Page 220 - Thorn In The Heart

Thorn In The Heart

Yen city and communicated with firebase by High way 5th or
military radio.

The 10th Movable and three Security Region platoons were
controlling a part of the Red River delta, High way 5th, and
some villages that scattered among the wide paddy. They had
supported of French Union and Vietnamese tank companies in
the firebase to make any operation on the control area.

Vietminh was back those villages as the safety places at
night, while the firebase force was contractible for a short
distance around the base to cover its security zone. Therefore
Vietminh threatened the people for tax profit, advanced the
villages to hide the troops at day for the guerrilla moving tactics,
and set up the Vietminh agents in the villages. They threatened
few firebases in the delta by the diversion and fired few mortar
shells into the bases to make the echo regard between the
commanders of the firebases for the harassing tactics.

Cho-Noi firebase got the strong support from the 5th
Commando Regiment special force of French union and its
headquarters in Hung-Yen city. Also, it will get the
reinforcement of the parachute force in Hanoi if it Vietminh has
heavy attacking into the base. It was blocking Vietminh troops
moving from North Vietnam highland to the Red River delta and
will cut off the Vietminh’s rations and communication from
South to North. Therefore Cho-Noi firebase was a hot point that
Vietminh wanted to occupy and control this countryside area to
collect a black tax of the villages in the West and North side of
the firebase. They wanted using the Red River for the floating
boats at night to hide the French Air Force, while they were
moving their troops, supply, and communication.

Every night the soldiers of the firebase followed the security
schedule to ambush on the knot positions, where they suspected
Vietminh troops might advance the dark to cross the fire zone
into the villages. Also each early day two Security platoons, two
220