As a main combat corps and an important striking force of the VPA, over the past 60 years, the Tank and Amour Corps has always successfully accomplished their assigned tasks. Promoting the tradition of “Win once deployed”, the Party Committee and Command of the Corps have been adopting a number of synchronous and drastic measures for enhancing its offensive strength, meeting the requirements of Fatherland protection in the new situation.

Implementing the guideline on building the VPA “revolutionary, regular and fairly modern”, including the corps of the Army in light of the Resolution of the 12^th Congress of the Party Central Committee (II tenure), on 5 October 1959, the Tank Regiment 202 - the first Tank and Amour unit of the Military was founded (the forerunner of the later Tank and Amour Corps). After the foundation, officers and soldiers of the regiment actively surmounted hardships, perfected their organisational structure, mastered the weapon and equipment, conducted training and drills, enhanced their level of tactics, technique and coordination with other corps while carrying out political and ideological education and building an all-strong unit to be ready to fight and win wars in any situations.

Maj. Gen. Nguyen Khac Nam checking combat readiness of Brigade 147 under the Navy

Entering the first phase of the resistance war against the U.S. for national salvation, adhering to the order of the Ministry of National Defence, the regiment deployed part of its strength to the southern battlefield. With the motto of pitting the enemy’s tanks against the enemy, studying the combat practice to shape the tactics for tank troops while developing the force, tank and amour troops coordinated closely with the infantry and friendly corps, participated in several important operations and won decisive victories with high performance and saw ceaseless growth. With their special feats of arms during the 60 years of establishment, combat and growth, 44 collectives and 15 individuals of the Tank and Amour Corps have been awarded with the title “Hero of the People’s Armed Forces”.

Inheriting and promoting the glorious tradition, and grasping the Party’s lines, viewpoint on military and defence  and Fatherland protection, the Party Committee and Command of the Corps have been implementing synchronously a number of measures to improve the assaulting strength, meeting the requirements and mission in the new situation, including the following basic ones:

First, developing for the Tank and Amour troops with firm political steadfastness, “iron will”, making them ready to receive and successfully accomplish all assigned tasks. Fully aware of the role of the Corps, the Party Committee and Command of the Corps have directed its junior units, agencies and schools to focus on building the troops politically steadfast, iron-willed as the basis for successfully accomplishing combat readiness and combat missions. To that end, party committees and commandants at all echelons in the Corps should implement synchronous measures to improve the quality of political and ideological education, focusing on renewing the contents, programs and methods of education to make it relevant to the subjects, features of the areas of operation and the assigned tasks. The utmost importance is to make their troops politically steadfast, absolutely loyal to the Party, the Fatherland and the people, believe in the reform of the country and the modernisation of the Military and the Corps. At the same time, they should be made confident in the weapon, equipment, tactics of the Tank and Amour Corps, not to be hesitate about the hardships and challenges of the training, or even sacrifice in the event of war. In the short run, it is necessary to make them “iron-willed”, not to be affected by the negative sides of the market economy and the subversion of the hostile forces, especially on the cyber space. The core thing is to make the troops thoroughly grasp the viewpoint, worldview and methodology of the Marxism - Leninism, Ho Chi Minh thought, the military and defence lines and the tradition of the Corps and units, etc.

Brigade 201 practises offensive training

Second, attaching importance to renewing and improving the quality of training and education, the level of combat readiness. This is a regular political mission and an important breakthrough deciding the combat strength of the Tank and Amour troops. Therefore, units, agencies and schools of the corps should uphold their determination and responsibility for this task. First, continue to grasp and effectively implement the Resolution No. 765-NQ/QUTW of the Central Military Commission and the Resolution 438-NQ/ĐU of the Corps’ Party Committee on “Improving the training quality in the 2013 - 2020 period and beyond”. In particular, attention should be paid to concretizing, adjusting the targets, contents, method to make it relevant to the features of each unit and agency. At the same time, actively study to renew the contents, methods of management, operation of training in a robust and comprehensive manner to include the new contents such as: high-tech war, cyber warfare, information war, etc. Particularly, attention should be paid to the dissemination of combat experience of the tank and armour troops and foreign training experience; strictly adhere to the Regulations for training and staff, especially the contest, festival, review, evaluation regimes to improve the quality of training.

Moreover, units of the Tank and Amour Corps should actively participate in the exercises held by the military regions, corps and services under the plans of the Ministry of National Defence; attach importance to improving the quality of joint-force exercise with friendly forces and local armed forces in their areas of operation, especially the mission of countering riot and overthrowing. After exercises, they should adjust plans, improve the level of leadership, command and collaboration with the infantry and other corps as a basis for the Corps Command to make suggestion to the Ministry of National Defence on the deployment, command and operation of the tank and amour forces army-wide.

Third, studying and developing the art of war of tank and amour. The art of war is an important content for improving the offensive strength - the factor that ensure the victory of the Tank and Amour troops. Therefore, studying and developing the art of war is an urgent issue not only for the Tank and Amour troops but also for the whole Military. Basing on the world military knowledge and inheriting the nation’s military tradition, especially the typical fights of Tank and Amour troop in the resistance war to apply and develop the art of war of the Tank and Amour force in contemporary warfare. Because of its big size and noise whilst the enemy uses modern reconnaissance and observation equipment and high-tech weapon, the military scientific agency should coordinate with units and schools to study measures for camouflage, diversion to ensure the secrecy during its movements, hiding and offensive. In the defensive combat of the military regions and provincial defensive areas, tank is an important combat force. Therefore, in order to bring into play its offensive strength, units and agencies should study measures to enhance the coordination and collaboration with the infantry and friendly forces in the defensive areas, especially the way of manoeuvre of tank in municipal areas when countering riot amid the crowd and congestion.

Thoroughly implementing the above measures will improve the overall quality and combat strength, especially the offensive strength for Tank and Amour troops so that they will successfully accomplish their assigned tasks, deserving the tradition of “Win once deployed”

Major General Nguyen Khac Nam, Commander of the Corps