Historic Revolutionary Site of Ô Tà Sóc Base Lương Phi Commune - Tri Tôn District

Select language

Vietnamese English

         The Ô Tà Sóc Provincial Party Committee Base historical site is located in Lương Phi Commune, Tri Tôn District, An Giang Province. From the center of Tri Tôn District, head towards Lương Phi Commune until you reach the Tà Dung intersection. Turn right at the location marked by a welcoming gate and the Ô Tà Sóc revolutionary historical site plaque. From there, follow the paved road for about 2 kilometers to reach the site within the Dài Mountain area.

         Ô Tà Sóc (meaning "Mr. Sóc's stream" in the Khmer language) is named after a stream originating from the peak of Dài Mountain (Lying Dragon Mountain, standing at 554 meters). The stream flows windingly down the mountainside, creating several small water channels that flow through rock crevices to the foot of the mountain, irrigating the trees and fields below.

         Ô Tà Sóc holds a particularly important strategic position, located at a high point running along the side of Dài Mountain, surrounded by dense forests that provide cover, and featuring numerous caves, rocky slopes, and treacherous terrain.

         This naturally rugged landscape was ideal for establishing a base that could accommodate revolutionary organizations to rest and fight against the U.S. imperialists and their collaborators, who were better equipped and more numerous than our forces at the time. Therefore, the An Giang Provincial Party Committee selected this location as a base to direct the resistance and revolutionary movement in the province.

         From this base, local areas actively built up their forces and mobilized the populace to rise up against oppression, eliminate tyrants, resist forced relocations, dismantle strategic hamlets, and promote both political and armed struggles against enemy raids.

         Since the Provincial Party Committee established a base at Ô Tà Sóc - Dài Mountain, the area developed several units and agencies, such as the Provincial Party Committee Office, frontline outposts, Urgent hill, Security cave, Propaganda and Training, Military medical services, Logistics, the Engineering workshop, the Provincial Military Command cave, and the District Party Committee. These sites reflect the heroic fighting spirit and have contributed to the formation of the Ô Tà Sóc Revolutionary Historical Site as we know it today. This site is of national historical significance on the map of revolutionary historical sites in An Giang and for the entire nation. During the war, the name was altered to "Ô Tàn Khốc" (meaning "Dire Stream") to highlight the intense and fierce nature of the conflict.

         In the early stages of establishing the base, the An Giang Provincial Party Committee implemented strategies and policies to direct the revolutionary movement in the province. These included attacking and destroying the Cản Dừa outpost (Châu Thành), the Cái Da outpost, winning the battle at Vàm Ninh (Hội An Đông), dismantling strategic hamlets in An Quới (Hòa Bình), Mỹ Trung, and Mỹ Hiệp, and eliminating the chief of Mỹ Luông hamlet. From this base, the revolutionary movement in the districts of Châu Thành, Tân Châu, An Phú, and others inflicted significant losses on the enemy.
 

         History records that Ô Tà Sóc - Núi Dài witnessed many significant historical events during the resistance against the Americans, particularly during the period from 1962 to 1967. Between December 23, 1962, and January 1963, the American and South Vietnamese forces concentrated thousands of troops, including infantry, paratroopers, aircraft, heavy artillery, and tanks, to sweep and attack the base at Núi Dài and Đồng Tràm. They advanced from various directions including the fields of Lương Phi, Ba Chúc, and the Lương An Trà canal to cut off Núi Dài from Đồng Tràm. They bombed and heavily shelled the trails leading up the mountain to clear the way for ground troops. Additionally, they used aircraft to deploy troops to seize high points, creating a pincer movement to encircle and attack our forces. The Provincial Party Committee's security team, in conjunction with provincial and district armed forces, organized guerrilla units to counter the enemy. During the day, our forces defended against enemy sweeps, and at night, we launched disruptive attacks. These efforts resulted in the elimination of hundreds of enemy troops, ensuring the safety of the base. Despite their losses, the enemy escalated the war, aiming to destroy the base and our liberated areas.

         Under the leadership of the Provincial Party Committee, we organized several surprise attacks that inflicted significant damage on the enemy. For example, in early 1963, we launched an attack that resulted in 12 enemy casualties (killed and wounded), damaged an M113 armored personnel carrier, and captured numerous weapons. We attacked the enemy at Ba Chúc and Lương Phi, annihilating two companies in August 1963. We also attacked the strategic hamlet of Lương An Trà, destroying Company 360 of the commando forces and Company 816 of the security forces.

         On September 18, 1964, we completely destroyed Company 187 of the security forces at the strategic hamlet of Hoạch Lân (Lê Trì). This victory led to the disintegration of three enemy companies, causing 200 enemy casualties (killed and wounded), capturing 40 prisoners, and seizing 70 weapons of various types, including a medium machine gun, a heavy machine gun, a 60mm mortar, and five radios.

         From the victories at Ô Tà Sóc base, the revolutionary movement within the province grew stronger, establishing bases in various communes such as Lương Phi, Lê Trì, An Tức, Ô Lâm, Cô Tô, Ba Chúc, and Thới Sơn. From 1965 to 1967, we resisted over 396 major and minor enemy operations against our bases in the large mountains of Núi Dài, Núi Tô, and Núi Cấm. The enemy forces, including the main army, commandos, security forces, Châu Đốc district forces, and their superior war equipment, such as B-52 bombers, tanks, and modern weapons, were involved in these operations. After 1967, the Provincial Party Committee moved the base from Ô Tà Sóc. Ô Tà Sóc became a stopping point and combat coordination location for the Central Main Force Regiments from the East providing support to the western provinces. The Long Châu Hà Provincial Party Committee also chose this location as a base.

         The An Giang Provincial Party Committee base at Ô Tà Sóc - Núi Dài served as a command center for revolutionary movements, fighting the enemy on various fronts within An Giang province. This base significantly contributed to the national revolutionary struggle, integrating political, military, and mobilization efforts to create a unity between the Party's intentions and the people's support, all while being protected and supported by the local population. Here, the revolutionary forces steadfastly fought against numerous enemy sweeps, defending the base and guiding strategic and tactical directions for the entire province in the struggle for national independence. Due to its outstanding achievements and significant contributions, the An Giang Provincial Party Committee base at Ô Tà Sóc has been recognized as a national-level revolutionary historical site by the Ministry of Culture and Information (now the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism) under Decision No. 52/2001/QĐ-BVHTT dated December 28, 2001.

         Currently, the historical site area has been renovated and additional structures have been built, including an outpost, pathways leading to the Provincial Party Committee base, and plaques marking the locations of various agencies and units that served the Provincial Party Committee's leadership, combat units, battle points, and bomb craters. These features serve as historical evidence of the revolutionary struggle. There are also victory monuments, site introduction plaques, and plans to gradually construct a memorial temple and service facilities.