Stationed in the border area of Vietnam’s Northeastern region, the Military Region 1 holds a position of utmost importance to the country’s development, particularly in military and defence fields. The Military Region 1’s area is associated with resounding feats of arms in the history of national building and safeguarding. Notably, under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, its tradition of fighting against the enemy has been multiplied many times. Promoting that tradition, armed forces of the Military Region 1 has been encouraging emulation movements to facilitate economic, cultural, social development, build strong all-people national defence, posture of all-people national defence, and defensive zone, contributing to maintaining national border sovereignty and security, deserving the confidence of the people nationwide.

70 years ago, on June 11th, 1948, in La Non village, Phu Dinh commune, Dinh Hoa district, Thai Nguyen province, President Ho Chi Minh made an Appeal for Patriotic Emulation in a bid to arouse and encourage patriotism of people from all walks of life to the utmost. Uncle Ho’s teachings “Emulation is patriotism, patriotism requires emulation, and those emulating are the most patriotic” quickly became vibrant emulation movements and key drivers for the development of our country’s revolution. Since then, under the Party’s leadership, the Patriotic Emulation Movement has always been upheld and developed, thereby effectuating the entire Party, military and people’s patriotism and determination to overcome all difficulties and challenges and successfully fulfil the cause of national liberation and socialist Homeland construction and protection.

Ho Chi Minh Monument in Phu Dinh commune, Dinh Hoa district hai Nguyen province (photo: btlsqsvn.org.vn)

The Military Region 1, where President Ho Chi Minh made  the Appeal for Patriotic Emulation, during its 70 years of building, fighting and maturing, under the Party’ s leadership, has always actively emulated in overcoming all difficulties and hardships to achieve numerous brilliant feats of arms. In any circumstance, armed forces of the Military Region have always been absolutely loyal to the Party, the State and the people; grasped and flexibly applied the Party’s revolutionary and military lines to realities of combat; enhanced patriotic emulation and Determined to Win Emulation; promoted self-reliance, internal unity, close relationship with local party committees, authorities and people, and international unity; built pure, strong Party Committee of the Military Region and comprehensively strong armed forces of the Military Region to successfully fulfil every assigned task.

Comprehending Ho Chi Minh’s thought on Patriotic Emulation, in the 9-year resistance war against the French aggressors (1945-1954), together with the military and people nationwide, armed forces of the Military Region initiated and developed practical emulation movements, such as “Kill the hunger”, “Kill illiteracy”, “Kill invaders”, “Jars of rice for resistance war”, “Mass education”. Those movements contributed to improving the people’s intellectual and living standards, consolidating democracy, building strong revolutionary bases. At the same time, they contributed to victories of the campaigns, such as Viet Bac campaign - 1947 Autumn and Winter; Border campaign in 1950, 1953-1954 Winter and Spring campaign, especially the victory of Dien Bien Phu Campaign that shook the globe and forced the French Colonialists to leave the Indochina.

In the resistance war against the US, for national salvation (1954-1975), with the will “Nothing is more precious than independence and freedom” and the spirit of doing everything for the South liberation and national reunification, armed forces of the Military Region continued to enhance the emulation movements, such as “Each person does twice as much work as usual for the South”, “The Youth ready for three tasks”, “Women with three responsibilities”, which contributed to performing the role as a “big rear base” in the North for “big front line” in the South and defeating the US destruction war against the North. In that period, nearly 300,000 young people from Viet Bac ardently joined the Army to fight the enemy. Many of them died or left part of their blood and flesh on the battlefields.

During the course of Homeland construction and protection, industrialization, modernization and international integration, being imbued with Ho Chi Minh’s thought on Patriotic Emulation, grasping the Party’s views and the State’s policies and law on the emulation and reward work, inheriting and developing their tradition, armed forces of the Military Region have closely combined the Determined to Win Emulation Movement with the patriotic emulation movement by levels, sectors, localities in all fields, creating a strong motivation for the military and people of Viet Bac to obtain new achievements for the sake of the country’s development. Emulation movements, such as “The Youth set up in business”, “The Youth defend the Homeland”, “Youth Volunteer”, “Deserving to be Uncle Ho’s soldiers”, “The Youth enter science and technology”, have really become the place to demonstrate the force, will, determination and revolutionary action of troops and people of Viet Bac in the process of building and consolidating the people’s war posture, all-people national defence, and provincial and district-level defensive zones. At the same time, they have provided solid basis for building politically, ideologically, organizationally, morally strong armed forces of the Military Region with the high synergy and combat capability; for preventing and fighting against the “peaceful evolution” strategy by hostile forces, maintaining political stability, and building the national great unity block in the area. Closely combining the Determined to Win Emulation Movement with the implementation of the 12th Politburo’s Directive 05-CT/TW on studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s thought, ethics and lifestyle and the Campaign “Promoting tradition, devoting talent, deserving to be Uncle Ho’s soldiers”, units of the Military Region have taken measures to make a breakthrough in overcoming weaknesses and opportunely encourage collectives and individuals studying and following Uncle Ho via creative, specific action programs with a focus on building pure, strong party organizations, comprehensively strong offices and units, and exceptionally strong mass organizations. At the same time, unit party committees and commanders have concentrated on leading and directing emulation movements aimed at successfully performing central political missions, such as unceasingly improving the quality of training and capability of combat readiness, proactively dealing with situations, defending national border and sovereignty. Units tasked with training and combat readiness have launched the movements, such as “good training, strict discipline, high level of combat readiness”, “Passionately training regardless of any weather conditions”. Logistics, technical units have implemented the movements, such as “The military logistics sector follows Uncle Ho’s teachings”, “Building and managing regular, green, clean, scenic camp”, “Building five-good military medical unit”.  Economic - defence units have proactively dealt with difficulties, combined the construction of economic - defence zones with the performance of military, political, logistics, and technical tasks, promoted the movement “Safety, sustainability, effectiveness and development”, formulated proper plans for production and business, ensured competitiveness and employment and life for employees. Local armed forces have combined the Determined to Win Emulation Movement with patriotic emulation movements by localities properly, effectively, thereby creating strong motivations for troops of the Military Region’s armed forces to overcome hardships and successfully fulfil every task.

It is asserted that the Determined to Win Emulation by the Military Region’s armed forces has contributed to making cadres and troops absolutely believe in the Party’s leadership and the State’s law and policy, have political stuff and emulate in successfully fulfilling every assigned task.

In the time to come, grounded on Uncle Ho’s thought on patriotic emulation, to bring the Determined to Win Emulation Movement to a new height and create a driver for units’ successful fulfilment of every task, the Military Region 1’s Party Committee and High Command have determined to step up the work of education and propagation to render cadres and troops fully aware of the content, position and significance of Uncle Ho’s thought on patriotic emulation to effectively apply to carrying out emulation movements by the Military Region and units. Due regard has been paid to selecting, detecting, cultivating and multiplying typical examples and new elements. At the same time, significance has been attached to renewing content, form, and method of organizing the emulation movements in the direction of staying close to grass-roots units and political mission, ensuring diversity, fascination, easy-to-remember topics, specific targets and practical content. Emulation movements have been combined with the implementation of the Directive No.5, the Campaign “Promoting tradition, devoting talent, deserving to be Uncle Ho’s soldiers”, and resolutions by the 12th Party Central Committee, especially the Resolution of the 12th Party Central Committee’s 4th Plenum on the Party building and rectification, with a focus on making a breakthrough in performing difficult, contingency, urgent missions. The reward work has been actively renewed in a democratic, public, accurate, timely manner, with importance attached to collectives, cadres, troops and employees in grass-roots units with outstanding achievements in performing hard, dangerous tasks in harmful environment and border area. 

Being proud to be the place where Uncle Ho made the Appeal for Patriotic Emulation, the Military Region 1 will ceaselessly emulate in fulfilling all assigned tasks, contributing to the entire Party, military and people’s accomplishment of the cause of building and defending the Socialist Vietnamese Homeland.

Lt. Gen. Nguyen Sy Thang, Former Secretary of the Military Region 1’s Party Committee

Former Political Commissar of the Military Region 1