Train O - Xom Ruong - "steel wall" on Highway 13

In the Nguyen Hue Campaign in 1972 on the Southeast battlefield, the Regional Command used 3 infantry divisions (Division 5, Division 7, Division 9) and the armed forces of Binh Phuoc province to participate in the campaign. Division 7 and the armed forces of Binh Phuoc province were assigned the task of blocking Tau O. The mission was to attack and stop the enemy on Highway 13, nearly 20km long (from the south of Binh Long to the north of Chon Thanh), focusing on the Tau O area, not allowing any enemy or tank from Chon Thanh up or down from Binh Long, so that our army could liberate Loc Ninh and attack An Loc town..." - Major General Nguyen Ngoc Doanh, former Political Commissar of Regiment 141, Division 7, former Deputy Political Commander of the 4th Corps, recounted the victory of the Tau O Blocking 50 years ago.

Blazing Black Train

Implementing the campaign directive of "hard blocking, stopping" combined with holding the position for a long time and preventing the enemy from using tanks and motor vehicles to pass the Tau O Blocking Post, taking the position of encircling, dividing, blocking the enemy's infantry and motor vehicles from coming up for reinforcement and not allowing the enemy to flee to Saigon... The campaign blocking post cluster on Highway 13 - Tau O had a particularly important position in the Nguyen Hue Campaign.

Tau O Roadblock Victory Monument, Tan Khai town, Hon Quan district, Binh Phuoc province

Major General Nguyen Ngoc Doanh recounted: "We chose Tau O to set up a checkpoint because there was Tau O stream and a large culvert, which enemy tanks could not pass. Therefore, the Regional Command sent the 7th Division, with the main force being Regiment 209 and the Binh Phuoc armed forces, to set up a checkpoint right at Tau O culvert, with the determination to hold Highway 13. This route had an important strategic significance, because it was close to Saigon. Moreover, only by holding Highway 13 could we keep the Loc Ninh area, ensure and bring the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam back to the revolutionary base, so at this checkpoint, we and the enemy fought for every inch of land. The guiding principle for all activities of the campaign was "firmly block, stop", with the determination "each person is a steel spearhead of attack".

Due to its particularly important position, Tau O - Xom Ruong became a stronghold guarding Route 13, an important springboard for us to develop to the mid-zone or for the enemy to advance to the liberated zone. Therefore, Tau O - Xom Ruong became a key area for us and the enemy to fight for in the Nguyen Hue Campaign in 1972.

To clear Route 13, the enemy mobilized all forces of the 18th, 21st, 25th Divisions, the 15th Armored Brigade, 1 paratrooper brigade and used more than 35,000 105mm and 155mm artillery shells to attack our positions. In the first 3 days (from April 5 to April 8, 1972), the enemy used 2 squadrons of tactical aircraft with 200 attacks and supported the infantry to attack Tau O. The enemy also mobilized B52 strategic aircraft to attack twice at 2 close hours, attacking in an X shape, using Tau O as the intersection from West to East with a depth of 800m. In the face of the destruction of the enemy's air force, infantry and artillery firepower, our troops still existed and fought back fiercely every day.

“There were bombers in the sky, B52 carpet bombing systems, artillery, armored vehicles on the ground… but they still could not penetrate the steel wall of the Tau O Blocking Post. Every time they got there, the enemy had to stop because the Tau O stream was low, to cross the stream they had to go through mud, tanks could not go anywhere else, so the Tau O Blocking Post was like a “steel wall” preventing enemy attacks, contributing to firmly protecting the liberated area of ​​Loc Ninh” - Doctor Bui Xuan Thuy, former officer and soldier of C21, Regiment 209, Division 7, Army Corps 4, told about the “steel wall” of the Tau O Blocking Post - Xom Ruong.

Defense combined with counterattack

Based on the analysis of the war situation, at exactly 5:30 a.m. on April 5, 1972, the 5th Division of the Liberation Army launched a fierce attack on the Loc Ninh stronghold cluster - the main focus of the Nguyen Hue Campaign. Coordinating with the Loc Ninh battlefield, the armed forces and Binh Long guerrillas, along with the main force, attacked and completely destroyed the enemy's key military bases on Highway 13. The 7th Division deployed to occupy along Highway 13 from Dong Tam intersection to Chon Thanh town, in conjunction with the Chon Thanh and Hon Quan District Teams, removed a number of security posts on the outskirts of the town.

In the North of An Loc town, we continuously shelled and pinned the enemy in their posts. Faced with the fierce attacks of the liberation army, and without reinforcements, the enemy was forced to abandon Loc Ninh to concentrate on defending Binh Long. On April 7, 1972, Loc Ninh was completely liberated.

Losing Loc Ninh, An Loc town was surrounded, the US - puppet concentrated forces from all 3 tactical regions and most of the puppet main force in the South to deal with us in the Northeast of Saigon, holding Binh Long town. Those enemy activities caused us many difficulties in mobilizing forces, transferring technical weapons, but the Campaign Command was still determined to liberate An Loc town.

Major General Nguyen Ngoc Doanh, former Political Commissar of Regiment 141, Division 7, former Deputy Political Commander of Army Corps 4, along with his comrades and veterans of Hon Quan district, Binh Phuoc province, recalled the memories of the days participating in the battle at Tau O checkpoint.

When the main units attacked the town, the 368th Battalion of the province and the armed forces of Hon Quan district attacked the Quan Loi police station, calling on the militia and security forces to surrender. Especially on April 21 and 22, 1972, the provincial special forces and guerrillas, together with the 14th Regiment (7th Division) and the 1st Regiment (5th Division), the main forces of the region, attacked and recaptured Nui Gio and Hill 169, destroying most of the enemy's 6th Airborne Battalion and the airborne brigade command. In Tan Khai, Xa Cam, and Xa Cat, the attacking forces and guerrillas mobilized the masses to rise up to destroy evil, break the shackles, and call on enemy soldiers to surrender.

Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Thai, former Political Commissar of Division 7, Corps 4, said: "At that time, the defending troops did not lie down and take the fight, but fought the enemy while organizing to retreat and attack the enemy deep and far away. The fighting spirit of the soldiers was very high. No one wanted to leave the battlefield, only those seriously wounded had to leave. The number of brothers with minor injuries retreated to the rear but only a few days later demanded to go back to fight directly. The fighting spirit of our troops at that time could be said to be a spirit of steel."

On April 13, 1972, the liberation army began to attack An Loc town. Artillery of all types simultaneously bombarded important enemy targets in the sub-region. The enemy counterattacked strongly with series of bombs, artillery, and attacks from behind the liberation army's formation to relieve pressure around the town. For 32 days and nights, the battle was extremely fierce, between the liberation army on one side determined to liberate An Loc town at all costs, and the enemy on the other side increasing their troops to defend the town. They mobilized 5 brigades, increased air force firepower, B52 aircraft, tactical aircraft, and firepower deployed at blocking points and on high-rise buildings to prevent our attack.

On May 15, 1972, the liberation army launched a new attack on An Loc town, breaking through the enemy's multi-layered defense line. Our troops opened the door wide and broke into the outer targets, occupied the prison, and liberated all the compatriots and comrades in An Loc prison. The enemy frantically sent jet planes to bomb in a massacre to stop them.

As soon as the war ended, to deal with the number of deaths during those 32 days and nights, the enemy used bulldozers to dig 4 large trenches about 3m wide and 1.5m deep in the hospital area to bury the corpses in the hospital and from other places, forming a mass grave of more than 3,000 people - evidence of war crimes caused by enemy bombs and artillery killing our compatriots.

"Hard pin, stop" to destroy enemy's vitality

On May 15, 1972, due to the fact that the element of surprise of the campaign was no longer there and the revolutionary forces suffered losses, and were not able to replenish in time to deal with the enemy when they concentrated all kinds of war vehicles to clear Highway 13 and clear An Loc town, the Regional Command decided not to attack, but to switch to encircling and isolating the enemy in the town, using strong forces to block at Tau O and Tan Khai to attack the enemy, sweeping and clearing Highway 13. At this time, the liberated area in Binh Long was expanded, forming a siege, closing in on the enemy in the inner city of An Loc town.

From May 16, 1972, the 7th Division of the Southern Main Force blocked Route 13 to repel and defeat the enemy's counterattack plot to clear Route 13, creating conditions for the campaign to develop, serving to maintain the liberated area behind.

The battles of Tau O, Xom Ruong, Cong Ong Te, Tan Khai, Thanh Binh by the main force created conditions for local guerrillas to concentrate on threatening and destroying a large part of the enemy's forces. Enemy officers and soldiers lost their fighting spirit, the number of deserters and deserters increased, and they did not dare to spread out to operate as before.

The victory of skillful military art

The Nguyen Hue Campaign on the Loc Ninh - Binh Long battlefield contributed to the victory of the spring-summer 1972 strategic raid, a decisive attack in the entire South, forcing the enemy to return to negotiations at the Paris conference, along with the great victory of the Northern army and people in defeating the second destructive war in the North, culminating in the "Dien Bien Phu in the air" battle at the end of 1972, forcing the US to sign the Paris Agreement on January 27, 1973. This was a great victory of the Vietnamese revolution, the result of 18 years of steadfast struggle by the entire Party, army and people.

After 150 days and nights of fighting at Tau O Blockade (from April 5 to August 28, 1972), Division 7 and the army and people of Binh Phuoc province organized nearly 800 large and small battles with many different forms such as: ambushes, raids, sieges... killing 8,189 enemies, capturing 211 enemies, shooting down and destroying 119 aircraft of all types, destroying 202 vehicles of all types, 102 cannons, 20 ammunition and fuel depots, capturing 390 guns of all types. The enemy suffered heavy losses and was forced to withdraw from the combat area, abandoning the intention of clearing Highway 13.

Major General Nguyen Ngoc Doanh, former Political Commissar of Regiment 141, Division 7, former Deputy Political Commander of Army Corps 4, added: The victory at Tau O was thanks to the correct political and military guidelines of our Party, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Workers' Party, the Central Military Commission, and directly the Regional Command. The Party's directives and resolutions at each revolutionary stage were applied correctly and creatively to each specific local condition, thereby promoting the combined strength, arousing revolutionary traditions, mobilizing strength and intelligence to create victory.

The victory at the Tau O Blockade on Route 13 caused heavy losses to the US imperialists and the Saigon puppets. It shook the Nixon doctrine and the strategy of "Vietnamization of the war", defeating the enemy in parts and gradually preventing them from encroaching on the territory in order to pacify and flood it; consolidating and expanding the revolutionary base area, creating a solid foundation for the main forces of the Region to stand firm in the strategic area of ​​the Southeast, ensuring the safety of the Regional Command and the Party's headquarters located in the area.

The strategic route of the past still plays a strategic role today, connecting trade between Binh Phuoc with the key economic zone of the South and the Kingdom of Cambodia. In the photo: A section of National Highway 13 through Hon Quan district, Binh Phuoc province. Photo:Written By

In the victory of the Tau O Blocking Point in particular and the Nguyen Hue Campaign in general, we flexibly and successfully applied the combat method: using the tactic of blocking the enemy, holding the position, combining it with mobile attacks, infiltrating, encircling, dividing, fighting continuously day and night, proactively attacking and occupying the enemy's position and effectively preventing reinforcements. Our cadres, soldiers and people showed high determination to fight, heroic spirit, brave sacrifice, not afraid of hardships and difficulties, not retreating before the enemy, ingenious, flexible and creative, determined to fight, determined to win.

The soldiers in the Tau O battle that year, the sons from all over the country met each other, fought bravely, sacrificed, their sweat, tears, blood mixed with the soil, into the water of the heroic homeland of Hon Quan, Binh Phuoc. And today, on the fierce land of the past, there is a green color of thousands of fruit trees, straight asphalt roads... That strategic route of the past, today still plays a strategic role, connecting trade between Binh Phuoc with the key economic zone in the South and the Kingdom of Cambodia. New industrial zones with bustling factories, bustling, crowded neighborhoods, faces and smiles full of vitality, are the good results of the dedication and sacrifice of the heroes, martyrs, previous generations of fathers and brothers and those who follow today.