Right from the first years of participating in the revolution (1929), comrade Chu Huy Man was attached to the armed forces. Applying the Party's and President Ho Chi Minh 's military guidelines and art, he always closely followed the battlefield's reality, summarized, concluded, and proposed appropriate combat principles and methods, thereby constantly maturing in the reality of the revolutionary war for national liberation and becoming a talented military man of the Vietnam People's Army .
Military strategy in the resistance war against France
The August Revolution of 1945 succeeded, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was born (September 2, 1945), opening a new page in the history of the nation. However, the joy of independence enjoyed by the Vietnamese people did not last long, with the ambition of invasion, on September 23, 1945, the French colonialists opened fire in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City), starting the second war of aggression against Vietnam. To prepare for the long-term resistance war against the invading French colonialists, the Party mobilized many elite political cadres to work in the army and many became excellent cadres of the Party, one of whom was comrade Chu Huy Man.
The national resistance war broke out (December 19, 1946). At the end of 1946, comrade Chu Huy Man was appointed as Head of the Party Inspection Committee, Military Region Committee member of Viet Bac Zone. From 1947 to 1949, he was the Regiment Commander, Secretary of the Regiment Committee of the 72nd and 74th Regiments of Cao Bang and the 174th Regiment of Cao - Bac - Lang. In May 1951, he was Deputy Political Commissar, then Political Commissar of the 316th Division, Secretary of the Party Committee of the 316th Division. Thus, during the long resistance war against the French colonialists (1945-1954), comrade Chu Huy Man held many positions, participated in combat and commanded combat in many different battlefields. Through the practical experience of the resistance war, comrade Chu Huy Man became an experienced commander and an excellent practical leader.
In particular, since 1951, in the position of Deputy Political Commissar, then Political Commissar, Party Secretary of the 316th Division, comrade Chu Huy Man has made a particularly great contribution with the officers and soldiers of the Division to participate in many campaigns. Under the command of comrade Chu Huy Man and the entire Command Board of the 316th Division, they participated in many major campaigns of strategic significance that changed the situation of the war such as the 1952 Northwest Campaign, the 1953 Upper Laos Campaign. In the 1954 Dien Bien Phu Campaign, the 316th Division took charge of the eastern attack direction, contributing decisively to the destruction of the Dien Bien Phu stronghold, forcing the French colonialists to sign the Geneva Agreement on July 21, 1954. The achievements in the resistance war against the French show that, regardless of his position, comrade Chu Huy Man has proven to be an excellent practical leader. Because he always grasped reality, stayed close to reality, understood the local situation where the unit was stationed and fought, understood the unit's situation and the soldiers' lives, comrade Chu Huy Man, together with the leaders and commanders of the regiments and then the 316th Division, proposed appropriate policies and measures, excellently completed the tasks assigned by his superiors, contributing to the overall achievements of the resistance war.
Strategic talent in the resistance war against America
During the resistance war against the US, in his position as Deputy Secretary of the Regional Party Committee, then Political Commissar, Secretary of the Military Region Party Committee of Military Region 5 , Commander and Political Commissar, Secretary of the Party Committee of the B3 Central Highlands Front, Deputy Secretary of the Military Region Party Committee, Commander of Region 5, comrade Chu Huy Man, together with the collective of the Regional Party Committee, Military Region Party Committee and Military Region 5 Command, always sought every way to fight to win, and our troops to reduce casualties. With his military talent and sharp political vision, comrade Chu Huy Man always had predictions and discovered problems arising on the battlefield to determine appropriate ways to fight. According to him, the main force could not disperse, fight small-scale, or fight to wear down, but had to fight in a concentrated and appropriate scale, fight to destroy each enemy unit, and have a way of fighting suitable to the battlefield, ensuring that the more they fought, the stronger they became, and the more they fought, the more they won.
Thoroughly imbuing Ho Chi Minh's military ideology and the Party's viewpoint on people's war into the reality of the battlefield, comrade Chu Huy Man directed the armed forces to actively implement the motto of combining military struggle with political struggle, fighting the enemy with two legs, three prongs in all three strategic areas. He himself always closely followed the reality of the battlefield to promptly guide and instruct units and localities to strengthen combat coordination. Before each battle and each campaign, he often went down to the units to discuss and discuss democratically with cadres and soldiers to find ways to fight the Americans. On the other hand, he and the leaders of Military Region 5 focused on building each unit to be good at one tactic (specialty) and to fight well in other tactics. He often reminded mid-level and senior cadres: "We fight to gain a piece, absolutely not to fight to gain fame, if we win but the soldiers suffer high casualties, what do we think about the blood and bones of the soldiers?" and severely criticized the idea of using attrition tactics, using the "collecting wind to make a storm" style, finding a place to capture a few enemies to gain achievements.
In directing operations, he always thoroughly grasped the strategic idea of attacking, using the few to fight the many, promoting the combined strength of all forces, winning both military and political victories, maintaining the strategic initiative. Comrade Chu Huy Man contributed to the development of military art, especially the art of combined campaigns consisting of two forces: Political (political struggle, military agitation), military (three types of troops) which was the pinnacle of people's war in Zone 5. Combining the "two-legged, three-pronged" struggle was one of the very unique and outstanding creative developments of the Vietnamese revolutionary war, to which Comrade Chu Huy Man contributed.
Furthermore, in the condition of having to use the few to fight the many, comrade Chu Huy Man always attached great importance to the close combination of factors of force, position, time, and strategy to fight the enemy, forcing the enemy to fight according to our way of fighting. The fighting method of "surrounding points, destroying reinforcements, feints, and deceiving the enemy" was applied very creatively by him, bringing high efficiency. Typically, in the Plei Me Campaign (from October 19 to November 26, 1965), he proposed breakthrough policies and solutions in both Party work, political work, and military art to lead and command agencies and units to excellently complete the campaign's tasks, promote the strengths of close combat, "grab the enemy's belt and fight" to limit the strengths of the US army in terms of firepower and mobility; use tricks to deceive the enemy, luring the US army into the area we had chosen to destroy.
The military talent of comrade Chu Huy Man contributed significantly to the collective of the Regional Party Committee, the Military Region Party Committee and the Military Region 5 Command in leading our army and people to successively defeat the enemy's strategies and tactics. Region 5 was the locality that "led the way in destroying the Americans". with resounding victories such as Nui Thanh, Van Tuong, Plei Me - Ia Drang. Zone 5 was also the battlefield where he participated in directing the successful construction of the "American-killing belt" - a unique and creative form of fighting the enemy in the Vietnamese people's war; directing and organizing the successful implementation of the combined offensive campaigns: Ba Gia (1965), Sa Thay (1966), Mau Than (1968), Bac Binh Dinh (1972) and the strategic offensive to liberate Hue - Da Nang in the Great Spring Victory of 1975... contributing with the army and people of the whole country to "Fight the Americans out, fight the puppets to fall", completely liberating the South, unifying the country.
It can be affirmed that the steadfastness, creative intelligence, and very unique and strategic breakthroughs in leadership, building and promoting the people's war posture, and inciting the determination to fight the enemy of all people of comrade Chu Huy Man and his comrades in the Party Committee of Military Region 5 Command and the Party Committee of the Central Highlands Front during the resistance war against the US to save the country are extremely valuable lessons.
The qualities of a talented general in the new era
The country was unified, the country was reunited, comrade Chu Huy Man continued to participate in the work of the Army. Comrade Chu Huy Man's intelligence, military and political talent, tempered in the revolutionary struggle, contributed to enriching the art of war of the Vietnamese people, gradually building an increasingly strong national defense. In particular, he always cared about building the three-armed armed forces, attaching importance to Party work, political work, upholding the spirit of revolutionary offensive "Every task must be completed, every difficulty must be overcome, every enemy must be defeated".
He wrote many articles introducing the art of war in the two resistance wars against the French colonialists and the American imperialists. He emphasized the practical value of those experiences, especially the need to know how to apply and promote the art of "winning with few", "winning with small", "winning with high quality" in a very flexible way in the cause of defending the socialist Vietnamese Fatherland. Summarizing the experience of building and fighting the Army, he proposed the requirement that building the armed forces must know how to "mobilize the potential of cadres and soldiers in all three types of troops, in the military services and branches, in the staff, political, logistics, technical agencies, in academies, schools... to participate in research on military science and art, creating the best and most effective ways of fighting to defeat the enemy".
During the years 1976 - 1986, comrade Chu Huy Man, together with the leaders of the Party, the State, the Central Military Party Committee and the Ministry of National Defense, proposed many correct policies and decisions, and directly led the successful implementation of military and defense tasks, building and protecting the socialist Fatherland, taking care of building the army in the direction of "revolution, discipline, elite and gradually modern". In the important responsibilities assigned to him, with his vast knowledge, sharp and sharp thinking ability, and military and political experience forged during the war years, he contributed with the entire Party, people and army to defeat two wars of aggression in the Southwestern border and the Northern border, fulfilling international obligations to the Cambodian people, meeting new requirements.
However, General Chu Huy Man was not only a military man but also a shrewd politician of the Party, State and the Vietnam People's Army. The outstanding point of Comrade Chu Huy Man is that his political thinking and military thinking are always smoothly and consistently linked together. The General is known by his comrades, comrades and people with the affectionate name given by President Ho Chi Minh: "Hai Manh (strong in both military and politics)". In particular, with his rich practical experience and profound strategic vision, later in his positions as a member of the Politburo, Vice Chairman of the State Council, and Director of the General Political Department of the Vietnam People's Army, the General, together with the leaders of the Party, State, Central Military Party Committee and the Ministry of National Defense, proposed many strategic issues on political, military and defense tasks, especially the issue of Party building and rectification, training and fostering cadres and party members; against bureaucracy, despotism, authoritarianism, corruption, waste.
When the Army implemented Resolution No. 07/NQ-TW of the Politburo, Comrade Chu Huy Man led and directed the functional agencies of the General Department of Politics to thoroughly grasp, disseminate, and guide units throughout the army to seriously implement the content of the Resolution. From closely following reality, he promptly reported to help the Politburo promptly detect problems arising in the innovation of the Party's leadership mechanism, thereby advising and proposing to the Politburo to issue Resolution No. 27/NQ-TW to contribute to maintaining, consolidating, and strengthening the Party's leadership over the army. Comrade Chu Huy Man's contributions were strategic, profound, practical, and close to the new situation, including military and national defense, especially the issue of Party building, training, and training of political cadres and commanders of combined arms at strategic and campaign levels. Those contributions have directly contributed to building the Vietnam People's Army to become increasingly mature and strong, especially politically, creating a solid foundation for the Army to continue to develop, well meeting the requirements of building and protecting the Fatherland in the new situation.
Over the course of 93 years of life, 76 years of Party membership, more than 55 years of continuous training, fighting, and working in many different positions and locations, both domestically and internationally, wherever he was, whatever he did, in whatever difficult and arduous conditions, General Chu Huy Man always set a shining example of a staunch communist soldier and a talented military man of the Vietnam People's Army. General Vo Nguyen Giap commented: " Comrade Chu Huy Man is a high-ranking leader of the Party and State, an excellent general, both politically and militarily of our army, a shining example for our entire army and people to learn from. "
Due to his great contributions to the revolutionary cause of the Party and the nation, he was awarded by the Party and the State: the Gold Star Order, the Ho Chi Minh Order, the 70-year Party membership badge and many other noble awards... In the new revolutionary period, along with studying and following the ideology, morality, and style of Ho Chi Minh and the revolutionary moral example of previous leaders, studying, distilling and creatively applying the experiences from the revolutionary life of General Chu Huy Man - a talented general of the Party, State, Army and people of Vietnam is especially important, contributing to the cause of building a revolutionary, disciplined, elite, and gradually modern Army, contributing to building and firmly protecting the socialist Fatherland of Vietnam in the new period .
COLONEL, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, PhD NGUYEN VAN SAU - (Deputy Director of the Institute of Military History - Ministry of National Defense)
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