In the war to safeguard the Fatherland (should it occur), operational coordination between the mobile and on-site forces in counteroffensive campaigns will create overall power for victories of campaigns. This is no longer a novel matter but very important because it takes place in the new conditions of the people’s war to defend the Fatherland, thus deserving thorough research in many aspects. This article seeks to raise some solutions to increased effectiveness of operational coordination between the two forces.

Counteroffensive campaigns in the war to protect the Fatherland can be launched by the Ministry of National Defence (MND) at various scales, right from the onset or during the operational process, with a view to fighting back, deterring, and annihilating part of attacking enemy forces; protecting and restoring critical areas and targets; creating conditions and opportunities for shifting towards offensive posture, fostering defensive operations, and striving for defeating enemy attacks. The counteroffensive campaign is highly composite and carried out in a new condition and on the basis of the provincial/municipal defence zones, which are built in peacetime, thus being different from a counteroffensive campaign in the past liberation war. Forces participating in the campaign consist of many elements, of which units of the MND or military region and on-site forces in the defence zone play the key role.

The primary and direct enemy of the campaign is normally the joint task force, which has been attacked by our defence force. As a result of losses of lives, weaponry, and vehicles, the enemy is forced to come to a halt but their offensive capability remains enormous. The enemy is equipped with high-tech weapons, has superiority in firepower, extensive use of electronic warfare and cyber warfare, mobility, and flexible posture transformation. Consequently, the counteroffensive campaign will be extremely fierce, highly volatile, and full of complex changes. To complete the mission requires the campaign to resolve many issues ranging from preparation and execution of operations. Of note, command and operational coordination between the mobile and on-site forces are of significant importance, aimed to bring into play advantages and overall power of forces to establish posture, garner efforts, seek opportunities, apply suitable operational methods and tactics, and actively engage and destroy enemy troops. To enhance the effectiveness of coordination between the mobile and on-site forces requires the campaign commanders and headquarters to adopt the following solutions.

First, thorough grasp and correct assessment of enemy situation. This provides the foundation for devising plans and measures to coordinate operations between the mobile and on-site forces, seize initiative, force the enemy to fight in our own way, and quickly achieve objectives of the campaign.

Apart from having a good understanding of our situation and the operational environments, the campaign commander and headquarters must perceive the enemy situation well, especially their organisation, strength, weaponry, degree of loss, status, response, strengths, and weaknesses. Assessment of the enemy must be comprehensive, which includes information about the ground forces and airborne forces, the aims and objectives of attack, the primary direction of attack, the secondary direction of attack, the potential directions of sending reinforcements by land and waterways, and the most likely areas for airborne landings. It is necessary to closely monitor enemy activities prior to and during preparation and execution of campaign as well as their following actions.

To have a correct, firm understanding of the enemy, the campaign commander and headquarters can collect and analyse information provided by various sources, especially forces of the local defence zone in the operational area. This lays the basis for drawing conclusions about strengths and weaknesses of the enemy and anticipating plans for coordination between the mobile and on-site forces; working out measures to undermine strengths of the enemy while exploiting their weaknesses, ensuring high combat effectiveness.

Second, taking full advantages of the military region’s defence posture and defence zones of localities. Counteroffensive campaigns on different scales in the war to safeguard the Fatherland must rely on the military region’s defence posture and local defence zones, no matter in what instances they are conducted. This is the strongest and most fundamental backbone that facilitates coordination between the mobile and on-site forces and leverage of overall power for attacking the enemy.

Accordingly, the military region’s defence posture creates favourable conditions on posture, human resource, and property during operational cooperation between the mobile and on-site forces. The arrangement of forces in the military region and their operational activities in different directions and areas have brought about the position and window of opportunity for the mobile force of the campaign to concentrate its units and cooperate closely with other forces on counter-attacking the enemy in the planned areas. It is within the posture of local defence zones that the mobile force takes full advantage of the key defence areas, combat bases, combat villages and communes, and logistical, technical support of localities prepared in peacetime to enhance the effectiveness of coordination with the on-site force.

At present and future time, the armed forces in local defence zones is organised, staffed, and equipped properly. They conduct exercises regularly according to operational plans in each critical area. Therefore, their comprehensive quality and combat power are ceaselessly enhanced. In the preparation phase, the mobile force can cooperate with this force in preparing roads and building part of fortifications and battle positions. When battles occur, the mobile force can cooperate with other forces in the defence zone in getting to know about the enemy, severing the enemy’s lines of communication, speeding up widespread operational activities, and launching repeated attacks on the flank and the rear of enemy formations, forcing them to spread to respond and creating favourable conditions for the mobile force to retaliate against the enemy, especially in key battles.

Third, the relationship between the mobile force and on-site force must be properly fostered. This is a vital matter for coordination between the mobile and on-site forces, which aims to facilitate harmonious, close relationships among forces participating in the campaign while tapping into activeness and proactiveness during coordination and generating overall power. In principle the on-site force will be in charge of extensive, separate, small operations in order to stretch out and inflict losses on the enemy, creating posture and opportunities for the mobile force to commence attack. The mobile force is the critical element of the campaign and used for important missions and major battles, especially the decisive, key battle of the campaign.

As a result of large scope of operations; complex terrain which can be divided by rivers, canals, hills, mountains, and ravines; and participation of many forces, the campaign commander and headquarters need to formulate unified, concrete coordination plans suitable to reality in the battle field; clearly specify forces’ courses of action and command and control. The operational coordination between the mobile and on-site forces must be close, concrete, meticulous, etc., ensuring that the courses of action are carried out as planned without overlapping or omitting targets.

To successfully address the relationship between the mobile and on-site forces, based on practical situations, the campaign commander must assign tasks and coordinate operational activities closely according to detailed plans, which clearly specify scope of missions, timings, and command and control signals. The operational activities of the on-site and mobile force can occur concurrently, successively, or interconnectedly with one another according to a unified plan and under the unified command of the campaign command. The operational activities of the on-site force must aim to support those of the mobile force. More importantly, there is a need to be flexible but resolute in command and effectively respond to situations arising during the cooperation process between the mobile and on-site forces, especially in key battles of the campaign.

Fourth, good execution of support work. Successful adoption of this solution is of significant importance, which enables the mobile and on-site forces to coordinate their actions at the right time and bring into play the overall power to destroy the enemy troops while minimising our forces’ casualties.

The campaign needs to provide sufficient roads for maneuver for the on-site force undertaking extensive operational activities in the area, for the mobile force participating in critical, decisive battles, and for forces moving from one battle field to another. It must proactively evade enemy fire, return fire, and suppress high-tech weapons of the enemy, providing force security for coordination between the mobile and on-site force. Additionally, the campaign needs to secure communications for command, informing, and alerting units about enemy’s offensive fire or use of weapons of mass destruction; prevent and defeat enemy’s electronic countermeasures and signal interference; and maintain smooth communication between the mobile and on-site forces during preparation and execution of operations.

To achieve effective operational coordination between the mobile and on-site forces, the campaign needs to conduct maneuvers by various roads; have a good understanding of the adversary’s capabilities, schemes, and rules for employing high-tech weapons; make full use of the military region’s defence posture and local defence zones, especially the terrain conducive to cover forces and equipment, to deploy combat formations in a secret, consecutive, flexible, close manner. In addition to measures to secure communications for command and control, the campaign should coordinate courses of action closely among units, specify coordination signals according to each phase and task in order to prevent and respond to the enemy’s electronic warfare, camouflage radio stations to avoid being revealed and destroyed by the enemy during operational coordination between the mobile and on-site forces.

Coordination between the mobile and on-site forces participating in counteroffensive campaigns in the war to safeguard the Fatherland is carried out under new conditions. Factors concerning the adversaries and our forces have witnessed developments, thus deserving further research and improvement in both theory and practice in order to ceaselessly enhance the effectiveness of operational coordination between the two forces to meet requirement of modern wars.

Lieutenant Colonel, Master NGUYEN TRUNG HIEN