cua Gianh Fishery Self-Defense closely coordinated with the naval ships 161, 167, 173, 175, 177, 181, 525 to fight fiercely with the flying enemies. In Canh Duong commune, there appeared the example of the father and son of Platoon Leader Truong Van Thich, the son supplied ammunition, the father fired.

At 14:34, 8 F4U and AD6 aircraft took off from an aircraft carrier in the East Sea, taking advantage of the cover in Sam Son to sneak in and attack our Navy ships in Lach Truong (Thanh Hoa). The 19th radar company soon detected the enemy's flight path. The 14.5mm machine gun battery protecting the radar, commanded by Dinh Trong Nhuong, promptly opened fire. Anti-aircraft fire on Navy ships, machine gun and rifle positions of the armed police, and militia on Truong Mountain simultaneously opened fire. Under the rain of enemy bullets, female militia Ta Thi Dao volunteered to go to sea to rescue the wounded and was the first to donate blood to save wounded soldiers. The battle lasted 20 minutes, and 2 more American planes were shot down in the sky of Military Region 4.

At 4:30 p.m., 8 enemy planes continued to attack Vinh - Ben Thuy and 11 other planes continued to attack Gianh Port. This was the second attack of the day. They continued to bomb Ben Thuy Oil Depot, Cua Hoi and Cua Gianh Naval Bases and fiercely "retaliated" against our anti-aircraft artillery positions.

Having learned from the battle at noon, under the close direction of the 4th Military Region Command and the Air Defense Service, our air defense forces took advantage of the time to consolidate the battlefield and prepare artillery and ammunition. Regiment 280, together with the people and army of Vinh City, the Navy, and the Cua Gianh Air Defense, detected the enemy from afar and proactively opened fire to attack. In Vinh, from the beginning, Company 138, Company 171, and other units shot down an American plane when they attacked directly into the battlefield. The battle became increasingly fierce, Company 138 was hit by nearly 100 rockets, and Company 71's battlefield was hit by 2 bombs. Battery captain Phan Dang Cat was wounded twice but still refused to leave the battlefield. Only on the third attempt did he surrender the command flag and fall into the arms of his comrades. The Ben Thuy Port Self-Defense Team, consisting of 3 comrades: Pham Quang Ngo, Nguyen Quang Chung, and Nguyen Quang Thong, fought extremely bravely.

The war ended at 5 p.m. on August 5, 1964. Two more American planes were shot down in the skies over Zone 4, bringing the total number of American planes shot down to six.

Despite careful preparation, using many reconnaissance and deception measures, combining modern techniques with classic tactical tricks such as creating surprise and attacking from many directions, 8 American planes were shot down, several others were hit, and 1 pilot was captured alive.

On August 7, 1964, in Hanoi, the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defense held a ceremony to commend the units that had many achievements in winning the first battle on August 5, 1964. President Ho Chi Minh attended and praised the local units for upholding their traditions and achieving their first feats. He kindly advised: “You have achieved a glorious victory, but do not be complacent because of victory. We know that: The American imperialists and their lackeys “can kill but not change their ways”, they still have many evil plots”.

Taking Uncle Ho's teachings to heart, the people's air defense force and posture of the whole country entered a new period, a period of fierce fighting and glorious victory, defeating the American war of aggression in the South, completing the cause of national liberation and national reunification.

Colonel Nguyen Khac Thuan