President Ho Chi Minh with the Vietnam People's Army

(Baonghean.vn) - President Ho Chi Minh is a genius leader of the Vietnamese people, the beloved Father of the revolutionary armed forces. He directly founded, organized, educated and trained the Vietnam People's Army.

With a strategic and sharp vision, since the 1920s, leader Nguyen Ai Quoc actively prepared for the birth of a revolutionary army. He directly opened cadre training classes, selecting students to study at the Whampoa Military School (China). At the same time, he wrote and published many books and newspapers on the military field. In mid-1940, he introduced comrade Vo Nguyen Giap to study at the Military School of the Communist Party of China in Yan'an and advised him to "try to study more military".

On December 22, 1944, the Vietnam Propaganda Liberation Army was established.

After 30 years of traveling around the world to find a way to save the country, on January 28, 1941, leader Nguyen Ai Quoc returned to Pac Bo, Truong Ha commune, Ha Quang district (Cao Bang) to directly lead the Vietnamese revolutionary movement and build Cao Bang into the first revolutionary base of the whole country to lead the Vietnamese revolution. He continued to send comrade Vo Nguyen Giap to stay in China to study. "Uncle Van (another name of General Vo Nguyen Giap) must pay more attention to the military".

At Pac Bo, from May 10 to 19, 1941, he chaired the 8th Central Conference and decided to establish the Viet Minh Front, build and develop armed forces to prepare to take advantage of the opportunity to move from "partial uprisings in each locality" to "pave the way for a great general uprising to seize power throughout the country".

President Ho Chi Minh observed Dong Khe station at the 1950 Border Campaign.

In October 1941, leader Nguyen Ai Quoc assigned comrades Le Thiet Hung, Le Quang Ba, and Hoang Sam the task of coordinating with each other to open the first concentrated military training class in Pac Bo to move towards establishing a revolutionary armed team. He directly participated in training the team members. To have teaching materials, he compiled important military documents such as: "Ten Disciplines"; "Guerrilla Fighting"; "Basic Military Knowledge"; "Russian Guerrilla Experience"...

Directly led by leader Nguyen Ai Quoc, the revolutionary forces developed rapidly and strongly. From building a political army of the masses, enlightening about the path of national salvation and liberation, from armed guerrilla teams protecting the base, fighting against enemy looting, the concentrated armed forces gradually formed. In particular, the Cao Bang base opened many military training courses on the theory of liberation war, on guerrilla warfare, equipping the first cadres of our Army with basic military knowledge.

President Ho Chi Minh visited the "death squad" unit of Hanoi in early 1947.

In mid-1944, the world situation changed rapidly. In August 1944, the Party Central Committee called on the people to “Take up arms and chase away the common enemy”. The atmosphere of preparing for an uprising was boiling everywhere. At the end of 1944, the people of Cao - Bac - Lang were ready to respond to the uprising. Leader Ho Chi Minh pointed out: “Now the period of peaceful revolution has passed but the period of national uprising has not yet come... The struggle now must move from the political form to the military form. However, at present, politics is more important than the military. We must find a suitable form to push the movement forward”.

President Ho Chi Minh and General Vo Nguyen Giap studied the combat plan for the Border campaign, 1950.

The “appropriate form” at that time, according to leader Ho Chi Minh, was to establish a liberation army - the first main force - the Vietnam Propaganda Liberation Army (VNTTGPQ). In the Directive for the establishment of the Team drafted by him, he clearly stated: “The name VNTTGPQ Team means politics is more important than military”, the principle of organizing the force was “to select from the ranks of the Cao - Bac - Lang guerrilla teams the most determined and enthusiastic cadres and team members and to concentrate a large part of the weapons to establish the main force”; regarding tactics, “to apply guerrilla fighting, secret, fast, active, today East tomorrow West, coming without a trace, going without a trace”.

He expressed his confidence: “The VNTTGPQ team is a senior army, I hope that there will soon be other junior teams. Although its scale is small at first, its future is very glorious. It is the starting point of the liberation army, it can go from the South to the North, throughout our country of Vietnam”. The Party Central Committee and leader Ho Chi Minh assigned comrade Vo Nguyen Giap to organize and lead and announce the establishment of the team.

President Ho Chi Minh instructs a military unit during the Cao - Bac - Lang campaign at Nhi Thanh cave - Lang Son province in 1950.

Implementing the Directive of leader Ho Chi Minh, comrade Vo Nguyen Giap and comrade Le Quang Ba and the Cao - Bac - Lang Inter-Provincial Party Committee met to discuss and actively and urgently prepare to select people and concentrate weapons, and agree on a specific organizational plan.

On December 22, 1944, the founding ceremony of the VNTTGPQ Team was solemnly held at the Den Sinh mountain slope, Slam Cao mountain branch in the Khau Giang range (Tran Hung Dao forest), Hoang Hoa Tham commune (Tam Kim commune), Nguyen Binh district, Cao Bang province. Attending the ceremony were representatives of the Cao Bang - Bac Kan - Lang Son Inter-Provincial Party Committee, representatives of the National Salvation organizations and typical representatives of the people of the Tay, Nung, Dao, Mong ethnic groups of Nguyen Binh district, Cao Bang, Bac Kan. The team consisted of 34 soldiers with 34 guns of various types, led by a Party cell, commanded by comrade Vo Nguyen Giap. Among the first 34 soldiers of the Team, 25 soldiers were children of ethnic groups in Cao Bang province (in which, comrade Xich Thang, aka Duong Mac Thach, was the Political Commissar).

President Ho Chi Minh talks with soldiers of the Vanguard Army Corps on their way to take over the capital at Gieng Temple, Hung Temple, Phu Tho, September 19, 1954.

From the first main force, under the leadership of President Ho Chi Minh and our Party, the Vietnam People's Army has continuously developed, demonstrating a politically steadfast, militarily talented army, fighting and winning in the August Revolution, in the 30 years of resistance against the French colonialists and American imperialists. That is the Heroic Army of the Heroic Nation. The formation and development process of the Vietnam People's Army is closely linked to the life and career of President Ho Chi Minh, so our Army has been called by the people with a very intimate but also very proud name "Uncle Ho's Army".

Peace

(Synthetic)