Dien Bien Phu Victory and Historical Highlights

(QBĐT) - 70 years have passed but the echoes of the Dien Bien Phu Victory (1954-2024) are still intact. There are many ways to explain this miracle, but in my opinion, in addition to the great historical significance of "Nine years to build a Dien Bien / Create a red wreath, create a golden history" (To Huu), that victory also carries deep humanistic values associated with the name of General Vo Nguyen Giap.

Under the leadership of the Party and President Ho Chi Minh, our nation's resistance war against French colonialism (the second time) entered its 8th year after gradually defeating the enemy's military strategies and achieving many important victories, most notably in the Viet Bac fronts in 1947 and the Autumn-Winter Border Campaign in 1950.

The 1953-1954 Winter-Spring strategic plan outlined by the Party Central Committee was determined to maintain the initiative, attack the enemy both from the front and from behind with the operational motto of "active, proactive, mobile, flexible" to bankrupt the enemy's Nava plan. Facing the risk of the Nava plan being completely defeated, the French colonialists hastily sent paratroopers to the Muong Thanh basin, then increased their troops to build Dien Bien Phu into the strongest military base group in Indochina at that time.

The enemy considered this an “impregnable fortress”, loudly challenging us to attack Dien Bien Phu. The enemy thought that the main force of the Viet Minh would be quickly crushed here so that the strategic springboard to control the Northwest and Upper Laos would become a reality and the confrontation in Indochina would change the situation in favor of the French colonialists. Reading this intention, at the end of 1953, the Politburo decided to launch the Dien Bien Phu Campaign to attack and destroy the enemy's most elite forces in their strongest stronghold group on the Indochina battlefield.

General Vo Nguyen Giap, a son of Quang Binh, was assigned by the Party and Uncle Ho to command this historic campaign. It was a great honor but also a great challenge. A military campaign cannot be lost, we must win to prevent the enemy from having the opportunity and force to continue the fierce confrontation that has lasted for 8 years.

That spirit was contained in President Ho Chi Minh's directive: This was a campaign of great military, political, and diplomatic significance; we had to win, only fight if we were sure of victory, and not fight if we were not sure of victory. Dien Bien Phu 1953-1954 naturally became a place where both sides competed in intelligence and strength, and just one wrong calculation or decision would destroy all the strategic intentions of each side. The cruelty of the Dien Bien Phu front was there. Determination, force, and means were necessary factors but not enough; victory also depended on the extremely tense battle of wits before the G hour.

Yes, before the Dien Bien Phu Campaign was launched, the preparations were considered complete. The plan was complete. The forces were ready. The troops were in hiding. The mountain artillery had been pulled into the battlefield, waiting for the time to speak. But… Anh Van (our army often called General Vo Nguyen Giap by that intimate name) still felt uneasy. It seemed that there was still something hidden that was not quite right in the proposed battle plan (with the participation of Chinese military advisors). The genius' intuition seemed to have caught the sacred veins of the country for thousands of years, so that hesitation, delay, and consideration became the miracle of history.

I think our General has grasped that profound transmission to overcome conventional ways of thinking and come to the most difficult decision in his military career. The decision to change from the combat motto of “fight fast, solve fast” to “fight firmly, advance firmly”. Fast or Firm? Those two words were torn apart in the General’s sleepless nights, turning his hair gray in the middle of the Muong Phang night when the wind was blowing.

I imagine that, in addition to the determination to win “with unwavering determination”, the General could not help but think of the blood, sweat and tears of soldiers and people. A talented military leader knows how to win the final victory by spending the least amount of blood, sweat and tears of soldiers and people. Even though our people have determined the oath to die for the Fatherland: “We would rather sacrifice everything than lose our country, never become slaves” (President Ho Chi Minh’s call for national resistance).

The final battle plan that the General chose in the confrontation on the Dien Bien Phu battlefield was truly imbued with humanity. The further back in time, the more evident that humanity becomes. People have talked a lot about the General's strategic talent in changing the battle plan at Dien Bien Phu, but I think we must analyze its humanity more deeply and carefully. Because, as many generals later stated, if in the Dien Bien Phu Campaign we had not changed the way of fighting from "fighting quickly, solving quickly" to "fighting steadily, advancing steadily", then the losses and sacrifices of soldiers and people would certainly have been many times greater and the resistance war against French colonialism would not have ended at 9 years but would have been much longer. It is very reasonable when the Vietnamese people and friends around the world call General Vo Nguyen Giap a general of peace.

However, not everyone realized the wisdom of changing the battle plan from the beginning. Just think, when the plan had been approved and it could be said that the deployment of troops was complete, the highest commander of the front suddenly changed the way of fighting almost completely opposite. Here, we must acknowledge the great courage of the General. Historical decisions like the one in the Dien Bien Phu front in 1953-1954 can only be made by generals with extraordinary courage and intelligence. It is also necessary to mention the talent in ideological and organizational work so that from commander to soldier, they can recognize the problem and unite to fight for victory.

Dien Bien Phu will forever be a heroic epic in the history of building and defending the country. Dien Bien Phu is a typical image of passionate patriotism, of the will to fight against foreign invaders, of the brave spirit, of daring to sacrifice oneself, daring to dedicate oneself to the Fatherland. Hooray for the Dien Bien soldiers/Heroic soldiers/Heads burning with iron fire/Fifty-six days and nights of digging mountains, sleeping in tunnels, pouring rain, eating rice balls/Blood mixed with mud/Unwavering liver/Unwavering will!/Comrades, bodies buried as gun mounts/Heads covered with loopholes/Crossing through barbed wire mountains/Raging storms,/Comrades pressing their backs to save artillery/Body crushed, eyes closed, still holding.../Hands splitting mountains and rolling bombs/Determined to open the way for our vehicles to go to the battlefield to reinforce… And, here again, Hooray for the Dien Bien soldiers/Hooray for comrade Vo Nguyen Giap!/Lightning strikes day and night on the heads of the French invaders!/Glory to our Fatherland/The Democratic Republic of Vietnam! To Huu wrote such heroic and moving verses about the Dien Bien soldiers and General Vo Nguyen Giap. These verses live forever in the hearts of the people, just as the Dien Bien Phu Victory shines forever in the history of the country.

Dien Bien Phu is not only a noun but seems to have become an adjective referring to glorious feats of arms, important turning points of history. The victory of Dien Bien Phu is not only the past but also the present and the future. The spirit of Dien Bien Phu, the spirit of Dien Bien Phu, the intelligence of Dien Bien Phu, the stature of Dien Bien Phu are the energy of today and tomorrow. Dien Bien Phu-Vietnam. Dien Bien Phu-Ho Chi Minh-Vo Nguyen Giap will forever be a shining symbol of the nation, encouraging generations to follow the glorious Party to build the country and protect the Fatherland towards socialism.

In the summer of 1954, when the victory flag was flying in the middle of the Muong Thanh basin, littered with traces of battle, poet To Huu affirmed: And the Dien Bien Phu victory/Is also the first lesson! 70 years later and longer, I believe that the Dien Bien Phu victory is still a lesson that will never be old, forever retaining its hot historical value. That lesson cannot but be associated with the name of the legendary general - General Vo Nguyen Giap.

Nguyen Huu Quy

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