From the people, fight for the people

On December 22, 1944, in the forest between Hoang Hoa Tham and Tran Hung Dao communes in Nguyen Binh district, Cao Bang province (now Na Sang hamlet, Tam Kim commune, Nguyen Binh district, Cao Bang province), the Vietnam Propaganda Liberation Army - the predecessor of the Vietnam People's Army was established under the Directive of Leader Ho Chi Minh .

The directive clearly stated: “The name of the Vietnam Propaganda Liberation Army means that politics is more important than military. It is a propaganda team”; “The Vietnam Propaganda Liberation Army is a senior army, and we hope that there will soon be other junior teams. Although its scale is small at first, its future is very glorious. It is the starting point of the liberation army, and it can go from the South to the North, throughout Vietnam”.

Comrade Vo Nguyen Giap was authorized by the Party Central Committee and Leader Ho Chi Minh to organize, lead, command, and declare the establishment of the Team, consisting of 34 people, organized into 3 squads with Comrade Hoang Sam as Team Leader, Comrade Xich Thang as Political Commissar, and led by the Party cell. December 22, 1944 was taken as the Founding Day of the Vietnam People's Army.

Immediately after its founding, at 5:00 p.m. on December 25, 1944, the Vietnam Propaganda Liberation Army Team cleverly, boldly, and unexpectedly broke into Phai Khat post and at 7:00 a.m. the next morning (December 26), broke into Na Ngan post (both located in Nguyen Binh district, Cao Bang province), killed two post commanders, captured all enemy soldiers, and seized weapons, military uniforms, and military equipment. The victory at Phai Khat and Na Ngan marked the beginning of the tradition of determination to fight and victory of the Vietnam People's Army.

In April 1945, the Party's Northern Military Revolutionary Conference decided to merge revolutionary armed organizations across the country into the Vietnam Liberation Army. During the August Revolution of 1945, the Vietnam Liberation Army, together with local armed forces and the People, carried out a General Uprising to seize power across the country. After the success of the August Revolution of 1945, the Vietnam Liberation Army was renamed the National Guard, then the Vietnam National Army (1946), and from 1950 it was called the Vietnam People's Army.

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.

On the night of December 19, 1946, the nationwide resistance war broke out. In the early days, 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.

In the fall and winter of 1947, France mobilized more than ten thousand elite troops with the support of aircraft and warships to suddenly attack Viet Bac. After more than two months of launching a counter-attack campaign (October 7 - December 20, 1947), we eliminated more than 7,000 enemies from combat. This was the first large-scale counter-attack campaign that achieved a strategic victory for our army and people.

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 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), and expanded and consolidated the Viet Bac base.

After this 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). On December 5, 1952, in Binh Tri Thien, Division 325 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 and one engineering and artillery division.

Through many victorious campaigns named after Tran Hung Dao, Hoang Hoa Tham, Quang Trung, Hoa Binh, Tay Bac, our troops fought more and more strongly. In September 1953, the Politburo decided to launch the 1953-1954 Winter-Spring strategic offensive. To implement that policy, the General Command ordered the main units to coordinate to launch strong attacks on the battlefields.

After the French colonialists invaded Dien Bien Phu, the Politburo decided to launch the Dien Bien Phu campaign. After 56 days and nights (March 13 to May 7, 1954) of continuous fighting, our army and people completely destroyed the Dien Bien Phu stronghold.

This 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).

Entering the resistance war against the US, to meet the requirements of the Vietnamese revolution in the new period, in March 1957, the 12th Central Conference issued a Resolution on the issue of building the Army and strengthening national defense. The Resolution clearly stated: "Our motto for building the army is to actively build a strong people's army, gradually moving towards regularization and modernization."

By 1960, our Army had reached a new stage of maturity, from a force that was mainly infantry with an unorganized organization and lacking weapons and equipment, it had become a regular, increasingly modern Army, consisting of the following forces: Army, Navy, Air Defense - Air Force. This was a very important step of development, creating the foundation for building a regular, modern Army, ready to meet the new tasks of the revolution.

During the years 1954-1960, the US-Diem regime carried out a brutal policy of terror, causing heavy losses to the revolution in the South. In that situation, the 15th Conference of the Central Committee of the Party, Session II (January 1959) raised two strategic tasks of the Vietnamese revolution and clearly outlined the basic path of the revolution in the South, which was to use revolutionary violence.

The Resolution of the 15th Conference paved the way for the Southern revolution to achieve victory. To promote the revolutionary movement of the masses, on December 20, 1960, the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam was born. On February 15, 1961, the Liberation Army of South Vietnam was established on the basis of unifying the people's armed forces in the South; this was a part of the Vietnam People's Army directly operating on the Southern battlefield.

Defeating the US's "Special War" strategy in the Southern battlefield and winning the "Piercing Arrow" offensive after the "Gulf of Tonkin" incident along with many other important victories, in January 1968, the 14th Central Conference passed the Resolution of the Politburo (December 1967), deciding to launch the General Offensive and Uprising in the Spring of Mau Than 1968.

In just a short time, our army and people attacked a series of targets deep in urban areas throughout the South, causing heavy losses to the enemy and upsetting the strategic position of the US imperialists. The victory of the General Offensive and Uprising in the Spring of Mau Than 1968 dealt a decisive blow to the US ruling class’s will to invade, bankrupting the “Local War” strategy, forcing the US to de-escalate the war, gradually withdraw its troops, and accept negotiations with us at the Paris Conference.

Faced with the risk of failure of the “Vietnamization of the war” strategy, on April 6, 1972, the US mobilized a large air force and navy to launch a second war of destruction against the North (Operation Linebacker I) on a larger scale and more fiercely than the previous time. With a courageous spirit and a clever and creative way of fighting, after 7 months of fierce fighting, the army and people of the North shot down 654 planes, sank and burned 125 US warships.

Faced with heavy defeats, on the night of December 18, 1972, the US launched its largest-scale strategic air raid, called “Operation Linebacker II,” to attack the North, focusing heavily on Hanoi and Hai Phong. Once again, the army and people of the North fought bravely, defeating the enemy’s strategic raid; shooting down 81 aircraft, including 34 B-52s and 5 F-111s.

The great victories of our army and people on the southern battlefield, along with the victory of "Hanoi - Dien Bien Phu in the air", forced the US imperialists to sign the Paris Agreement on ending the war, restoring peace in Vietnam (January 27, 1973), and withdrawing troops.

To end the war soon, at the request of the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defense, from late 1973 to early 1975, the Politburo approved the establishment of Army Corps 1 (October 1973), Army Corps 2 (May 1974), Army Corps 4 (July 1974), Army Corps 3 (March 1975) and Group 232 (equivalent to a corps, February 1975). The establishment of the main army corps marked a new step in the development of the Vietnam People's Army.

Implementing the Politburo's policy, on March 4, 1975, our army launched the Central Highlands campaign, opening the 1975 Spring General Offensive and Uprising. After a number of battles to create momentum and create a diversionary campaign, on March 10 and 11, 1975, our army attacked and liberated Buon Ma Thuot town. Then, completely liberated Kon Tum and Gia Lai provinces and the entire Central Highlands.

One day after the Tay Nguyen campaign broke out, on March 5, 1975, our army launched the Tri Thien - Hue campaign, liberating Quang Tri province, Hue city and Thua Thien province. Promoting the victory, from March 26 to March 29, 1975, our army launched the Da Nang campaign, completely liberating Da Nang, Son Tra peninsula and Hoi An town. Coordinating with the armed forces and local people, our army attacked and liberated the provinces of Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa...

Implementing the guiding ideology: "Speed, boldness, surprise, sure victory", on April 26, our army formed a siege of Saigon from 5 directions, with the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th Corps, Group 232 and Division 8 (Military Region 8) in charge. At 5:00 p.m. on April 26, the campaign began. After many fierce battles to successfully capture the outer perimeter, on the morning of April 30, our army launched a general attack on Saigon's inner city, quickly penetrating deep to capture key targets. At 11:30 a.m. the same day, the flag of the Liberation Army was planted on the roof of the Independence Palace, marking the complete victory of the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign.

In parallel with the successful land attacks, implementing the direction of the Central Military Commission and the General Command, the Navy urgently prepared its forces, seized the opportunity, and cleverly, boldly, and unexpectedly launched attacks to liberate the islands of the Truong Sa archipelago. This was a victory of strategic significance, contributing to maintaining national sovereignty in the Truong Sa archipelago.

The Ho Chi Minh Campaign was the largest-scale combined arms and military campaign, achieving the greatest victory, marking a remarkable step forward in the maturity of our Army in both force organization and the level of combined arms and military command; it was the pinnacle of Vietnamese military art, contributing decisively to the end of the resistance war against the US to save the country.

After the great victory in the spring of 1975, our army had to wage a just war to protect the southwestern border of the Fatherland and, together with the Cambodian army and people, overthrow the Pol Pot genocidal regime. During 10 years (1979-1989), Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts promoted the pure international spirit, together with the Cambodian army and people, hunted down the remnants of the Pol Pot army, consolidated the revolutionary government, built the armed forces, and revived the country.

Also in early 1979, our army and people had to fight to protect the northern border of the Fatherland. The battle lasted for a short time (February 17 - March 6, 1979), but in reality the tense situation at the northern border lasted until the end of the 80s of the 20th century. In this battle, our army and people fought bravely, firmly protecting the sovereignty of the border and territory of the Fatherland.

Since the 6th National Party Congress (December 1986) until now, in nearly 40 years of implementing the renovation process, the Army has always performed well the functions of a combat army, a working army, and a production labor army, making worthy contributions to the common achievements of the country.

Accordingly, the Army has regularly grasped and accurately forecasted the situation, proactively advised the Party and the State to propose appropriate countermeasures, flexibly and successfully handle situations, avoid being passive or surprised in strategy, prevent the risk of war, maintain independence, sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity, ensure political stability, create a favorable environment for socio-economic development. At the same time, it advised the promulgation of the Resolution of the Party Central Committee on "Strategy for protecting the Fatherland in the new situation", strategies, draft laws, and projects on military and national defense.

The Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defense have led and directed the entire army to deploy many practical solutions to build a politically strong army, as a basis for improving the overall quality and combat strength of the army; building a clean, strong and exemplary army Party Committee and Party committees and organizations in the entire army, associated with building comprehensively strong "exemplary and exemplary" agencies and units.

Effectively implement the policy of building a lean, compact, and strong Army; well organize and implement logistics, technical work and other aspects of work. In particular, the defense industry is developed in a modern, dual-use direction; has researched and mastered manufacturing technology and produced a number of new, modern weapons and technical equipment with Vietnamese brands.

International integration and defense diplomacy have achieved many outstanding results on both bilateral and multilateral levels; actively participating in United Nations peacekeeping activities, humanitarian assistance, search and rescue, disaster relief, and overcoming the consequences of war, which have been highly appreciated by international friends.

Performing the function of a working army, the Army has actively propagated and mobilized people to successfully implement the Party's guidelines and policies, the State's policies and laws, patriotic emulation movements, revolutionary campaigns, and local political tasks; participated in building a strong grassroots political system, strengthening national defense and security, developing the economy, culture, and society; actively helping people eliminate hunger, reduce poverty, and build new rural areas.

In particular, officers and soldiers of the Army have not been afraid of hardships, sacrifices, and pioneers in natural disaster prevention, epidemic prevention, rescue, and relief to protect people's lives and property; many officers and soldiers have fallen while carrying out this noble mission.

Performing the function of a production labor force, the Army has advised and proposed to the Party and State to issue mechanisms and policies in line with the policy of socio-economic development associated with strengthening national defense and security in the new period; effectively building and promoting economic-defense zones in participating in socio-economic development associated with ensuring national defense and security in strategic areas, especially difficult areas, remote areas, border areas, and islands.

In addition, military enterprises are organized and arranged in accordance with the requirements of innovation in each period, both serving well the military and defense tasks and contributing to economic and social development. The units have participated in the construction of many key national projects and infrastructure projects serving people's lives, contributing significantly to national income, ensuring social security; participating in the effective implementation of national target programs associated with the implementation of military and defense tasks.

After 80 years of building, fighting, winning and growing, the Vietnam People's Army has built a very glorious tradition, summarized concisely in the praise of President Ho Chi Minh: "Our army is loyal to the Party, filial to the people, ready to fight and sacrifice for the independence and freedom of the Fatherland, for socialism. Every mission is completed, every difficulty is overcome, every enemy is defeated."

Source: https://tienphong.vn/quan-doi-nhan-dan-viet-nam-tu-nhan-dan-ma-ra-vi-nhan-dan-ma-chien-dau-post1700127.tpo