Feature Article
The Guns of Vung Tau
Article by : Ern Marshall , who describes himself as an amateur war historian . Ern is a long time resident of Vung Tau and a Veteran . Visit his web site http :// thefrenchgunsandfortsofvungtau . weebly . com /
Historical Overview : Vung Tau is not just a place of stunning beaches , it is also the home of some of the oldest weapon collections in Vietnam . One of the most interesting is the old fortress built by the French over a century ago . During the 14th and 15th century , the fortress of Phước Thắng the Cape that would eventually become Vung Tau was a swamp where European Trading ships regularly visited .
Malay pirates built a base here turning Phước Thắng into dangerous waters , Emperor Gia long ( 1802-1820 ) ( the last Emperor of the Nguyen dynasty ), sent 3 Army detachments to curtail the pirate activity . The pirates were ultimately defeated and the Generals of these 3 detachments were given the land , as an incentive to continue to protect the area from re-invasion .
In 1876 , according to a decree by the French colonialists , Vũng Tàu was merged in Ba Ria county , a part of the Saigon administration ( French : Circonscription De Saigon ). May 1st 1895 , the governor of Cochin China , established by decree , that Cap Saint Jacques would thereafter be an autonomous town . In 1898 , Cap Saint Jacques was merged with Ba Ria County once again however was divided yet again in 1899 . In 1901 , the population of Vũng Tàu was 5,690 , of which 2,000 were immigrants from Northern Vietnam . The fishing industry quickly became the prominent source of livelihood . April 4th 1905 , Cap Saint Jacques was made an administrative district of Ba Ria province . In 1929 , Cap Saint Jacques became a province and in 1934 became a city ( commune ). The French governor of Indochina , Paul Doumer ( who later became President of France ), built a mansion in Vũng Tàu that is still a prominent landmark in the city .
In 1979 Vung Tau was made the “ Capital of Vung Tau – Con Dao Special Administration Zone ”
16 The MAG Vung Tau
The Guns : It is recorded that February 10th , 1859 marks the first use of cannons by Nguyen ’ s army , when they fired at French battleships from the fortress of Phước Thắng , located 100m from Vung Tau ’ s Front Beach . This marked an important period in Vietnam ’ s war against French invaders in South Vietnam ( then called Cochin China ). The battle lasting some 40 years was not successful however and the French demolished the fort in 1898 rebuilding the new defense forts along with a luxury 3 storey villa which came to be known as “ The White Palace ” which can still be seen today . The old fortress on Nui Lon is one of three defense bases built by the French Colonists at the end of 19th century , it was the strongest and the most advanced in Indochina at the time and designed to secure the sea gateway to the South Eastern region and to safeguard Vung Tau , a resort centre for the French . From 1885 to 1905 the French deported thousands of revolutionary fighters to Big Mountain and Small Mountain ( Vung Tau ) in order to build the defense system , they placed 23 artillery pieces with calibers from 140 - 300mm , in strategic locations throughout the area . Work started in 1885 to build a fortress 100m above sea level covering an area of approximately 1ha on Big Mountain taking 15 years to complete . Six heavy guns , built during 1872- 1876 by the French , are positioned in a bow line 17.5m apart mounted on 360o rotating bases pointing out to the sea toward Can Gio , now HCMC . “ The call of national resistance ” is the handwritten draft of President Ho Chi Minh ’ s appeal to the whole nation for the resistance war written at the end of 1946 . It is being kept at the Viet Nam National Museum of History in Ha Noi . The draft , that was written on only two separate pages , has not only great historical meaning , but also high values in Vietnamese litera-