During the Dien Bien Phu Campaign, the 209th Regiment (the 312th Regiment) was tasked with hitting the southeastern Muong Thanh airport, and at the same time developing a nose into the center in coordination with the 165th Regiment to beat the Independence hill. Later, two development regiments entered the airfield.
On January 17, 1954, the 209th Regiment began to pull artillery from Tuan Giao Street into the battlefield. Each cannon unit used from 120 to 150 people towing depending on the terrain. Normally, each company was in charge of towing one gun. The soldiers divided into 3 shifts in rotation to pull artillery all night. When pulling up a slope, it is necessary to arrange people to pull, people to block the cannon from falling. After each drag, the cannon only inched up about 20-30cm. In many cold nights, the wind blew, but the clothes of officers and soldiers were still wet with sweat. Every night when the road is less steep and dry, it can pull 3-4km. If it rains, steep slopes, muddy roads, the whole night cannot pass 500m. Pulling the cannon up the slope was hard, downhill was more difficult. The road pulls the artillery, one side is the vertical cliff, the other is the abyss. When the cannon goes downhill, it must combine rhythmically between the person releasing the rear rope with the holder so that the cannon goes in the right direction. With a slight mistake, both the body and the artillery would be plunged into the cliff.
To complete the task, the officers and soldiers of the 209th Regiment created a winch to tie the zipper to the cannon shaft and then release it gradually, while inserting and inserting the cannon from the rapid, out of control. Thanks to this initiative, cannon towing speed was increased, while ensuring the safety of artillery, personnel, and soldiers. In addition, the army had to pull artillery all night to cover the enemy’s eyes, but in the dense forest areas, the unit still encouraged the soldiers to take advantage of more daytime pulling in order to make progress. To avoid being exposed, the soldiers had the idea of spreading camouflage leaves, covering the cannon hull. On sunny days, camouflage trees had to be changed several times, and at the same time they had to be taken from elsewhere, away from the artillery track and shelter so that enemy reconnaissance aircraft could not detect them. With the above initiatives, after nearly 10 days and nights, the officers and soldiers of the 209 Regiment pulled 12 cannons into the battlefield in accordance with the agreement, ensuring safety, making an important contribution to the historic victory of electricity. Bien Phu.
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