Precedence of a glorious cause

Editorial words: In 80 years of building, fighting, and growing, the Vietnam People's Army is the heroic army of a heroic nation, fulfilling the functions of a fighting force and a working force and excellently completing the tasks of the nation and international duties, worthy of the praise of President Ho Chi Minh: "Our army is loyal to the Party, devoted to the people, ready to fight and sacrifice for the independence and freedom of the fatherland and for socialism. Any task is soon completed, any difficulty is soon overcome, and any enemy is soon defeated."

On December 22, 1944 in the Tran Hung Dao forest (Tam Kim commune, Nguyen Bình district, Cao Bang province), implementing the directive of President Ho Chi Minh, the Vietnam Propaganda Liberation Army with 34 soldiers - the precursor of the Vietnam People's Army, was established under the leadership of Vo Nguyen Giap, marking a turning point in the strategy of building the revolutionary armed forces of CPV. December 22 has gone down in the glorious history of the nation, becoming the founding day of the Vietnam People's Army.

The carved stale of 34 soldiers of the Vietnam Propaganda Liberation Army is seen at the Special National Historic Site of Tran Hung Dao Forest, the birthplace of the Vietnam People's Army. Photo: Cao Son

The first major armed force

From the very beginning, CPV has deeply grasped the Marxist-Leninist theory of revolutionary violence of the proletariat. The Party's first political doctrine affirmed that the path to class and national liberation was to use revolutionary violence to seize power and required the organization. The Brief Political Program of the Party (February 1930) drafted by President Ho Chi Minh, mentioned the task of "Organizing a workers' and peasants' army." The Political Resolution of the Party (October 1930) also clearly stated the tasks of "Arming the workers and peasants," "Establishing a workers' and peasants' army," and "Organizing a workers' and peasants' self-defense force."

On January 28, 1941, after 30 years of wandering abroad in search of a way to save the country and its people, Nguyen Ai Quoc returned to Pac Bo (Truong Ha commune, Ha Quang district, Cao Bang province) to directly lead the Vietnamese revolution while establishing Cao Bang as the first revolutionary base of the entire country and actively preparing in all aspects for the August Revolution of 1945. From May 10 to 19, 1941, President Ho Chi Minh convened and chaired the 8th Central Party Conference. The conference completed the strategic direction shift for the Vietnamese revolution: placing the task of national liberation as the top priority; establishing the Vietnam Independence League, abbreviated as Viet Minh; directing the establishment of mass organizations all named as national salvation associations. The conference also affirmed: The Indochinese revolution must conclude with an armed uprising. After the conference, the construction of the armed forces was urgently promoted, and the best core officers from the national salvation organizations were selected to organize self-defense and combat self-defense teams, aiming to build a ready armed force.

At the end of 1944, the people of Cao Bang, Bac Can, and Lang Son were ready to support the uprising. During the leadership of the revolution, at this time, Nguyen Ai Quoc pointed out: The period of peaceful revolution had passed, but the time for a nationwide uprising had not yet come. We must find an appropriate form to push the movement forward. The "appropriate form" at that time, according to President Ho Chi Minh, was the establishment of a liberation army - the first main force, which was the Vietnam Propaganda Liberation Army.

The President and arm

In the directive to establish the Vietnam Propaganda Liberation Army, President Ho Chi Minh clearly stated: "The name Vietnam Propaganda Liberation Army means that politics is more important than military. It is a propaganda team." "Regarding tactics: Apply guerrilla warfare, secretly, quickly, actively, today in the East, tomorrow in the West, appearing without a trace. The Vietnam Propaganda Liberation Army is the elder brother army, hoping that soon there will be other younger brother teams. Although its scale is small at first, its future is brighter. It is the starting point of the liberation army, and it can travel from South to North, throughout our entire country of Vietnam."

From many different perspectives, it can be affirmed that the historical value of the directive establishing the Vietnam Propaganda Liberation Army holds an extremely important position and role, which is decisive to the formation and development of the heroic Vietnam People's Army. In particular, the principle of building the main army is highlighted in the directive: "The name Vietnam Propaganda Liberation Army means that politics is more important than military. It is a propaganda team." This clearly demonstrates a principled issue in the thought of leader Nguyen Ai Quoc regarding the construction of the main army, which is "politics as the root," serving as the foundation for military activities. Politics, according to the thought of President Ho Chi Minh, is the class-oriented direction, reflected in the political line of the Party. This also means that the construction of the main forces must originate from the revolutionary goals and tasks; it must always take the Party's political objectives and guidelines as the basis for construction; it must always be placed under the leadership of the Party; it must serve the revolutionary cause of the nation.

The directive to establish the Vietnam Propaganda Liberation Army was a continuation and development of the rich military heritage and thought of the nation, while also absorbing the elite values of human thought. Although it contained only 318 words, the directive was concise, serving as a military program of the Party by clearly outlining the principles and guidelines for building the revolutionary armed forces.

From the initial army of 34 soldiers and through countless courageous battles for national independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, the Vietnam People's Army has continuously grown stronger and more mature. Promoting the revolutionary nature and the tradition of Uncle Ho's army, the Vietnam People's Army today is a fighting force, a working force, and a labor production force; effectively fulfilling its core role in protecting the Party and the State, safeguarding the people and the socialist regime; maintaining independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity to develop the economy - society, and protect the peaceful life of the people.

By Dam Thanh – Translated by Vi Bao