Ba Dinh war zone

Ba Dinh war zone

The Ba Dinh Uprising (1886 - 1887) was one of the largest and most typical struggles in the Can Vuong movement against the French colonial invasion at the end of the 19th century. Ba Dinh Historical Relic has been recognized as a National Historical Site since 1992. In March 1886, leaders of the Can Vuong movement in Thanh Hoa held a meeting in Dong Bien (Bong Trung now belongs to Vinh Tam commune, Vinh Loc district, Thanh Hoa) to discuss plans to fight against the French. The conference decided to assign Pham Banh, Dinh Cong Trang, and Hoang Bat Dat to be in charge of building the Ba Dinh base in the northern plain of Nga Son district. Ba Dinh base is the place to protect the gateway to the Central region and is a launching pad to attack the enemy in the delta. Ba Dinh is located in the northwest of Nga Son district, including three villages: Thuong Tho, My Khe, Mau Thinh located next to each other. Each village has a communal house and a common village. Ba Dinh is located between sunken fields and two rivers, Hoat River and Chinh Dai River, isolated from neighboring residential areas, especially during the rainy season. Stationed in Ba Dinh, the Can Vuong insurgents could control the river and easily move up to Bim Son and Dong Giao to control Highway 1. Ba Dinh's terrain was very favorable for building a strong defensive fortress. Certainly, Pham Banh, Dinh Cong Trang, and Hoang Bat Dat were assigned to build and command the Ba Dinh base. In just 1 month, the Ba Dinh base was completed, surrounding the three villages is a system of earthen valleys, in some places the base is 9-10 meters wide, the wall is lined with bamboo poles, inside is a layer of mud and sand. Straw makes a very effective target. It is impossible to see inside from the outside, inside there is a moat 4m wide, 3m deep, with sharp bamboo stakes. Across the sunken field is a dense bamboo wall that covers all three sides: North, West, and Southwest. At first, the Ba Dinh insurgent army only had about 300 people, but was later supplemented. The weapons of the insurgents were muskets, rifles, bows, crossbows, and a few cannons organized into 10 squads, each squad of about 30 people led by a soldier. The supreme leader of the Ba Dinh base is Military Affairs Officer Pham Banh, while the direct commander Dinh Cong Trang is considered the soul of the Ba Dinh uprising. The Ba Dinh insurgent force sometimes numbered up to twenty thousand people, recruited from three villages and Thanh Hoa regions, including Kinh, Thai, and Muong people. The insurgent army has 10 groups, each group has a commander. Regarding weapons, the insurgents armed themselves with muskets, spears, and bows and crossbows. In 1886, the insurgents continuously attacked palaces, cities, and district capitals, blocking convoys and individual troops, causing many losses to the French army. On March 12, 1886, taking advantage of the market day, he attacked the Thanh Hoa Legation. And then, the insurgents attacked many citadels, blocked convoys, and caused a lot of damage to the French army. From December 18, 1886 to January 20, 1887, Colonel Brissand led 76 officers and 3,500 troops to siege and attack Ba Dinh base. The French army fired up to 16,000 cannonballs within a day, turning the Ba Dinh base into a sea of ​​fire. The Ba Dinh insurgent army fought for 32 days and nights against an enemy 12 times larger, equipped with modern and advanced weapons. In this extremely fierce battle, the insurgents showed bravery and cunning, but because of the enemy's strong firepower, the Ba Dinh insurgents suffered many casualties. To avoid being completely destroyed, the Ba Dinh insurgents opened a bloody road through the dense siege of the French army and withdrew to the Ma Cao base. On the morning of January 21, 1887, the French army captured Ba Dinh. After that, the French army completely destroyed all three villages of the Ba Dinh base, continued to send troops to pursue the insurgents in Ma Cao, and then destroyed this post on February 2, 1887. After that, a large number of insurgents withdrew to Thung Voi, Thung Khoai, then to western Thanh Hoa to merge with Cam Ba Thuoc's insurgent army. In the end, leader Nguyen Khe died in battle. Pham Banh, Ha Van Mao, Le Toai committed suicide... Hoang Bat Dat was later captured and beheaded by the French because of his indomitable spirit and not surrendering to the enemy. Dinh Cong Trang fled to Nghe An. The French army offered a very high reward on his head. In October 1887, because of greed for reward money, the chief of Chinh An village secretly informed the French army to arrest and kill Dinh Cong Trang. The Ba Dinh uprising and Ba Dinh leaders are highly appreciated by history. President Ho Chi Minh later chose the name Ba Dinh to name Ba Dinh Square, where the Declaration of Independence was read, giving birth to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Source: Thanh Hoa Electronic Newspaper

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