Nghe An army and people with the Upper Laos Campaign
The victory of the Upper Laos campaign was the victory of the noble international proletarian spirit, the victory of the spirit of solidarity between the two peoples and the two armies of Vietnam and Laos. In that glorious victory, there was no small contribution from the army and people of Nghe An province.
After heavy defeats in Hoa Binh and Northwest Vietnam, the French colonialists concentrated their forces to defend Upper Laos. Their plot was to"turn Sam Neua into a strong "Na San-style" stronghold in Northwest Vietnam to prevent attacks by the main Vietnamese army on the battlefield of Upper Laos and threaten the free zone of the Vietnamese revolution".
To crush the French colonialists' plot and lead the resistance war to victory, the Central Party and the Government of Vietnam decided to coordinate with the Pathet Lao liberation army to launch the Upper Laos campaign. The Upper Laos campaign aimed to“Destroy a part of the enemy's forces, liberate a part of the land, help the Lao resistance government expand and build a main base, creating conditions to promote the resistance of the Lao people”, just to"further training for our main force in tactics and in implementing the Party's international policy".
The Upper Laos combat area was very far from Vietnam's rear bases, so“The supply problem is the most difficult”, but it is of utmost importance. To carry out this task well, the Central Party and the Government of Vietnam trust Thanh Hoa, Nghe An and Ha Tinh to take primary responsibility for mobilizing human and material resources to support the campaign.
Carrying out the task assigned by the Central Committee, on February 21, 1953, the Party Committee and Government of Nghe An province organized a Military - People - Government - Party Conference to thoroughly grasp the requirements and tasks of serving the Upper Laos campaign. The conference identified the main tasks of the military and people of Nghe An as:“Ensure adequate supply for the Vietnam - Laos coalition and forces participating in the Upper Laos campaign”.
To complete this task, immediately after the Conference, the Provincial Administrative Resistance Committee decided to establish a Front Supply Council called"Nghe An Province Local Products Board", code name K31, headquarters in Do Luong district, with comrade Le Loc as Chairman.
The transport route from Nghe An to Xieng Khouang is more than 400 km long, many sections have no human footprints, and the weather is extremely harsh. To complete the task assigned by the Central Government, Nghe An province has quickly mobilized 72,940 workers to repair 170 km of road, build more than 100 pontoon bridges and temporary bridges on Highway 7 from Phu Dien (Dien Chau) to Do Luong, to Muong Xen to Laos.
After Route 7 to Laos was opened, under the direct direction of the Provincial Gold and Local Products Board, 12,000 Nghe An laborers, with 1,486 bicycles and 1,066 boats and canoes, followed Route 7 or along the Lam River to transport 740 tons of rice, thousands of buffaloes and cows, hundreds of tons of salt, dried fish, fish sauce and other goods to serve the campaign.
On May 20, 1953, Nghe An continued to mobilize a group of 12,700 porters. The porters had to cut through mountains, forests, and cross high points in Noong Hat, Ban Ban, Phu Quac, Hoi Ca Nhom, Pha Phien... to transport food, provisions, weapons, and ammunition to Xieng Khouang. Battalion 195 and Companies 121 and 123 of the province's local troops were also mobilized to Xieng Khouang to serve and directly fight on Lao soil..
Along with mobilizing human resources (main force troops, frontline laborers) and material resources (food, provisions, ammunition) for the campaign, Nghe An was also one of the training areas and the starting point for attacking the enemy of the main units participating in the Upper Laos campaign. To prepare for the campaign, on March 17, 1953, the 304th Division held a military-political conference in Dang Son commune, Anh Son district, Nghe An province. Attending the conference were comrade Nguyen Chi Thanh, representative of the Central Party and Government of Vietnam and comrade Phumi Vongvichit, representative of the Party, Government and Lao Itxala Front.
On March 31, 1953, the 304th Division divided into two wings to advance into Laos. Under the direct command of comrade Hoang Minh Thao, Division Commander of the 304th Division, the 99th Regiment and the 66th Regiment crossed the Tadopaklak slope, attacking the enemy's defense system from Noong Het to Ban Ban, in order to prevent the enemy from retreating to the Plain of Jars. Also marching with this wing was comrade Phumi Vongvichit. After assembling in Laos, this wing coordinated with the Pathet Lao Battalion commanded by comrade Thao Tu to participate in the campaign. Under the command of comrade Le Chuong, Political Commissar of the 304th Division, the 57th Regiment secretly crossed the Phulaixileng slope, followed Muong Ngan and Muong Ngan, and attacked directly into Phonsavan town. Also marching with this wing was comrade Nhuvu, Secretary of the Xieng Khouang Provincial Party Committee.
On April 8, 1953, the Upper Laos campaign began. Despite the complex terrain, high mountains, deep streams, and unpredictable rain and sunshine, throughout the campaign, tens of thousands of Nghe An laborers still carried rice, salt, guns and ammunition day and night to serve the troops in pursuing the enemy. In many places, laborers on the front lines had to directly fight bandits to protect goods and wounded soldiers.
After nearly a month of fighting, on May 3, 1953, the Upper Laos campaign ended in victory. The Vietnam - Laos coalition destroyed nearly 2,800 officers and soldiers, liberating a large area of about 35,000 km2with more than 40,000 people, including Sam Neua province, most of Xieng Khouang province and part of Luang Prabang province, including Nam U area, an area with an important strategic position and is the richest in Northwest Laos..
The victory of the Upper Laos campaign not only contributed to the depletion of enemy forces and the expansion of the Lao resistance base, but also connected this base with the Thanh - Nghe - Tinh rear of Vietnam into a continuous strip, creating favorable conditions for the resistance of the two peoples.
Assessing the significance of this victory, comrade Phumi Vongvichít affirmed:“The victory of the Upper Laos campaign is the victory of the noble international proletarian spirit, the victory of the spirit of solidarity between the two peoples and two armies of Vietnam and Laos.”In that glorious victory, there was no small contribution from the army and people of Nghe An province.
