General Vo Nguyen Giap observed the battlefield for the last time before issuing the order to open fire to open the Dien Bien Phu campaign. Photo: VNA document
General Vo Nguyen Giap - the outstanding Commander-in-Chief, who understood the instructions of the Politburo and President Ho Chi Minh, and with sharp thinking and the bravery of a military leader, made the decision. It is important to change from the motto "Fight fast, win quickly" to "Play firmly, advance firmly". The historic Dien Bien Phu campaign came to final victory precisely from this important turning point. General Vo Nguyen Giap's military strategy is known and admired around the world
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During the long resistance war against the French colonialists, General Vo Nguyen Giap directly commanded many major campaigns, of which Dien Bien Phu was the largest campaign. The victory of the campaign had a significance and scope that far surpassed previous campaigns in many aspects, further affirming the outstanding strategic talent of the Commander-in-Chief.
At the end of December 12, the Politburo determined to destroy enemy strongholds in the Northwest. On January 1953, 1, the Politburo appointed the leading agency to command the campaign. General Vo Nguyen Giap was appointed commander and Secretary of the Dien Bien Phu Front Party Committee. The plan to mobilize reinforcements to the Northwest was implemented.
General Vo Nguyen Giap commented: "This will be the first time our troops launch a large-scale attack on a group of strongholds with 1 troops. Our officers and soldiers have been prepared to attack the stronghold group... The upcoming battle will be an unprecedented challenge for us in war. We chose the mountainous battlefield where there were many favorable conditions to destroy the enemy. But Dien Bien Phu is not entirely mountains and forests. Here is the largest field in the Northwest. Many bases are located in fields. Our soldiers will have to conduct many battles with mobile troops with support from aircraft, tanks, and artillery on flat terrain similar to the delta..." (XNUMX)
On January 5, 1, General Vo Nguyen Giap and the forward headquarters of the General Command set out for the front. Before leaving for battle, General Vo Nguyen Giap came to greet Uncle Ho at Khuoi Tat. Uncle asked: "When you travel so far, is there any difficulty in directing the battlefields?" (1954) The General replied: "... The only obstacle is being far away, when there is an important and urgent issue, it is difficult to ask for opinions from Uncle Ho and the Politburo" (2). Uncle encouraged: "The commander-in-chief is going to the front, "the general is on bail"! Give him full authority to make decisions. This match is very important, we must fight to win! If you are sure to win then fight, if you are not sure to win then don't fight" (3). The campaign commander "felt the responsibility this time was very heavy" (4).
Changing the combat plan - The most difficult decision in a commander's life
Our anti-aircraft artillery force fought heroically and achieved outstanding achievements, not only protecting the sky and supporting fighting infantry, but also contributing to blocking air support for the French army at the Palace. Bien Phu. Photo: VNA files
During the Dien Bien Phu campaign and perhaps throughout General Vo Nguyen Giap's military life, the decision to change the combat motto from "fight quickly, win quickly" to "fight firmly, advance firmly" is considered decisive. The most difficult decision - as he himself admitted. That decision demonstrated the sharp military thinking and bravery of the leader; but at the same time, it is also a manifestation of Ho Chi Minh's military ideology of "fighting to ensure victory"; Demonstrating the humanity of a general who "serves his own merits", always knows how to promote the role of the collective, and greatly respects the opinions of the collective for the common good.
On January 12, 1, General Vo Nguyen Giap and a number of officers arrived at the front headquarters. At this time, our side and the advisors agreed to use a quick attack to destroy the enemy, because "fighting quickly will win quickly, the troops are still at full strength, will reduce losses and will not have to deal with the huge difficulty of ammunition." , food for tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians in a long battle" (1954). The intended shooting time was January 6, 20.
After listening to the situation report, the commander "felt that this chapter was not good and wanted to hear more about the situation", because "the soldiers still have to spend some time building the road. The enemy also has the opportunity to increase troops. Right now, it is difficult to win quickly and win quickly. Then this will probably be even more difficult” (7). However, he still thoughtfully gave instructions so that officers would know how to overcome difficulties and complete tasks according to the popular plan. And he determined that he needed to continue thinking to grasp the actual situation more firmly and find more factors that could lead to victory by fighting quickly or not.
What the General was concerned about was not only because of President Ho Chi Minh's words that "this campaign is very important, you must only win, if you are not sure of victory then don't fight", but also because of the responsibility to the soldiers' blood. “We cannot lose this battle. Most of the elites of the main force during the eight years of resistance were concentrated here. Capital is extremely valuable, but also very little. From 1950, when the big campaign began until this spring, it was still the same units, the same people. I have belonged to each regiment, each battalion, each offensive company, and know company officers, platoons, and soldiers who have accomplished outstanding feats. It was clear that everyone who set out this time was ready to sacrifice to win. But the mission of the campaign is not only to win, but also to retain valuable capital for a long-term war..." (8). If the campaign is not won and the main regiments suffer major casualties, then what will the future of the resistance war be like, and what will be the position of our diplomatic corps in Geneva!
After that, the commander had many sleepless nights, thinking and pondering many times, but "still found very few elements of victory": "I told the envoys to go and grasp the situation and see Anything of note must be reported promptly. Everyone reflected the very high fighting spirit of officers and soldiers. Commander of the 312th Regiment, Le Trong Tan, told me that during the battle, we would have to break through three times in a row to get to the center. But this is just a calculation of the work to be done. 308th Group Commander Vuong Thua Vu, in charge of the deep thrust, remained completely silent. On the ninth day, two days before the shooting, comrade Pham Kiet, Deputy Director of the Security Department, monitoring the artillery towing in the West, asked to meet me by phone. Mr. Kiet commented: "Our guns are all placed on field battlefields, the terrain is very open, if they are attacked by counter-fire or aircraft, it will be difficult to avoid losses. Some artillery pieces have not yet been pulled to the battlefield" (9).
After delaying the start of the campaign to January 25, 1, then delaying it another day to January 1954 for the reason of difficulty in pulling in artillery, not ensuring health..., on the morning of January 26, General - Commander-in-Chief Vo Nguyen Giap - made his historic decision: to postpone the attack, pull out the artillery, withdraw troops to the assembly position, and prepare again according to the motto "Strong attack, steady advance." ”. After several hours of discussion, with a spirit of solidarity and a high sense of responsibility, the Party Committee finally agreed with this change and unanimously agreed that changing the combat motto is a very strong determination. big, is a concrete demonstration of the Central Government's thorough grasp of the guiding ideology of "fighting to ensure victory".
It can be seen that what happened at the Dien Bien Phu Campaign Command in the past showed that two factors made General Vo Nguyen Giap successful in reaching a consensus on how to fight the previous campaign. Above all is political responsibility before the Party and people, before the blood and bones of soldiers; Along with that is a style that is close to reality, using reality to convince the collective to accept the highest requirement, which is to ensure "a sure win".
Changing the combat motto from "Fight quickly, win quickly" to "Fight firmly, advance firmly" is considered the most dramatic event in the history of the resistance war against the French colonialists, something that General Vo Nguyen Giap called was "the most difficult decision in my commander's life". And the historic Dien Bien Phu campaign came to final victory precisely from this important turning point.
“Hit firmly” and win
Implementing the "firm fight, steady advance" plan, with a civil force of over 260.000 people, with all kinds of means of transport and determination higher than the mountains, we have overcome seemingly insurmountable difficulties. Ensuring adequate supply of weapons, ammunition, food, and medicine for 50.000 soldiers and tens of thousands of civilians at the front, opening dozens of kilometers of roads to bring artillery into the battlefield.
Entering the battle, with three attacks, our troops destroyed the Dien Bien Phu stronghold; destroyed, injured and captured all of the more than 16.000 enemy troops stationed here, defeating the highest form of defense of the French colonialists, destroying the enemy's will to continue the war, forcing France to sit at the negotiating table. negotiated and signed the Geneva Agreement on July 21, 7, ending the war and restoring peace in Indochina.
Having spent more than 100 days at the Dien Bien Phu front, together with the entire army, establishing a glorious victory in five continents, shaking the earth, General Commander Vo Nguyen Giap not only successfully completed his mission in front of the entire Party and the entire community. people and the entire army, but also left behind many future generations of officers and soldiers profound lessons about military thinking, the will to attack and the style of a general, including skillful handling , resolutely and precisely the relationship of the campaign leader with the front's collective leadership to choose the most effective way to fight for the Dien Bien Phu Campaign.
For the first time, artillery forces were mobilized at the highest level, including Regiment 45 of 105-mm howitzers, Regiment 675 of 75-mm mountain artillery (belonging to Artillery Group 351) and artillery battalions on the payroll of the Major regiments and regiments participated in the campaign. Photo: VNA files
(1) General Vo Nguyen Giap – Collection of Memoirs, People's Army Publishing House, Hanoi, 2010, pp.913-914
(2), (3), (4), (5) General Vo Nguyen Giap - Dien Bien Phu looking back 50 years, People's Army Publishing House, Hanoi, 2004, p.291
(6), (7) General Vo Nguyen Giap - Dien Bien Phu looking back 50 years, ibid, pp.298, 299
(8) General Vo Nguyen Giap – Collection of Memoirs, ibid, p.914
(9) General Vo Nguyen Giap – Collection of Memoirs, ibid, p.922
According to Minh Duyen (VNA)
