Lessons from the first victory of the Vietnam People's Navy

48 years have passed, but the lessons of the first victorious battle of the Vietnam People's Navy, the army and people of the North are still valuable and relevant.

On August 2 and 5, 1964, the Vietnam People's Navy launched its first battle, repelling the US Navy's Madoc destroyer that had violated the waters of the Gulf of Tonkin; at the same time, coordinating with the army and people of the North, it fought bravely, shot down and wounded many modern aircraft, and captured American pilots. The victory in the first battle was one of the glorious feats that went down in history and became the pride of generations of officers and soldiers of the heroic Vietnam People's Navy.

VOV reporter had an interview with Rear Admiral Dinh Gia That, Deputy Political Commissar of the Navy.

PV:Sir, August 2 and 5 have become the traditional days of the first victory of the Vietnam People's Army and the army and people of the North. Could you please tell us what is the historical significance of this victory?

Rear Admiral Dinh Gia That: The victory on August 2 and 5, 1964 was the first test of the Vietnam People's Navy after nearly 10 years of establishment. The Vietnam People's Navy fought bravely to repel the Madoc ship, shot down many planes and captured the first American pilot in the North, creating the tradition of winning the first battle. That victory had great historical significance, opening the history of fighting and winning of the Vietnam People's Navy, the pride of many generations of officers and soldiers in the Service, specifically:

Firstly: This is a victory of political strength and national spirit - the determination to dare to fight, to fight and to know how to defeat the American invaders; it is a symbol of the indomitable will, of the intelligence and military art of Vietnam inherited and developed in the Ho Chi Minh era.

Rear Admiral Dinh Gia That answers VOV reporter's interview

Second: This is the victory of the correct, creative, and determined strategic direction of the Party Central Committee and President Ho Chi Minh. The people's war of "using the small to fight the big, using the few to fight the many" of our Party and people. It is the courageous and resilient will, the proactive spirit, the creative intelligence, overcoming fierce difficulties and hardships, finding the most effective way to fight the enemy - equipped with many times more modern weapons than us, when they recklessly violated the sovereignty of the sea and airspace of the Fatherland.

Third: It was the opening victory, creating a favorable premise, motivating the offensive spirit for the army and people of the North to defeat the escalation of the destructive war of the US imperialists, firmly protecting the great rear of the North; affirming the indomitable and courageous will of the Vietnamese people, a small but unyielding nation, daring to confront and defeat the invading enemy.

PV: What are the historical lessons from the first victory?

Rear Admiral Dinh Gia That:The victory in the first battle on August 2 and 5, 1964 left us with many valuable lessons, which are still valuable for today and tomorrow, namely:

One is: We must regularly educate and thoroughly understand the situation and tasks, constantly raise revolutionary vigilance, grasp the enemy's plots and tricks, and not be passive and surprised in any situation.

This is the most important experience, the foundation for victory. Therefore, it is necessary to regularly educate and thoroughly understand the situation of revolutionary tasks, the Army, the Service, the unit and the tradition of the nation, especially the requirements of the tasks in the new situation. Focus on thoroughly understanding the specific situation and tasks of the unit, always upholding the spirit of revolutionary vigilance and high combat readiness, building the will to overcome difficulties, hardships and challenges, being ready to fight and sacrifice; the spirit of courage, determination to fight and defeat the enemy.

Second: Uphold the spirit of self-reliance, self-strengthening, daring to fight, determined to fight, and knowing how to defeat the invading American imperialists. Know how to exploit the enemy's weaknesses and loopholes, and know how to take advantage of our strengths and existing weapons and equipment to fight the enemy.

Third: Promote the combined strength, in which special importance is attached to the work of organizing, leading, commanding and firmly grasping the forces, closely directing each stage of the battle, ensuring the element of surprise and secrecy, grasping the opportunity, and applying appropriate fighting methods to achieve high efficiency:

First of all, it is necessary to promote the role of Party organizations in leading the building of determination, determining leadership policies and measures, especially combat plans, to ensure victory in the battle. At the same time, it is necessary to promote the role of command organizations and grasp the situation, and develop combat plans. The dissemination of tasks, organization of forces, and organization of security in all aspects must be carried out seriously, in accordance with the requirements of combat missions and the work of ensuring the secrecy of the battle.

Fourth: Must maintain organization, discipline, solidarity, coordination and do a good job of policy work in combat:

This is a characteristic of the Army, especially in combat, the requirement of organization and discipline must be strictly maintained. At the same time, building solidarity and close coordination between forces in the ship, in the squadron, in the combat cluster, with friendly units, with the Party Committee, the local government and people and doing a good job of policy work in combat must be thoughtful, meticulous and follow the principles correctly.

Five: Quickly master military science and technology, effectively use existing weapons and technical equipment. Regularly educate officers, soldiers, professional soldiers, and defense workers to deeply study and master science and technology, prepare and perform well the work of ensuring service for commanders to issue accurate orders and gain victory; promptly draw experience, improve technical and tactical skills through each battle.

PV:How does the Navy apply lessons learned to building the Vietnam People's Navy to meet mission requirements in the new situation, sir?

Rear Admiral Dinh Gia That: The Navy has been creatively applying those lessons learned into the practice of building forces in the Navy, especially in the current period, focusing on building the Navy in a modern direction, that is:

Building political and spiritual factors for the army to be ready to defeat the new type of war at sea of ​​hostile forces. Especially building the determination to fight, the core of which is the ideology of "dare to fight, determined to fight and know how to fight and win".

Regularly thoroughly grasp the situation and tasks, making the troops clearly distinguish and deeply perceive the objects and partners; regularly grasp the situation; proactively and effectively handle situations according to the correct policies, not being passive or surprised; being both resolute and clever in the fight to protect maritime sovereignty, while maintaining a peaceful and stable environment, not allowing foreign countries to create excuses and cause conflicts at sea.
Focus on improving the quality of technical and tactical training, practicing combat skills; attach importance to synchronous and in-depth training, mastering technical weapons and equipment, especially modern technical weapons and equipment; closely following the situation, combat plans, suitable for each force.

At the same time, coordinate with provinces and cities to promote propaganda work on seas and islands in the spirit of Resolution 4 of the 10th Central Committee on "Vietnam's Marine Strategy to 2020" to create consensus on people's awareness and actions towards the task of protecting the sovereignty of the seas and islands of the Fatherland.

PV:Sir, after more than half a century of building, fighting and growing, how has the Vietnam People's Navy developed to meet the requirements of the new situation?

Rear Admiral Dinh Gia That: Looking back at the early stages of its establishment, the Vietnam People's Navy encountered many difficulties, lacking in facilities, human resources as well as technical equipment and weapons. After more than 50 years of building, fighting, winning and growing, the appearance of the Vietnam People's Navy has changed and developed remarkably.

Most recently, in the general direction of the military - defense tasks and Party building of the Army for the 2010-2015 term, it was determined: "Continue to innovate strongly and comprehensively; focus on improving the leadership capacity and fighting strength of the Army Party Committee, building a revolutionary, disciplined, elite, and gradually modern People's Army. First of all, build the Navy; Air Defense - Air Force; Information; Electronic Warfare and Modern Technical Reconnaissance...".

The policy of building a modern Navy is an objective necessity, an urgent requirement in the cause of protecting the Fatherland in general and protecting the sovereignty of the sea, islands and continental shelf of the Fatherland today in particular, and at the same time it is also a common trend of maritime countries in the world.

PV: Thank you very much!./.

According to (vov)-TN