Local authorities of Quang Yen town of the northern province of Quang Ninh on April 17 held a ceremony to mark the 725th anniversary of Bach Dang victory over Mongol invaders under the leadership of General Tran Hung Dao.

Earlier on April 16, Bach Dang festival officially kicked off in the town.

The four-day festival is consisted of worshiping ceremonies at Tran Hung Dao, Trung Ban, Trung Coc, and Den Cong temples, a procession of Saint Tran Hung Dao statue, a recounting of the battle on the Bach Dang river, and other folk games.

The well-known battle on the Bach Dang River in 1288 under the leadership of General Tran Hung Dao took place at Dong Ma Ngua stake yard in Quang Yen town, which received the national historical site status on April 15.

The stake yard was discovered in 2005 and scientists affirmed it was one of the stake traps placed hidden in the Bach Dang river, contributing greatly to the nation’s victory over Mongol invaders in the year.

The Bach Dang river ran through Yen Hung district (Quang Ninh) and Thuy Nguyen (Hai Phong) before reaching the sea.

Borrowing the same tactic that Ngo Quyen used against the Chinese in 938, General Tran Hung Dao studied the tidal law, had stakes planted under the water and arranged ambushes in a unified plan of campaign.

The general sent small flotilla to harass the Mongol fleet and then pretended to retreat. The Mongols eagerly pursued Dai Viet troops and fell into their pre-arranged battlefield.

Then thousands of Dai Viet’s small boats from both banks all together quickly appeared, launched fierce attacks and broke the combat tactics of the enemy. The Mongols tried to withdraw to the sea in panic. Hitting the stakes, their boats were halted, many of which were broken and sunken.

Unlike the two previously discovered yards, stakes in Dong Ma Ngua were driven into the riverbed densely like a wall.-VNA