Over the past 50 years, generations of cadres and soldiers of 1^st Army Corps have continually overcome difficulties, been united and raised their political determination and responsibility to achieve many brilliant feats of arms. This is both the pride and great encouragement for them to emulate building the strong and developed Corps which can readily receive and successfully accomplish all assigned tasks in the new period.

In the ending phase of the anti-US war for national salvation, especially after many devastating and continuous defeats over the battlefields, the US was forced to sign the Paris Peace Accords (27^th Jan, 1973) and withdraw their forces from Vietnam, which created clear changes regarding the force correlation in the battlefields. This was the favourable condition and chance for our Military and people to “fight to topple the puppet regime” as the Ho Chi Minh’s teachings, completely liberating the South and reunifying the country. This strategic chance required the establishment of regular corps with high mobility, powerful fires and great attacks to carry out operational and strategic attacks to end the war.

Under the agreement of the Politburo, the Central Military Commission (CMC), the Ministry of National Defence decided to establish the 1^st Army Corps – also known as the Determined-to-win Corps, as the first regular corps of the Vietnam People’s Army, which is tasked with readily fighting to protect the Socialist North, acting under the demands of the Ministry and meeting the urgent requirements of the battlefields. Right after its establishment, the Corps has quickly set up the organisation and staff to do both building, training and combating, and preventing the natural disasters and developing the socio-economy. With the high responsibility and effort of cadres and soldiers, in a short time, the Corps has become a strategically regular and mobile unit owning the ability of large-scale combined operations.

In the decisive period of the anti-US war for national salvation, the Corps closely coordinated with other forces to organise many important battles and gain decisive victories, which completely changed the battlefields. Especially, in Ho Chi Minh Campaign, the Corps was assigned to attack in the North of Saigon, besiege and destroy enemies in Phu Loi, Ben Cat, Binh Duong, Lai Khe, Tan Uyen; prevent and counteract the 5^th puppet Division, attack and capture the General Staff of the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces and the puppet Arms’ Commands in Go Vap, Binh Thanh; deploy an attacking force to join other corps in the Independence Palace, making the historical victory, completely liberating the South and reunifying the country.

General Vo Nguyen Giap visits the Corps in 1974 (Photo credit: VNA)

In the war to protect the borders in the Southwest and the North, the Corps’ cadres and soldiers have achieved many brilliant feats of arms, making important part in firmly protecting the independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of the Homeland. In the renovation period when the building and protection of the Homeland have set new and higher requirements, the Corps has made research and grasped the situation, attentively enhanced the overall quality, combat power so as not to be made passive and surprised in all situations to successfully accomplish both regular and sudden tasks.

In recent years, the Corps has regularly been trusted and chosen by the CMC and the MND to be an example for the whole Military on building the comprehensively strong, “exemplary, typical” unit, which has paid attention to the tasks of combat readiness, training, exercises, regularity building, discipline management in order to create the new motivations and strength to readily receive and successfully accomplish all assigned tasks.

Over half a century, under the leadership and direction by the Party and State, regularly and directly the CMC and the MND, together with the love, protection and help from the local party committees, governments and people where the corps is stationed, generations of cadres and soldiers of the Corps have proactively overcome all difficulties and hardships, continually tried their best to achieve many brilliant feats of arms, building and beautifying the “Speedy – Determined to win” tradition. With these achievements gained during its combat and working, the Corps has been awarded by the State the title of Hero of the People’s Armed Forces and other noble awards.

Presently and in the coming years, the task of building the elite, compact and strong Military towards modernity has set new and higher requirements; the organisations of some offices and units have been adjusted, etc., which requires all cadres and soldiers of the Corps to attentively carry out several main contents as follows:

Firstly, regularly building the politically strong Corps. This is the basic and important factor deciding the successful accomplishment of the political task of the Corps. Accordingly, the Corps’ Party Committee and Command have attentively led and directed the building of the pure and strong party committees and party organisations which are typical in politics, thought, morality, organisation and personnel. In particular, attention should be paid to consolidating and improving the leadership capability and combat power of the party committees and party organisations in newly-merged units, making sure that they have the sound leadership capability and successfully accomplish all the assigned tasks; firmly struggle against all manifestations of deterioration in political ideology, morality, lifestyle, "self-evolution", "self-transformation", at the same time, combine the construction of party committees and party organisations with the construction of the leading cadres at all levels; the construction of the pure, strong and typical party organisations with the construction of the comprehensively strong, “exemplary, typical” units.

In the implementation process, it is necessary to closely combine the work of ideology with the one of organisation, personnel and policies to generate the great agreement among cadres and party members. Besides, importance should be attached to building the staff of cadres and party members who are comprehensively capable, skillful, ethical, talented, healthy and at suitable age and has suitable quantity and structure, high quality, especially the leading cadres who “dare to think, dare to say, dare to do, dare to take responsibility, dare to reform, dare to confront difficulties and challenges, and dare to act for the common interest” to meet the task requirements presently and in the long run.

Commander of the Corps briefs his combat plan in an exercise

Secondly, effectively implementing the superiors’ resolutions and plans on merging and acquisition and building the “elite, compact, strong” Corps. Being an unit subject to M&A in order to build a new and stronger corps meeting the demands for strategic mobility, combat readiness and victory in the new operational conditions, the Corps should attentively grasp and seriously implement the superiors’ resolutions, directions and plans on reassigning, merging and building the elite, compact and strong Corps; Resolution No. 283-NQ/ĐU, dated 03rd June, 2022 by the Corps’ Party Committee on organising the forces within the Corps in the 2022-2023 period to make drastic changes in the awareness and actions, a great concensus and unity and avoid the thought of hesitation. At the same time, it is necessary to build plans on receiving and handing over the unit according to the superiors’ plans; adjust and arrange leading cadres of units doing the tasks of training and combat readiness; suitably receive and hand over the troops, weapons and scientific facilities to ensure the overall power in implementing and keeping stability to meet the task demands in the new situation.

Thirdly, paying attention to reforming and improving the training quality. In order to well carry out this solution, the Corps continues to grasp and effectively implement Resolution No. 1659-NQ/QUTW, dated 20^th December, 2022 by the CMC on “Improving the training quality in the 2023 – 2030 period and the following years”; focuses on improving the quality of training and military exercises, ensuring the suitability with the functions, tasks and new organisation. In the process of training, it is necessary to closely follow the mottos, viewpoints, rules and combinations; pay attention to passing real experience, improving the capability of practice, mastering new and modern weapons, equipment and facilities, and the combat ability in the wars involving the use of hi-tech weapons; actively apply the information technology and the modern technical vehicles into training and military exercises closely to the reality; focus on training the endurance over difficulties and hardships, and the health for soldiers to meet the task demands for any situations.

Fourthly, improving the effectiveness of the regularity building and discipline management. On clearly understanding that discipline brings about the strength for the Military, the Corps requires its offices and units, in all conditions and situations, to continually educate, grasp and effectively implement the superiors’ resolutions, directions and instructions on regularity building and discipline management, particularly Direction No. 79/CT-BQP, dated 22^nd July, 2022 by the Minister of National Defence on building all-strong, “exemplary, typical” units; Direction No. 11/CT-TM, dated 12^th April, 2023 by the General Staff on improving the quality of the regularity building and discipline management in the whole Military. Besides, the Corps continuously directs the attentive implementation of the contents of building the all-strong, “exemplary, typical” units; educates its cadres and soldiers to develop strong political spirit, heighten their political responsibility and their awareness of complying with the State’s law and Military discipline, trust, unite and proactively overcome all difficulties and be ready to receive and successfully accomplish all assigned tasks; firmly struggle against the manifestations of negatives, subjectivity, impatience, relying on others and indecisiveness in implementation.

Fifthly, reforming drastically and comprehensively the logistic and technical work. The Corps pays attention to reforming the ways of logistic and technical support and the mechanism of finance management, sufficiently and timely supplies for regular and sudden tasks, especially the ones of combat, training and military exercises; enhances the examination, inspection, publicity and transparency in the finance management; avoids the losses, deficits, corruption and waste; pays attention to improving soldiers’ life, striving for the healthy soldiers rate of over 98.5% and successfully accomplishing the assigned tasks; proactively coordinates and collaborates with other units and the localities where the units are located to successfully accomplish the regular and sudden tasks; supplies enough weapons, technical equipment and vehicles with high quality for the tasks of combat readiness, training and others. At the same time, the Corps pays special attention to the improvement of its mobility, overall power and the combat capability to successfully accomplish all tasks, deserving to be the regular, mobile and strategic unit of the MND in the cause of building and safeguarding the Socialist Vietnamese Homeland.

Major General TRUONG MANH DUNG, Commander of the Corps