50 years ago, under the Party’s sound leadership, our Military and people successfully conducted the 1975 Spring General Offensive and Uprising, completely liberating the South, unifying the country. In that glorious victory, tank - armoured troops made brilliant contributions, thereby deserving to be an “important raiding force” of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA).
 |
| Our Tank - Armoured Force entering Independence Palace on 30 April 1975 (file photo) |
The 1975 Spring General Offensive and Uprising took place in 55 days and nights, at a pace of “one day equalling 20 years”, starting with Central Highlands Campaign, culminating with a strategic decisive battle - the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign, victoriously ending our people’s resistance war against the US for national salvation. Within the formation of the VPA in that great victory, tank - armoured troops excellently fulfilled their tasks, affirming their raiding power during joint operations; together with main mobile corps, they attacked urban areas, command headquarters, and main military bases of the enemy, destroying large segments of the enemy’s strategic defensive system, achieving extraordinary feats of arms, bolstering the glorious, heroic tradition of the Tank - Armoured Force and the VPA as well.
During Central Highlands Campaign, for the first time, we deployed a tank - armoured regiment. Thanks to elaborate preparations, particularly diversionary tactics and secrecy, Tank Regiment 273 in cooperation with the infantry continuously carried out attacks, forming powerful, daring, surprise raiding directions, overwhelming the enemy from the outset, rapidly winning victory, completely liberating Buon Ma Thuot town. Right after that battle, the Regiment cooperated with other forces in destroying enemy counterattacks in Nong Trai and Phuoc An, hunting down and annihilating retreating enemy troops along Route 7, contributing to completely liberating five Central Highlands provinces. That victory opened up a strategic opportunity for our VPA and people to advance towards Saigon, completely liberate the South, and unify the country.
During Hue - Da Nang Liberation Campaign, Tank Brigade 203 within the formation of Army Corps 2 collaborated with other forces to liberate Thua Thien - Hue; meanwhile, Tank Regiment 574 cooperated with friendly units to liberate Quang Nam and Quang Ngai provinces. Riding a wave of victories, Tank Brigade 203, Tank Regiment 574, and other infantry units destroyed the enemy’s defensive lines, eliminating the enemy’s 1st Corps and 1st Military Zone, liberating Da Nang city, changing the strategic balance of power, creating a breakthrough in the battlefield situation in our favour. Following those victories, tank - armoured troops closely collaborated with other forces to liberate Phan Rang and Phan Thiet, providing support for Division 304 to liberate Ham Tan. On the Southeast battlefield, Unit M26 engaged in 3 directions, namely West of Vam Co Dong river, Route 13, and Route 20, liberating a vast area of Tay Ninh and Lam Dong provinces, allowing our army corps to deploy their formations close to the enemy’s last stronghold in the West and Northwest of Saigon.
In the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign, the Campaign Command employed about 400 tanks and armoured vehicles. Tank - armoured troops spearheaded our main corps’ offensive formations in all 5 directions, rapidly penetrating deep into the enemy’s last stronghold, occupying the enemy’s General Staff Command, Presidential Palace, Capital Special Zone Command, National Police Headquarters, and Tan Son Nhat airport. The image of our two tanks, numbered 390 and 843, under Tank Brigade 203, spearheading the attacking formation, courageously smashing the iron gate of Independence Place at noon of 30 April 1975, went down in the nation’s history as a symbol of victory.
It is a fact that in the 1975 Spring General Offensive and Uprising, tanks and armoured vehicles were employed in the largest number. Battles with the participation of tanks and armoured vehicles achieved high performance, taking place at a rapid offensive speed, winning decisive victories, providing us with valuable lessons on force building, on the art of using tanks and armoured vehicles, and on command, combat support, and combat coordination between tanks, the infantry, and other specialised corps.
 |
| Tank - Armoured Brigade 416, Military Region 9 during a live-fire exercise |
Currently, the tasks of VPA building, national defence consolidation, and Fatherland protection are imposing increasingly high requirements on the entire Military in general, the tank - armoured force in particular. A (potential) Fatherland protection war will be a modern war in which tank - armoured force will still be an important, main raiding force on the battlefield. From experiences in using the tank - armoured force in the Great 1975 Spring Victory and realities of recent armed conflicts around the world, we must step up the building of an “adept, compact, strong” tank - armoured force towards modernity. To that end, the entire VPA, particularly the Tank - Armoured Corps should adopt synchronised measures, with a focus on the following.
First, continuing to grasp and execute higher echelons’ resolutions and directives on force adjustments. In the 1975 Spring General Offensive and Uprising, a crucial factor in creating powerful raids to destroy the enemy’s defensive lines was the proper organisation and disposition of tank - armoured units in each campaign, ensuring their power in terms of quantity and quality. Promoting that lesson, the Corps will give advice to the Central Military Commission (CMC) and the Ministry of National Defence (MND) on leading and directing the entire tank - armoured force to grasp resolutions and directives on building an “adept, compact, strong” VPA towards modernity, while adhering to the pre-set road map and plans for building a “revolutionary, regular, elite, modern” tank - armoured force in accordance with Vietnam’s military art and existing weapons and equipment. As the Chairmanship of the entire tank - armoured force, the Corps Command will continue to conduct researches and reviews to help competent offices promptly settle difficulties, drawbacks, and emerging issues relating to force building and disposition in accordance with the VPA’s new organisational structure, with a view to bringing into play the tank - armoured force’s strength. Simultaneously, it will recommend competent agencies to amend, supplement, and issue regulations on functions, tasks, authority, work relationships of tank - armoured offices and units as well as on their organisational structure both in peacetime and wartime, identify the functions, responsibilities, and tasks of each position, and opportunely ensure policies and entitlements for cadres and soldiers, with the aim of enabling troops to readily undertake and successfully accomplish all assigned tasks.
Second, building a politically strong tank - armoured force. The power of the tank - armoured force during the 1975 Spring General Offensive and Uprising was created by many elements, with political steadfastness, willpower, and resolve acting as a solid foundation for cadres and soldiers to overcome hardships and achieve landslide feats of arms. Creatively applying that valuable lesson, tank - armoured offices and units across the VPA will always uphold and strengthen all-level party committees and commands’ leadership and direction as a deciding factor in their synergy and combat power, laying a solid foundation for the tank - armoured force to move straight to modernity. Emphasis will be placed on building pure, strong party committees and party organisations at all levels in terms of politics, ideology, morality, organisation, and personnel, with all-round leadership capacity and great combativeness, turning them into the nucleus within their offices and units. Moreover, due regard will be paid to maintaining and promoting the virtues of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” and the “iron strength” of tank - armoured troops, regularly educating cadres and soldiers on the pride and glorious tradition of the heroic tank - armoured force, cementing troops’ faith in weapons, equipment, and tank - armoured warfare art, fostering troops’ resolve to surmount all difficulties and successfully fulfil all assigned tasks.
Additionally, great value will be attached to building a pool of cadres with sufficient quantity, proper structure, high quality, and revolutionary morality to meet their task requirements in the new situation. Due attention will be paid to well conducting the work of internal political protection, keeping military secrets, ensuring the absolute safety of offices and units, building strong mass organisations and soldiers’ councils, enhancing internal and military - civilian unity, promoting grass-roots democracy, and forming a healthy military cultural environment.
Third, raising the quality of training and combat readiness, ensuring “victory after every deployment”. To meet the requirements of joint operations during the 1975 Spring General Offensive and Uprising, particularly in the key, decisive battles, Tank - Armoured Regiments 202 and 203 focused on improving their troops’ skills, tactics, and combat coordination on different types of terrain. As a result, in spite of fighting in a narrow space and poor visibility, “battle chariots” were leveraged by tank - armoured troops; they always spearheaded offensive formations, destroying crucial targets, closely coordinating with other forces to penetrate deep into key targets and win decisive victories during campaigns.
Bringing into play those lessons, tank - armoured offices and units across the VPA will continue to grasp and realise higher echelons’ resolutions and directives on training, exercises, and combat readiness, especially the CMC’s Resolution 1659-NQ/QUTW, dated 20 December 2022, and the Corps Party Committee’s Resolution 17-NQ/ĐU, dated 30 March 2023 on raising the quality of training in the period of 2023 - 2030 and beyond. Offices and units will step up a reform in training content, forms, and methods relevant to their existing weapons and equipment and the development of military science, technology, and art in a Fatherland protection war.
Under the motto of “basics, practicality, solidity”, offices and units will hold synchronised, specialised, tasks-based training courses to maintain readiness for new forms of war and combat. Significance will be attached to training troops to effectively exploit modern, existing weapons and equipment, enhancing troops’ manoeuvrability and response to enemy reconnaissance, electronic warfare, and hi-tech weapons, and improving troops’ coordination in joint operations. Offices and units will closely combine training with the sharing of combat experiences, training with exercises, and combat training with physical training. Emphasis will be placed on raising the quality of exercises, especially live-fire, two-side ones and participation in joint exercises in the conditions of modern warfare. To achieve a comprehensive, solid change in training work, the Corps will enhance inspection and re-inspection of this work and actively take part in training contests, particularly the International Army Games. Besides, it will direct units to stringently maintain combat readiness, ensure synchronicity of their personnel, weapons, equipment, means, and logistics - technical support, practise combat readiness projects, and train their troops to cross the river and manoeuvre on various types of terrain and in complex weather conditions, with the aim of improving commanders’ combat command and coordination capabilities and soldiers’ combat readiness capacity.
Fourth, enhancing scientific research and application and digital transformation as preconditions for building a modern tank - armoured force. To do so, the Corps will direct offices and units to undertake and apply research projects and topics on military art, military technology, and military social sciences and humanities into practice. Priority will be given to carrying out practical reviews and researches into the use of tanks in modern warfare throughout wars and armed conflicts around the world in order to develop theories and art relating to the utilisation of the tank - armoured force in a Fatherland protection war. The Corps will regularly promote the emulation movement on technical initiatives and innovations to effectively exploit new, modern weapons and equipment, maintain and extend the lifespan of the existing weaponry. It will give advice to the CMC and the MND on acquiring weapons and equipment capable of countering hi-tech weapons in accordance with Vietnam’s military art and the building of an “adept, compact, strong”, modern tank - armoured force. It will focus on upgrading information technology infrastructure with high bandwidth, acquiring synchronised, advanced equipment and software, and building simulation centres for training work. It will maintain and leverage digital platforms for directing and operating training work, exercises, and combat readiness as well as for supervising the performance of its tasks.
Glorious feats of arms by the tank - armoured force during the 1975 Spring General Offensive and Uprising provide a huge source of motivations and an important foundation for building an “adept, compact, strong” tank - armoured force towards modernity, capable of undertaking and successfully accomplishing all assigned missions, bolstering the tradition of “winning victory after every deployment” in the new period.
Maj. Gen. DO DINH THANH
Commander of the Tank - Armoured Corps