70 years ago, under the leadership of the Party and President Ho Chi Minh, our military and people won the victory of Dien Bien Phu that “resounded across the five continents, shook the globe”, successfully ending the resistance war against the French, stimulating the rise of colonies for national liberation, marking the complete collapse of colonialism on a global scale. That great victory has profound theoretical and practical values with a lot of lessons for the country’s renovation, integration, development, construction, and protection cause. Notably, Dien Bien Phu victory provides us with lessons on promoting the spirit of determination to fight, determination to win, which is manifested as follows.

Gen. Luong Cuong addressing the National Scientific Conference on Dien Bien Phu Victory (photo: VNA)

First, remaining steadfast in the goal of national independence, maintaining the Party’s leadership, achieving uniformity in terms of will and action across the entire Party, Army, and people

Grounded on its correct, scientific situational assessments, in December 1953, our Politburo decided to attack to destroy the heavily fortified base of Dien Bien Phu. Grasping that decision, the entire Party, Army, and people upheld their combat morale, “tapping all resources for Dien Bien Phu Campaign and doing anything necessary to win this Campaign”.

Prior to the Campaign, President Ho Chi Minh handed over the “Determined to Fight, Determined to Win” Flag and sent a letter of encouragement to cadres and soldiers taking part in the battle of strategic importance, emphasising the heaviness but glory of the task, believing that our cadres and soldiers would bring into play their previous victories and overcome all difficulties and hardships to continue to win the battle. Following Uncle Ho’s words, General Vo Nguyen Giap, Commander-in-Chief of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) made an order for all cadres and soldiers of units and corps to launch a great offensive against the fortress group of Dien Bien Phu. The flag and teachings given by Uncle Ho became an appeal for compatriots and soldiers across the country to strive for feats of arms.

In the process of preparation and combat, all-level party committees, party organisations, commissars, commands, political agencies, and political cadres always closely monitored situational developments and proactively, opportunely settled ideological issues among cadres and soldiers in our attacking directions. The Campaign’s Party Committee and Command exercised their leadership and direction over the consolidation of party organisations and commands in combat directions, while enhancing the work of political and ideological education, with a focus on introducing directives of the General Department of Politics on “political work during Dien Bien Phu Campaign” and opportunely encouraging all troops in the process. It should be noted that after the Campaign’s Party Committee and Command had decided to shift the operational motto and plan from “rapid attack, rapid victory” to “steady attack, steady advance”, all-level party committees and political agencies opportunely issued resolutions to enable all cadres, party members, soldiers, and forces to grasp and believe in the motto of “steady attack, steady advance”,  promote the spirit of endurance in the face of hardship, and demonstrate their courage, readiness for sacrifice, determination to fight, and determination to win. Military art troupes conducted their performances right in trenches and artillery bunkers. The People’s Army Newspaper was allowed to collect information and release their publications, thereby opportunely providing updates on the battle and giving encouragement to our forces.

Promoting the spirit of determination to fight, determination to win aroused by Dien Bien Phu Campaign in Fatherland construction and protection, it is vital to remain steadfast in the goal of national independence and socialism, “maintain and enhance the Party’s absolute, direct leadership and the State’s uniform management towards the VPA” as a principle. In addition to enhancing party organisations’ leadership and combativeness, it is necessary to grasp and flexibly implement resolutions, directives, and strategies on Fatherland defence in the new era. Due attention should be paid to promoting the role of party committees and leaders of ministries, sectors, and localities as well as the responsibility of party committees and commands of offices, units, and the armed forces to effectively realise the Party’s guidelines and the State’s law and policies on military-defence work, particularly the Resolution of the 13^th Party Central Committee’s 8^th Plenum on “the Strategy for Fatherland Protection in the new situation”. It is important to raise the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of state management and authorities at all levels, supplement and complete the systems of laws, mechanisms, and policies on national defence as well as regulations on coordination between committees, ministries, sectors, and localities.

Second, focusing on making the three-category armed forces (main force, local force, and militia and guerrilla force), with the VPA as the core one strong in terms of politics, ideology, and organisation

The rapid development in the strength and combat coordination of the main force was one of the most important factors in Dien Bien Phu Victory. To maintain the strategic initiative and get prepared for the Winter – Spring Offensive of 1953 – 1954, the General Staff focused on building strong armed forces with the VPA as the core. The organisational structure from company to division levels was re-established in a compact manner with an increase in firepower and raiding capability. Thanks to 8 years of construction, combat, and training, wide and deep political movements, and restructuring, our troops succeeded in improving their political zeal, mastering weapons and equipment, and bettering their techniques and tactics for different forms of combat. During the Campaign, in spite of the enemy’s heavy bombardment and firepower, under the spirit of determination to fight and to win, our troops always adhered to the motto of “steady attack, steady advance” and courageously fought to take control of Him Lam and Doc Lap hills, develop the battlefield, neutralise the enemy’s airport, thwart the enemy’s counterattack attempts, and closely surround the enemy’s heavily fortified base. That was an important factor in building troops’ combat morale and absolute faith in the leadership of the Party and all-level commands as well as in creating and bringing into play the spirit of determination to fight and to win over the battle of Dien Bien Phu.

In the cause of Fatherland construction and protection, special importance should be attached to building balanced and synchronous three-category armed forces and a revolutionary, regular, elite, gradually modern VPA with a high level of synergy and combat power, making the VPA strong in terms of politics, ideology, morality, organisation, and personnel, ensuring that the VPA will always be an absolutely loyal, reliable political and combat force of the Party, State, and people with its core role in defending the socialist Vietnamese Fatherland. To that end, it is necessary to seriously, effectively implement the Politburo’s Resolution 05-NQ/TW, dated 17 January 2022, on “the organisation of the VPA in the period of 2021 – 2030 and beyond”, Resolution 230-NQ/QUTW, dated 2 April 2022, by the Central Military Commission (CMC) on “leadership over the organisation of the VPA in the period of 2021 – 2030 and beyond”, and Plan 1228/KH-BQP of the Ministry of National Defence on “the organisation of the VPA in the period of 2021 – 2030 and beyond”. The VPA must be basically built into an elite, compact, and strong army by 2025 as a vital prerequisite for the building of a revolutionary, regular, elite, modern VPA from 2030.

Offices, units, and schools must clearly identify goals, requirements, tasks, and measures for training and education work relevant to the characteristics and functions of each force and area. It is essential to achieve a breakthrough in training according to the CMC’s Resolution 1659-NQ/QUTW, dated 20 December 2022, on “raising the quality of training in the period of 2023 – 2030 and beyond”. In the training process, it is necessary to thoroughly grasp and realise the motto of “basics, practicality, solidity”, attach importance to synchronous, specialised training relevant to combat reality, train troops to master weapons and equipment, particularly the modern ones, intensify night-time, manoeuvre, coordination training to enable troops to deal with complicated situations at sea, on islands, along the land border, and in cyberspace and key areas, combine military training with political education, ideological orientation, and physical training, improve troops’ willpower, determination, and manoeuvrability in all circumstances, and closely align training with regularity building and the observance of the VPA’s discipline and the State’s law.

Third, proactively grasping, assessing, correctly anticipating, and opportunely settling situations to avoid falling into passivity

Grasping the situation provides a very important foundation for building the will to fight and to win. In the resistance war against French colonialists in general, the Winter – Spring Offensive of 1953 – 1954 in particular, our Party always grasped the situation, proactively formulated and changed combat projects in accordance with developments on the battlefield. Thanks to the posture of fighting the enemy by the whole people, we were able to concentrate our forces on large-scale battles and proactively force the French to disperse their forces, fall into passivity, and finally suffer defeat.

Accepting engagement and win victory against the enemy with their most powerful forces and modern weapons demonstrated the Vietnamese people and troops’ willpower, wisdom, and spirit of determination to fight, determination to win in the Ho Chi Minh era. Across all fronts, both at home and abroad, in both front and rear lines, all-level party committees, commands, and cadres always proactively grasped all developments, particularly troops’ ideological developments, opportunely passed on combat experience to their troops, and resolutely settled negative thoughts, pessimism, and a lack of discipline or faith in the victory.  Doing so helped render cadres, soldiers, and forces taking part in the Campaign fully aware of the combat goal and enabled them to build up their courage and endurance against hardships and readily sacrifice for the successful fulfilment of all tasks.

Currently, the situation on global and regional scales continues to be complex and unpredictable. Domestically, after nearly 40 years of renovation, our country has gained tremendous achievements of historic significance, “Our country has never enjoyed such fortune, potential, international standing and prestige as it does today”. However, hostile forces still step up their “peaceful evolution” strategy and promote “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” from within as well as “depoliticisation” and “civilianisation” of our VPA. Thus, strategic forecasts, situational evaluations, and a clear perception of partners and opponents are of paramount importance to giving timely, sound advice on managing international relations, ensuring national interests, and firmly protecting national independence, sovereignty, unification, and territorial integrity.

Applying historical lessons to protect the Fatherland from afar, together with other forces and sectors, the VPA should improve their capability in making strategic forecasts and maintaining the strategic initiative to avoid falling into passivity in any circumstance. That is the guiding ideology and fundamental requirement relating to the building of the VPA for Fatherland protection in the new situation. Playing a core role in protecting the Fatherland and the country’s peace and stability, offices and units across the VPA, particularly at strategic and campaign levels should proactively raise their capability in researching, assessing, and anticipating the situation in order to opportunely assist the CMC and Ministry of National Defence in formulating and submitting strategies to the Party and State on dealing with incidents, preventing the country from falling into passivity, especially maintaining the initiative against the possibility of enemy attack from the air and sea with hi-tech weapons.

Fourth, promoting the strength of the national great unity block associated with the strength of the times, arousing the Vietnamese people’s aspiration for development

In the resistance war against the French in general and the battle of Dien Bien Phu in particular, Vietnam won an epoch-making victory by promoting its internal strength in combination with the strength of the times. Considering the Vietnamese revolution as part of the world revolution and remaining steadfast in the international solidarity policy, Vietnam received great support from democratic, progressive forces around the world, including the progressive people in France and especially socialist countries to bring Dien Bien Phu Campaign to complete victory.

As Vietnam is integrating into the world both widely and deeply, the national strength should be closely combined with the strength of the times. The work of international integration and defence diplomacy should be actively, proactively, cleverly, flexibly, practically, effectively carried out to continue to be a highlight of the country’s diplomatic pillars, namely Party diplomacy, State diplomacy, and people-to-people diplomacy. The whole VPA should grasp the Politburo’s Resolution 34-NQ/TW, dated 9 January 2023, on several major orientations for implementing the foreign guidelines set by the 13^th National Party Congress as well as the Politburo’s Conclusion 53-KL/TW, dated 28 April 2023, and the CMC’s guidelines and solutions for international integration and defence diplomacy towards 2030 and beyond.

Offices and units across the VPA should grasp and consistently implement the Party’s foreign policy under the motto: “independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation, diversification, actively, proactively integrating into the world comprehensively, deeply, widely, effectively, maintaining peace and stability, unceasingly raising Vietnam’s status and international prestige”. Due attention should be paid to enhancing multilateral and bilateral foreign relations, proactively contributing to peace, friendship, cooperation, and sustainable development, taking advantage of resources and support from the international community as the basis for Fatherland construction and protection.

Grounded on the guidelines and strategies for protecting the Fatherland from afar, it is necessary to opportunely detect and prevent risks of confrontation, conflict, and war, remain steadfast in the motto of both cooperation and struggle, firm in the strategic principle, and flexible in strategies to turn defence diplomacy into an effective instrument and important channel of Party diplomacy and State diplomacy. Besides, it is necessary to develop defence cooperation with all countries, particularly our neighbours, ASEAN members, major powers, strategic partners, and traditional friends to build trust and prevent the risk of war. Expanding defence relations with other countries must be based on our country’s “Four No’s” defence policy to create a strategic balance in relations with partners and ensure national interests in accordance with the fundamentals of the United Nations Charter and international law. At the same time, it is important to tap all external resources to develop defence potential and encourage cooperation with various partners to develop defence industry and military technology in tandem with acquisition of modern weapons and equipment and transfer of technologies, particularly the state-of-the-art ones. Moreover, it is vital to proactively take part in United Nations peacekeeping operations, increase all-level military delegation exchange, and participate in high-level defence policy dialogues and global and regional forums to promote friendship and mutual understanding, build up strategic trust, prevent the risk of conflict, and raise our country and VPA’s prestige and status in the international arena.

Fifth, building and promoting the political – spiritual factor as the root of the spirit of determination to fight, determination to win

In the process of preparation and combat, as our troops had to continuously fight in the extremely difficult and fierce conditions, some cadres and soldiers showed their tiredness, fearfulness of difficulty, or complacency. After the second phase of the Campaign, we suffered heavy losses, the deployment of reinforcements for our units was not timely, food and ammunition were in a small quantity; meanwhile, the enemy intensified their attacks on our transport lines. Against that backdrop, the Politburo directed the Campaign’s Party Committee and Command to immediately launch a deep and wide struggle against negativism to encourage revolutionary optimism towards the victory of the Campaign.

Under the leadership and direction of the Campaign’s Party Committee and Command, all-level party organisations, political cadres, and commanders adopted measures of education and encouragement and dealt with their troops’ difficulties simultaneously. Via education work, cadres, soldiers, and the people were steadfast in the goal of national independence, better understood the objectivity and inevitability of a change in the combat motto as well as advantages and disadvantages, thereby building up their combat morale with many creative, practical measures and approaches in the process. Troops’ observance of discipline and spirit of determination to fight and to win were raised as the basis for creating an absolute advantage in terms of political – spiritual strength to completely destroy the fortress group of Dien Bien Phu.

In the current cause of Fatherland construction and protection, due regard should be paid to raising the quality of political and ideological education to ensure that our VPA will always maintain its working-class nature, uphold the goal of national independence and socialism, and remain absolutely loyal to the Party, State, and people. To that end, it is necessary to effectively implement the CMC Standing Board’s Directive 2423-CT/QUTW, dated 9 November 2023 on “raising the quality of political education in the new period”, with a focus on improving cadres and soldiers’ political steadfastness, morality, and lifestyle as the basis for building a politically strong VPA and raising its synergy and combat power. Besides, it is important to proactively combat wrong, hostile viewpoints, the degradation in political ideology, “self-evolution”, and “self-transformation”, thwart the “peaceful evolution” strategy and plots of “depoliticising” and “civilianising” our VPA, and maintain the Party’s ideological foundation within the VPA to contribute to defending and developing Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, the Party’s guidelines, and the State’s law and policies.

Consideration should be given to exercising criticism and self-criticism, resolutely, persistently implementing the Resolution of the Party Central Committee’s 4^th Plenum (11^th, 12^th, 13^th tenure) on Party building and rectification via drastic, synchronous, effective measures, and continuing to implement the Party Central Committee’s Regulation 08-QĐi/TW, dated 25 October 2018, on “the example-setting responsibility of cadres and party members, particularly the key ones at all levels”. Great value should be attached to turning the study and following of Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, ethics, and lifestyle under the 13^th Politburo’s Conclusion 01-KL/TW, dated 18 May 2021 on continuing to realise the Politburo’s Directive 05-CT/TW, dated 15 May 2016, into a daily task of each organisation, individual, and unit.

Lessons learnt from Dien Bien Phu Victory of 1954, especially the Vietnamese people and troops’ spirit of determination to fight and to win in the strategic battle remain valuable both theoretically and practically. That spirit should continue to be researched and creatively, effectively applied in the cause of Army building, national defence consolidation, and socialist Vietnamese Fatherland construction and protection in the new period.

General LUONG CUONG

Member of the Politburo

Member of the CMC Standing Board

Head of the General Department of Politics of the VPA