In response to the Dien Bien Phu campaign, on the right bank of Red River, local soldiers and guerrilla militia stepped up their coordination activities. In Ninh Binh Province, guerrillas in Khanh Thien Commune used a trick to chase away an enemy company in Do Muoi, releasing some local people and reclaiming two salt boats. Also in March 1954, Khanh Thien guerrillas continuously attacked, surrounded, and took control of Tam Chau Post and Tam Chau Airport while using rifles to shoot down a Dakota aircraft, killing some French officers on board.
In the Western Inter-Region in the South, the Inter-Region Command asked the Southern Command to launch a large-scale attack as a coordination activity with the Dien Bien Phu battlefield. At the beginning, the Inter-Region decided to attack the enemy’s defensive position in An Bien (Bac Lieu Province). This is a stronghold embedded deep into U Minh Thuong free zone in the Northwest direction. Enemy forces were quite concentrated, including the support of 105mm artillery. The Vietnamese troops implemented the strategy of “danh diem, diet vien” (attacking the post and ambushing the reinforcement), combined with diversionary tactics. The diversionary mission was assigned to Battalion 307.
On March 21, 1954, the Vietnamese troops opened fire to attack key enemy positions in An Bien. The enemy sent reinforcement troops from Rach Gia many times, but they all suffered heavy losses. The enemy soldiers in An Bien did not see reinforcements, so they risked their lives to break the siege and flee. Vietnamese soldiers pursued the enemy while continuing to surround the district and remove enemy’s posts. At the end of March 1954, we destroyed the Xeo Ro post, captured Lam Quang Thiep, head of An Bien District, and completely liberated this district, killing and wounding more than 500 enemies and capturing more than 400 guns of all kinds. An Bien was also the first district to be liberated in the Western Inter-Region and the Southern region.
