Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính pays respect to late President Hồ Chí Minh in the Special National Historical Site of the 1950 Border Campaign Victory in Cao Bằng on Sunday. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

CAO BẰNG — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính offered flowers and incense at the Hồ Chí Minh Memorial House in the Special National Historical Site of the 1950 Border Campaign Victory in Cao Bằng on Sunday during his working trip to the northern province.

The site, located in Đức Long Commune, Thạch An District, marks the event when President Hồ Chí Minh directly observed and directed the Đông Khê Battle, which opened the 1950 Border Campaign.

Visiting the site, PM Chính expressed admiration and gratitude for the heroes and martyrs who bravely sacrificed their lives during the campaign, contributing to the glorious victory of the people and military of Cao Bằng, Bắc Kạn and Lạng Sơn in the national defence effort. He vowed, along with the entire Party, people, and army, to strive to build a prosperous, beautiful, and civilised Việt Nam that brings happiness to its residents.

The border campaign took place from September 16 to October 14, 1950, and was a strategically significant victory in the resistance war against French colonialism.

Notably, this was the first and only time during the Việt Nam's resistance wars against the French and US enemies that President Hồ Chí Minh personally visited the front lines to observe and direct the campaign. Commander-in-Chief General Võ Nguyên Giáp was appointed as the Secretary of the Front Party Committee and the Campaign Commander and Political Commissar.

The campaign concluded with the destruction of a significant portion of the enemy's forces, the expansion and consolidation of the Việt Bắc Base, the liberation of the northern border region, the breaking of the encirclement, and the opening of communication with China and socialist countries.

This connected Việt Nam's revolution with the global revolutionary movement and marked a significant leap in military strategy, as well as the remarkable growth of the Vietnamese army, contributing to the eventual victory of the resistance against the French, culminating in the Điện Biên Phủ Victory in 1954.

On this occasion, PM Chính presented ten households in Bản Mới Hamlet in the commune with VNĐ60 million (US$2,400) each to help them repair or build houses. — VNA/VNS