Ho Chi Minh Sea Trail – a route of faith and pride

The Ho Chi Minh sea trail contributed greatly to the final victory over the US in the resistance war for national independence.

To assist the Southern front line, the Central Military Party Committee established a special military corps to be responsible for transporting weapons, goods, and soldiers to the battlefields. The Truong Son trail and the Ho Chi Minh sea trail were opened as a result.

On October 23, 1961, under the instruction of the Party Politburo and the Central Military Party Committee, the high commander of the Vietnam People’s Army established Mission 759, the precursor to Navy Brigade 125.

Under the name “unnumbered ships”, the Ho Chi Minh sea trail transported 150,000 tonnes of weapons and 80,000 soldiers and cadres to the battlefields in the South, becoming a trail of faith in the final victory and the pride of the Vietnam People’s Navy.

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the “Ho Chi Minh Sea Trail”, a VOV reporter interviewed Rear Admiral Pham Ngoc Chan, Political Director of the Vietnam People’s Army Naval Service, about the significance of this strategic route.

VOV: Can you please talk about the significance and historical lessons of the Ho Chi Minh Sea Trail”?

Admiral Chan: The opening of the route demonstrated the strategic vision and correct decision of the Communist Party of Vietnam under the clear-sighted leadership of President Ho Chi Minh. It contributed greatly to the nation’s ultimate victory in the war against the US imperialists. It also symbolized our aspirations for national independence and our strong political will and creativity, as well as the nation’s strength.

The sea trail connected the rear in the North and the front line in the South, transporting weapons and military equipment to the armed forces to reinforce their capacity and change the balance of power between the Vietnam People’s armed forces and the enemy.

The Ho Chi Minh trail at sea was a strategic route that not only shortened transport time, but also saved money and minimized injuries.

In addition, the unnumbered ships were also responsible for carrying special equipment that could not be transported overland such as medical equipment, chemicals for manufacturing weapons, and machines to make “personal papers.”

Of the 1,374 cadres and soldiers that served on the unnumbered ships, 104 were killed and 46 were wounded. The soldiers on the ships fought against enemy strikes 30 times and 11 ships had to be destroyed, but they never surrendered to the enemy.

VOV: What are the lessons learnt from the success of the sea trail?

Admiral Chan: The lessons drawn from the Ho Chi Minh sea trail are still valuable today, especially as the naval forces are responsible for protecting the country’s sovereignty over its sea and islands.

From my point of view, there were four lessons learnt from the success of the trail.

First, it is essential to uphold the strength of the Party, the people, and all the forces and take advantage of assistance from socialist countries. It is also necessary to build strong Party organizations, strengthen the political will of cadres and soldiers and improve their professional skills so that they can effectively deal with emerging problems.

Second, each cadre and soldier must be innovative, courageous, and have faith in the Party and the final victory, despite hardships and dangers from the enemy and adverse weather.

Third, the soldiers and cadres should have a strong political will and prove their loyalty to the Party, the nation, and the people by being willing to sacrifice themselves for their country.

Fourth, it was crucial to keep the trail top secret so it could maintain its operations for a long time. Many comrades were willing to die or destroy the ships in order to keep the route a secret.

VOV: Based on this experience, what do you think the navy should do to fulfill its mission in the new context?

Admiral Chan: The experiences gained from the success of the Ho Chi Minh sea trail can be applied to protecting the nation's sovereignty, especially over its sea and islands.

We aim to protect the sovereignty over our sea, islands and continental shelf at any cost, while maintaining peace and stability and avoiding conflicts which could negatively affect our relationships with neighbouring countries. This will require creative applications of the lessons gained from this experience.

In order to fulfill the mission, it is necessary to uphold the collective strength and reinforce the will of the people, build strong organizations, and improve the Party leadership regarding ships, islands, and marine platforms to enable them to deal effectively with any situations that may arise.

We should also build a people’s war posture in the sea and raise public awareness about the roles of the sea and islands in national construction and protection, as well as the navy's role in protecting the country’s sovereignty over its sea and islands in order to achieve success in implementing the Party’s Resolution on Vietnam’s marine strategy to 2020.

VOV: Thank you very much!