( Bqp.vn ) – Comrade Le Trong Tan (real name Le Trong To), born on October 1, 1914, into a patriotic peasant family in An Dinh village, Nghia Lo commune, Yen Nghia district, Hoai Duc province (now Yen Nghia ward, Ha Dong district, Hanoi city). Throughout more than 40 years of revolutionary activity, regardless of his position, Comrade Le Trong Tan always upheld the spirit of patriotism and revolutionary heroism, never backing down from any difficulties or challenges, and successfully fulfilling all tasks entrusted to him by the Party, State, People, and Army. General Le Trong Tan is truly a source of pride for the officers and soldiers of the Vietnam People's Army; he made immense contributions to the Vietnamese revolution in the Ho Chi Minh era.
General Le Trong Tan (Le Trong To).
(1914 – 1986)
A strategic, creative, and decisive military leader.
Having matured amidst the flames of the nation's protracted resistance war, and having held various command positions in the Army, from commanding the attack on Dong Quan fort to seize power during the August Revolution to the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign, the outstanding feature of General Le Trong Tan's military talent was his commanding victorious campaigns; a battlefield general, always present in the most challenging and intense battlefields, capable of commanding and turning the tide of battle. General Vo Nguyen Giap remarked: "General Le Trong Tan was a courageous and creative commander, resourceful and decisive, with a very high sense of responsibility and organizational discipline. No matter how difficult or complex the circumstances, he always found ways to overcome difficulties to complete his mission."
During the Viet Bac Campaign (1947), the 87th Regiment of Zone 10, commanded by Comrade Le Trong Tan, achieved outstanding success on the Lo River, contributing to the Viet Bac army and people's victory over the large-scale offensive and thwarting the French colonialists' strategy of a quick victory; preserving and developing the main army, protecting the national headquarters and base areas, and ushering the resistance war against French colonialism into a new phase. In the Song Thao Campaign (1949), Comrade Le Trong Tan was assigned by his superiors to command the campaign. This was one of the first major campaigns of our army. The campaign ended in victory, with our forces destroying and forcing the withdrawal from 25 strongholds, breaking a large part of the Song Thao defensive line, creating a continuous link connecting the free zones of the three provinces of Son La, Lao Cai, and Yen Bai. Through this campaign, the main army made remarkable progress in the tactics of destroying strongholds. During the Border Campaign (1950), the 209th Regiment, commanded by Comrade Le Trong Tan, was appointed by the Campaign Command as the Deputy Commander of the attack to destroy the Dong Khe stronghold. He directly commanded the defeat of the Sarton Army Corps, contributing to the victory and creating a turning point in the resistance war, helping to change the course of the war… Particularly, in the Dien Bien Phu Campaign (1954), with his resolute and creative leadership, Comrade Le Trong Tan, in his capacity as Commander of the 312th Division, together with the commanding officers, mobilized and inspired the strength and will of the unit's officers and soldiers, thoroughly implementing the shift in combat strategy from "Quick attack, quick victory" to "Steady attack, steady advance," organizing attacks to annihilate the enemy, contributing to the Dien Bien Phu victory that was "renowned throughout the world and shook the earth."
Comrade Le Trong Tan (far left) at the Quang Tri Campaign Command Post in 1972. (Photo: VNA)
During the resistance war against the US and the Southwest border war, General Le Trong Tan's intellect and strategic brilliance continued to be affirmed in major campaigns where he served as campaign commander. The Route 9 – Southern Laos campaign (from January 20th to March 23rd, 1971) was a large-scale counter-offensive and annihilation operation. As the campaign commander, General Le Trong Tan, along with the commanding officers and the people, fought tenaciously and intelligently, achieving a great victory. This marked a new stage in the development of Vietnamese campaign art, strongly impacting the battlefield situation, dealing a heavy blow to the US "Vietnamization of the war" strategy, and creating conditions for other battlefields to intensify attacks and annihilate the enemy.
As the commander of the Tri Thien Campaign (1972), Comrade Le Trong Tan, together with the commanding officers and people of our army, attacked and annihilated the enemy, liberating Quang Tri province and several communes in Thua Thien Hue province, creating a new strategic advantage for the revolution, and contributing to forcing the US imperialists to sign the Paris Agreement on ending the war, restoring peace in Vietnam, and withdrawing their troops. In the Hue-Da Nang Campaign (March 1975), Commander Le Trong Tan led the forces to achieve resounding victories, contributing to the disintegration of the Saigon army, crushing the enemy's strategic consolidation plan, and creating favorable conditions for our army and people to concentrate forces to carry out the final strategic offensive to liberate Saigon and the entire South Vietnam. During the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign (April 1975), Comrade Le Trong Tan, as Deputy Commander of the campaign, directly commanded the eastern and southeastern flanks, comprising the 2nd and 4th Corps, to liberate Saigon. He successfully completed his mission; entering the Independence Palace and capturing President Duong Van Minh and the entire cabinet of the Saigon government, thus concluding the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign in victory.
When the Southwest Border War (1979) broke out, Comrade Le Trong Tan was appointed Commander of the Southwest Front. With his strategic brilliance, he led our army and people in close coordination with the Cambodian army and people to overthrow the genocidal regime and achieve great victories, completely liberating the capital Phnom Penh (January 7, 1979), helping Cambodia to revive and rebuild its country.
The military strategist was both far-sighted and very specific.
General Le Trong Tan – a military strategist with a far-sighted vision, demonstrated first and foremost in the staff and operational work he undertook. From 1961 to 1978, he served as Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army and Commander of numerous fronts; from 1978 to 1986, he was Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army and Deputy Minister of National Defense. General Le Trong Tan made significant contributions to helping the Politburo, the Central Committee of the Party, and the Central Military Commission formulate military plans during the resistance war and national reconstruction. The two major campaigns that were decisive in Vietnam's history of fighting foreign invaders in the 20th century (Dien Bien Phu and Ho Chi Minh) both bear the indelible mark of the brilliant strategic strategist Le Trong Tan.
In the summer of 1953, under the direct command of the Ministry of National Defense, the commander of the 312th Division, Le Trong Tan, and the deputy commander of the 308th Division, Cao Van Khanh – the brilliant commanders of the first two main divisions of our army – were assigned the task of leading a research team on the topic of "Attacking and Destroying the Enemy's Fortified Complex." Based on the study of the successes and failures of our troops in attacking the Na San fortified complex, the enemy's deployment in Hoa Binh town during the Hoa Binh Campaign, and drawing on the experience of the Chinese People's Liberation Army and the Soviet Red Army, the research team compiled a document on attacking fortified complexes. The topic "Attacking and Destroying the Enemy's Fortified Complex" was discussed by the Ministry of National Defense as a prerequisite for the operational plan in the Dien Bien Phu campaign. The two strategic advisors made a tremendous contribution to the victory at Dien Bien Phu, forcing the French colonialists to sign the Geneva Accords to end the war and restore peace in Indochina.
From the beginning of 1973, after the signing of the Paris Agreement on Vietnam, under the direction of General Vo Nguyen Giap, the General Staff established a Central Task Force to study the military plan for the liberation of South Vietnam, headed by Comrade Le Trong Tan, Deputy Chief of the General Staff. Many strategic issues were raised and discussed within the Task Force, laying the groundwork for the Ministry of National Defense to draft the "Strategic Plan for the Liberation of South Vietnam". In July 1974, in Do Son (Hai Phong), Comrade Le Trong Tan reported to General Secretary Le Duan on the "Strategic Plan for the Liberation of South Vietnam". At the Politburo meeting from September 30 to October 8, 1974, General Le Trong Tan reported on the two-year strategic plan and the plan specifically for 1975, with the determination to complete the liberation of South Vietnam within two years, 1975-1976. After two days of discussion, the Politburo unanimously agreed with Comrade Le Duan's conclusion: Our determination is to mobilize the efforts of the entire Party, army, and people in both regions, launch the final general offensive and general uprising, develop the revolutionary war to its highest level, destroy and disintegrate the entire puppet army, capture Saigon – the enemy's central stronghold – as well as all other cities, overthrow the central and all levels of the puppet regime, completely liberate South Vietnam, and unify the Fatherland.
In 1975, following the victory at Phuoc Long, the Politburo had grounds to affirm its strategic determination to completely liberate South Vietnam in 1975. The Military Science Council of the Ministry of National Defense was established, chaired by General Vo Nguyen Giap, Secretary of the Military Commission and Minister of National Defense; with General Van Tien Dung, Chief of the General Staff, as First Vice-Chairman; and two Deputy Chiefs of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Hoang Van Thai and Comrade Le Trong Tan, as Permanent Vice-Chairmen. The Council's nhiệm vụ was to research and progressively review each topic of the General Offensive Plan for the Liberation of South Vietnam, drafted by the General Staff; to discuss major issues concerning the campaign, experiences in offensive and uprising tactics, as well as issues related to military theory and military art that had been summarized.
Immediately after the Politburo meeting on the plan for the complete liberation of South Vietnam, on January 9, 1975, the Standing Committee of the Central Military Commission met, focusing on the Central Highlands campaign. The Central Highlands campaign began on March 4, 1975, but as early as the beginning of February, Comrade Le Trong Tan proposed, and the Central Military Commission agreed, to study the operational plan for the next steps following the Central Highlands campaign: the Hue-Da Nang and Saigon campaigns. When the Commander-in-Chief decided to launch the Hue-Da Nang campaign, he was appointed as the campaign commander and successfully completed his assigned tasks. After the victory in Hue-Da Nang, Comrade Le Trong Tan also suggested the formation of an eastern flank along National Highway 1 to advance into Saigon. Practical experience proved this proposal to be accurate and strategically significant. It was a very effective direction of attack in the campaign named after President Ho Chi Minh. With the approval of Comrade Le Duan and General Vo Nguyen Giap, the Eastern Army was established and, under his command, swiftly advanced into the last stronghold of the Saigon government. At the conference summarizing the Spring 1975 General Offensive and Uprising, General Vo Nguyen Giap praised it, saying: "The Eastern Army was an innovation of the General Staff because it was not included in the initial plan for the liberation of South Vietnam."
Drawing from profound practical battlefield experiences and facing new mission demands, Comrade Le Trong Tan wrote numerous valuable military works and dissertations, along with dozens of articles published in domestic and international newspapers and magazines. The works left behind by Comrade Le Trong Tan are truly scientific and comprehensive summaries rich in practical and theoretical insights, providing strategic advice to the Party, State, and Army on military and national defense issues, while also being highly specific. The main content focuses on: Developing and implementing the direction, strategy, planning, tasks, regulations, and rules of the State and Army in the field of military and national defense, and directing their implementation; formulating military and national defense mechanisms and policies at the army-wide level, and providing solutions, regulations, and a legal environment for military activities. The goal is to build and approve a system of legal documents on military and national defense matters, focusing on establishing management and operational mechanisms, defining responsibilities at all levels, sectors, localities, and units; building organizations and personnel, especially in military schools and training, and developing a team of military officers and staff for the armed forces.
In particular, Comrade Le Trong Tan highly valued and paid close attention to the development of Vietnamese military art, especially the art of offensive, counter-offensive, and defensive campaigns; to combat command; to the construction of fortified districts and the promotion of the role of militia and self-defense forces; to improving the combat efficiency of the main army units and the organizational and command skills of commanding officers and command agencies of the corps; to the methods of combined arms combat in the national liberation war; and to combat training under the new conditions of the construction and defense of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam… From the issues raised in combat practice and successfully resolved in vivid reality in a creative way according to the Party's guidelines and viewpoints, he drew valuable lessons in training and building the Army towards becoming a regular and modern force. These are also the important contributions of Comrade Le Trong Tan to the research and study of cadres at all levels, as well as to the building and development of the unique characteristics of Vietnamese military art today and in the future.
A virtuous commander who deeply cared for his soldiers.
General Le Trong Tan was beloved by officers and soldiers throughout the army not only for his military leadership skills but also for his virtue. As a military officer, he was a shining example of morality, living with loyalty and affection, and deeply caring for his troops. General Le Trong Tan understood that the strength of a revolutionary army, more powerful than any weapon, was the human element. The love and affection between officers and soldiers, both in peacetime and in battle, determined the army's fighting strength. As the direct commander of many battles, General Le Trong Tan was always deeply saddened whenever officers and soldiers under his command sacrificed their lives and never returned. Victory in every battle inevitably came with sacrifice and bloodshed, but he never accepted the statement: "Our losses in this battle were insignificant." For General Le Trong Tan, the blood and lives of each officer and soldier were priceless, and he always carefully sought ways to fight with the least casualties. Therefore, in every battle, whether small or large, he always reflected and learned from experience; he was always strict in self-criticism, honest and straightforward, so that subsequent battles would be victorious with less bloodshed among the soldiers.
In his daily life, Comrade Le Trong Tan always demonstrated a democratic and respectful approach to the masses; he was attentive, approachable, and friendly, listening to the opinions of officers and soldiers. His greatest concern was maintaining unity and cohesion within the organization, primarily within the Party committee and the unit's leadership. Before major tasks, and especially when facing difficult and complex situations, he always organized expanded meetings to gather input and contributions from relevant officers and departments. In such meetings, he spoke sparingly, listening attentively and taking brief notes of everyone's opinions. He meticulously recorded differing opinions, never interrupting, and even encouraging subordinates to fully express their views before concluding. The comrade's conclusions are concise, easy to understand, and generally satisfactory, accurate, and decisive, giving subordinates confidence and a solid foundation for organizing and implementing the plan.
One of General Le Trong Tan's admirable qualities was his integrity and straightforwardness. When he made mistakes, he readily admitted them with honesty, openness, and a willingness to learn. Conversely, regarding the errors and shortcomings of his subordinates, he was always strict but not prejudiced, always forgiving and continuing to assign tasks and help them improve. In particular, he consistently cared for and nurtured the progress of his officers, offering kind guidance in their work. He often encouraged and motivated commanders to be courageous, daring to fight and take responsibility; at the same time, he always demanded that military officers of the Party, especially those in strategic agencies, be above all unconditionally loyal to the Party, the Fatherland, and the People, possess a firm ideological stance, have clear and honest opinions, and not rely on others or speak only to please their superiors. General Le Trong Tan was truly a commander respected and loved by his officers and soldiers.
For his outstanding contributions to the national liberation struggle and the defense of the Fatherland, General Le Trong Tan was awarded and posthumously awarded many prestigious honors by the Party and State of Vietnam: the Gold Star Order (posthumously awarded in 2007), two Ho Chi Minh Orders, one First-Class Military Merit Order, one Third-Class Military Merit Order, one First-Class Victory Order, one First-Class Resistance Order, and the 40-Year Party Membership Badge. He also received many other prestigious orders from the armies of several fraternal countries.
For over forty years of continuous revolutionary activity, regardless of his position, General Le Trong Tan always remained loyal to the revolutionary ideals, to the Party, and to the People. He was one of the most steadfast communist fighters; a resourceful, creative, and decisive military strategist who excellently implemented the Party's and President Ho Chi Minh's strategic military plans; a military strategist with foresight but also a very concrete vision; and a virtuous commander who wholeheartedly loved his soldiers. The life and career of General Le Trong Tan were closely linked to the process of building, fighting, and maturing of the Vietnam People's Army, from a guerrilla army to a regular army with many branches and services.
The commemoration of the 110th anniversary of the birth of General Le Trong Tan takes place at a time when the entire Party, people, and army are intensifying activities leading up to the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Vietnam People's Army and the 35th anniversary of the National Defense Day. This is an activity of significant political importance, affirming and honoring the contributions of Comrade Le Trong Tan to the Party, the nation, and the Army; it is a practical activity that contributes to educating communist ideals, patriotic traditions, and revolutionary values for cadres and soldiers, especially today's young generation, encouraging them to study, train, and continuously cultivate revolutionary moral qualities, pride, and faith in the Party, and to resolutely fulfill all assigned tasks.
Comment (0)