Although 44 years have passed, the memory of February 17, 1979 is still vivid for veteran Do Quoc Trung (SN 1950, in Phong Tho). Telling PV Dan Viet, Mr. Trung said that he suddenly woke up while sleeping because he “heard continuous thunder” even though it was only mid-February. As a veteran of the 316th Division, he had participated in the Central Highlands campaign and many Another fierce battle, so he quickly realized this was not thunder, it was the echo of artillery.
Armed forces fighting in the war defending the northern border.
In 1979, Mr. Trung had just transferred from the army to Phong Tho Forest Enterprise, whose headquarters was nearly 20km from the border. Awakened by firecrackers early on February 17, he said “it was very unexpected, many people were scared”. Women and children were given priority by the forestry enterprise to get on cars and evacuate to Tam Duong Farm, now Lai Chau City.
But there are still workers who do not return in time. “The artillery was fired at the border, but scouts and commandos sneaked in here. There was a girl and two young Thai Binh people who went from the forest plantation station to the forestry farm to evacuate but were shot dead by them. 18-19 years old, just came from the countryside a few days,” Mr. Trung recalled.
Many workers were then scared, picked up a few clothes and then “went back and forth”. Mr. Trung stayed, along with other forestry workers to take care of everyone, prepare each meal, and set up each tent for the “runaway people”.
The direction of China’s advance in the 1979 invasion war.
For many people, the war on February 17, 1979 was unexpected, but the armed forces were prepared in advance and even small battles took place before that.
“There are opinions outside that we are passive, suddenly attacked by China, but we are very proactive,” said Nguyen Thanh Luan, former political officer of Don Nam Xe (Lai Chau). According to him, regarding 20 days before February 17, Lai Chau armed forces received instructions stating that China would launch a major attack on the entire border.
Luan’s old tile-roofed house is located deep in the alley, in front of the door, there are four words “Mom Ha Tu Nguyen”. The veteran who experienced the resistance war once morest the US, then the war to protect the northern border is completing the novel “Green Footprint” regarding the sacrifices and hardships of the border guards.
Mr. Luan said that before February 17, 1979, border tensions were pushed to a high level, many overseas Chinese who illegally crossed the border to China suddenly turned back to “receive them, accept their brothers” in the highland villages. spying purposes.
According to Captain Nguyen Thanh Luan, the armed forces had anticipated the Chinese attack.
“In Dao San, Phong Tho, we discovered a person from Kim Binh district who crossed the border to receive his brothers but was in fact a spy. When he was arrested, he was able to recruit 2 Meo people into his line and secretly broke the army’s machine guns,” Luan said.
According to him, the Chinese side, before the general offensive, repeatedly shot at the bordering fields, causing people to fear and have to retreat inland. They also organized raids and ambushes at border patrol stations and groups.
Corporal “one once morest three” escaped the encirclement
On January 4, 1979, Corporal Tran Thanh Binh (in Vinh Phuc) of Station 33 of the Lai Chau Armed Police (now Ma Lu Thang Border Gate Border Guard Station) received orders with two teammates to go to the guard station with the mission ” Call back every 30 minutes, report activities across the border.” Small but fierce battles await them.
“When I went, I brought binoculars, a gun, a knife, a phone, and the soldiers named Vuong and Cu each carried an AK and two grenades to be ready to fight because the situation was very tense at that time,” he said. Binh recalls.
On normal days, patrolling usually brings a dog, but this time the corporal “chased it back”. He regrets this mistake because the military dog can soon detect the enemy ambush.
From the station, over 3km on a dense foggy mountain road, the group of three people came to a bend like a bent elbow, regarding 900m from the border. There, Corporal Binh saw two people’s heads, wearing Chinese hats protruding behind the cliff, so he shouted “enemy, shoot” and fired a few rounds when he realized he was in the middle of the encirclement of regarding 10 Chinese soldiers.
According to Mr. Binh, “The other side” when ambushed, each of them held a pistol and a baton. As soon as he opened fire, he was “hit in the head” with a baton, lying on the ground stunned, watching two of his comrades fight hand-to-hand. Mr. Vuong died on the spot and Mr. Cu was captured – the result of a surprise ambush with superior numbers.
Unit 33 of the Armed Police (Border Guard) following the war in 1979. Photo: NVCC.
While half awake, half dreaming with his head covered with blood, Mr. Binh saw two Chinese soldiers each holding his own hand and pulling him towards the border. Passing the area where rice is often pounded to cook rice at the sentry station, this corporal remembers the terrain here is the slope of Nam Na stream, he can roll down, swim across to the other side, which is also Vietnamese land, so he decided to escape.
“I got up suddenly, punched one person in the throat, causing the opponent to lie on the ground. The other person immediately fired a shotgun, the bullet went through the thigh, making me “snuck into the dangerous place”. I kicked this person down the cliff” , Mr. Binh recalled.
The third Chinese soldier opened fire to shoot Mr. Binh, but fortunately, he only hit the bullet box strapped to his chest, so there were no casualties. “I rushed straight at this person, we both rolled down the slope and struggled, the gun, the baton all fell off. I picked up the stone to force the opponent to run away and I ran too,” he said.
At that time, the Chinese side focused on pulling and pushing Cu to the border, so they did not chase Mr. Binh, only let the gun shoot.
After crossing the stream, the corporal tried to climb up the grassy hill, took off his nightgown, threw it on a tree branch so his teammates might see, and then fainted from fatigue and blood loss. Station 33 then heard gunfire, sent canoes to patrol and discovered, took Mr. Binh to Phong Tho hospital, assigned doctors and teachers to take care of them.
“In 1983, I joined the army, but at first I mightn’t get a wife because of the rumor that I was shot and lost my shell,” he laughed and said that he later got married and gave birth to 5 children.
As for his teammates, Mr. Binh said that soldier Cu was captured by the enemy, imprisoned for 2 years and then returned to Lang Son. A few years ago, they found each other once more, knowing that Mr. Cu, like me, had a hard time getting married at first because of rumors of “being injected with drugs by the enemy while in prison”.
Stories of small battles like the above also happened a lot throughout the northern border. Lost (a document published by a competent authority of a country in order to clarify the evolution of an issue or event that has been distorted or violated in order to confirm the truth and gain consensus and support). support of national and international public opinion) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam showed that, before the large-scale attack, China caused complicated border events. Provocations, encroachment or small attacks are organized more and more, in 1974 there were 179 cases but by 1977 it had increased to 873 cases.
On February 17, 1979, China mobilized large forces of the military zones of Guangzhou and Yunnan to attack six Vietnamese border provinces, including Lai Chau, Lao Cai, Ha Giang, Cao Bang, Lang Son, and Quang. Ning. On March 16, the Chinese side announced the withdrawal of troops, but the battles along the border lasted until 1989, in some very fierce places such as Vi Xuyen (Ha Giang) which is likened to the “limestone kiln of the century”.
