If it is to occur, the Fatherland protection war would be a highly developed people’s war against the enemy’s large-scale, high-intensity invasion with hi-tech weapons and extensive electronic and cyber warfare. In order to win  such war, grounded on strategic defensive combat and military regions’ defence, we would carry out operations on various scales. In this regard, defensive campaigns serve as an important element that should be meticulously researched both theoretically and practically.

At the onset and during the war to defend the Fatherland, defensive campaigns could be organised in military regions’ main defensive directions or other directions of strategic importance; they could be relevant to main defensive zones and critical operational and strategic targets that should be safeguarded. Such campaigns should be prepared in peacetime and based on provincial or city defensive zone postures, military regions’ defence, and activities of strategic combat. In comparison with previous national liberation wars, that is a new point and provides basic advantages and a solid foundation for the campaign’s posture establishment, potential development, and battle practice to win victory. However, our enemies have new developments in comparison with the past , particularly their hi-tech weapons and cyber warfare capabilities, which will make combat situations more intense, changeable and unpredictable. Hence, defensive campaigns will take place with high volatility, heavy consumption of materials, and difficulties in the command and support work. Those new characteristics require sufficient, close organisation, command, and coordination amongst the campaign’s commander and offices; at the same time, it is necessary to combine many different resources, forces, and forms of support for combat.

Unlike other campaigns in previous national liberation wars, defensive campaigns in the war for Fatherland protection are often prepared in peacetime; their plans and projects are made in advance and will be adjusted and supplemented properly when war breaks out. However, it is possible that due to the enemy’s vigorous attacks, our front-line defensive zones will be breached, our defensive zone forces will unable to prevent the enemy, our crucial targets will be threatened, and we will not be able to organise counter-attacks or offensives; in that case, defensive campaigns could be carried out with the short duration of preparation. Besides, grounded on the pre-set combat determination, we could employ part of the main force in cooperation with forces within provincial-level defensive zones to conduct defensive campaigns.

For a defensive campaign on each scale, in each area, and within each type of strategic combat, there are differences in forms and methods of organising forces to fight the enemy; in this regard, identifying methods of the campaign operation is of utmost importance. The dominant ideology on methods of combat is relying on local defensive zones and military regions’ defence to establish a solid, inter-connected, in-depth campaign posture in each direction and area against the enemy’s attacks from various directions. Doing so will help create a firm position and great potential for defensive campaigns to realise its methods of combat. This article puts forward a number of major issues on the methods of combat of defensive campaigns for research and discussion.

First, identify areas, directions, and defence zones during a defensive campaign. This is a method of key importance to effectively establishing the campaign’s posture. Making an incorrect identification of those above-mentioned things will negatively impact on the whole posture of a defensive campaign. Therefore, it is important to carefully consider the campaign’s tasks, topographical features, and estimates about the enemy’s offensives and our campaign forces’ combat capacity to properly identify areas, directions, and defence zones. The area for launching a defensive campaign is often situated in the main defensive directions of military regions or the Ministry of National Defence  (MND), favourable for both defensive and offensive, and relevant to localities’ main defensive zones and operational , strategic targets that should be protected. Defensive directions, especially the main one must be aimed at the enemy’s main attacking directions. In addition to the main defensive direction, it is necessary for the campaign to identify secondary and coordinating directions. With reference to defence zones, in each attacking direction of the enemy, the campaign could organise 1-3 defence zones. It is vital for the campaign’s main defence zone to possess a dominant position, remain inter-connected, and provide a favourable condition for both defence and attack, which could be described as a determinant to the stability of the defensive posture.

Second, set up campaign posture. This is an important part of the art of the campaign operation in general, defensive campaigns in particular. In order to bring into play our synergy against the enemy, it is necessary to well manage the relationship between force, position, opportunity, and stratagem; in this regard, posture plays an important role in laying a foundation for applying operational  methods and tactical forms. A posture includes standing point, battlefield, disposition of battlefield equipment and forces, military, political, and population situations, terrain, combat developments, and regional, global, and domestic situations that directly or indirectly impact on battlefield situation. A defensive campaign should be based on the developed people’s war posture and closely combine the main force’s posture with the provincial or city defensive zone posture to establish a solid, inter-connected, in-depth defensive posture in each direction and area against the enemy’s offensives from various directions.

Third, organise and employ campaign forces. This is the art of creating superior potential at the crucial time of a campaign to destroy the enemy’s attacking directions. In modern warfare, it is essential to bring into play capacity and strengths of each force participating in a defensive campaign. There should be sufficient components to be organised; however, it is necessary to concentrate forces and means on main defensive directions and areas, on targets that must be protected, and on key battles. Besides, there should be a strong reserve force to maintain the stability of the campaign and continuous combat. Significance should be attached to properly organising defensive and attacking mobile forces. The attacking mobile forces must play a core role in conducting battles and especially key battles in the enemy’s deployment zones and against the enemy’s point-hopping attacks on the ground, the enemy’s airborne operations, or the enemy’s penetration of our main defence zone.

Additionally, due attention should be paid to promoting the synergy created by other forces stationed in the campaign’s area, such as main units of military regions (or the MND), the armed forces in provincial or city defensive zones, the Border Guard Force, the Public Security, the Coast Guard, militia and self-defence units from hamlets, villages, factories, construction sites, and farms, manpower from departments, sectors, and organisations as well as the masses. The campaign must develop a uniform plan for command and operation to encourage coordination between those forces, create the synergy, and win victory over the enemy.

Fourth, employ methods of combat and tactical forms as well as identify phases and key battles. This measure determines whether a defensive campaign is victorious or defeated. Employing methods of combat represents the activity of a part of the campaign’s forces, which means impacting on the enemy’s formation to perform the campaign’s way of combat. Due to practical conditions of the enemy and ours, tasks and way of combat of a defensive campaign have been developed; thus, operational methods will witness developments. When applying operational  methods, we must base on the characteristics, principles, way of combat of a defensive campaign, the particularities of the enemy and ours as well as the campaign’s tasks and intents.

Identifying phases of a campaign is to follow a sequence of fighting the enemy, aimed at step by step destroying the enemy’s posture and each enemy section, winning victory in each battle, fulfilling each task of the campaign, and finally accomplishing all objectives and tasks of the campaign. The duration of each phase of the campaign depends on the campaign’s tasks and intents. The identification of the campaign’s phases must be associated with the determination of the campaign’s key battles. Although a campaign is not divided into phases, there must be key battles to fulfil its objectives and tasks.

Fifth, create and seize opportunities, and transform campaign posture. Creating and seizing opportunities will help obtain victory in a defensive campaign as an art throughout the process of preparing and conducting the campaign. Opportunities for fighting the enemy could be provided and seized via a proactive grasp and estimate of the enemy’s situation by the campaign’s forces or via the process of combat command and operation by the campaign’s commander and offices. In some cases, opportunities could be created by the strategy’s general position or the enemy’s subjectivity. Therefore, the campaign’s commander and offices must flexibly, proactively command forces to create and grasp opportunities for defeating the enemy. At the same time, due regard should be paid to proactively flexibly transforming the campaign’s posture and adjusting the disposition of defensive and mobile forces in accordance with modern warfare so as to break the enemy’s posture and gain advantages for our victory.

In the war for Fatherland protection, to effectively carry out a defensive campaign, commander and offices of the campaign must have a firm grasp of the enemy’s situation as the basis for correctly setting out the campaign’s determination. Moreover, it is vital to neutralise the enemy’s hi-tech weapons in order to reduce losses and maintain forces for durable combat. Emphasis should be placed on building fortifications and battlefields under requirements of combat, both avoiding and proactively fighting the enemy, minimising causalities, and preserving personnel and means. Great value should be attached to attacking the enemy’s headquarters, command and control centres, airports, seaports, firebases, rendezvous, and means. Besides, all-level cadres and commanders should proactively collect information about hi-tech weapons used in recent wars and the development of new weapons and equipment by other militaries around the world, while actively learning from other countries’ experiences in preventing and fighting hi-tech weapons.

In the foreseeable future, thanks to the science and technology boom across the globe, both the enemy and us will see developments in military organisational structure, weapons, and technical equipment. However, our enemies will achieve more rapid developments and often proactively wage wars with their flexible combat methods. Hence, theories about operational defensive combat in the war for the Fatherland protection should continue to be researched and developed in accordance with modern warfare.

Sr. Col. DUONG VAN THIEN, PhD.

Army Academy