VIETNAM DESTINATIONS > Destination > Victory Monument on the Lo River

Visit Victory Monument on the Lo River

Doan Hung town, Doan Hung District, Phu Tho province, VietNam

In October 1947, on the Lo Giang line, a brilliant milestone was recorded in the history of fighting against foreign invaders of the Vietnamese nation in general and of the army and people of Phu Tho province in particular.

It was the Lo River victory that broke one of the three important pincers of the French colonialists to attack the Viet Bac war zone with the plot to destroy the headquarters of our resistance war, which was the Party Central Committee and Uncle Ho. .

With the spirit of vigilance and proactive prevention of the French colonialist’s attack, our army and people under the leadership of the Party Central Committee and Uncle Ho actively built defenses and arranged battlegrounds to be ready to fight the enemy. , don’t give them an escape route. Our army and people have chosen the location of Chi Dam commune in Doan Hung district where the enemy will advance from Viet Tri to the Viet Bac war zone on the Lo river as the place to organize a battle to intercept the French army and break the pincers on the ground. waterway.

β€œβ€¦ Lo River, thousands of waves in the North and South Vietnam, long sandy beaches, mountains, forests, murky forests. Autumn lulls the golden waves from house to house to a dim color of autumn smoke…”

Today’s Lo River Victory Monument.

Time has passed, but the historical feat on the Lo River remains forever with the immortal song Song Lo by talented musician Van Cao as it still resonates with the nation forever; along with the places where fierce battles took place and the heroic sacrifices of soldiers of the Vietnamese people’s army took place. Monument to Victory Monument of Lo River in Doan Hung town, Phu Tho province has become a national cultural heritage relic in Decision No. 2890/ VH-QD dated September 27, 1997 of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism). with historical sites related to Song Lo victory, specifically as follows:

1- Dau Lo fork: This is the place where the fierce battle between our army and people took place with the invading French colonial ships. The small wharf that used to take soldiers across the river in the past is now the Doan Hung bridge that stands tall day by day with people and cars passing by. On both sides of the river, there are no longer reed and reed forests in the past, but the immense green color of the luxuriant corn and fruit trees with crowded and prosperous villages.

2- The area where the old diversionary battle was held was a strip of land along Huu Do village on the left bank of the Lo River, extending 1 km, opposite the 225 mountain artillery battle at the foot of Don mountain and located in the center of the fall. three rivers Lo – Chay river. On this strip of land, the guerrillas and the people of Huu Do bravely accepted their sacrifices to set up a fake artillery battlefield to attract the attention of the French army to create conditions for the main force to attack warships. on the Lo River. After the defeat on the Lo River in 1947, in 1949 the French army returned to take revenge on burning Huu Do communal house and 157 rooftops, brutally slaughtering and killing villagers in a sea of ​​blood and fire.

3- The place to drop fake torpedoes is the river that looks straight to La Hoang Church, opposite the other bank is Bai Chay, at the beginning of Huu Do village, about 1km from the center of the river confluence, about 500 miles from the Ngoc Chuc village artillery battlefield. m. The small banyan tree used as a place to tie the torpedoes, when it was small, has now become an ancient banyan tree radiating luxuriant shade. Under this banyan tree is also the place where the guerrillas of Chi Dam commune set up their machine guns to coordinate with the army to intercept French warships on the Lo River.

4- The place where the 75mm anti-aircraft gun of the 200th Platoon, commanded by Platoon Commander Tran Thai Quang, is located close to the river on the right, 400m from Xieng wharf, 800m from the center of the river confluence to the North in Ngoc Chuc village, Chi Dam commune. This is the river bank on the landslide, so placing artillery has the advantage of high altitude and close range, which is very convenient for our artillery to shoot warships running on the Lo River. In the past, firecrackers were placed under the sycamore tree, now the sycamore tree has disappeared, this place has become a field for people to grow crops.

5- The place where the 75mm “Luc Province” paint cannon of Platoon 225, commanded by Platoon Commander Le Van Oanh, is located close to the river on the right, 300m from the foot of Don mountain, 500m from the center of the river confluence to the south, in the village. Hung Tien, Doan Hung town. From here, looking down, I can see the Lo river flowing right under my feet, very convenient for shooting and chasing warships on the river. In the past, firecrackers were placed close to the Lower Temple near the big sycamore tree, the branches spread out to cover up very well for the firecrackers. Up to now, the temple has fallen into the river, only the foundation, the si tree is no longer. The place to place the cannon is now a high land bank close to the river, right next to the slope down to the horizontal wharf, there are many dense bamboo bushes.

6- The area for erecting the Lo River Victory Monument is located on Don mountain at the confluence of Lo river – Chay river, which is much higher than some surrounding hills. To the north is the Chay river with the Doan Hung bridge crossing the drifting water. The East is the confluence of peaceful and poetic rivers. The South is the direction of Lo river flowing downstream. To the west is the densely populated area of ​​Doan Hung town. Before the August Revolution, 1945, Mount Don was a plantation of the French colonialists. When the Japanese Fascist coup d’etat France in March 1945, this place became the Japanese garrison. That’s why the locals call it Nui Don. In the historic battle on October 24, 1947, the soldiers of 225th Artillery Platoon pulled back the “sixth province” paint cannon to the top of Don mountain to chase the enemy ships.

In 1987, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Lo River victory, the People’s Committee of Vinh Phu Province (now the People’s Committee of Phu Tho Province and the People’s Committee of Vinh Phuc Province) and the People’s Committee of Doan Hung District decided to build a Monument to Victory River. Lot to remember the glorious feats of the army and people of Phu Tho in particular and of the Vietnamese nation in general, as a place to educate patriotic traditions for future generations.

The entire monument area has an area of ​​19,300 m2. The planned area for construction on the top of Don mountain is 2,537.5 m2. The planning of the monument is created with the ground and stone embankment bearing the bow shape soaring forward to look like a ship rushing towards the river. To the sides and back is a sightseeing promenade with low railings. On the left, built along the curve, there are twists and turns showing historical significance: The Lo River victory broke the strategic pincers of the French colonialists. Those are the curves representing the pincers that are shredded by the combined straight segments. In the center is the massive Lo River Victory Monument rising high in the clouds and mountains. Standing here, one can look around a large area of ​​the confluence of two rivers Chay and Lo. The monument was built according to the design of military sculptor Ta Quang Bao with two parts: Statue and Monument. The 26 m high tower next to the 7 m high statue group is made of high quality reinforced concrete outside painted in a very sophisticated imitation of bronze color, creating a firm stance for the entire group of statues in the face of rain, sun and time.

Portrait of 5 hero statues.

The victory tower bears the image of an eternal burning flame radiating into the sky the endless energy of the Lo River victory with the material of bronze mounds. The body of the radio is designed with many massive angles and is clad with light pink emery bricks that are closely arranged. On the four sides around the memorial are decorated with 8 reliefs depicting the victory of the Lo River and generalizing some typical features of the homeland tradition and the people of Doan Hung. Each bas-relief is a work of sculptural art with elaborate sculptural lines that are attached to each other extremely delicately. The order of the reliefs is arranged as follows:

The front right side of the station includes 3 reliefs showing the strength of the armed forces of the Vietnam People’s Army. At the top is a relief of a female guerrilla member in neat clothes, holding a long stick firmly in her hand, looking straight ahead. The second statue in the middle is a male guerrilla member in a ready-to-battle stance with a rifle slung over his shoulder. The bottom relief shows a soldier comrade wearing a defensive vest, his head wearing a camouflage leaf hat, holding a gun in front of him.

– The front left side of the station is a large relief depicting the scene of the Lo River victory. The central part is a battery of three soldiers with the image of a cannon pointing straight down the river. Two people were stooping to push firecrackers and one was in a cheering position, legs spread like running, one hand outstretched, the other raised the gun above his head, his face full of joy and excitement. Below the river is a scene depicting the enemy’s battleship on fire, smoke billowing up. The background is covered with roofs and palm leaves. This is the main relief that vividly shows the great stature of the Lo River victory.

– The back left side includes two reliefs showing the cultural traditions of Doan Hung’s hometown. The picture above depicts a wrestling festival with two wrestlers in the middle of the ring, surrounded by drummers, soldiers and people cheering and cheering. Behind is the curved roof of the communal house soaring under the cloudy sky.

– The picture below is a scene of a popular class under the canopy of many fruit-laden pomelo trees. Students representing all walks of life, of all ages, were intently studying, and a teacher, holding an open book, was engrossed in his lecture.

The back right side of the station consists of three reliefs showing the tradition of brave fighting, hard work and dedication of our army and people. The picture above shows soldiers pulling artillery together to the top of the mountain. A soldier lying across is inserting a cannon with his body, the traditional heroic symbol of the artillery army.

The picture below is a scene of women stooping to plant rice in the field. In the distance, there are people carrying rice to the village’s bamboo rampart.

It can be said that the eight reliefs mentioned above are mounted on the Lo River victory monument, showing the profound meaning of culture, the tradition of industrious labor and the tenacious and courageous fighting spirit against foreign invaders to protect the country. defend the homeland. The resounding Lo River victory was the result, a vivid concrete symbol of those precious traditions. This is the most favorite, elaborate and highly expressive art work of the military sculptor, leaving posterity a valuable work of art.

The group of victory statues close to the foot of the platform towards the clear blue Lo River, gently flowing down, consists of 5 characters representing the elements, the forces he used to fight to make the Lo River victory go into the calendar. heroic history of the nation:

– Statue number 1:  (front right) is a soldier standing proudly, right hand raised gun, left hand raised forward. I wore a defensive vest, a grenade on my waist and a bag of rice behind my back, a hard hat on my head, and rubber sandals on my feet. This is the main statue depicting the victory posture of the Lo River soldier.

– Statue No. 2  (Rear left): An image of a soldier standing upright wearing a defensive vest with a statue over his body, both hands firmly grasping the rifle, looking away from the Lo River in a ready position. ready to fight.

– Statue No. 3  (in the middle of the group of statues): depicts the image of an ethnic guerrilla woman with a strong figure, head covered with a scarf, short shirt, and skirt with soft folds as if flying in the wind. Hold a long stick firmly in one hand, face straight ahead in a ready-to-battle stance.

Statue #4:  Shows a young soldier wearing a canoe hat and a defensive vest with a grenade on his back. Holding a large grenade in both hands, the left foot rests on the cannon pedestal.

Statue #5:  (Lastly) is the image of a soldier standing on a cannon reaching for the barrel of the Lo River. The left hand is clenched tightly on the cannon pedestal, the right hand holds the hat and waves it high with joy and joy, the shirt flutters in the wind to reveal a healthy bare chest full of life.

The two sides of the monument are two symbols of the hull and soaring waves to represent the historical image: The victorious ship carrying the synergy of the Vietnamese nation is turning waves to sea according to the flow of history.

The entire group of monuments is erected on an area of ​​land in the shape of the bow of a ship that is about to head down the rushing river. The background of the statues is paved with clean, beautiful and sustainable marble.

Below the level of Don mountain is a gallery and collection of artifacts of the Lo River victory to serve the needs of visiting, researching and educating patriotic traditions to serve domestic and international visitors.

The Monument of Lo River Victory Monument is an impressive and monumental historical and cultural work imbued with expressiveness, expressing the great meaning of a illustrious victory and the pride of our army and people in the war. holy resistance against the French invaders. This is a valuable relic in educating young generations about the tradition of nation building and defending the country of Phu Tho army and people in particular and of the Vietnamese people in general so that our nation can firmly walk on the path of change. new and build a richer and stronger country.

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Source: Collected internet.