In the morning of 19 September 1954, talking with cadres of Regimental Group 308 at Hung King Temple (Phu Tho province), President Ho Chi Minh repeatedly stressed that: though our troops are good at fighting, they must earn people’s love and trust,… And he continued: “our meeting here is accidental but very meaningful. In the old days, “the Hung Kings founded the nation, we should get together to protect it”. His teaching was simple but extremely profound, generalizing the fundamentals of Vietnam’s history. This is the acknowledgement of the country’s ancestors for their contribution in founding the country and also the reminding for the whole Party, people and troops of the mission to liberate the nation, unify the country and safeguard the Fatherland. This is also the inheritance and development of the strategic thinking on direction, a valuable experience lesson which has become a tradition of the nation: “building the country must be associated with safeguarding it”. This is not only a teaching for the Regimental Group 308 but also the sacred order from the supreme leader, “a beloved father of people’s armed forces” to the whole Party, people and troops.

President Ho Chi Minh talking with troops of Regimental Group 308 at Hung King Temple in 1954 (File Photo).

Imbued with these words, in the anti-American resistance war for national salvation, our military has overcome all difficulties, fulfilled its function of “a force ready for fight, for work and for production”. Being closely linked with the revolution cause, under the leadership of the Party and President Ho Chi Minh, our Army has gained outstanding achievements, built up its glorious tradition and been called by people by a lovely name “Uncle Ho’s soldiers”. This is manifested as follow:

First, our military has played well its role as a key force in the struggle, together with the whole people, to protect the North, liberate the South and reunify the country. In the anti-American resistance war for national salvation, to realize its role of a “fighting force”, the VPA has seen vigorous developments in force building, not only in quantity but also in size, organization, weapon and equipment, disciplines…Under the leadership of the Party, people and troops of the North and South defeated the strategies of “Special War”, “Local War”, “Vietnamization” plans of the America.

Inheriting, employing and developing Vietnamese traditional military arts, thoroughly grasping the Party’s guideline on people’s war, our military has coordinated closely with militia, guerrilla and people; combined the three types of combat: small, medium and large scales; combat of the main force corps with that of local armed forces; offensive with uprising. Combats of the main force corps with large-scaled operations hold the decisive role, notably the Ho Chi Minh historic campaign victoriously ending the anti-American resistance war for national salvation. Besides, our military has stood beside Laotian and Cambodian people and revolutionary forces in their struggle, contributed to boosting their revolutionary bases and armed forces as well as their revolutionary wars. Over 20 years of fighting and growing in the anti-American resistance war for national salvation, our military once again won a glorious victory: together with the whole people, defeated foreign aggressors of most powerful potential in military and economy of the times, liberated the South, unified the country, fulfilled its international mission for Lao and Cambodia.

After gaining independence, unifying the nation, the whole country carried out two strategic tasks of building and safeguarding the Homeland. Facing new mission requirements, our military has carried out its regular task of training and maintaining combat readiness. Our military continued to be built towards “revolutionary, regular, seasoned, and gradually modern” direction, ready to defeat aggressive wars of all types and scales; active in fighting against all spots and ploys of the ‘Peaceful evolution’ Strategy of hostile forces.

The combination between economy and defence, building firm provincial (municipal) defence zones were carried out effectively by the military as the core force. Defence diplomacy has been widened in the context of international integration, contributing to safeguarding the Homeland from afar.

Second, People’s Army has been proactive in constructing and developing the country. Factories, projects, farms operated by the military not only improved the North’s economy but also set up defence economic establishments, ready to support for the South front.

Implementing the Resolution of the 15^th Plenum of the Party Central Committee (II tenure) on consolidating solidarity, being determined to maintain peaceful environment, reunify the country, together with the people in the North, our military supported the South front with goods and human resources. Accordingly, the Ministry of National Defence has handed over 29 farms with total area of 153,025 hectares of land, built by the military and nearly 40 thousand of cadres, troops and workers for the Ministry of Agriculture. At the same time, the ministry broadens its scope and scale of doing economic and producing, linking it with the building of the rear country-wide and focusing on building the on-spot rear in southern battlefield. Workforce of units participated in building rear bases, on-spot logistics bases in strategic areas, particularly in Military Area 5, Central Highland, Southeastern, and Southwestern. By the end of the war, the ministry deployed 20 production regiments from the North with the total strength of nearly 40,000 troops and necessary weapons and equipment to the South to build on-spot rear bases (by the late of 1974, 15 of these operated in the Central Highland and 5 other operated in the Southeastern). These bases joined in production activities to provide goods for the front and they also served as the reserve force for the state economic sector when the war ended.

Entering the stage of constructing and safeguarding the Homeland, the Ministry of National Defence has proposed to the State and Party a number of solutions to deploy part of its force for production activities. When the General Department of Production was founded in accordance with the Decree 59/ND-CP of the Government, 280,000 cadres and troops were deployed to production activities. The active participation of the military in this field not only boosted the economy, stabilized and improved people’s lives but also set up firm people’s defence posture. As a result, when wars broke out in the Southwestern and Northern borders, military farms, factories and plants were the first to take up arms against the enemy. Up to present, there has been huge development in the size, scope and model of military production activities in which importance has been attached to staffing to suit the new mission of the military, to establishing areas of production, to building defence-economic zones, to developing military enterprises, …

Besides, the military also fulfilled its function of “a force for work”. Our troops have been proactive in mass work; helped people with production to eradicate hunger and alleviate poverty; established firm local political governments, especially in remoted areas, needy regions and in borders and islands… Through activities such as mine and unexploded ordnance clearing, overcoming war aftermaths, controlling and preventing natural disasters, search and rescue… the virtues and image of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers” once again earn people’s heart and mind.

60 years have gone by but the teaching of Uncle Ho for the Regimental Group 308 is still of value. The whole cadres and troops of the military are always imbued with these words and consider this a sacred order, a guideline for the military and the nation. To realize his words, the whole military promises to promote its virtues, tradition, determine to accomplish the two strategic of constructing and safeguarding the Homeland in the new situation with the whole Party and people.

Ha Thanh