There was a Secret Bunker in the resistance war against America.

On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day September 2, for the first time, the Thang Long - Hanoi Heritage Conservation Center opened the revolutionary relic of the Cipher Bunker, General Staff Headquarters to serve visitors.

This is a part of the tunnel system of Zone A of Thang Long - Hanoi Citadel, which plays an important role in helping the General Headquarters of the Vietnam People's Army maintain command, direction and management of the military branches and fronts, built during the years of resistance against the US.

Special relics associated with historical milestones of the country

The Cipher Tunnel, General Staff Headquarters is located in the World Cultural Heritage Site of Thang Long Imperial Citadel - Hanoi, with an area of ​​37.2 m2 ^, started on February 10, 1966, completed on June 30, 1966, built by Company 3, Battalion 1, Regiment 219, Engineering Command. Since 1968, the tunnel has been used by the Cipher Department, General Staff Headquarters.

Visitors to the Cryptographic Tunnel relic.

According to the documents of the Thang Long - Hanoi Heritage Conservation Center, the tunnel has 2 doors, one to the West and one to the South. The tunnel is about 4-5 meters deep, with 3 rooms (2 working rooms, 1 room for storing furniture and equipment). The tunnel is cast from a monolithic reinforced concrete block, the roof of the tunnel protrudes above the ground, divided into 3 layers, with half a meter of sand in the middle.

The bunker door is made of double-layer steel plate, resistant to atomic pressure, radiation and toxic gas. The bunker has a steam air conditioning system and ventilation, toxic filter, anti-magnetic interference system... The bunker has a lighting system, underground power lines. It can accommodate 10-15 people working at the same time. This bunker is a bomb shelter and temporary working place for officers, soldiers and employees of the Code Translation Department, Cipher Department during the resistance war against America.

During the period when the US Air Force attacked the North, directly bombing Hanoi (1966-1968), especially at the end of 1972, the activities of the Code Department and the Cipher Department were mostly carried out underground. Documents, dispatches, reports, and telegrams sent to all battlefields and military branches were continuously circulated, directly contributing to maintaining the leadership and command of the General Headquarters, helping the Politburo and the Central Military Commission to operate and direct effectively.

In particular, from the end of August 1968, a number of key organizations, including the Cipher Department at the General Headquarters, were assigned the responsibility of decoding top secret telegrams from the Party Central Committee Secretariat and the Central Military Commission informing about the health status of President Ho Chi Minh. The content of the above telegrams was the most important secret of the Party, State, and Army at that time, only a few senior leaders knew...

Incoming and outgoing secret telegrams, grainless fountain pens, and seals used by Cipher officers.

During the 12 days and nights of late 1972, American aircraft fiercely bombed Hanoi and Hai Phong, and the number of telegrams increased dramatically. The officers and secretaries worked continuously to serve the battles, under very strict time conditions. There were telegrams that had to be calculated by the minute, such as the telegrams announcing the activities of B52 aircraft, gunboats firing on the mainland, announcing the time, the enemy's target, orders to mobilize combat forces, adjust the formation of artillery vehicles, the location of the military positions, commanding diversions to create a surprise to destroy enemy aircraft...

According to an officer of the Thang Long - Hanoi Heritage Conservation Center, Sergeant Nguyen Van Khoi, a former code translator who served directly at the Headquarters, in 1972, the amount of electricity going in and out increased dramatically. The rate of urgent and urgent electricity accounted for the majority. Working 24/24 hours was a strict regulation of the agency. Previously, the night shift was allowed to sleep with a mosquito net on the table for about an hour, but in 1972 there was almost no time to rest.

The overtime and overtime regime is stricter. After the day shift has dinner, they work overtime in the evening from 7pm to 11pm or midnight. The night shift is from 5pm to 7am; they sleep and rest in the morning; they work overtime in the afternoon and evening, each person must work at least 12 to 16 hours a day. Although it is very hard, all the officers and soldiers of the secret service are highly determined to overcome all difficulties to complete their tasks.

An unforgettable milestone was 1975. During the 55 days and nights of the Spring 1975 general offensive and uprising, the General Headquarters Cipher Department alone translated, transmitted, and received nearly 41,000 telegrams promptly, accurately, secretly, and safely, including over 600 urgent telegrams, 139 special telegrams, and over 2,000 extremely urgent telegrams, translated immediately.

Artifacts that "know" how to tell stories

Currently, at the Co Cipher Cellar relic, there are many special artifacts on display, including a grainless fountain pen that was once used by cryptographic officers and soldiers. This type of fountain pen does not use a separate ink cartridge to contain ink, but instead, the ink is pumped directly into the ink tank inside the pen body. The pen has a large ink capacity, helping users write longer without having to change the ink frequently. In addition, many different types of ink can be used. When pumping ink, fold the ink tank in half, then insert the tip into the ink bottle. When released, the ink will automatically be sucked into the ink tank.

Hurricane lamp and some artifacts on display at the relic

According to the Thang Long - Hanoi Heritage Conservation Center, cryptographic officers who do coding or translation work often use two types of pens: fountain pens and pencils. Fountain pens are used to write on outgoing and incoming telegrams accurately. If in doubt or unsure, they can write with a pencil to review. During the work process, to speed up, they often work in pairs. One reads, one writes. The one who reads quickly, the one who writes too quickly, or the one who writes out of ink will change to another pen, so sometimes there are many types of ink on a telegram. Or, for a thick and long document, the boss divides it into many telegrams, many people code, so there are many strokes and ink colors. But, mainly, it is still Cuu Long ink, blue-black.

The desk clock was once used by officers and employees of the secret service to check the time to do professional work and record the time in the book of receiving and transferring documents. Normally, the clock was used by the team leader, the section leader and the Telegraph Department. After each message was encoded or translated, it was sent to the Telegraph Department. The telegraph officer looked at it, checked it, recorded the name of the coder, the date and time of the code... and then sent it to the contact to be transferred.

The hurricane lamp displayed in the relic is associated with many special stories of the secret service officers. During the years when the US attacked the North, the secret service officers worked day and night. The shift was from 5 pm to 7 am the next morning. In particular, during the 12 days and nights at the end of 1972, the majority of them evacuated, the code officers of the Northern battlefield stayed and worked day and night in the basement. If they were tired, they would rest for a while and then go back to work. When the electricity went out, the secret service officers were not given generators but used oil lamps (hurricane lamps), so the next morning, when they came out of the basement, everyone's face was covered in smoke.

The door of the Censorship Relic seen from the outside.

In the exhibition block, there are also many other special artifacts such as tools used to encode and decode incoming and outgoing telegrams during the resistance war against the US. Incoming and outgoing secret telegrams. Seals used by officers of the Telegraph Department and the Administration Department...

Regarding the restoration and promotion of the value of the Secret Cellar relic, the General Staff, Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Duc Cuong, Chairman of the Vietnam Historical Science Association, said that the Secret Cellar is an important element of the Thang Long Imperial Citadel heritage site. Although this relic is independent, it cannot be separated from the connection with the revolutionary relics of the Ho Chi Minh era in the heritage site. The Secret Cellar relic is restored on the principle of respecting the original elements, not interfering with the original relic, and maximizing the value of the relic.

The organizers have approached new interpretation methods and applied technology in the exhibition to create an impression to attract visitors, especially young people. The interior is vividly displayed, the layout of the basement is exactly as it was; at the same time, providing a lot of information through the exhibition of documentary films, the panel system inside and outside the basement; using storytelling sounds to make visitors feel like they were participating in the work in the basement at that historical moment.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Quang, Director of the Thang Long - Hanoi Heritage Conservation Center, also affirmed that the Cryptographic Tunnel is a revolutionary relic, along with the Central Military Commission House and Tunnel (D67) and the Operational Command Tunnel (T1), which have been put into operation, forming a tunnel system in the central area of ​​the Thang Long Imperial Citadel - Hanoi.

Exploiting and promoting the historical value of this basement to serve the promotion of the value of the revolutionary resistance relics in the central area of ​​Thang Long Imperial Citadel is necessary to preserve and promote the national cultural heritage, serve the work of scientific research and education, introduce domestic and foreign visitors to better understand the revolutionary - resistance relics. At the same time, it also aims to promote the heritage value of the central area of ​​Thang Long Imperial Citadel - Hanoi in accordance with the orientation of UNESCO and of our Party and State on heritage conservation.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/Phong-su-tu-lieu/co-mot-can-ham-co-yeu-trong-khang-chien-chong-my-i779025/