History of Vietnamese warships from "The Dragon Strikes Water"

From the earliest days of building and defending the country, we have seen the shadow of naval battles and warships. Our country has a very long coastline, with a dense river system. Controlling or not controlling these water routes can be a decisive factor in the survival of any war. In fact, in the history of fighting against foreign invaders, there has been no war in which we did not see the presence of naval battles.

In 938, Ngo Quyen declared the era of Vietnamese independence with a resounding victory on the water against the Southern Han army at Bach Dang River. However, the king also admitted that the Ngo navy did not have the advantage of warships compared to the enemy.

"The Dragon Strikes Water" continues to be an elaborate publication from the two authors Dong Nguyen and Kaovjets Ngujens after "The Miracle of Magic" was released in May this year.

During the third campaign to conquer Dai Viet in 1287-1288, the Yuan army organized a large fleet of 500 high-quality ships. When the campaign failed, the Yuan army ordered this fleet to retreat along the Bach Dang River to the sea. Hung Dao Dai Vuong painstakingly arranged a historic ambush to destroy the source of disaster once and for all.

During the Tay Son and Nguyen dynasties, for more than 30 years, the two sides mainly used naval forces to maneuver across the country. Most campaigns, such as the Tay Son taking Phu Xuan, attacking Bac Ha, entering Gia Dinh, or the Nguyen lords attacking the North, could not be without warships. Therefore, if we do not understand clearly how the ancients fought on water, we today will find it difficult to imagine how great and arduous the victories of our ancestors were.

The book Than long kich thuy by the group of authors Dong Nguyen and Kaovjets Ngujens introduces the development, structure, manufacturing techniques and naval tactics of warships throughout the history of the nation.

The book is divided into 5 chapters, which go into detail about the history of Vietnamese warships through the periods of Tien Le, Ly, Tran - Ho, Hau Le, Tay Son and Nguyen dynasties; technical aspects of Vietnamese warships such as hull shape, frame, hydrodynamic components...; naval tactics and tools; typical types of warships in our country such as Mong Dong, Chu Kieu, Lau Thuyen, Ngu Bac...

The publication Than Long Kich Thuy has many illustrations from details to panoramas drawn by Kaovjets Ngujens along with photos of Dong Nguyen's boat model at the Vietnam History Museum, and other valuable related pictures/documents. Since the project was conceived, it has received a lot of support, advice, and provision of documents from researchers Do Thai Binh , Tran Trong Duong, Nguyen Viet, Le Thi Lien, Pham Le Huy, Phan Thanh Nam, and Nguyen Van Hieu.

At 9am on November 1, at Ho Chi Minh City Book Street, Kim Dong Publishing House organized an exchange event with two authors Dong Nguyen and Kaovjets Ngujens to discuss more about the history of Vietnamese warships. In addition to the two authors Dong Nguyen and Kaovjets Ngujens, the event also had the participation of researcher Do Thai Binh - he is an expert on ancient boats, translator and author of many monographs on boats, Vietnamese maritime and the editor of the book Than long kich thuy .

QUYNH YEN

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/lich-su-thuyen-chien-viet-nam-tu-than-long-kich-thuy-post820350.html