Throughout the course of the Vietnamese revolutionary leadership, especially during the resistance wars against French colonialists and American imperialists, as well as during the cause of building socialism in the North, President Ho Chi Minh placed great emphasis on the task of constructing and defending the rear, considering it one of the decisive factors for the victory of the struggle for national liberation, construction, and protection.

According to President Ho Chi Minh, the rear plays an immensely significant and decisive role in the outcome of a resistance war: “There must be a revolutionary base to start an uprising; there must be a rear to launch a resistance war”. The more arduous and intense armed struggle and revolutionary war are, the more critical the role of the rear grows. Although the rear only gives indirect support to victories on the battlefield, it played a decisive role in providing human and material resources for the front lines and instilling the confidence of victory into troops. Only when the rear is robust and well-protected are the soldiers on the battlefield empowered to defeat the enemy. President Ho Chi Minh’s thought of “a self-reliant army is a strong one” affirms a simple yet profound truth: building a strong, resilient and victorious army requires a robust and resilient rear on all fronts, especially on economic and defence ones, serving as a vast reserve of human and material resources, meeting the ever-increasing demands of the battlefield.

1. Some contents, viewpoints, and measures for building a strong rear of the resistance war according to Ho Chi Minh’s thought

President Ho Chi Minh emphasised the comprehensive development of a robust rear across all aspects, including politics, ideology, economics, defence, culture, and education in close alignment with the construction and firm protection of the rear in both peacetime and wartime. First and foremost, the core and consistent element throughout the revolutionary process is the construction of a politically and ideologically robust rear. Ho Chi Minh stated that the key task for constructing a strong rear lies in developing political forces. According to him, the firmest foundation of the revolution and the rear of resistance war is the enlightened people’s patriotism and boundless loyalty to the cause of national liberation and Homeland construction and protection: “The patriotism and unity of the people are an immensely powerful and indomitable force”. Over the course of building the rear, Ho Chi Minh had always paid due attention to building the Party and strengthening the Party’s centralised and unified leadership. He urged all units and localities to diligently consolidate strong party organisations, with each party cell truly becoming a leadership nucleus - a “steel fortress” at grass-roots level. In terms of Party-building in the rear, it is crucial to focus on educating party committees, heads of party committees, and key cadres on ideological understanding, leadership methods, and ways of drafting resolutions on the work of building the military rear, especially local military work at grass-roots levels.

Alongside Party building, Ho Chi Minh frequently reminded cadres at all levels, especially in localities to ensure that the people know how to benefit from and exercise their democratic rights, dare to speak up and dare to take action. He demanded that local authorities, mass organisations, and political entities truly fulfil their roles in organising and operating social activities, realising the people’s rights to mastery, and building a state of the people, by the people, and for the people. Additionally, he consistently stressed that all-level authorities had to strictly abide by and implement the Party and State’s policies to enhance productivity, ceaselessly improve the material and spiritual lives of the people in the rear, and consolidate the people’s strength in wartime.

Ho Chi Minh’s viewpoint on building a politically and ideologically strong rear is also reflected in his guiding principle; he stated that party committees and local authorities at all levels should actively foster and launch patriotic emulation movements, uphold revolutionary heroism and the spirit of sacrifice for national independence and freedom and willingly fulfil all tasks for the armed forces and the people. He famously said that “Everyone emulates / Every sector emulates / We will definitely win / The enemy will definitely lose”. Fully aware of his thought, our Party launched numerous rear-building political campaigns and emulation movements throughout the country, generating an immense motivation for the entire population and armed forces to join hands in fulfilling their tasks both in the rear and on the battlefield. 

Building economic potential is a prerequisite for bolstering defence capabilities. Only with a thriving economy the rear can adequately and opportunely meet the ever-increasing demands of war, and by then it can sustain a protracted struggle and grow stronger with each passing day until the ultimate victory is achieved. Furthermore, a robust economy is essential for improving the material and spiritual well-being of the people in the rear, enabling them to maintain and nurture their strength amidst the rigour of protracted resistance war. As Ho Chi Minh emphasised: “Knowing how to fight is commendable, but only knowing how to fight and taking slightly politics, economics, and the people’s dissemination and education is akin to knowing just a one sided picture of a problem because warfare cannot be separated from politics and economics”.

Under the conditions of a still impoverished country with low productivity and underdeveloped infrastructure, and great devastation by prolonged wars, with the spirit of self-reliance and self-resilience as the guiding principle, Ho Chi Minh advocated the policy of increasing agricultural production and practising thrift, considering it a fundamental “national policy” to improve the people’s living standards, restore and develop the economy, and serve the requirements of the resistance war. With the slogan of “a self-reliant army is a strong one”, “every inch of land, every inch of gold”, he constantly called on the whole people and army to “Boost agricultural production! Boost agricultural production right now! Keep boosting agricultural production!”. This practical motto aimed to continuously fortify the rear to support the triumphant resistance war and national construction.

Ho Chi Minh also attached great importance to cultural, educational, and healthcare development. Right from the establishment of the government and throughout the resistance war, Ho Chi Minh had always paid special attention to building a new cultural foundation, caring for cultural and spiritual well-being of the people, and taking good care of the people’s health in the rear. Under the leadership of the Party, illiteracy was eradicated nationwide, and general education saw gradual improvement. The educational level of both troops and people was increased, enhancing their understanding of revolutionary tasks, the rear construction, and global and domestic situations, thereby creating favourable conditions for military mobilisation in the resistance war and the rear construction and protection. Simultaneously, Ho Chi Minh pointed out: “Promoting cultural work to train new individuals and cadres for the cause of national resistance war and construction”.

The tasks of constructing and protecting the rear of resistance wars and nurturing the people’s lives and strength are two inseparable sides of the same coin. President Ho Chi Minh clearly stated that while defence is of paramount importance, it is the task of constructing the rear that ultimately determines the strength and stability of the rear. He also urged our soldiers and people to actively prepare for both construction and defence of the rear, maintain heightened vigilance and resolutely thwart any internal sabotage or external attacks from the enemy.

2. Promoting the value of Ho Chi Minh’s thought on wartime rear in national construction and defence today

Our country is currently in the process of the cause of national renovation, accelerating industrialisation and modernisation amidst a complex international and regional situation with both opportunities and challenges intertwined. Hostile forces are intensifying their strategy of “peaceful evolution” to undermine the Party’s leadership role over the armed forces, along with subversive plots at various levels to sabotage our revolutionary cause. Against this backdrop, it is extremely important and urgent to thoroughly grasp Ho Chi Minh’s thought on building a comprehensively strong rear. It is essential to clearly pinpoint the strategic viewpoints and orientations to build the rear right in peacetime in line with the requirements and conditions of the cause of national construction and protection in the new period, focusing on key aspects, as follows.

First, thoroughly grasping Ho Chi Minh’s thought on building the wartime rear in peacetime. In the process of formulating the Party’s lines for the cause of national renovation in general, and national defence and security construction and consolidation in particular, our Party has consistently affirmed: “Based on economic development, we must adequately and stably meet the material and spiritual needs of the armed forces, reinforcing the posture of Homeland defence in both military and security aspects”. In reality, the transition from wartime to peacetime takes place in various fields, especially in politics, military affairs, economics, culture, and society. This practical reality demands that the Party renew its thinking, leadership mechanisms, and implementation methods. Regarding the construction of the rear area in peacetime, our Party has consistently demonstrated coherence, inheritance, and development through the core issue of building an all-people defence and national security posture and in combining the development of national economy with national defence. It is evident that early determining the line for building the wartime rear in peacetime and defining the content and steps for building an all-people national defence and national security posture in the era of international integration reflects our Party’s agile brainpower, strategic vision and adaptability to the nation’s practical challenges in a globalised context.

Second, constructing the wartime rear in peacetime comprehensively and synchronously across all fronts including politics, economics, culture, society, defence, and security. During the resistance war against the US imperialists, the strategic rear in the North had always received significant attention from the Party, becoming robust in all aspects and withstanding the harsh challenges of the enemy’s destructive war. This foundation allowed the North to fully commit its resources and manpower to the liberation of the South and the reunification of the country. This experience should be fully and deeply applied and inherited under the conditions of high-tech warfare, especially during the period of widespread international integration and rapidly advancing science and technology. Today, with many modern weapons and warfare methods, it is imperative that we pay special attention to building and organising the wartime rear in peacetime with correspondingly new contents. By doing so, in the event of a war, the rear can stand firm against any challenge, providing a solid foundation and unwavering support for our entire army and people to defeat the enemy and firmly safeguard the Homeland.

Third, strengthening potential and power of the entire nation, including the entire political system, in building the peacetime rear, combining domestic strength with international influence. During the period of deep regional and international integration, our Party has identified that: “We must promote the power of the entire nation and the whole political system, take full advantage of the consensus and support of the international community to strengthen national defence and security capabilities, and build a robust all-people national defence and security posture”. To this end, we must “closely integrate economics, culture, and society with national defence and security and vice versa in specific socio-economic strategies and planning. Closely combining national defence and security with external affairs, we can strengthen the “people’s hearts and minds posture”, creating a solid foundation for building an all-people national defence and security”.

In summary, our Party has clearly pointed out that in the cause of today’s Homeland building and safeguarding, while the current situation presents new developments, the rear is still a decisive factor in military strength. The rear’s potential power is a determining factor for victories in a war. Therefore, our focus on the rear construction in this new era must encompass politics, economics, culture, society, science, and military affairs. It is a must to combine economic development with national defence and diplomacy. Furthermore, it is imperative to combine domestic strength with international influence to leverage the consensus and support of international friends and people to create synergy for firmly protecting the Socialist Homeland of Vietnam.

Sr. Col., PhD. NGUYEN VAN QUANG – NGO THI CAM LIEN