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Bạch Ðằng Stake-Yard
The Bạch Ðằng Stake-Yard is
situated in the marshy zone of Yên Giang Commune, Yên Hưng District
that borders the Chanh River. It was officially recognized as one of
Vietnam’s historic vestiges on March 22, 1988; the 700th
anniversary of a great victory at Bạch Ðằng against Mongol invaders.
The stake-yard is the site where Trần Hưng Ðạo, a national hero of
the 13th century, is forever honoured.
When
the local people built a dyke in 1953, they discovered the Bạch Ðằng
stake-yard. There remain hundreds
of stakes arranged in the zigzag-shaped (shape of the letter Z).
Some are vertical; some others are inclined 15o to the
east. Most of the stakes are made of ironwood. They were bevelled in
one end, and their heads were broken. Their average length ranges
from 2 to 2.8 m, even up to 3.2 m. The bevelled part is 0.8 to 1 m.
The stakes lie 0.5-1.5 m under ground. The whole 220 m2
stake ground is now protected by dyke. Of the stakes, 42 remain
intact 2 m under a layer of mud and jut out 0.2-2 m. The density of
stakes in the southern part of the ground is 1 stake over 0.9-1 m2;
meanwhile that of the northern part is 1 stake over 1.5-2 m2.
Just
3 km away from the town centre, the Temple of Trần Hưng Ðạo lies at
a strip of land stretching to the middle of the river in Yên Giang
Commune. Legend has it that when Trần Hưng Ðạo came to Trung Bản
mound to investigate the topography of the locality to prepare for
the Bạch Ðằng battle, his hair knot got loose. He stopped, pushing
his sword in the ground, to twist his hair into a chignon. The local
fishermen saw this and built a temple dedicated to him right in this
place.
In
1288, after two unsuccessful military offensives (1258 and 1285),
300,000 Mongol invaders led by Thoát Hoan and force of 7,000,000 kg
rice food led by Trương Văn Hổ went to Thang Long by road and water
way. The ruling Trần Court organized a plan of strategic withdrawal,
and established guerrilla warfare to wear down their enemy. The
invading forces dwindled, tried by both the climate and the constant
attacks, and were forced to withdraw. Trần Hưng Ðạo had his men
plant steel-tipped wooden stakes in the bed of the Bạch Ðằng River
to create a line of defence blocking the Mongol retreat.
On
9th April 1288 as the fleet entered the mouth of the
river, a few small boats engaged the enemy. The tide ebbed, and the
fleet was thrown on to the wooden stakes, while Trần Hưng Ðạo's army
moved in for the kill. The 300,000 men were either killed or taken
prisoner, and 400 enemy warships were destroyed.
Bạch
Đằng Victory in 1288 was a glorious victory,
which marked in the Vietnamese history against the invaders, and the
Stake-Yard in Yên Giang Lagoon was an evidence of the
glorious feat of arms.
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