Phuc Co Communal House (Minh Hoa Commune, Yen Lap District) – Photo: http://baophutho.vn/

The Yen Lap District Historical and Cultural Area has an area of ​​330 hectares located in Minh Hoa commune, Yen Lap district.

Along with the establishment of Van Thang war zone, Cam Khe district on the evening of June 23, 1945, party members of Thach De – Cat Tru Party Cell, Cam Khe district deployed the construction of Phuc Co war zone (now in Minh Hoa commune, Yen Lap district). Initially, the construction of Phuc Co guerrilla base was based on the rugged terrain of the basin surrounded by mountains and hills and adjacent to Van Thang war zone (Cam Khe) to create a continuous position, supporting each other when fighting broke out. On the first day, in addition to a number of loyal party members of Cat Tru – Thach De Party Cell, they also mobilized and called on young men to join the guerrilla army in Phuc Co and Cat Tru communes to participate. The weapons of the guerrilla team were initially very rudimentary, mainly knives, swords, machetes, hunting guns… Due to the initial conditions without the leadership of the Party Executive Committee, the Phuc Co guerrilla team’s activities were still spontaneous. Later, the guerrilla team was placed under the leadership of the Phu – Yen Party Executive Committee (Phu Tho – Yen Bai) directly led by comrade Le Quang An and received direct support from military officers from the Van – Hien Luong war zone in both political and military training, so the guerrilla team grew rapidly.

Faced with the need to quickly develop forces to revolt and seize power, the Phu-Yen Executive Committee (Phu Tho and Yen Bai) sent cadres to persuade Mr. Hoang Man Tue (Ky Tho – son of Mr. De Kieu, a leader in the Can Vuong movement in Phu Tho), a powerful landowner, a patriotic veteran who had a small armed unit with weapons purchased when Japan overthrew France, left behind by the French army, including a number of machine guns, and was planning to prepare to fight the Japanese. Mr. Ky Tho accepted the invitation of the Phuc Co guerrilla team and voluntarily brought his forces and weapons to join the Phuc Co guerrilla team. As a result, the number of troops in the guerrilla team increased rapidly with more weapons being equipped. By June 1945, the guerrilla team was established and the Phuc Co war zone was officially born to prepare for the opportunity to rise up and seize power in Phu Tho province together with the Van Thang (Cam Khe) – Van – Hien Luong (Ha Hoa) war zones. The command of the Phuc Co war zone guerrilla team on the first day of its establishment included: Mr. Hoang Man Tue (Ky Tho) and party members Tran Van Can, Kieu Viet Lan, along with a force of nearly 70 guerrilla members organized into 2 platoons with more than 30 rifles. On the first day of deployment, the war zone’s guerrilla army attacked and destroyed the Japanese rice warehouse in Chi Chu commune, Thanh Ba district, collecting more than 40 quintals of rice to feed the troops and distribute to the poor. On August 17, 1945, the guerrilla forces of Phuc Co war zone coordinated with the guerrillas of Van Thang war zone to attack Cam Khe district, forcing Cam Khe district chief Nguyen Que to flee, the bureaucracy and soldiers to flee and surrender, handing over their weapons to the revolutionary army. Next, the guerrillas attacked the enemy in Phu Lac village, confiscating more than 40 quintals of rice and 2 quintals of salt from the Japanese and distributing them to the people. In just a few days, the guerrilla forces of Phuc Co and Van Thang war zones controlled the situation in Cam Khe district, the district’s provisional revolutionary people’s committee was established with comrade Dang Ngoc Ky as chairman. On the same day, a guerrilla unit of the Phuc Co war zone coordinated with the guerrilla team of the Van – Hien Luong war zone led by comrade Tran Quang Binh to launch an uprising in Yen Lap district, forcing the Yen Lap district chief Nguyen Phuc Thuan to flee. The entire governing apparatus and military personnel laid down their weapons and surrendered all their assets and weapons to the insurgents. By the end of August 1945, the Yen Lap district provisional revolutionary people’s committee was established with Mr. Hoang Van Thu as chairman.

On the morning of August 22, 1945, under the command of the comrades of the Phu-Yen Executive Committee in Phu Tho province, the guerrilla forces from the two Van Thang and Phuc Co war zones were mobilized by boat on the Thao River to dock at Da wharf in the town to reinforce the forces for Phu Tho town, together with the armed forces of the whole province to carry out a general uprising to seize power in Phu Tho provincial capital. The guerrilla forces of Phuc Co war zone were stationed from Thanh Lau commune (now Thanh Minh commune) to the hospital in Cao Bang street (now Phu Tho town general hospital). By the morning of August 25, 1945, according to the prepared plan, members of the Provisional Revolutionary People’s Committee of Phu Tho province led the armed forces to attack the offices in the town. Phu Tho provincial governor Nguyen Bach surrendered and handed over all the books, seals and assets of the puppet government to the Viet Minh forces. Another Viet Minh force went to the Japanese camp to inform them that the Viet Minh force had occupied all the offices of the pro-Japanese puppet government in the town. The Japanese accepted unconditional surrender and handed over their weapons, officially ending the protection of the ruling apparatus and its lackeys in Phu Tho province. A large rally was held at the town stadium with the participation of tens of thousands of people, people of all ethnic groups in the province eagerly gathered to celebrate the success of the revolution. The Provisional Revolutionary People’s Committee of Phu Tho province was established with comrade Phan Huy Chu as chairman and comrade Tran Van Can as vice chairman.

Together with two revolutionary bases in Phu Tho province, Van Thang and Van – Hien Luong, Phuc Co area played an important role in the August 1945 general uprising to seize power in Phu Tho province, together with the people of all ethnic groups in Phu Tho province to create a “heaven-shaking, earth-shattering” revolution to seize power for the people.

Today, the Phuc Co base area in Minh Hoa commune, Yen Lap district has been ranked as a historical relic by the People’s Committee of Phu Tho province under Decision No. 2154/QD-UB dated October 6, 1998 to serve as a legal basis for the work of preserving and promoting the value of the relic in educating patriotism and the tradition of fighting against foreign invaders for young generations in the province to promote the spirit of the August Revolution in 1945 in the cause of building and defending the Vietnamese Fatherland today and tomorrow.

Source: Department of Natural Resources and Environment