Rationale for the study Building major corps now a division as the core for the entirearmy and people of the resistance is a correct policy of the Party in theprocess of leading the resi
Trang 11 Rationale for the study
Building major corps (now a division) as the core for the entirearmy and people of the resistance is a correct policy of the Party in theprocess of leading the resistance war against the French colonialists As
a mobile force, concentrated combat, large-scale military synergies, themain regiments have coordinated with main units, local soldiers, militiaand guerrillas, to carry out a major blow to destroy the main Frencharmy in a strategic direction, transforming the war situation, towardscompletely defeating the will of the French colonialists to invade
In fact, from 1949 to 1954, supported by the US, the Frenchcolonialists strengthened their forces, stepped up sweeping and pacification;supplementing weapons, equipment, building defenses, and solidifyingstrongholds Along with that, the French army aggressively counter-attacked, attacked all over the battlefields and stepped up theimplementation of the policy of "using the Vietnamese to fight theVietnamese, using war to feed the war" The plots and tricks of the Frenchcolonialists aimed at destroying the main army, crushing the will andresistance spirit of the Vietnamese army and people
Against that background, with a strategic vision, the Party led thebuilding of strong main groups With the right policy, the close andcomprehensive direction of the Party, the main corps was built andgrown in all aspects, especially the combat level On the basis of beingbuilt strong in all aspects, the Party has promoted the role of the maincorps in campaigns, making a decisive contribution to the victory of theresistance war against the French colonialists However, besides themajor successes, the process of the Party's leadership in building majorcorps from 1949 to 1954, there were still certain limitations
Studying the Party's leadership in building major corps from 1949
to 1954 is a matter of practical significance Contributing to enrichingthe history of the Party leading the resistance war against the Frenchcolonialists (1945 - 1954); provide more data to explain why theVietnam People's Army was just born, its weapons and equipment werelacking and outdated, but it defeated the professional army of the Frenchcolonialists with modern weapons and mechanical strength high level ofaction and combat, and was supported by the US imperialists
Trang 2Currently, the situation in the world and the region is changingrapidly, complicatedly, and difficult to predict The task of building thePeople's Army and building a strong all-people national defense in order tofirmly defend the Socialist Vietnamese Fatherland poses new requirements.
On the other hand, the hostile forces have not given up their plot to annexVietnam when there are favorable opportunities Therefore, studying andclarifying the leadership of the Party in building major corps during theresistance war against the French colonialists from 1949 to 1954, drawingvaluable experiences for reference and application in the construction of thedivision in the new era is a necessary job
Stemming from the importance of the problem, so far there havebeen many studies on the main regiments, mentioned at different levels andscopes However, there has not been any work that has researchedindependently, comprehensively and systematically about the Party'sleadership in building major corps from 1949 to 1954 under the specializedperspective of Communist Party history Vietnamese products
From the above reasons, the PhD student chose the topic "Theleading party to build the main corps in the resistance war against theFrench colonialists from 1949 to 1954" as his doctoral thesis in History,majoring in History Communist Party of Vietnam
2 Aims and objectives of the study
on building and speeding up the construction of major corps from 1949
to 1954, through two periods: 1949 - 1951 and 1951 - 1954
Comments and lessons learned from the Party leading theconstruction of major corps from 1949 to 1954
3 Object and scope of the study
Object
The Party's leadership activities on building main regiments inthe resistance war against the French colonialists from 1949 to 1954
Trang 3In terms of content: The thesis researches and clarifies the Party's
policies, including: viewpoints, directions, goals, tasks and solutions; under thedirection of the Party to build major corps in military, political, logistical andtechnical fields through the two periods 1949 - 1951 and 1951 - 1954About time: From January 1949, when the Sixth CentralCommittee Conference was held, discussed the policy of building majorcorps until July 1954, when the resistance war against the Frenchcolonialists ended The period 1949 - 1951, when the 6th CentralCommittee Conference took place before the 2nd Party Congress(February 1951) The period 1951 - 1954, when the Second PartyCongress took place until the end of the resistance war However, inorder to ensure systematicity, the thesis has mentioned some relatedcontents before the aforementioned time
About space: From the South Central Coast to the North This is
the space where the main companies were born, fought and grew up
4 Theoretical, practical basis and research methods
Theoretical basis
The thesis is based on the theoretical basis of Marxism Leninism, Ho Chi Minh's thought on revolutionary war and buildingrevolutionary armed forces
-Practical basis
The thesis is based on the reality of the Party's leadership inbuilding major corps, reflected in the Party's documents, resolutions,directives, decrees, schemes, records, plans, and final reports , CentralMilitary Commission, Ministry of Defense - Commander-in-Chief,General Department of Politics, General Staff, combat and constructionactivities of main corps from 1949 to 1954
Research Methods
The thesis uses the historical method and the logical methodmainly; at the same time, using methods of comparison, analysis,synthesis, statistics, to clarify the contents of the thesis
5 New contributions of the study
The thesis provides some new documents and systematizes the materials
on the Party leading the construction of major corps from 1949 to 1954
Contributing in a systematic way to re-enact the Party'sguidelines and directions on building major corps in the resistance waragainst the French colonialists from 1949 to 1954
Trang 4To make comments and assessments with scientific basis on theprocess of the Party's leadership in building major corps from 1949 to 1954.Summarizing key experiences from the process of leading theParty to build major corps from 1949 to 1954.
6 Theoretical and practical significance of the study
The thesis contributes to a summary of the Party's leadershipactivities in building major corps during the resistance war against theFrench colonialists from 1949 to 1954
Affirming the Party's role in the birth and growth of the maincorps and the great role of the main corps in the resistance war againstthe French colonialists
The research results of the thesis will provide more scientificarguments for the leadership to build strong divisions, meeting therequirements of building the revolutionary, regular, elite, and eliteVietnamese People's Army modern steps, a number of troops, branchesand forces advanced directly to modernity
The thesis is a reference document, serving research and teaching aboutthe history of the Vietnamese nation's resistance war against the Frenchcolonialists at schools, research agencies inside and outside the army
7 Structure of the study
The thesis includes: Introduction, 04 chapters (10 periods),conclusion, list of published works of the author related to the topic, list
of references and appendices
Chapter 1 RESEARCH SITUATION OVERVIEW RELATED TO THESIS THEME 1.1 Research status related to the thesis topic
1.1.1 Researches by foreign authors
Yves Gras (1979), History of the Indochina War; Department ofMilitary History, General Department of Politics of the Lao People's Army(1996), History of the Lao People's Army; Actual record of Chinesemilitary advisory group's aid to Vietnam against France (Memoirs ofinsiders); Nguyen Dang Vinh (2004), Dien Bien Phu through the eyes offoreigners; Roger Bruge (2004), Dien Bien Phu - From the perspective of
a French soldier; Henri Navarre (2004), Dying Indochina; Henri Navare(2005), The Moment of Truths Cecil B.Currey (2013), Victory at allcosts - Vietnamese Military Genius General Vo Nguyen Giap; Gérard LeQuang (2014), Vo Nguyen Giap or the people's war
1.1.2 Researches of domestic authors
Trang 51.1.2.1 Joint studies on the construction of the armed forces of the three armies
War Review Steering Committee under the Politburo (1996),Summary of the resistance war against the French colonialists - Victoryand lessons; Ministry of National Defense - Vietnam Military HistoryInstitute - Military History Research Department under the GeneralDepartment of Politics (2005), History of the Vietnam People's Army(1944 - 1975); Nguyen Hoang Nhien (2006), the Communist Party ofVietnam led the political construction of the Vietnam People's Army inthe years 1945 - 1954; Party Committee of the Vietnam People's Army(2009), History of the Party Committee of the Vietnam People's Army(1944 - 1954), volume 1; Ministry of National Defense, VietnamMilitary History Institute (2009), History of the resistance war againstthe French colonialists (1945 - 1954), volume 3, (Deploying thecomprehensive resistance); Ministry of National Defense, Institute ofMilitary History of Vietnam (2010), History of Logistics - MilitaryTechnology of Vietnam in the Resistance War against FrenchColonialism (1945 - 1954;) Ministry of Defense, Institute of MilitaryHistory of Vietnam (2011), History of the resistance war against theFrench colonialists (1945 - 1954), volume 4 (The turning point of theresistance war); Nguyen Thi Mai Hoa (2014), "China supports and helpsVietnam to fight against the French colonialists"; Nguyen Thi Mai Hoa(2014), "Vietnam - Soviet Union relations in the resistance war againstthe French colonialists"; Tran Van Thuc (2014), "Building anddeveloping the armed forces of the three armies in the resistance waragainst the French colonialists (1945 - 1954)"; Ministry of NationalDefense, Institute of Military History of Vietnam (2014), History of theresistance war against the French (1945 - 1954), volume 5 (Development
of a strategic offensive position); Vietnam People's Army, General Staff(2015), History of General Staff in the resistance war against Frenchcolonialism (1945 - 1954); Ministry of National Defense, Institute ofMilitary History of Vietnam (2015), History of Vietnam's militaryorganization, volume 3 (1930 - 1954); Ministry of Defense, Institute ofMilitary History of Vietnam (2016), History of the resistance waragainst the French colonialists (1945 - 1954), volume 6 (Strategicoffensive of Winter-Spring 1953 - 1954, the resistance endedsuccessfully ); Ministry of National Defense, Vietnam Military HistoryInstitute (2017), History of the resistance war against the Frenchcolonialists (1945 - 1954), volume 7 (Nature, characteristics, stature andhistorical lessons) Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, Institute
Trang 6of Party History (2018), History of the Communist Party of Vietnam,volume 1 (1930 - 1954), volume 2 (1945 - 1954).
1.1.2.2 Studies on the main regiments in the resistance war against the French colonialists
Party Committee of the Artillery Service (2009), History of theArtillery Service (1949 - 2009) 1st Corps Command, 312th Division(2010), History of 312th Infantry Division (1950 - 2010); 2nd Army CorpsCommand, 304th Division (2011), 304th Division History - episode 1 (1950
- 1975); 3rd Army Corps Command, 320th Division (2016), History ofDelta Company - 320th Division (1951 - 2016); Command of MilitaryRegion 2 (2011), History of Division 316 (1951 - 2011); 2nd Army CorpsCommand, 325th Division (2014), 325th Division History (1951 - 2013);Phan Anh Tuyet (2014), "The process of forming major corps according to
Ho Chi Minh's thought"; 1st Corps Command, 308th Division (2019),History of 308th Division - Vanguard (1949 - 2019); Duong Dinh Lap(2019), Major corps of the Vietnam People's Army (1949 - 1954)
1.2 The value of the reviewed scientific works and the problems raised by the thesis for further research
1.2.1 Value of scientific works reviewed
1.2.1.1 About the material
Research on building major corps is a topic rich in genres.Research value of the works, providing students with diverse andreliable sources of materials
1.2.1.2 About the approach and research methods
Research works on building major corps have approached andused many different methods
1.2.1.3 About content
Firstly, the research works confirm the position and the great role
of the main groups Second, a number of works have clarified the birth,growth and great contribution of the main corps in the resistance waragainst the French colonialists Third, some works partly refer to theachievements and limitations in construction of the corps Fourth, thereare works that mention the leadership of the Party on building majorcorps, but they are scattered and evaluated separately From a scientificperspective of Party history, up to now, there has been no systematic andcomprehensive study of the Party's policies and direction; evaluateadvantages, limitations, clarify causes and draw experiences from theprocess of Party leadership in building major corps (1949 - 1954)
1.2.2 The issues raised in the thesis continue to research
Trang 7Firstly, the need to build major regiments in the resistance waragainst the French colonialists from 1949 to 1954; Second, the Party'spolicy and direction on building major unions; Third, advantages,limitations, reasons why the Party leads the building of major unions;Fourth, experience from the process of leading the Party to build majorcorps from 1949 to 1954.
Conclusion Chapter 1
Building major delegations has attracted the research of manydomestic and foreign organizations and individuals The success of thereviewed scientific works related to the thesis topic is relativelycomprehensive The works all affirm the important role; points out thecontents, results and experiences of building main regiments in theresistance war against the French colonialists from 1949 to 1954
The PhD student systematizes and generalizes the value of thereviewed works, inheriting the necessary content for the development ofthe thesis Applying the methodology of the object of historical research,majoring in Party History, the PhD student identified issues that thethesis will continue to research
Chapter 2 POLICY AND DIRECTIONS OF THE PARTY
ON BUILDING KEY BRANDS (1949 - 1951) 2.1 The need to build major regiments
2.1.1 Conspiracy, tricks of the French colonialists towards Vietnam
After expanding the occupation, France sent troops to attack theViet Bac base (October 1947), in order to destroy the resistanceheadquarters and the main army; to close the Vietnam - China border.After Autumn-Winter 1947, France switched to "long-termfighting"; implement the policy of "using the Vietnamese to fight theVietnamese, raising the war with war" To step up force building withthe highest goal, to make the Vietnamese army and people gradually losetheir fighting ability, weaken and go to disbandment
Implementing the plan of Rove, France concentrated European African troops to build mobile corps to destroy the main army;economic raiding On December 6, 1950, De Lat de Tatsini became theCommander-in-Chief and outlined a four-point plan to pacify urgentlyand counterattack fiercely France hopes to use military force to crushthe spirit and will of the Vietnamese army and people to resist
-2.1.2 Correlation of military forces between Vietnam and France on the battlefield
Trang 8About the military force of France: In December 1949, theFrench infantry had 235,000 troops The French army and weapons arealways strengthened and supplemented By the end of 1950, the Frencharmy in Indochina had 239,000 troops, including 118 infantry battalions,
13 artillery battalions, 3 armored regiments, 143 aircraft of all kinds, 263ships of all kinds, including 3 large ships; 1 cruiser, 1 heavy notice ship.Since 1950, the US has intervened in the Indochina war
About the military forces of Vietnam: By the end of 1949, themain force had 179,602 people, including 1 company, 42 regiments and
11 independent battalions, 1 artillery battalion By December 1950, itincreased to 238,884 men, including 2 companies, 24 regiments and 8independent battalions, 2 regiments and 4 artillery battalions
2.1.3 The determination of the entire Party, army and people to fight the war
After the French colonialists opened fire to invade, on November
25, 1945, the Central Committee of the Party issued the Directive
"Resistance to build the nation"
On December 18 and 19, 1946, the Extraordinary Meeting of theStanding Committee of the Central Committee of the Communist Party
of Vietnam was held in Van Phuc village, Ha Dong (now Van Phuc, HaDong, Hanoi), deciding to launch the national resistance war and raisedthe basic issues of the resistance line
The resistance war of the Vietnamese people is a just war, so thewhole people must be encouraged to participate That is, “Any man,woman, any young or old, regardless of religion, party, or ethnicity Ifyou are a Vietnamese, you must stand up and fight the French to save thecountry." The determination of the entire Party, people and army is notonly reflected in political policy planning, but also clearly in the policyand direction of building the armed forces of three armies, especiallymain army
2.2 The Party's policy on building major unions
Trang 9Second, to build main regiments that are compact in number, compact, and have a large combat force.
At the Third National Conference, the Party determined to build "apowerful people's army with adequate numbers"; "The main force's organizationmust conform to equipment conditions, enemy conditions, and battlefieldconditions and will progress according to the changes of those conditions
Third, to build major corps on the basis of strong main units.
On the basis of the local troops, the main forces of the Ministryand the inter-regions to build into strong main battalions and regiments,
as the core to build the main regiments At the 3rd National Conference,the Party continued to affirm: "The main army will build up into strongregiments, then advance to the regiment and army."
Fourth, building major corps must be comprehensive in terms of military, politics, logistics - technology.
The Party's policy to build major corps is not only quantitative, butalso comprehensive in terms of politics, military, logistics and technology.Taking political construction as the "root" to build other aspects
on those principles to "conduct a campaign of war, with an increasinglylarge scale" to destroy the main French army Build major regimentswith high combat power, destroy a large number of main French troops
Second, to build major corps to ensure nationalism, democracy and modernity.
The Party determined the goal of building a main army, whichmust "have all three characteristics of nationalism, democracy andmodernity" Main groups were born, fighting for the goal ofindependence and happiness for the people Officers and soldiers areboth owners and masters in all fields In order to have the most advancedfeatures, along with the acquisition of weapons from the French army, it
is necessary to strengthen the development of "defense technology";
"Our army needs to be advanced to solve the battlefield and completelydestroy the enemy's life force."
Third, to build major regiments with disciplined spirit, fighting heroically, persistently, decisively and decisively to win.
Trang 10The main regiments are the core force for the entire army andpeople to resist In order to fulfill that responsibility, officers andsoldiers must not only be proficient in tactics and techniques, but alsohave to represent and always "uphold the fighting spirit, the disciplinespirit, the decisive fighting spirit, the decisive victory." ".
Fourth, the main regiments always coordinate and assist local troops and guerrillas in construction and combat.
The Sixth Party Central Committee Conference, clearly stated:
"Ensure close contact, very close assistance and cooperation between themilitia and the national army" The 3rd National Conference affirmed:
"While the main force conducts the campaign of war, the expendabletask of restraining the enemy's forces, cooperating with the main force
to destroy the enemy in the locality is the guerrilla duty"
2.2.3 Tasks and solutions
Firstly, sticking to reality, studying and building major unions with a compact and lightweight organization.
Second, to build a contingent of cadres of the main regiments with good quality and comprehensive capabilities, meeting the requirements of concentrated army command and campaigning.
Third, develop appropriate educational and training programs and contents, with specific orientations, close to the reality of the battlefield.
Fourth, ensure weapons, equipment and support.
2.3 The Party directs the construction of major corps
2.3.1 Military construction
Building and consolidating the staffing organization: On April
15, 1949, General Vo Nguyen Giap signed Decree No 46/ND on theestablishment of a major company “The battalion has from 10,319people to 12,271 people Battalion: 1,475 people; two regiments from4,426 men to 6,354 men; two independent battalions: from 1,626 men to1,650 men; one artillery battalion attached: 1,122 men; an engineerbattalion: 845 men; an additional battalion: 825 men”
On July 12, 1949, the Commander-in-Chief issued Directive No 29/CT
on reorganizing the 308th Regiment into the first major company directly underthe Ministry, bearing the name 308th Infantry Battalion - "Army Battalion"Vanguard” (now 308th Division, 1st Army Corps) When established, include:Brigade headquarters, advisory, political, and supply agencies; Capital Regiment,Regiment 88, Battalion 11 (Phu Thong) and attached units
On February 9, 1950, General Vo Nguyen Giap signed Decree
No 62/NDA, on the establishment of 304th Infantry Battalion 304th
Trang 11Infantry Battalion - "Glorious Company" (now 304th Division, Army Group2) was established at Tam Lac communal house, Xuan Tho commune, ThoXuan district (now Trieu Son district), Thanh Hoa province.
At the end of 1950, 312th Infantry Company - "VictoryCompany" (now 312th Division, 1st Army Corps) was established OnDecember 25, 1950, the founding ceremony of 312th Infantry Battalionwas held at Kim Lang (Phu Tho)
On February 7, 1951, the 320th Infantry Battalion held its debut
at Mong La communal house, Quang Yen commune, Nho Quan district,Ninh Binh province The organization of the staff of the Brigadeincludes: Command of the Brigade, consulting, political, and supplyagencies; Regiment 64, Regiment 48, Regiment 52
From July 1950, the main regiments were organized according tothe new staffing schedule, including 3 infantry regiments, 1 75mmartillery battalion (from 4 to 6 guns), 1 engineer battalion, 1 battalion.transport group
Regarding military training: Sticking to the combat motto, underthe direction of the General Command, the main corps have organizedrigorous training, ensuring quality
In April 1950, the 308th Infantry Battalion, 174th Regiment,209th went to China for military training and new weapons
After its establishment, the 304th, 312th and 320th Battalionsactively trained and trained to improve their tactical and combat skills.With the results achieved, the companies have well promoted the role ofthe "main punch" on the battlefields
2.3.2 Political construction
Regarding political and ideological education: Political and
ideological education has always been interested by the Party andachieved important results They have encouraged officers and soldiers
to overcome difficulties and hardships, train their will to fight, andsuccessfully carry out assigned tasks
Building a contingent of cadres, political agencies and party organizations: The unions have strengthened the work of education and
training of cadres and party members; rationally adjust cadres, improveliving conditions; pay attention to the work behind the scenes
The consolidation of political agencies and political cadres at alllevels has been strictly implemented by the Party committees at alllevels The admission of new party members is more closely examined
by Party committees at all levels The party organization system wasestablished, ensuring the Party's leadership over the main corps The
Trang 12main delegations have thoroughly grasped and strictly implemented theregime of political members (referred to as political commissars),representing the Party in the army.
Emulation and commendation work: With the direction of the
General Military Commission, the General Command, the main corpshave created an exciting and widespread learning emulation movement;Officers and soldiers are enthusiastic, practice hard to improve theirskills in all aspects
Building and strengthening mass organizations: A council of
soldiers at the grassroots level was established This organization haspromoted and well ensured the maintenance of the three greatdemocracies of all soldiers and unit collectives
Building socio-political relationships: Cadres and soldiers
actively help people, protect people's property and lives Always upholdthe international spirit of the proletariat; well abide by the guidelines andguidelines of the Party when going to China to study
2.3.3 Construction, logistics - technical guarantee
Regarding the construction of logistics - technical agencies: The
General Command has directed the delegations to consolidate theorganization of logistics - technical agencies The companies set up theSupply Department, which has military equipment, military medicineand attached departments
Ensuring regimes and standards of soldiers: On May 12, 1950, the
Ministry of National Defense issued Circular No 43/TTA fixing food costs
by region Accordingly, the main delegations are entitled to regional meals
as prescribed Standards on military equipment, military equipment andmedicine for cadres and soldiers are concerned by the Party
Stepping up production increase, taking advantage of the people's help: The High Command issued a circular to the heads of the
Departments, Heads of Departments, Chiefs of Battalion 308 andaffiliated regiments, requesting: themselves and help people inincreasing production The unions actively increased production andimproved the life of soldiers Because of the good relationship with thepeople, the local people help
Guarantee of weapons, ammunition and technical means:
Communication units are equipped to the inter-zone, company and mainregiment levels The General Military Commission and the HighCommand direct the military sector to step up the improvement and self-manufacture of weapons and vehicles Enlist international help to equipthe main regiments
Trang 13Conclusion of chapter 2
Appreciating the plots and tricks of the French colonialists, and therelationship of forces between the two sides, the Party planned the policy ofbuilding major corps and was gradually supplemented and developed throughpractice The viewpoints, directions, goals, tasks and solutions to build themain delegations have met the requirements of reality
With the right guidelines and comprehensive direction of theParty, the 308, 304, 312, and 320 Battalions were established andmatured in all aspects On that basis, the Party promoted the role of themain regiments in campaigns, contributing to bringing the resistance war
to a new stage