A72 Information Center

The A72 Information Station is located in the cave system of An Bo Mountain, Ngan Thuy Commune, Le Thuy District, Quang Binh Province. This is the place that records the silent feats, the spirit of determination to fight and win, not afraid of hardships and sacrifices, the indomitable will of the cadres and the communications base in our nation’s resistance war against the US. During the resistance war against the US, to save the country, Quang Binh, together with Vinh Linh Special Zone (Quang Tri), shouldered an important historical mission in the cause of building and defending the socialist North, directly supporting the battlefield in the South. Therefore, the US imperialists always sought every way, focusing on fierce bombardment in order to cut off the strategic support line of our army and people on many fronts, especially the communications system.

The importance of the A72 Information Center

Faced with that situation, in order to meet the requirements of ensuring uninterrupted communication, on January 7, 1967, the Department of Communications (now the Communications Command) decided to establish Company 7 under the 136th Communications Regiment, with the task of managing and exploiting the over 300km long bare wire communication line from Giang Son (Nghe An) to the 316 Vinh Linh (Quang Tri) high point newly built by the Regiment. This line has 3 basic transmission stations, all located in Quang Binh: A69 in Len Ha (Tuyen Hoa); A70 in Khuong Ha (Bo Trach) and A72 in An Bo mountain (Le Thuy). A72 is the main communication station on the southern axis of the 136th Regiment, managed by Company 7.

This is a vital information center, playing a very important role in directly ensuring the Central Military Commission, the General Command of the Vietnam People’s Army to direct and command the fronts on the battlefields of the South and Laos. The A72 Information Station has up to 50 high-frequency voice circuits, 28 three-way transceivers of various types and 2 100-number switchboards. In May 1967, the communication line from the A72 Information Station was connected by Hanoi bara to the Central Military Commission, the General Command. During the fierce times of the war, this place was also chosen to be the location of the Campaign Command and the Forward Command of the artillery troops, the transport force and the forward agencies of the General Political Department, the General Staff, the General Department of Logistics, and the Communications Command.

In the spring of 1968, to ensure communication for the Khe Sanh campaign (Quang Tri) and to prepare for the General Offensive and Uprising of our army and people, the Front Command Headquarters led by Major General Tran Quy Hai, Deputy Chief of the General Staff, and many high-ranking generals of our army were stationed at the A72 Information Station area. During the 1968 Tet Offensive and Uprising, the A72 Information Station always ensured continuous communication in both directions: the Forward Command Headquarters of the Combat Command on the Tri – Thien front, the Forward Command Headquarters of Military Region IV directed the suppression of enemy artillery at Con Tien Doc Mieu and prevented the enemy from landing and attacking by sea.

Information center welcomes important delegations

In 1971, in addition to the task of ensuring communications for the battlefield, the A72 Information Station was also the place to welcome working delegations from the Ministry of National Defense and high-ranking representatives of the Party and State to directly monitor and direct operations in the Route 9-Southern Laos campaign such as: General Vo Nguyen Giap, Senior Lieutenant General Van Tien Dung, Major General Le Trong Tan, Major General Tran Quy Hai, Major General Dam Quang Trung, Major General Doan Tue… The work of officers and soldiers of the A72 Station increased 7 to 8 times compared to normal, but the officers and soldiers of the A72 Information Station always maintained the communication bloodline in all situations, contributing to ensuring the victory of the campaign.

During the 1972 offensive, especially the 81-day and night campaign to protect Quang Tri Citadel, the Information Regiment in general and the A72 Information Station in particular achieved many outstanding feats, maintaining a smooth and timely information flow with subordinate units, effectively serving the Central Military Commission, the General Command and the General Staff in directing and commanding the military and service branches.

The place where General Giap’s lightning-fast orders were issued

In 1975, the A72 Information Station took on a new mission. Here, the Eastern Wing Command of the General Command, directly commanded by Lieutenant General Le Trong Tan, directed the 1st, 2nd Corps and 2nd Division in the offensive campaign to liberate Hue – Da Nang. The A72 Information Station immediately received and issued the order: “Faster, faster… bolder, bolder…” from General Vo Nguyen Giap, opening the Ho Chi Minh campaign, completely liberating the South, reunifying the country.

A72 information station successfully completed the assigned tasks.

Imbued with the teachings of President Ho Chi Minh: “Communication is the most important thing in revolutionary work, because it determines the unity of command, the coordination of forces and thus ensures victory.”, in any circumstances, officers and soldiers of A72 Information Station always uphold the spirit of revolutionary heroism, bravely overcome the rain of bombs and bullets, overcome all difficulties and hardships, stick to the line and the machine day and night; closely coordinate and cooperate with the 136th Information Regiment, with the information forces of the masses, arms and corps to create a seamless information network from the rear to the front line, especially from the Campaign Command Center to the combat units, maintaining the bloodline of information and communication. “timely accurate – confidential – safe”, contributed significantly to the cause of resistance war against America, saving the country of our people to reach complete victory.

After the General Offensive campaign to completely liberate the South and unify the country, the A72 Information Station continued to successfully complete its mission in the struggle to protect the southwestern border of the Fatherland. With its significant contributions to ensuring information and communication to serve the resistance war against the US and save the country, the A72 Information Station was awarded the First Class Liberation Medal by the State, contributing to the important achievements for Company 7, Regiment 136, Information and Communications Corps to be honored with the title of Hero of the People’s Armed Forces. On December 12, 1986, the A72 Information Station was ranked as a National Historical Relic by the Ministry of Culture and Information. This is a relic of outstanding and especially important historical value, of great significance in educating the tradition of patriotism and the spirit of revolutionary struggle for the young generation today and tomorrow.

See Cha Loi Cave Discovery Tour to visit the A72 Information Station Monument

In 2017, the historical monument of the A72 information station was built at An Bo mountain. In 2018, the historical monument and Cha Loi cave were put into tourism exploitation by Netin Travel Company in Ngan Thuy commune, Le Thuy district.

Quang Binh Monuments and Landscapes