Implementing the Instruction of Leader Ho Chi Minh, the Vietnam Dissemination and Liberation Armed Team, the predecessor of the Vietnam People’s Army, was established on December 22, 1944, in Tran Hung Dao jungle in Cao Bang province’s Nguyen Binh district.
After being founded, the team won victories in Phai Khat and Na Ngan battles, creating the tradition “Determined to fight and determined to win” of the military. Gaining more experiences during the struggle for national salvation, the team grew up fast and was gradually standardized and modernized.
In the resistance war against the French invaders, together with the formation of various regular divisions, the military’s operation methods varied from companies operating independently while battalions operating concentratedly in combined-arms operations. Development was also seen in the militia and guerrilla forces. The people’s warfare posture was widely expanded at this time. The military, together with the entire Party and people, continuously achieved feats-of-arms in large-scale operations, including the historic Dien Bien Phu victory in 1954.
In the anti-American resistance war for national salvation, the military still faced shortages of weaponry and equipment and its combat capabilities were not modern. However, with the spirit of “Splitting Truong Son mountain range to save the nation” and “All for the beloved South Vietnam” and under the wise leadership of the Party, the military formed a number of regular army corps and arms, creating a new driving force for the combined-arms and corps operations. At that time, the entire Party, people, and military stayed united, created the synergy to defeat all of the American invaders’ warfare strategies, achieving the final victory in the Spring 1975 General Offensive and Uprising with its peak of the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign, resulting in the liberation of the South and national reunification.
However, peace did not last long. The entire Party, people and military had to continue to struggle to defend the southwestern and northern borders. On the basis of justice and with the spirit of self-reliance, Vietnam once again won victories in border defense wars, upholding national independence and sovereignty.
The Vietnamese military also outstandingly completed international duties in Laos and Cambodia. The Vietnamese troops supported them in national liberation and construction.
During the wars, millions of Vietnamese people laid down their lives or left parts of their bodies on the battlefields. At the same time, thousands of Vietnamese mothers became heroic mothers. Actually, nothing can compensate for these tremendous sacrifices for the present independence and freedom of the nation.
Over the past 76 years, the military has always been absolutely loyal to the Party, the Fatherland and people. It has outstandingly fulfilled its functions of combat, work and production. In any circumstance, the military has always stood by the entire Party and people in surmounting all hardships and completing all assigned missions. It has also realized President Ho Chi Minh’s teaching that “the military is loyal to the Party, dedicated to the people, and is ready to make sacrifices to the independence and freedom of the homeland and socialism. It accomplishes any task, overcomes any difficulty and defeats any enemy.”
The military is truly the heroic military of the heroic Vietnamese people.
Nowadays, with changes in the region and globe and new requirements in Fatherland protection, the military will continue to build itself into a revolutionary, standardized, elite and gradually-modernized military. In 2030 the military will start its comprehensive standardization and modernization process. This is an objectively inevitable roadmap. This roadmap was drawn in the Resolution adopted at the 11th Military Party Congress. It is an order that the whole military will exert all-out efforts to meet.
To this end, all defense agencies and military units should boost information dissemination and education to raise troops’ awareness of the roadmap, uphold their political stance and good virtues of Uncle Ho’s soldiers to meet the new requirements and tasks. Troops should also stay united and be creative in carrying out their missions, contributing to the building of a gradually and comprehensively standardized and modernized military.
Attention should be paid to fostering a contingent of capable personnel with good morality, progressive thinking, and ready to accomplish all assignments in any post. It is also necessary to master newly-assigned weaponry and equipment, renew operation methods in line with real requirements for regular troops in building a whole people’s defense disposition and a people’s warfare posture to defeat any enemy in any circumstance.
Defense agencies and military units should work closely with departments at all levels, utilize all resources, and create synergy in military building as well. They should take advantage of the nation’s scientific and technological potential in defense industry building so as to actively manufacture weaponry and equipment to serve the Fatherland protection cause.
Additionally, the military should effectively perform its core role in building the whole people’s defense posture and the people’s warfare posture in conjunction with the people’s security disposition. To do this, it should focus on training strong militia and reserve forces, building the armed forces, and laying a foundation for military building in the new period.
Seventy six years have passed and the military has completed all missions assigned by the Party and people. As a revolutionary military holding its heroic tradition, being loyal to the Party, Fatherland, and people, it is sure that the Vietnam People’s Army will overcome all difficulties and challenges, accomplish the mission of building a standardized and modernized military, and meet the Fatherland protection requirements in the new period.
By the People’s Army Newspaper’s Editorial Board
Translated by Mai Huong