Coming to the final period of the resistance war against America saving the country, with the essential requirements for building and developing the forces to timely support the Southern field, Tank Regiment 215 (known as Tank Brigade 215 now) was established, which directly belonged to the Tank and Armoured Corps, and played as the strategic mobile reserve for the Ministry of National Defence. Since its establishment, the Brigade has actively overcome difficulties, quickly stabilised its organisation and staff, completed the systems of party cells and leaderships at all levels; received weapons, equipment, vehicles and materials; organised the training to improve its mobile capability and attacking strength, being ready for combat participation.
Implementing policies by the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of National Defence on gathering all forces of tanks and armored vehicles, making an “iron fist” for the regular corps to launch strategic operations, large-scale combined forces attacks in order to completely liberate the South, on 02/1975, the Brigade was assigned a mission of mobilising most of its forces to take part in the Southeast field and the historical Ho Chi Minh Campaign. Clearly defining its political responsibility for the Army, Homeland and beloved Southern people, the Brigade promptly made preparation for combat, gave further training and studied the tactics of combined forces together with making reconnaissance of the ground, technical support and quick operation to shorten the time with Unit 26 ( Tank and Armour) attached to the 4th Military , Unit 232, etc. to attack Sai Gon in the Northeastern and Southwestern directions. In the campaign, the Brigade promoted its attacking strength, closely cooperated with the infantry and other arms to organise into groups, attacked ingeniously, bravely, creatively and recklessly, thrusted and destroyed many enemy forces and vehicles in Combat Unit 48’s Headquarter, captured Trang Bom base, seized the 130 Height, Hung Nghia, Phu Lam Radar station; supported Division 1 and Division 9 attacking the enemies in Dia stream, Vinh Loc, opened the road for Division 6 to attack Long Lac; together with the Tank-Armoured forces of the 3rd Military Region attacked the separate Capital region, Police Station, Independence Palace; with the 2nd Military Corps destroyed the final positions of the Sai Gon puppet troops to completely liberate the South, making the heroic history of the Vietnam People’s Army and Tank-Armoured Soldiers. After 1975, the Brigade was in the combined forces to engage in 34 battles in Cambodia, gloriously accomplishing the international missions.
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| Brigade 215 conducts live-firing exercise |
Over the last half century, whether fighting in domestic theatres or in friends’ zones, the Brigade has proved its speedy and reckless mobility, attacked and thrusted into enemies’ formations to capture the fields, destroy the enemies and win the victory, contributing to the construction of the tradition of “surely winning once deployed” by Tank-Armour Soldiers. Entering the country’s renovation period, recently, the Brigade has successfully accomplished its assigned missions. Cadres and soldiers have been consistent and stable; the organisation and staff are elite, compact and strong; the training has been taken regularly and renovated; the skills and capability of combat readiness have been improved; the disciplines and regularity have been seriously maintained; the logistic and technical work has been assured; the Brigade has been stabilised and developed, successfully accomplishing all sudden missions and frequently leading the Emulation movement held by the Corps. For its feats of arms and special achievements in construction, combat and growth, the Brigade was awarded the title of “Hero of the People’s Armed Forces in the renovation era” (2004) by the State; and many other noble awards by the Ministry of National Defence, the Corps and and the locality. These achievements have been gained by the Brigade’s party committee and command with the synchronous implementation of many scientific and effective policies and methods.
Firstly, focus on building the Unit which is strong in politics to servce as the basis for improving the overall and attacking strength. This is a fundamental solution for the Brigade to successfully accomplish the core missions of training, combat readiness and fighting. Based on this awareness, the Brigade’s party committee and command have paid more attention to leading and directing the implementation of many solutions on improving quality of political thought education, building the determined will to accomplish all missions for soldiers. The Brigade has actively renovated the contents, forms, methods and diversify the education forms; creatively, suitably and creatively applied the Project on “Renovating the political education in units in the new period”; combined the education of politics, mission grasp with the education of traditions, the dissemination of military and law knowledge and the organisation of special political activities; focused on the education and construction for soldiers to have stable political spirit, iron will, be ready to overcome difficulties and challenges to well finish all missions. 100% of the Brigade’s annual results of political education are satisfactory, with over 85% being rated good and excellent. All of its soldiers are enthusiastic and committed to their work.
At the same time, the Brigade has focused on building its strong organisations; closely combined the staff and organisation completion according to the Corps’ plans and procedure with further training to improve the leading skills and combatting capability for the party committees and party cells; enhanced the check and supervision, the implementation of Democratic Regulations; promoted the roles of all-level leading cadres in their leaderships, management and commanding of their units. The activities of emulation have been renovated, created and combined closely between emulating and promoting the studying and following of Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality and style, making clear and regular changes in the quality of training, combat readiness and unit construction. The activities of policymaking, public relation, protection of internal politics, struggling for wrong and hostile viewpoints have been concerned, contributing to the construction of safe areas and the successful accomplishment of missions.
Secondly, renovate and improve the training quality, knowledge and attacking capability to meet the demands for modern wars. Basing on the thorough grasp of resolutions, directions and orders on training, combat readiness, especially Resolution No. 438-NQ/ĐU, dated 06/01/2013 by the Arm’s Party Committee on “Improving the training quality in the period of 2013 – 2020 and the following years”; the Orders of training and combat readiness by the Corps’ Commander, the Brigade has actively implemented many synchronous and practical solutions with detailed targets and standards to make complete and firm breakthroughs in its training. Accordingly, the Brigade has directed units to make good preparation, focus on further trainings to improve knowledge and skills for cadres who have been directly participating in training.
Simultaneously, the Brigade has renovated the contents, forms and methods of training management towards the flexibility due to each task and requirements set by the reality; combined the military training to political education, technical to tactic training, training to passing over the traditions of struggle and building the regularity and safety in units. Annually, the Brigade organises full training of contents and time for all participants, focusing on the training on weapon and equipment handling for vehicle crews; skills of techniques and tactics, capability of cooperation and implementation of missions; gaining equal and firm training results in all units, assuring 100% of being passed and over 80% of being good and excellent. The Brigade has strictly and effectively maintained the regulations in training, focusing on evaluations, contests and competitions, especially the contest of “Excellent tank crews”, timely learning from experience to improve the training quality. Also, the Brigade has enhanced the training and tactic exercises to battalion-scale, mobile live-firing in the combined fighting formations and skills of exploiting weapons and equipment on the tanks, etc. in order to meet the demands for modern wars.
Thirdly, improve the quality of discipline observance, building the regularity and safe unit. Discipline is the strength for the whole Army in general and the Brigade in particular, especially for a fighting Corps who directly manages, uses and operates many kinds of modern weapons, equipment and technical vehicles. Clearly bearing in mind, the Brigade’s Party Committee and Command have closely combined between the propaganda, education and promoting the construction of “typical” units of “regularity, discipline and safety”; focused on educating soldiers to understand and apply creatively and effectively the rules of law, the Army’s Management Regulations, especially the new directions, documents on discipline observance, unit construction, and assuring safety in the Army, on that basis, to build for each soldier the responsibility and determination to fulfil their tasks. The Brigade has directed offices and units to build their own resolutions, plans and programs with detailed targets and standards in every month, quarter and year, making sure the suitability with their mission requirements, managing objects and general targets of the Corps; organised meetings of partial and total summaries, learning from experience to timely repair shortcomings and weaknesses; promoted the roles of cadres at all levels in educating and managing soldiers’ thought, maintaining discipline in the “self-conscious, strict and clear” spirit; orders and directions from the seniors have been implemented quickly, accurately, synchronously and completely from top downwards, making the solidarity and unity in the whole unit.
Fourthly, pay more attention to the technical and logistic support. The Brigade has implemented synchronously many solutions on improving the quality of management, exploitation and usage of weapons, technical equipment according to the contents and regulations of the Steering Committee 50 of the Ministry and the Corps; completely assured completely, timely and synchronously weapons, technical equipment, ammunition for training, combat readiness and other sudden missions. The Brigade has combined the strict maintenance of technical working manner with research, promoted the initiatives of technical renovation, improved the capability of transport, repair and synchronous maintenance of tanks and armoured vehicles; frequently assured the technical coefficient of combat readiness (Kt = 1), combat training (Kt = 0,95 - 1,0) being able to complete all assigned missions.
Together with well doing their technical work, the Brigade has directed the logistic department to actively cooperate with other units to build the system of logistic documents, well support the logistic material reserves for combat readiness, regular and sudden missions; prioritised the missions of combat readiness, training, exercises; enhanced the construction and consolidation of “bright, green, clean and scenic” barracks; promoted farming production, built the qualified messes and well managed the military supplies connected to the Emulation movement of “The logistics branch following Uncle Ho’s sayings”, which contributes to the improvement of fighting capability, the successful accomplishment of all missions to deserve the tradition of the “Hero of the People’s Armed Forces in the renovation era”.
Colonel LE HAI DANG, Brigade Commander