"Hanoi - Dien Bien Phu in the air" - the victory of Vietnamese wisdom and bravery, of the iron will of national independence and revolutionary heroism, has made the President Ho Chi Minh's summons and the earnest aspiration of our people to "fight to force the  U.S. to withdraw, fight for the fall of the puppet regime" come true, contributing to embellishing our nation's heroic history against foreign invaders in the twentieth century. Half a century has passed, but the heroic sound of the Victory is still resounding, with deep national and epochal values.

Back to the event, in the last days of December 1972, the U.S. imperialists mobilised 193 out of their 400 B-52s in service and more than a thousand tactical air planes to launch the strategic air raids on Hanoi capital, Hai Phong city and some other provinces in the North. This air raid was an unprecedented and most brutal one in the history of war, causing catastrophic humanitarian disasters for Hanoi and a number of other localities. With strong will, courage and effective coordination, in 12 days and nights, the Northern army and people shot down 81 planes of all kinds, including 34 B-52s. This was an extremely glorious feat, an epic of great significance for the nation and the times. The national and epochal values of the "Hanoi - Dien Bien Phu in the air" Victory are clearly shown in the following aspects:

First, the Victory of "Hanoi - Dien Bien Phu in the air" further highlighted the golden pages of Vietnam history and the thousand-year-old capital of Hanoi. During the thousands of years of our nation's history, our ancestors have both expanded territory, developed economy, culture and society, and resolutely fought against foreign invaders, conquered aggressive empires, and firmly protected the territory and national independence. History still records the great general Ly Thuong Kiet who defeated the Song army with the first Declaration of Independence in our country's history presented through the poem “Mountains and rivers of Southern country” which read: "Southern land belongs to the Southern King. This has been clearly shown as God's will / Why do you, the enemy, come to invade/ You will surely be beaten up”. In the ancient heroic literature "Great Proclamation upon the Pacification of the Wu", Nguyen Trai firmly asserted: "Dai Viet has long had its own culture/ Sovereignty has been  divided/ Customs of the North and the South are also different". Tran Quang Khai, the great tutor, left a legacy of glory with famous verses: "Chuong Duong took the enemy's spear/ Ham Tu captured the enemy/ Let’s strive even in peacetime/ For the eternity of the country". To fight against the Qing invaders, Quang Trung - Nguyen Hue appealed: "Fight to prove in history that the heroic Southern Kingdom has its own owner". In the early years of the resistance war against the French invaders, the heroic suicides of Governors Nguyen Tri Phuong and Hoang Dieu left us strong emotion and became bright examples resistance. On September 2, 1945, President Ho Chi Minh affirmed in the Declaration of Independence: "Vietnam has the right to enjoy freedom and independence, and in fact has become a free and independent country. The entire Vietnamese people are determined to put all their spirit and strength, life and wealth to preserve that freedom and independence”. Then the oath "Determined to sacrifice for the immortality of the Fatherland" of the suicide soldiers of the Capital Regiment in the winter of 1946 was forever the eloquent echoes from the motherland.

An illustrative photo (source: anninhthudo.vn)

The glorious golden pages of our forefathers are all glorious feats on the ground, while the Victory of "Hanoi - Dien Bien Phu in the air" is the one that we won in the air over the most powerful enemy in the world. Therefore, if the Dien Bien Phu Victory in 1954 was "splendid in five continents, shaking the globe", the victory of Hanoi and some provinces in the North against the largest and creepiest air raid of the American imperialists must be the heroic feat of "12 days and nights that shook the world".

Second, Vietnam's bravery and wisdom shine in the battle of life-and-death with "the enemy from the sky". More than 20 years of resistance war against the U.S. for national salvation was a special period of the Vietnamese revolution under the leadership of the Party, a time of great challenges and dangers that we had to face. But each time we overcame those challenges was a time when the Vietnamese people set up historical milestones with glorious victories. The victory of our army and people in the air defence campaign against the U.S. air force in the Northern sky, particularly in Hanoi capital at the end of 1972 was a heroic event crystallised by bravery, the resilience of our army and people and the shining wisdom of our Party. With the strategic vision of "knowing ourselves and knowing the enemy" of the Party and President Ho Chi Minh, while trying to make all reinforcements possible for the Southern battlefields, the Northern rear not only stood firm against many enemy's bombardments, but also actively prepared for the all-out war in the air of the U.S. imperialists. With his sharp strategic vision, right from the end of 1967, President Ho Chi Minh commented and directed: "Sooner or later, the U.S. imperialists will deploy B-52s to bomb Hanoi, and they will only give up after the bombardment fails. We must foresee the situation to make all preparations as soon as possible. In Vietnam, the U.S. is bound to lose, but they only accept a defeat after losing in the sky of Hanoi”.

Things happened as anticipation, and all-round preparations were made in an opportune and resolute manner by the entire Party, army and people. In order to win and gain the initiative in the confrontation with the U.S. Air Force, the Air Defence - Air Force was supplemented with several other forces  and requested to deploy a multi-layer air defence disposition. With careful preparation, scientific and reasonable deployment of forces with the three-element and people's air defence posture, a synergy was formed, ensuring us certain victory. The extremely tough and fierce battle with the U.S. Air Force in 12 nights and days with a resounding victory that was hailed by the world as "Dien Bien Phu in the air" proved the Party's ingenious leadership and the creativity, intelligence and bravery of Vietnamese people in the Ho Chi Minh era.

Third, the Victory of "Hanoi - Dien Bien Phu in the air" created an important premise for breaking the neo-colonialism, promoting the struggle movement for peace, national independence, democracy and social progress in the world. Prior to their strategic air raids on Hanoi, Hai Phong and some targets in the North, the U.S. imperialists proudly declared to "bring the North of Vietnam back to the Stone Age”. The reason was that the northern provinces of our country had suffered from brutal bombardments for several years, but we still stood firm and supported the southern battlefield. In the South, our troops and people continuously won great victories on all fronts. Our favourable developments on the battlefield had a direct impact on the four-side peace talks in Paris, forcing the U.S. government to approve the Draft agreement "On ending the war and restoring peace in Vietnam'' proposed by us. However, after winning the second term presidential election, President Nixon revoked our proposals and requested to amend the Agreement, leading to deadlocked negotiations. With a view to changing the situation, the U.S. launched the strategic raid to wreak havoc and destruction in Hanoi and Hai Phong in order to cause panic, social disorder, and sabotage our economic and defence potentials, blocking the supplies from the rear to the front line. And also through this raid, the U.S. wanted to show off their power to deter the anti-imperialist movement. Our brave battle shooting down 81 aircraft, including 34 B-52s - the invincible "trump card" of the U.S. Air Force was a glorious victory. If the historic Victory of Dien Bien Phu in 1954 was the impetus leading to the destruction of old colonialism, with "Hanoi - Dien Bien Phu in the air" Victory, we forced the U.S. to sign the Paris Peace Agreements on ending the war, restoring peace in Vietnam and withdrawinging all American troops  back home. The Victory of "Hanoi - Dien Bien Phu in the air" is the immortal epic of the resilient Vietnamese people. The capital city of Hanoi became the capital of the right, conscience and human dignity. This heroic historic victory "beat the Americans out", creating an important premise for our army and people to "fight for the fall of the puppet administration", liberate the South, and unify the country. It put an end to neo-colonialism and promoted the movement for peace, national independence, democracy and social progress in the world.

Professor, Dr. VU VAN HIEN