TRAN CONG AN – A MODEST HERO
(HERO TRAN CONG AN)
Đang Minh Han
Major – general Pham Hoai Chuong, former commander of the people’s armed forces of Binh Thuan province, wrote the following lines in his memoirs: “About in June 1952, comrade Le Duan, on his way to the North for a meeting, stopped in the Binh Thuan to the work with the officials of the Southernmost part of central Viet Nam and of the provincial Party committee. He gave many important comments on the very effective special mission combat tactics in the eastern region of South - Viet Nam. At the request of the Binh Thuan province military command, comrade Le Duan, before continuing his trip to the north for a meeting, left behind three comrades: Nguyen Hieu Liem, company leader, and two special mission combatants Tran Thang Ne and Nguyen Huu Doi, group leaders after these three comrades had held an initial two-month special mission combat training course, 43 officers and soldiers of regiment, 812 led by platoon leader Le Van Luyen rapidly acquired the special mission technique and tactics. This enabled our forces to win very difficult battles, to destroy or force many blockhouses to surrender, overrun the posts of Nga Hai, Song Quao, Muong Man, Mui Ne, Song Can, Pascal, Lien Thanh hotel (Phan Thiet), and this special mission tactics spread to the battles against the Americans, and enabled us to vanquish them…”
Especially in the brilliant battle on 18.9.1952 at Nga Hai post (Phan Thiet) led by Nguyen Minh Chau (who was then commander of Binh Thuan military forces; he would be a major- general and recently died in Ho Chi Minh City). Our special mission combatants used blasting charges to destroy blockhouses, redoubts, houses of soldiers and officers, at that same time our troops penetrated into the post to kill the enemy. Attacked by surprise, the enemies were totally paralyzed.
The battle on Song Quao sector in the night of 18.01.1953 was led by Nguyen Chi Dien and Nguyen Lenh (regiment leader and political adviser of regiment 812; comrade Nguyen Chi Dien would be later the first commander of the special mission army branch) They worked in coordination with Quach Tu Hap and Le Van Khue, who led directly a special mission platoon and an assault company. After 30 minutes of combat, we destroyed a company and captured 30 enemies (3 Frenchmen were among them), a Vicker heavy machine gun, 9 machine guns, 18 light machine guns, 120 rifles, a 81mm mortar. We had one combatant killed and 3 wounded. With hundreds of victories, regiment 812 was two times conferred the title of hero – regiment of the people’s armed forces by the National assembly and the government the history of regiment 812 was deeply marked by the motto:
“WITH THE ADOPTION OF THE SOUTH-VIET NAM SPECIAL MISSION TACTICS, WE WIN BRILLIANT VICTORIES”
Major-general Pham Hoai Chuong, officers and soldiers of regiment 812 knew only that the special mission tactics originated in South-Viet Nam, they did not know who invented this wonderful combat warfare. I tried to know about the background of the man who had the merit to create this special mission combat, an original fighting method appropriate with warfare using small forces against the enemy and winning big victories. It required only one thing, that our soldiers had to be courageous, brave and master the technique well. Only nearly twenty years later, in the years of the anti-American war did I meet many officers who knew the man I want to look for. These officers, on their way from war zone D to R base, stopped at unit 770, where I was in charge of the propaganda and training section and told me stories about this man. As I wanted to know well about his background, I carefully noted down their stories, especially the comments and opinions of Tu Khanh (i.e major-general Dao Son Tay) about the brave and creative fighting example of Hai Ca, who invented the special mission tactics for the time in the eastern region of South-Viet Nam.
More than thirty years had elapsed since that date and during that period. I heard of many great resounding victories which terrified the enemy, victories known not only to the Vietnamese people, but also to the whole world. In the brilliant victory won by our armed forces and our people which led to the liberation of the South and the national reunification, we were proud to have a new army branch, “the special mission army, which presently occupies a deserving position, recognized by the Party as an important army branch in our armed forces beside infantry, artillery and other army branches”. (General Vo Nguyen Giap’s speech on the day of formation of the special mission army 19.03.1967).
To look for more detailed and accurate materials, I contacted many fellow-combatants of Hai Ca, alias Tran Cong An and Hai Ca himself, who sincerely recounted his stories to me at that request of the Veterans’ Association and the Literature and Fine-Arts Association of Dong Nai province, after he had been conferred the title of Hero of the People’s Armed Forces on 23.10.1996 by the State President. I referred to the book”. History of Dong Nai armed forces”, and especially a statement of the special mission army command which recognized that “Comrade Tran Cong An organized the Tan Uyen guerrilla group and trained them to attack the blockhouse at Ba Kien bridge in the beginning of 1948…”. Animated by the wish I had nurtured for nearly half a century, I enthusiastically recorded facts about the special mission combats of Hai Ca in Bien Hoa, Dong Nai.
In the beginning of 1948, after the enemy had suffered heavy defeats in all battle-fields of our three regions, they barbarously took revenge by massacring, destroying and setting fire to houses and oppressing people. They abandoned their lighting war and quick victory strategy to adopt a long term war strategy implementing the policy of “using war to feed war and using Vietnamese soldiers to kill Vietnamese people’, pacifying occupied areas to trespass spread free zones. In the eastern region of South Viet Nam, they adopted the tactics of De Latour by building thousands of posts and blockhouses on roads, along road 16 from Tan Ba to Tan Uyen town, to Phuoc Hoa rubber plantation, along road 24 from Cay Dao to Rach Dong. Blockhouses were also built thickly on national routes 13,14,1,15 and provincial road 24. Their De Latour tactics aimed at protecting their communication ways, intercepting liaison ways on land of the resistance, at the same time using their blockhouse system as a spreading means and controlling our guerrilla areas and bases.
Each blockhouse was built very solidly, of square shape, the sides of which measured 4 to 5 meters. The walls were 0.5 to 0.8 meter thick, 8 to 10 meters high, made of stones or bricks. Each blockhouse was guarded by half a group. The blockhouse was surrounded by a thick earthen rampart having loop-holes. Outside, there were a trench planted with spikes and mines, barbed wires, dogs and geese. The blockhouses were one kilometer apart and could send signals to each other for help. In each group of 6 or 7 blockhouses there was a main blockhouse forming a system of mutual reinforcement in case of attack by our troops. The main blockhouse was 10 to 12 meters high and guarded by a group. Each blockhouse was equipped with a strong fire power, transmission machines and other necessary activity means. The system of blockhouses of the French colonialists caused many difficulties to the resistance, especially to our communication and liaison on land. The blockhouse walls were thick, and in the eastern region of South Viet Nam there were no weapons to demolish walls from far. The command of war zone 7 determined that the demolition of blockhouses, the victory over De Latour tactics was an important task for the eastern region armed forces. This task was disseminated to all the armed forces in war zone 7, including Bien Hoa provincial armed forces.
Although the task was extremely difficult and complex, when Tran Van Kia (alias Tran Cong An) received an order from the Tan Uyen district armed forces command to destroy the blockhouse at Ba Kien bridge to get experience for subsequent attacks on blockhouses, Tran Cong An made a mock blockhouse (As he thought that the blockhouse was well defended by the enemy, in order to attack it our guerrillas had to stealthily approached the foot of its walls. So he chose an isolated tree in the base to represent the blockhouse. Around the tree there were barbed wire fences. Guerrillas having their nude torsos smeared with a home-made camouflaging liquid stealthily crawled over the fences, climbed the mock blockhouse (i.e the tree), then threw mock grenade… The exercises were very elaborate, but the hero of the heroic war zone D enthusiastically accepted the task of leading a group of guerrillas to attack the blockhouse at Bien Hoa bridge on road 16, My Chanh hamlet, Phuoc Thanh village, Tan Uyen district (Bien Hoa).
This difficult task was entrusted to the group of guerrillas led by Tran Cong An.
The greatest difficulty at that time was that we did not have any weapon to demolish the walls of this solid blockhouse to vanquish the enemy we had first to use ruse and bravery associated with improve weapons to boldly attack the enemy and defeat them to revenge our dear compatriots. In order to destroy this blockhouse and win a first victory Tran Cong An had to make elaborate studies based on the information supplied by our secret agents about the structure and defence system of the blockhouse, the activity routine and negligences of the enemy. Tran Cong An imposed a hard training upon his group. He chose an isolated tree in the base to represent the blockhouse.
A guerrilla sitting in the tree lighted the ground with his battery lamp while other guerrillas having their nude torsos smeared with liquid mud endeavoured to approach the tree foot. They repeated this exercise until the man in the tree could not discover their approach with his battery lamp. After many nights of study, Tran Cong An noticed that the enemy soldiers made the negligence of smoking after they had lighted the ground with their projectors of after each watch shift. After each study and investigation, he discussed with his group, drew appropriate experience and carried out more exercises to ensure that the man in the tree did not discover the approaching guerrillas, that the camouflage matched the colour of surrounding earth and grass. Even if the guerrillas did not timely shut their eyes when the enemy turned on their projectors, they would discover the guerrillas at once. The group was committed to win the first battle.
After the exercises had been satisfactory, the group drew up an attack plan and submitted it to the Tan Uyen district militia section, which sent two groups for reinforcement. In the night of 18.03.1948, Tran Cong An led a group consisting of two Tan Uyen district guerrillas named Tran Van Nguyen and Ho Van Lung. The group stealthily penetrated into the blockhouse premises with the help of two watchers, guerrillas Nguyen Van A and secret agent Tran Van Hoi. Thanks to good camouflage and the surprise factor, the three combatants crawled and approached the target easily a ladder with them. According to their assigned task, Nguyen rapidly climbed the ladder up to the highest floor, Lung climbed to the middle floor and Tran Cong An stayed at the ground floor to carry out the combat and give orders the three of then simultaneously threw three grenades through the loop-holes. Tran Cong An, thinking that the enemy still survived, climbed to the middle floor and threw a more grenade. He thought it was a dud grenade, suddenly it exploded and he fell on the ground, wounded. Nguyen and Lung having collected the weapons and cleaned up the battle-field, carried An home and bandaged him. In this battle, we killed 11 enemies, captured 8 rifles and 20 grenades.
After the victorious attack on the blockhouse at Ba Kien bridge, the provincial military committee and the Tan Uyen district military committee made this analysis: “The battle at Ba Kien bridge opened a new warfare based on the people, a good knowledge of the enemy’s situation, a good knowledge of the target and the enemy’s defence system, using only a small force against a numerically superior force of the enemy. With a strong fighting will, bravery and ruse, we attacked the enemy by surprise and they did have no time to respond. This experience enabled us to destroy many enemy’s posts in many places in the eastern region of South Viet Nam”. The Thu Bien province military committee launched an emulation campaign for all the militia and guerrillas of the province to study and carry out this warfare.
For the victory of Ba Kien bridge battle, the guerrilla group and Tran Cong An received a citation from the command of military zone 7 and commendations from the Bien Hoa province military committee and the Tan Uyen district military committee. But the greatest honour for Tran Cong An, at 28 years of age, was that he was admitted to the Party on 07.05.1948 for his brilliant achievement. At the allegiance ceremony, before the Party flag and the portrait of beloved and respectable Uncle Ho, he swore “to fight all his life for the Party aims and ideal to place the fatherland’s interest above individual interest”. He has kept this oath faithfully to this date.
In October 1949, the enemy continued to implement De Latour’s campaign aiming at controlling, tightening their encircling, mopping-up and isolating our bases to a higher degree; they built soldier defence works, blockhouses and posts, increased their forces, surrounded posts with more barbed wire fences, planted mines, used dogs, chickens, ducks, geese, cans, bells…, causing more difficulties to us. But all these measures did not overcome the steadfastness of Tran Cong An and the villagers of Thanh Phuoc, Thanh Hoi, Tan Uyen (war zone D) and their intense hatred for the French invaders and the traitors to their fatherland. Being a poor peasant, Tran Cong An hated the French enemy who pillaged villagers’ assets. They had broken his mother’s right arm with a bullet. He decided to kill the enemy to revenge his family and his fellow-villagers. He trained day and night, studied fighting methods which would enable him to fell Frenchmen who were much bigger than him. Then, he learned that French soldiers searched the village to capture pigs, chickens and ducks and raped women at Thanh Hoi. On this day, morning (24.12.1946), unlike other times, a French soldier went to Thanh Hoi from Tan Ba post. Tran Cong An secretly and unexpectedly went behind the enemy, seized his legs, felled him on the ground, tied him with a cord, then took an English rifle and 200 bullets from him. He sent his trophy to the Tan Uyen district military committee. Although his deed was adventurous since his parents lived in an occupied zone near Tan Ba post, he still accomplished it thanks to the fact that he kept the secrecy factor well and he was helped by the villagers who believed in the revolution. So, he began his combat against the French by felling a Frenchman with unarmed hands and capturing the enemy’s weapon. At the beginning of the resistance war, a gun captured from the enemy was very valuable.
In September 1946, Tran Cong An joined unit 10 after a training course. Huynh Van Nghe, the unit leader, charged An to build the self-defence militia for Tan Uyen district. He applied this intelligent and brave warfare to the first attack on a blockhouse, as mentioned above. In November 1949, the command of military zone 7 held a conference on the blockhouse attack them . At this conference, Tran Cong An made a report on his blockhouse attack experience to representatives of the main forces, provincial and district military committee, military ateliers, militia and guerrilla forces in the zone. The command of military zone 7 conclude: We could attack blockhouses successfully on the condition that study and investigation secretly and that we had to have powerful destruction weapons to destroy blockhouses.
To implement the military zone command’s order, the Bien Hoa provincial military committee organized 50 groups of 300 skilful guerrillas trained by Bui Cat Vu and Tran Cong An. After the training course and after the 50 groups of guerrillas tested their mines well, the Bien Hoa military committee, in the night of 21.03.1950, decided to carry out attacks on 50 blockhouses located along roads 15, 16, 24 and national route 1. The walls of the 50 blockhouses were not demolished, our weapons made only 0.6 meter holes on the walls, only the soldiers who slept in the blockhouses died. A surviving soldier on the upper floor used his gun and grenades to resist us. After this defeat, we studied the action of weapons again. Simultaneously with exercises of blockhouse attack, the command of military zone 7 ordered the military atelier to study and manufacture weapons which would demolish thick walls. Bui Cat Vu and Dang Sy Hung were mainly responsible for manufacturing a kind of concave mine (called FT and petard). The test battle with two mines FT and petard was carried out in the night of 18.04.1950 by the guerrillas of Tan Uyen led by Tran Cong An and Bui Cat Vu. Our forces penetrated into main blockhouse at Ba Kien bridge on road 16 for the second time and demolished its walls we killed 16 soldiers in the blockhouse and took all the weapons and ammunition.
In this second battle on the main blockhouse at Ba Kien bridge, although the enemy’s defence system was stronger, we vanquished them by using an original method. Tran Cong An and the combatants in Nguyen Van Nghia’s unit attached at FT at the end of a 2-meter long pole, put it close to the blockhouse wall and made it explode, then they poked a petard into the blockhouse and made it explode, this second explosion demolished the enemy’s stronghold. Our purpose was to disseminate propaganda tracts to lead the enemy into error that we had long range powerful artillery which could hit targets in order to demoralize them. Indeed, after this battle, hundreds of enemy soldiers deserted and returned to their civilian lives. The puppet administration employees and spies who oppressed the people were terrified. We must acknowledge that military atelier 310 under Bui Cat Vu (who would be a major-general) made an important contribution to this second victory on the main blockhouse at Ba Kien bridge. We atelier, lacking explosives, sent its men everywhere to look for dud bombs, dropped by the enemy, saw them to have explosives. Bui Cat Vu after long studies manufactured FTs with electric detonators to demolish walls. At first FTs were big, it was difficulty to keep them secret, to introduce them through fences and obstacles. Later, engineer Le Hien, who had made studies in French and was working at the weapons department of military zone 9, modified FTs on the principle of concave shells, fitted with electric detonators and having high destruction power. An FT was attached to a handle for attacking a blockhouse surrounded by fences. The invention of FTs enabled Tran Cong An’s special mission warfare to become more powerful and more effective.
Then, in the night of25.04.1950, Tran Cong An led his unit to attack and demolish a main blockhouse of Vam Gia on road 14. This blockhouse controlled the entrance to war zone D, intercepted our supply routes and the vital relationship between our armed forces and our civilian population in the whole country. In this battle, we destroyed an entire platoon of legionnaires, captured an 81 mortar, a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun and many tons of food and foodstuffs. After the victory of Ba Kien blockhouse and Vam Gia blockhouse, the armed forces in the eastern region of South Viet Nam could affirm that the special mission warfare was really reliable, effective and practical. In implementation of an order from the command of military zone 7, the Thu Bien province military committee organized first training courses in special mission attack on blockhouse at Sinh, Ba Da (war zone D) attended by nearly 100 guerrillas from Bien Hoa, Thu Dau Mot and Gia Dinh. On the other hand, Tran Cong An was charged by military zone 7 and the Thu Bien province military committee with the mission of disseminating the experience of blockhouse secret surprise attack by two persons only, one to place the FT and the other to operate the electric switch after the first person had left the blockhouse. He organized blockhouse attack warfare courses in My Tho (Tien Giang), Ba Ria… theoretical lessons were followed at one by practice. Not only on the battle-field in the eastern region of South Viet Nam, this warfare was studied and practiced in surrounding provinces, then nationwide. The blockhouse attack technique was studied, analysed by armed forces everywhere to draw experience, teach it and apply it to attacks on posts, blockhouses, stores, bridges, roads and important bases of the enemy. Reports of successive victories on the whole national territory rejoiced everybody. The brilliant and great victories in Quang Nam, Da Nang, Khanh Hoa, Tri Thien, Ca Mau, Quy Nhon, Tay Ninh, Can Gio, Gia Dinh, Tay Nguyen, Song Be, Bien Hoa, Long Khanh, Can tho, bent re, Binh Thuan…were due to the special mission warfare carried out in coordination with other army branches.
I (the writer of this article) myself was a soldier attending a military-political course at Ngang war zone, I had the honour of studying and practicing that blockhouse attack tactics. Thanks to experience of blockhouse attacks in South Viet Nam, regiment 812, since 1952 , attacked many posts, blockhouses and bases of the enemy at Duong, Phan Ri, Hoa Da, Tuy Phong, Ma Lam, Phan Thiet, EC Pic camp… It was true that the regiment won all its battles, everywhere I heard that victories were due to secret and surprise attacks, clinging closely to the enemy, introducing explosives into loop-holes, using small forces against numerically superior forces of the enemy, but above all thanks to intelligence and bravery.
Thanks to this effective combat method, Uncle Ho in this directive on the day of formation of the Special Mission army branch (19.03.1967), said: “Dac Cong means special mission, so it deserves special honour and needs to make special efforts”. From that date there was the special mission army. Uncle Ho meant “Special attack” or “Skilful special army”. Uncle Ho also dedicated four verses to the special mission army on 19.03.1967, when he, prime minister Pham Van Dong and general Vo Nguyen Giap paid a visit to this army branch.
“Specially skilful,
Wonderfully brave,
Intelligent and bold,
Difficult battles win great victories”.
After De Latour’s tactics heavy failure, we opened many vital communication ways, had convenient supply and safety corridors for the resistance war, at the same time the enemy clearly decreased their mopping-up operations. These war deeds originated from war zone D (Bien Hoa) and the person who initiated these famous exploits by using the special mission warfare to defeat De Latour’s tactics was Tran Cong An, a child of Bien Hoa-Dong Nai homeland.
Tran Cong An did not only have the first merit of inventing the special mission welfare, he also personally disseminated it by his realistic actions. Demonstrating theory by practice, he always gave to his comrades and fellow combatants detailed information on his combat experience which he had acquired by participating together with his fellow combatants in victories won over the enemy in B aria, Thu Duc, My Tho on An Chu main blockhouse, where we captured 12 guns, 1 rocket, killed 25 French soldiers and Vietnamese soldiers, in the communication battle on road 14 and in other blockhouse attacks. In My Tho province, our victory won over the electricity house post rejoiced the local residents very much. In coordination with commando units, guerrillas destroyed two blockhouses in Trang Bom town, helped the residents do way with anti-revolutionary reactionaries, made propaganda for the population living in occupied zones to support the revolution.
The independence special mission tactics developed soon into battles carried out in coordination with commandos, infantry units…
On 16.06.1951, the Thu Bien special forces in coordination with Lam Son company destroyed Long Dien post (Phuoc Tan village), captured 3 machine guns, 3 light machine guns, one 81mm mortar and 43 rifles. On 20.07.1951, the unit applied the special mission tactics to its attack on Trang Bom important sector (presently in Thong Nhat district, Dong Nai), killing 50 European-African soldiers, capturing 50 Europeans and Africans, took 200 guns of all kinds, 4 heavy machine guns, 10 machine guns, one 81 mortar…
In the beginning of 1952, by order from the Thu Bien province military committee, Tran Cong An returned to the staff bureau in preparation for a 6-month course on guerrilla war in the North. Before his departure, Nguyen Quang Viet, secretary of the provincial party committee and Huynh Van Nghe, commander of the provincial armed forces made this appraisal: “Comrade Tran Cong An is an officer from the base. He is very active, creator of the initial special mission warfare, has contributed to build high quality and effective self-defence militia forces”.
After completion of his guerrillas war course and a re-education course on agrarian reform, he returned to the South in 1953 bringing with him the directives of Uncle Ho and a valuable award, an insignia which Uncle gave him for his good study results. Comrade Le Duc Anh also give him recommendations on his combat tasks once back in the South.
In 1954, Tran Cong An was regrouped in the North. He was leader of battalion 1, regiment 656, division 338 task was to build and train his unit military and politically so that it could carry out good of offensive and defensive. His battalion was ranked first in regiment 656. In 1958, he became leader of regiment 656, which was sent to Lac Thung district, Hoa Binh province to organize production. On 17.02.1961, the general staff appointed him leader of brigade 1which with 205 officers, was bound for the South. On half way, with the consent of comrade Tran Nam Trung, Tran Cong An led brigade 1 to Laos to help our friends liberate Muong Phon and Se Bon posts, which rejoiced our Laotian friends very much.
On 15.07.1961, he arrived at the military section of the Central Party Committee in the South, to which he handed over 205 officers in full, Then Tran Cong An was appointed deputy leader of brigade U, in charge of production to fulfil logistics duties, protection of war zone A (war zone). He was also appointed member of the Party Committee of the regional logistics department.
At that time, Tran Cong An was perplex: Should he choose production on combat? Finally, he remembered Uncle Ho’s words when he was in the North: “all jobs are glorious for a revolutionary, provided he carried out his job well, then he is a good communist Party member”. Tran Cong An chose production, brought his wife and all his children to the war zone to participate in the revolution. He was at the head of logistics units and built our base in war zone A (war zone D) named U. The commanders were Dao Son Tay, Tran Cong An, Nam Dinh and Muoi Bo. After Dao Son Tay had returned to the regional logistics department, U50 developed only one year the number of 500 officers and soldiers increased to 5000. U50 managed 1,500 ha of land in the areas of Ma Da, Suoi Dat, Ba Dec, Bau Da. The depending units of U50 spread up to Dong Xoai, Bu Dang, Ta Lai, Song Be, Bu Khien, Bu Na, Bu Chap, which was connected with Tay Nguyen base. The second branch started from Ma Da to Dat spring and Long An… expanded to Tay Ninh, then was connected with the western region of South Viet Nam.
Under Tran Cong An, U50 produced, protected and managed a grandiose quantity of food. There was in permanent storage over 1,000 tons of rice. U50 officers and soldiers emulated to cultivate nearly 1,000 ha of manioc. Tran Cong An and the brigade command were at the head of a grandiose organization in the forest, comprising all division: military supplies, military hospital, military weapons, transportation… The brigade was mainly supported by the rice from “weak zones” (over which we had little control). Rice was then transported to the banks of Song Be river by 100 ox cart , a fleet of trucks, numerous people transporting rice on their bicycle. This rice was supplied to our troops. In addition to main forces regiments, the brigade had to provide food to over 20,000 visitors. Over three years, on seven lines of liaison, U50 logistics brigade supplied enough rice to ensure the victories of Dong Xoai and Binh Gia campaigns.
U50 was a big scale production and combat logistics unit located in a vasty base. The enemy attacked it incessantly, bombarded it day and night and lay in ambush frequently, but they could not deter our officers and soldiers from fulfilling their duties. They many times dropped poisonous chemicals on our cultivations. Tran Cong An had the initiative of cutting off manioc trunks so that their tubers would not be contaminated by poison. This initiative was effective, the production did not decrease, on the contrary 200 more hectares were cultivated with manioc.
At the conference summing up preliminary results obtained by the regional logistics department in December 1964, comrades Tran Van Tra and Le Duc Anh recommended the other logistics units in the region to study and adopt Tran Cong An’s method. And his other name “Hai Ca” (given by his fellow-combatants) appeared from that date. The 5000 U50 logistics combatants who carried out their combat and production in many places had the honour to bear the friendly and warm name “Hai Ca’s army”.
After Binh Gia and Dong Xoai campaigns, the Party Central Committee in the South and the regional command party committee judged that USA could send their invading troops to South Viet Nam. The battle fields in the eastern region of South Viet Nam, especially in Bien Hoa town, would play an important role. Based on this judgement, the regional command decided to appoint Hai Ca as head of Bien Hoa armed forces. Tran Cong An (Hai Ca) assumed officially this function from February1965. He chose 50 best special mission combatants to fight on the battle field of Bien Hoa. In his new position, with his experience of special mission warfare, he consolidated at once the organization of Bien Hoa town armed forces and at the base, studied the situation well and drew up a plan to form a belt area to destroy the Americans when they put their feet on this dear Dong Nai land.
The enemy suffered heavy defeats with their “special warfare”. In the beginning of May 1965 many USA troops flocked into South Viet Nam. They sent USA parachutist brigade 173, an Australian battalion and a New Zealander company to Bien Hoa. They launched at once attacks destined to destroy revolutionary forces, expanded and upgraded Bien Hoa strategic airport, placed in Bien Hoa town their commanding machine for combating the revolution in the region of South Viet Nam: the command of Corps 3 (of the Saigon army), Police department of the eastern region, the Long Binh general depot, the USA field command at Long Binh. It was clear that the Americans and the Saigon troops formed a powerful closed defence system around the eastern area of their capital Saigon.
In strict implementation of the 2nd resolution (July 1965) of the Party central Committee in the South “Ready to combat the enemy in case they launched a partial war…”, under the command of Tran Man and Tran Cong An, in the night of 23.08.1965, our forces carried out a second intimidating attack on their airport in Bien Hoa, destroying 68 planes of all kinds, 8 rocket batteries, 22 fuel tanks, 30 vehicles and killed 3,000 American and Saigon soldiers. After this battle, Uncle Ho sent a letter of commendation, the regional command conferred a first class military medal on all the battle participants and a third class military medal on Tran Cong An. Bien Hoa town’s role became more and more important. On 05.09.1965, the Party Central Committee in the South decided to form a battle unit equivalent to a provincial unit named U1 (comprising Bien Hoa town and Vinh Cuu district) and appointed Tran Cong An as a leader of U1 and Nguyen Van Kien (regional party committee alternate member) as secretary of U1 provincial party committee.
In his new position with heavier responsibilities, Tran Cong An made this analysis: “In order to vanquish the Americans we first just know them well. Although they are rich and have many weapons, we are not afraid of them. We, the Vietnamese people, are determined to combat and know how to combat. So, we shall win”. Animated by this high resolution, in the night of 22.06.1966, Tran Cong An, leader of the provincial armed forces, personally led two special mission companies to attack the Long Binh combined depot, using home-made time mines, destroying over 40,000 tons of USA bombs and shells, limiting thus the enemy’s destruction power on battle fields. From October to December 1966, company 2 (U 1 special mission) continued to attack Long Binh depot three times, destroying hundred thousands of their bombs and shells. The Government conferred my military medals on U 1 and its members.
In preparation for 1968 spring campaign, Tran Cong An, leader of U 1 provincial armed forces and deputy front commander and comrade Phan Van Trang, former secretary of the provincial party committee and deputy front political adviser and other comrades well fulfilled their assigned task, which was to bring 250 wounded soldiers out of the enemy’s siege. Although the victory of the 1968 campaign was not complete, we create a decisive turning point in our national salvation resistance war against the USA invaders, forcing the USA to decrease their war escalation so that our party and our people could carry out the teaching of our grandiose Uncle Ho “Combat until the Americans run away and the treacherous gang is felled” for the total liberation of the South”.
Just as general Le Trong Tan (deputy front commander in the South) judged: “Bien Hoa fulfilled its tasks during the 1968 spring and the 1969 general offensive and uprising”.
Especially for Tran Cong An, before participating in the 1969 campaign as a father he faced to misfortunes happening to his two sons. His eldest son, company leader Tran Van Cao, 27 years of age, had his right leg wounded then amputated after he had led a group to make investigations two times at Bien Hoa airport. His younger son Tran Van Mum, 16 years of age, was killed in an ambush after he had guided a radio transmission group to the front command headquarters. As leader of the provincial armed forces in war time Tran Cong An in prison had assigned those tasks to his children. The sorrows temporarily alleviated of a father who overcome his sufferings gave place to an extraordinary energy of a commander on the battle-field. This was the action of a hero. I was very touched and nearly wept when hearing the following words of comrade Phan Van Trang, former secretary of U 1 provincial party committee: “Hai Ca’s sacrifice was sublime. All his family participated in the revolution. Hai Ca never refused any task and fulfilled it well, however hard it was. What was most pathetic was that he calmly commanded the battles while his family suffered the death of his mother, the death of his son and the infirmity of another son. He overcame all that to win”.
It was impossible to recount all the brilliant exploits of this hero who commanded combats on Bien Hoa airport, Long Binh general depot, against mopping-up operations who clung closely to the population to build revolutionary organizations at the base. In this writing, I treat in detail only two themes: the man who invented the special mission warfare in South Viet Nam and who built logistics bases. In the subsequent years, Tran Cong An was appointed back to the logistics as commander of brigade 600, which contributed to the great victory of Ho Chi Minh campaign on this heroic eastern region and on this Dong Nai territory.
The life of Tran Cong An, hero of the people’s armed forces, is extremely rich. His combat and other missions were bright like burning fire in all circumstances. He seemed to be born for victories, he won a hundred big and small victories, he also triumphed in his two marches on the Truong Son mountain, he personally listened to Uncle Ho’s teachings eight times, he won victories in researches, discovering and inventing the special mission tactics for the first time in the eastern region of South Viet Nam, he won a victory when capturing an enemy and weapons with his unarmed hand and his hatred for the enemy, he won in the logistics domain, he overcome his family difficulties to fulfil his tasks at the campaign command headquarters and his greatest victory was to overcome all difficulties, hardships and dangers to fulfil any duty entrusted by the Party and carry out Uncle Ho’s teachings in an outstanding manner.
This is easy to understand because he is a child of the heroic war zone D, grew up on the traditionally indomitable 300 year-old Bien Hoa-Dong Nai territory which inherits the heroic 4000 year-old history of our national formation and defence. This heroism can be seen in the character of this “Uncle Ho’s soldier”, this “historical glorious veteran”, who, after being retired and returning to civilian life, has become a good producing peasant on whom the People’s Committee of Song Be province has conferred a commendation diploma. Twenty years after the total liberation of the South for nearly two years after his retirement, Tran Cong An leads a simple life beside the victory monument at Bien Hoa airport. He remains faithful to his paralyzed wife, who was also a revolutionary activist.
Children and Youths, especially the pupils and students of Ngo Quyen, Tran Hung Dao, Trinh Hoai Duc and Tan Tien school… as well as the residents of Bien Hoa city in general and of Trung Dung in particular respect old revolutionaries, families which made contributions to the revolutionary, especially comrade Hai Ca who is loved intensively by everybody for his simple, sincere, faithful and peasant manners after he takes off his coat with many brilliant medals pinned on it, which he wears on the occasion of formal ceremonies. Talking with me, 80 year-old hero Tran Cong An was anxious: “I am already old, I can no longer do anything for families of fallen heroes, old persons, youths and children…”. In reality, colonel Tran Cong An, after being retired, has devoted a lot of time to provide houses to tens of persons who made contributions to the revolution, build tens of gratitude houses and find stable employment for hundreds of people. Most recently, he built a very beautiful club for old people at block 6, Trung Dung ward, which costs over a hundred million VND. Nobody forget his devoted contribution.
It is evident that COLONEL TRAN CONG AN, HERO OF THE PEOPLE’S ARMED FORCES is a modest person.