Momentum of War: A Vietnam War Novel (The Airmen Series Book 8) by David Corley

Author:David Corley [Corley, David]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2020-11-06T00:00:00+00:00

In the province of Nghe An, 300 kilometers south of Hanoi, three Catholic fathers – Can, Don, and Cat – had built a strong community of followers. They had also built a militia armed with muskets and machetes that protected the people and their property from outsiders and criminals. The French had ignored the community and its militia as long as they paid their taxes each year and supplied their recruit quota to the Colonial Army when required. The province of Nghe An was the birthplace of Ho Chi Minh, and just like their leader, the people of Nghe An had an independent spirit.

It wasn't that the priests didn't want income equality for their people. They had been practicing it for over ten years before the Viet Minh came to power. However, the fathers felt it was the people who lived in the villages that had a right to determine land redistribution, not the government. The communists could not accept local control. They had a nation to feed and rebuild. Central authority through the politburo would determine who received land and who didn't.

The Viet Minh, now in control, would not ignore the Catholics as the French had done. When the cadres arrived to confiscate and redistribute their land, the people refused and threw them out. Some were beaten with ax handles. They knew the Viet Minh would retaliate, but they didn't care. They were not going to allow a government in a far-off city that did not understand or respect their traditions and culture to decide their fate.

Led by the three fathers, the people barricaded their villages by cutting down trees from the nearby forest, cutting off the branches with axes, and dragging the rough logs with their water buffalo into their villages. Each village had one main road through the center. The logs were placed and stacked at each end. Tangles of branches were used to block any alleys leading out of the villages. They stockpiled as much food and water as they were able. The priests believed in being prepared, but they could not believe that the communists would fire upon their own people.

Everyone took up arms. Those without weapons made spears by chopping the ends off long branches until they were sharp. Hunters made more arrows for their bows and dipped the heads in poison that would completely paralyze a man after a few minutes.

Once Giap received word of the community's belligerence, he sent a battalion of Viet Minh with a commander known for his aggressive tactics. The communist government could not allow word to spread of the Catholics' antagonism without losing face. He wanted a message sent that resistance to the will of the government would not be tolerated.

It took two days for the battalion to arrive at the first village. They immediately surrounded the village, ensuring that there was no escape. The commander planned to deny his enemy even a glimmer of hope that they might escape. A platoon of heavy mortars set up within sight of the village, and crates of mortar shells were stacked nearby.

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