Director Dang Xuan Hai told the journey to record the footage of April 30, 1975

From April 28 to April 30, 1975, director Dang Xuan Hai’s camera crew captured many images of our troops fighting at key points opening the way to Saigon, such as the scene of the liberation army tanks crossing the river. Vam Co, people led troops to cross the river, our troops attacked and blocked enemy tanks, the General Staff, the cabinet of General Duong Van Minh at the Independence Palace… and many pictures of Saigon City on the first day of the tournament. launch. Those footage were included in the documentary Spring historic victory 75 by director Tran Viet.

Accepting a mission to enter the southern battlefield without knowing where to go

Director Dang Xuan Hai said: “From February to early April 1975, the atmosphere preparing for the General Offensive was relatively active. At the opening battle of Buon Ma Thuot, the People’s Army Cinema sent a delegation from December 1974. It was not until March 1975 that I received an order to go deep into the battlefields of the South, but because of the secret nature of the mission, I did not know where to go, perhaps only the commander of the delegation knew.

Arriving in Hue, we felt the atmosphere on the first day of liberation very exciting. We continued on to Quy Nhon and were ordered to turn back to the Central Highlands, through Buon Ma Thuot, round to Bu Dang Bu Dop (Binh Phuoc), to Loc Ninh. Wherever we went, we also met the filming team of Army Cinema working.

Stopping in Loc Ninh, our group met the brothers at the Liberation Army Film Studio, which is in charge of filmmaker Truong Thanh Hi. The two sides discuss with each other to assign specific tasks.

On April 27, 1975, we were ordered to go in the direction of Army Head 232 – one of the five armies entering Saigon. On the night of April 29, we guessed that we had reached the delta because there were houses on both sides of the road that were close together.

Around 8:00 am on April 30, when we arrived at Cau Bong and encountered a battle between us and the enemy, we filmed some images of our soldiers bursting the Cau Bong block to advance to Saigon.

We continued to go, through the barracks, we saw our soldiers and prisoners, military equipment of the Saigon army lying on the road. It can be said that the journey from 8 to 10 am on April 30 is quite stressful and drastic, because our troops have to deploy to fight in many places. After overcoming the enemy’s counterattack with the army at the Bay Hien intersection, we entered the General Staff, took some pictures here.“.

Can be turned picture of Duong Van Minh’s cabinet at the Independence Palace

When our troops captured the General Staff, the group Filming by director Dang Xuan Hai was the group The first time to capture images of Duong Van Minh’s cabinet at the Independence Palace. He said: “Because the camera crew always follows the army unit, after we capture the General Staff, the army unit will stop there, and we have to find a guide to the Independence Palace.

Arriving, it was past 12 noon, our tanks were parked in the yard, our captain, Comrade Tran Viet, immediately contacted the Military Management Board to film the cabinet of Duong Van Minh, who was arrested at this time. prison. The entire cabinet was summoned to the main room between the Independence Palace and my camera along with another comrade named Thien recorded the first images of the cabinet, then other reporters entered. These images were later used in many places.

After that, we went out, shooting the first images of the city’s atmosphere on the first day of liberation. More than 18 o’clock, we looked for a guide to return to the General Staff, ate the first meal of the day in Saigon on the first day of liberation. The meal was simple, with only sour soup and sea fish, but it was extremely delicious. It can be said that the journey to Saigon on April 30, 1975 to record historical footage was an unforgettable trip for me and my teammates.

Looking back at the event April 30, 1975 and a formation of army cameramen marched out, stationed on all fronts: Central Highlands, Hue, Da Nang, Quy Nhon, Nha Trang, Phan Rang – Phan Thiet to the southern plains. Ministry, from Can Tho to Ca Mau, especially Long An, where National Highway 4 cuts off Saigon and Tay Do base…

Or the group turned away with the 3rd Army to fight the battle of Dong Du – a fierce gateway to Saigon to record the fighting images of our army and people, like a secretary recording the happenings of the last days. of the resistance. Those are the most realistic, meaningful and valuable images of history. The nation’s historical journey ended with the Ho Chi Minh campaign and that campaign was recorded with the filming crews and direction of the Army Cinematographers.

“We went out quite strongly to capture relatively full images of the fronts during the whole campaign. Those images will certainly have meaning and long-term historical value” – director of People’s Artist Dang Xuan Hai shared with Vietnamese people.

spread over 47 years, the footage that the soldiers-movie artists filmed during the 1975 Spring General Offensive and Uprising campaign has special significance. bye for Vietnamese history in general and Vietnamese cinema.