When the French colonialists invaded our country for the second time, under the leadership of the Party, the armed forces developed strongly, and together with our people, we stood up and fought the invaders.
At the end of 1946, according to President Ho Chi Minh 's decision, the whole country was divided into 12 war zones. At this time, in the South, the National Guard units were still organized, in the North and Central regions, there were 30 regiments and a number of battalions belonging to the war zones; the party organization system in the Army was established from the Central Military Commission to the party cells.
On the night of December 19, 1946, the nationwide resistance war broke out. Our army and people fought hundreds of battles, eliminated thousands of enemies from combat, and destroyed many enemy war vehicles. In the spring of 1947, President Ho Chi Minh, the Party Central Committee and the Government went to Viet Bac, which became the center of command for the resistance war of the whole country.
The founding ceremony of the 308th Division - the first main division of the Vietnam People's Army on August 28, 1949. Photo: Archive
In the fall and winter of 1947, the French colonialists mobilized more than ten thousand elite troops with the support of aircraft and warships to suddenly attack Viet Bac to destroy our resistance headquarters and main force. After more than two months of launching a counter-offensive campaign (October 7 - December 20, 1947), we eliminated more than 7,000 enemies from combat, bankrupting the French colonialists' strategy of "fighting fast, winning fast"; preserving and developing the main force, protecting the headquarters and bases of the whole country.
After the Viet Bac Campaign in 1947, our Army had matured, but was not yet capable of launching large-scale campaigns. To defeat the enemy's pacification plot, we advocated launching widespread guerrilla warfare and implementing "independent companies and concentrated battalions", both promoting guerrilla warfare and learning concentrated mobile warfare. From early 1948 to mid-1950, our troops continuously launched over 20 small campaigns on the battlefields. The concentration level for each campaign was from 3 to 5 battalions, then gradually increased to 2 to 3 regiments, with some campaigns using both mountain artillery and heavy machine guns.
From mid-1949, the General Command advocated withdrawing independent companies to build main regiments and divisions. On August 28, 1949, Division 308 was established; on March 10, 1950, Division 304 was established. Training was stepped up. Through the campaigns of "training soldiers to make achievements" and "forging cadres and rectifying troops" in 1948, 1949 and early 1950, our armed forces continuously developed and grew stronger.
In June 1950, the Party Central Committee decided to launch the Border Campaign, proactively attacking the French. After nearly a month (September 16 - October 14, 1950), we eliminated more than 8,000 enemies from combat, liberated the border area from Cao Bang to Dinh Lap (Lang Son), expanded and consolidated the Viet Bac base, broke the siege, opened communication with China and socialist countries, and connected our country's revolution with the world revolution. The Border victory contributed significantly to changing the situation of the war: We entered the strategic phase of counterattack and attack, the French army gradually switched to a defensive strategy; at the same time, it marked a leap forward in the art of campaigning and the growth and maturity of our Army.
After the Border Campaign, the main divisions continued to be established, including: Division 312 (December 1950), Division 320 (January 1951), Artillery Division 351 (March 1951), Division 316 (May 1951). Within 6 months (December 1950 - June 1951), we launched 3 consecutive campaigns named: Tran Hung Dao, Hoang Hoa Tham, Quang Trung. These were the first large-scale campaigns to attack the enemy's fortified defense lines in the midlands and deltas of the North. We killed more than ten thousand enemies, of which nearly half were mobile troops.
In November 1951, the Politburo decided to launch the Hoa Binh Campaign. The campaign took place from December 10, 1951 to February 25, 1952; our army and people eliminated from combat more than 6,000 enemies on the Hoa Binh front and more than 15,000 enemies on the enemy's rear front. During this campaign, our troops made new progress in terms of tactics and techniques, in the ability to fight continuously for long periods of time, and in the coordination of operations between the three types of troops.
In early September 1952, the Politburo decided to launch the Northwest Campaign. After nearly two months of fighting (October 14 - December 10, 1952), we destroyed and captured more than 6,000 enemies, liberated a large area in an important strategic area, connected the Northwest liberated area with the Viet Bac and Upper Laos bases, maintained the initiative in attack, and defeated the enemy's plot to expand its occupation.
On December 5, 1952, in Binh - Tri - Thien, the 325th Division was established, contributing to increasing the fighting strength of the "revolutionary main punches". Up to this point, the main army under the General Command had 6 infantry divisions (308, 304, 312, 320, 316, 325) and 1 engineering and artillery division (351).
Faced with the changes in the war situation in Indochina, based on a correct assessment of the comparative strength between us and the enemy, in September 1953, the Politburo decided to launch the 1953-1954 Winter-Spring strategic offensive. Implementing that policy, the General Command ordered the main units to coordinate to launch strong offensives on the battlefields. We formed 5 strategic offensives in Lai Chau, Central Laos, Lower Laos - Northeastern Cambodia, Central Highlands and Upper Laos, destroying many enemy forces, liberating many large areas of land, forcing them to spread out to deal with them everywhere.
After the French colonialists invaded Dien Bien Phu, on December 6, 1953, the Politburo met to decide to launch the Dien Bien Phu Campaign. After 56 days and nights (March 13 - May 7, 1954) of continuous fighting, our army and people crushed the entire Dien Bien Phu stronghold, eliminated 16,200 enemy soldiers from combat, shot down and destroyed 62 planes; and captured all the enemy's weapons, warehouses, and technical facilities in Dien Bien Phu. The Dien Bien Phu victory dealt a decisive blow to the will to invade, forcing the French colonialists to sign the Geneva Agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Vietnam. The Dien Bien Phu Campaign is an outstanding example, the pinnacle of Vietnamese military art in the resistance war against France; At the same time, it is a testament to the remarkable development of our Army after 10 years of building, fighting and glorious victory (1944 - 1954).
Source: https://baolaichau.vn/ch%C3%ADnh-tr%E1%BB%8B/qu%C3%A2n-%C4%91%E1%BB%99i-nh%C3%A2n-d%C3%A2n-vi%E1%BB%87t-nam-trong-cu%E1%BB%99c-kh%C3%A1ng-chi%E1%BA%BFn-ch%E1%BB%91ng-th%E1%BB%B1c-d%C3%A2n-ph%C3%A1p-x%C3%A2m-l%C6%B0%E1%BB%A3c-1945-1954
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