To defeat enemy’s operational measures in military region defence operations requires the military region commander and his staffs to successfully carry out planned operational activities, in which outcome of the key battle to destroy enemy’s operational-level airborne landing troops is of significant importance, contributing to driving the development of military region defence in our favour and decisive victory.

Military region defence operations is a highly synergetic operational activity, conducted on the basis of municipal, provincial defence zones, and prepared in peacetime with a view to defeating adversaries’ operational schemes and precluding attacks on military region area, thus occupying a vital position in the war to safeguard the Fatherland. During an operational process, the military region can launch various types of campaigns and apply different tactics and waves of operational activities flexibly to repel enemy attacks, including the key battle to counter enemy airborne landing at the operational level of war.

When staging attacks on the military region area, the enemy force can be a joint task force which is made up by infantry brigades, mechanised infantry brigades, one marine division, and between one and two airborne landing brigades. These units are outfitted with high-tech weapons, modern equipment, and supporting fire from airforce, artillery, and missiles. As for offensive methods, the enemy can deploy their units to encroach upon our borders, launch fire attacks, and conduct airborne landings in connection with internal armed violence. Of note, airborne landing will be carried out in a flexible, extensive manner with the aim of breaking the defence posture and rapidly attack and capture critical targets in the depth of military region.

Regarding our side, the armed forces of military regions witnesses developments in terms of organisation, staffing, and combat expertise, undergoes basic training, and carries out military exercises of all types, including engaging enemy airborne landing. However, our experience in attacking enemy airborne landing at operational level of war in defence operations, especially in the context of enemy’s use of high-tech weapons, remains limited. Therefore, to gain victory in defence operations, in combating enemy airborne landing in particular, the military region commander and his staffs must tackle many issues at the operational level of war, including the key battle for annihilating enemy landing troops. Victory of this key battle will facilitate other operational activities and strong protection of the area. This article seeks to offer several insights on the key battle for engaging enemy airborne landing at the operational level of war in military region defence operations.

First, there is a need for creating an uninterrupted, thorny posture, which can control, besiege, and separate enemy formation, thus forcing them to land in our estimated area. Recent wars and conflicts in the world reveal that when staging attacks on military region area, adversaries will resort to many operational measures with a view to gaining swift victories. Nevertheless, due to vast areas and difficult terrain of most military regions as well as extensive, robust people’s war posture, enemies are likely to use operational-level airborne landing to support units in charge of capturing major targets in the depth of military regions. Therefore, military regions are requested to surround and destroy the airborne troops. This will enable our operational-level mobile forces to defeat enemy waves of attack. To do so, the military region commander and his staffs must direct units, especially those in charge of combating enemy airborne troops, to formulate proper operational plans, establish an uninterrupted, thorny posture to control and separate enemy formation right from the onset of their attack, and apply deceptive measures, thereby forcing the enemy to land their airborne troops on our estimated areas.

As for military regions with forests and mountainous terrain, the commander and staffs need to predict the flight routes and landing areas of the enemy correctly and thorough understanding of their forces, equipment, and intentions. This will enable them to command units to collaborate closely with local armed forces and air defence units in the area to capture heights of great value, establish a widespread people’s air defence posture, and implement deceptive measures, thus forcing the enemy to land their airborne troops according to our intention. When the enemy troops are landed on our planned areas, the commander must quickly command mobile units to intensify operational activities and use forces from heights to control terrain of high value and prevent enemy’s massive landing, creating opportunities for other forces to embark on fighting. Additionally, the commander must order units of the main force and local armed forces to accelerate their fight on the flanks and at the rear of the ground force formation as well as the force conducting armed riots to prevent them from supporting the airborne troops. Units directly responsible for combating enemy airborne troops quickly surround the landing area and separate the enemy in the air from those on the ground, divide the airborne landing formation, and separate the enemy brigade headquarters from its detachments to swiftly annihilate enemy airborne landing troops.

Military regions characterised by sea and plain need to form an extensive, uninterrupted combat posture, rely on the posture of combat villages and communes to separate the seaborne landing troops and ground force units from the airborne landing troops, surround and divide enemy troops on the landing area, thereby making them unable to deploy their combat formation. The process of posture establishment must ensure secrecy and surprise. If the enemy detects our activities, we are not only vulnerable to attacks and casualties but also reveal our intent to the enemy. Then the establishment of posture for the key battle to destroy enemy airborne landing troops at the operational level of war will encounter numerous difficulties.

Second, it is necessary to create and seize the window of opportunity for engaging enemy. In operations, window of opportunity plays a vital role and the deciding factor in the success of a campaign or a battle. Window of opportunity can be created by us or mistakes of the adversaries that we need to exploit. As for engaging enemy airborne landing troops, the most favourable opportunity for launching an attack is when the enemy troops are being landed or have just been landed. Meanwhile our forces have created posture for preventing, encircling, and dividing landing areas from one another. The mobile force has been well prepared in advance and ready to enter into operations. To do so, the commander and his staffs must analyse, assess, and arrive at correct conclusions on situations, predict enemy airborne landing accurately, and work out plans to make daytime and night-time reconnaissance of areas, most notably the main direction and area where the enemy is likely to land their troops. When conducting reconnaissance, there is a need for having a good understanding of the enemy’s positions, strength, and weapons on each landing area. The reconnaissance activities must go hand in hand with countering enemy’s reconnaissance and keeping our offensive intention secret.

Additionally, the commander and his staffs must command the mobile force of his military region to cooperate with forces of the Ministry of National Defence closely on stepping up fighting enemy in all directions and encircling their main force, thus forcing them to conduct airborne landing and exposing their troops to our attack. When the window of opportunity appears, the commander and his staffs must gasp situations thoroughly and give correct, timely orders without being passive and surprised and missing the opportunity. When factors leading to window of opportunity are not sufficient, the commander and his staffs are still be able to order their units to commence fighting if they realise that the mobile forces can gain victory in the key battle for combating enemy airborne landing troops. Moreover, the commander must seize opportunities to move his forces because this is the deciding factor in the success of the battle to engage enemy airborne landing at the operational level of war. If force movement is carried out at the right time, we will annihilate the majority of enemy troops, thereby creating a game changer in operations. If we move forces too early, the enemy will detect out operational intent. Conversely, if we move force late, we will miss the opportunity for destroying enemy troops.

Third, there is a need for proper use of forces for combating enemy airborne landing troops. Given their intent to support offensive units on land and from the sea, assist the internal rebels, or capture critical targets in the military region defence zone, the enemy is likely to land about a brigade or a brigade reinforced with infantry or cavalry, outfitted with modern weapons and light vehicles, and provided with effective supporting fire from the air force, artillery, and missiles. Furthermore, enemy airborne landing is highly volatile and full of evolving situations. The enemy usually uses artillery fire to bombard the landing area before landing their troops. Therefore, a vital issue about using forces to fight the key battle for destroying enemy airborne landing troops at the operational level of war is that the forces must be strong enough for annihilating the enemy at the most favourable opportunity. Thus, the military region commander and his staffs must form the force for engaging enemy airborne landing troops from various elements such as units of the main force, local force, militia and self-defence force, and combat arms, in which units of the main force play the core role. This force, including the reserve, must be organised from the onset of the campaign and ensure secrecy.

In terms of strength, it is possible to use an infantry division in conjunction with units of some combat arms and local force in the operational area. The formation of this force must be based on psychological and health status of soldiers as well as advantages, disadvantages, and mobility of each unit. There is a need for bringing into play the combat power of reinforcements and friendly units to fight the key battle to annihilate enemy airborne landing troops at the operational level of war. In the resistance war against the US aggressors for national salvation, the key battle for engaging enemy airborne troops in the Operation Plei Me in the Ia Drang valley is a typical example. By means of posture establishment, we forced the enemy to land their troops on our estimated area. As a result of careful preparation of force and posture, when the enemy troops were landed in the Ia Drang valley, we wiped out nearly one battalion.

The war to safeguard the Fatherland (should it occur), the adversaries will use weapon systems with high precision and lethality, modern concepts of operations, and mobility. To achieve victory in the key battle for engaging enemy airborne troops at the operational level of war in military region defence, thus contributing to spurring operational activities in our favour, the military region commander and his staffs must thoroughly grasp principles of strategic operations and tackle issues about engaging enemy airborne landing in a flexible, creative, effective manner in accordance with characteristics of the enemy, our selves, and operational environment.

Colonel, Doctor LE QUOC HUY, 1st Army College