The 1947 Battle of Cam Village, Gia Lam Commune

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Co Bi Commune in Gia Lam District is a peri-urban commune on the south bank of the Duong River. The commune consists of three villages: Cam, Hoi, and Vang. To the north it borders Duong Ha Commune and Phu Dong Commune; to the south, Trau Quy Commune and National Highway 5; to the east, Dang Xa Commune; and to the west, National Highway 1B and Phuc Loi Ward of Long Bien District. According to the "Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu" and the genealogy of Vang Village's communal house, during the reign of the Hung Kings when Van Lang was founded, Co Bi belonged to Vu Ninh Prefecture, a settlement on a land of "auspicious land and talented people."

Like many other rural areas across Vietnam, when President Ho Chi Minh issued the call "National Resistance" the people of Cam Village, together with people across the country, responded to Uncle Ho's call and rose up against the French colonialists.

Immediately after the nationwide gunfire broke out, on January 4, 1947, the French concentrated a large force and launched a military campaign with the aim of opening the Route 5 corridor between Hanoi and Hai Phong. They organized sweeps, surrounded and arrested our cadres and revolutionary bases, and expanded their garrison areas into surrounding regions. Gia Lam was one of the key areas with an important strategic military position.

In the two French colonial sweeps in early 1947, the army and people of Co Bi—mainly the Cam Village militia and self-defense forces—coordinated with the district's local troops and fought to victory. That feat strengthened the will, determination, and confidence of the army and people of Co Bi in the early days of the nationwide resistance.

The French troops suffered repeated failures in Co Bi, so they frantically organized large-scale encirclement and sweep operations targeting Cam Village and part of Hoi Village to hunt down revolutionary cadres and destroy the Party's revolutionary base. Knowing the enemy intended to attack Cam Village, the authorities organized the evacuation of local people to free areas (mainly women, the elderly, and children). Young men stayed behind both to produce and to fight.

On February 8, 1947, at dawn while everyone was still asleep, the French organized a large sweep into Cam and Hoi villages with the scale of about an infantry regiment, supported by aircraft, tanks, and ground artillery. The enemy advanced from two directions using a pincer tactic. One direction came down from the Duong River dyke, and the other from National Highway 5 into Cam Village, creating surprise in an attempt to destroy our revolutionary forces. Thanks to the close leadership of the Party, the direction of the district, and thorough preparations for fighting the enemy, we were not surprised and took the initiative as soon as they set foot in the village. Our fighting force at that time consisted of two platoons of district local troops stationed in Cam Village and one platoon newly sent to support Hoi Xa Commune, equipped with one light machine gun, some flintlock guns, and a few grenades. The Cam Village guerrillas numbered about 100, equipped with spears, swords, and sticks. In terms of forces and equipment, we were far inferior to the enemy, seemingly like an egg against a stone. But we had advantages over the enemy: we were fighting for a just cause and had courage and bravery. The unequal battle was fierce; the enemy's advances were blocked by fences and ramparts and could not enter the village. We killed and wounded a number of them. On our side, ammunition and grenades were few and could not sustain long combat. Near noon, we regrouped at the house of Mr. Nguyen Van Thin (also called Pho Thin), which had surrounding brick walls in the middle of the village, to fight; soldiers and guerrillas gathered there (about 30 people) and continued to destroy many more enemy troops. By afternoon the enemy poured into Mr. Thin's yard, fired indiscriminately, and threw grenades into the house, killing all the soldiers and guerrillas there, including civilians.

At the end of the battle, we had killed and wounded more than 40 enemy soldiers. On our side, 57 soldiers and self-defense fighters sacrificed their lives, including 14 unidentified martyrs. More than 100 Cam Village residents, most of them women, children, and the elderly, were killed by the enemy. In addition to massacring people, French soldiers burned 150 houses in Cam and Hoi villages and poured gasoline to set the village communal house on fire.

The battle of February 8, 1947 was a great victory, but the sacrifice in lives and property was also not small; the loss and grief were enormous, with some families and clans losing three or four people. It can be said that this was the oath to defend the country of the people of Co Bi.

Carrying forward the heroic revolutionary tradition, during the resistance war against the United States for national salvation, the people of Cam Village encouraged young people to enthusiastically enlist, while those remaining in the rear actively and enthusiastically worked in production, contributing their efforts to the nation's great victory through the historic Spring 1975 victory, winning independence and freedom for the nation.

113 outstanding sons of the homeland bravely sacrificed their lives for the cause of building and defending the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

During the period of national reunification and transition to socialism and the implementation of the renovation cause, the people of Cam Village together with the people of Co Bi Commune continuously advanced and achieved many accomplishments in socio-economic construction and development. The material and spiritual life of the people was continuously improved.

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's call for nationwide resistance (December 19, 1946 - December 19, 1996), the army and people of Cam Village were awarded the Second-Class Resistance Order by the State.

The village communal house, which was burned and destroyed by the French in the past, was rebuilt by the people of Cam Village and in 1996 was recognized and ranked as a historical and cultural relic by the Ministry of Culture and Information. In 2004, with contributions from the people and the attention of authorities at all levels, Cam Village communal house was renovated spaciously and grandly, becoming a place for cultural activities of the village.

A great honor came to the people and cadres of Cam Village: on February 15, 2007, the Hanoi City People's Committee issued Decision No. 5011/QĐ-UBND on attaching the plaque of the revolutionary resistance relic at the site of the battle that took place in Cam Village in 1947, precisely on the occasion of the 61st anniversary of the homeland's tradition. Attaching the revolutionary resistance relic plaque demonstrates the attention of the Party and State in recognizing the contributions of generations, while arousing pride in the homeland and in the people of Cam Village in the cause of building and defending the Fatherland. Along with that great honor, the people and cadres of Cam Village also clearly recognize their great responsibility in preserving and promoting the value of local historical and cultural relics, while stepping up education on tradition and pride in the homeland among the people, especially the local youth.

Currently, the people of Cam Village in particular and the people of Co Bi Commune in general take pride in the traditions of their homeland and in the feats of the resistance village in the early days of the resistance against the French, and are striving to emulate one another in building an increasingly rich and beautiful homeland, striving to successfully implement the cause of industrialization and modernization of the country, contributing to the goal of a rich people, a strong country, and a fair, democratic, and civilized society.