The victory of the first battle was the victory of the political and spiritual strength of the entire nation, of the determination to fight, dare to fight, and know how to defeat the American invaders.
Over the past decades, the "Gulf of Tonkin Incident" and the victory in the first battle on August 2 and 5, 1964 of our army and people have entered the history of the nation's resistance against the US to save the country as a typical event representing the determination to fight and win, the bravery and intelligence of Vietnam.
The Party's strategic determination
According to documents from the Political Department of the Navy, in the last months of 1963, the Vietnam issue became increasingly hot for the US authorities.
Suffering consecutive defeats on the battlefield in the South, the US imperialists were forced to "change horses in midstream," supporting a coup to overthrow the puppet Presidents Ngo Dinh Diem and Ngo Dinh Nhu (November 1, 1963).
After the coup, the political situation in Saigon not only did not improve but became worse and more chaotic.
The new henchmen continued to fight and overthrow each other and could not withstand the strong uprising attacks of our army and people.
Meanwhile, the revolutionary forces were increasingly consolidated, developed and won many victories on the battlefields.
In order to save the inevitable failure of the "Special War" strategy, the US imperialists decided to step up the war of aggression in the South with a new strategy and launch a destructive war against the North - the place they considered the "roots" and support of the Southern revolution, to destroy the construction of socialism in the North, prevent the North's support for the South and the help of other countries for the Vietnamese revolution.
In February 1964, US President Johnson approved the "4-Month Experimental Program."
In fact, this is a program of activities to show off power and find an excuse to wage war to destroy the North of the US empire.
Faced with that situation, with the strategic determination of our Party, in December 1963, the 9th Conference of the 3rd Party Central Committee discussed a number of international issues and the situation of revolutionary tasks in the South.
The conference analyzed the situation and comparison of forces on the southern battlefield and outlined directions and tasks to completely defeat the US "Special War" strategy.
Implementing the Party's policy to proactively protect the North, on January 9, 1964, the General Staff organized the first Northern People's Air Defense Conference to discuss measures to defeat enemy aircraft raids.
On March 27-28, 1964, President Ho Chi Minh convened a special political conference. This conference was considered the "Dien Hong Conference" of the nation in the new era.
At the Conference, President Ho Chi Minh pointed out the plot and actions of the American imperialists' war of aggression, affirming that the failure of the "Special War" was inevitable...
He called on "each person to work twice as hard to repay their compatriots in the South" and at the same time required "The army and the people's armed forces must always be ready to fight, protect the Fatherland, maintain order and security, and resolutely smash all actions of the American imperialists and their henchmen."
Creative application of military art
Thoroughly implementing the Central Resolution and President Ho's Appeal, in early April 1964, the Standing Committee of the Navy Party Committee decided to launch a wide-ranging political activity to change the ideological awareness of the entire Navy in the face of new situations and requirements.
In June 1964, the Politburo issued a directive to increase combat readiness and crush the US Air Force's plot to provoke and attack the North.
On June 1, 1964, Senior Lieutenant General Van Tien Dung, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, ordered combat readiness in all armed forces in the North...
According to documents from the Political Bureau, the battles on August 2 and 5, 1964 (repelling the American destroyer Madoc on August 2 and attacking American aircraft on August 5) were the first battles in which the Vietnam People's Navy fought directly against large warships and many modern aircraft of the American empire.
With a small number of ships, only 3 torpedo boats, numbered 333, 336, 339, with many limitations in technical features, and in a completely independent combat situation, without support forces, our officers and soldiers bravely and steadfastly attacked the destroyer and fought back the enemy's aircraft. Thereby, affirming the will to dare to fight, determined to defeat the American invaders of the Northern army and people and the Vietnam People's Navy.
Coming out of the war, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Bot (former Squad Leader of Squad 3, Battalion 135) remembered the first victorious battle of the Vietnamese Navy. After 1963, the revolutionary movement in the South became more and more positive, and the Saigon government was shaken.
To overcome this situation, the US directed the Saigon army to "go North" - sending commando ships to operate in the sea from Quang Binh to Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, harassing fishermen's work at sea, preventing human and material support from the Northern rear to the Southern battlefield.
Then, in early June 1964, the US sent the destroyer Maddox (a modern warship of the US empire) to reinforce the 7th Fleet's reconnaissance activities along the northern coast of our country.
In particular, on the night of July 31, the Maddox ship approached, fired artillery at the islands from Deo Ngang to Thanh Hoa, and joined the Saigon army's commando ships to capture fishermen to exploit our coastal defenses.
Faced with the brazen act of violating the territorial waters of Northern Vietnam, the General Staff ordered the Navy to prepare for combat...
The actual battle with the Maddox ship on August 2, 1964 proved that although the difference in ships and weapons between us and the enemy was too great, with the determination to protect the sea and islands of the Fatherland, the officers and soldiers of Squad 3 were not afraid of sacrifice and hardship, and fought bravely.
One of the reasons for the victory in the first battle was that the defeated army knew how to creatively apply Vietnamese military art to combat practice - both organizing to attack the enemy and combining it with avoiding obstacles when conditions were favorable to immediately destroy the enemy.
Victory of the spiritual strength of the whole nation
The event of chasing away the destroyer Maddox and the victory of the first battle by the army and people of the North had important significance in many aspects; especially continuing to affirm the correctness in leadership and strategic direction of the Party Central Committee and President Ho Chi Minh right from the time the US launched the war of aggression against Vietnam.
On August 7, 1964, the Ministry of Defense held a ceremony to honor the achievements of the Navy and Air Defense-Air Force. President Ho Chi Minh attended and praised: "You fought very bravely, shot down 8 American planes and damaged 3... You captured American pilots and drove American warships out of our country's waters. That is very good"...
The victory of the first battle on August 2 and 5, 1964 was a victory of the political and spiritual strength of the entire nation, of the determination to fight, dare to fight, and know how to defeat the invading American enemy of the Vietnam People's Navy and the army and people of the North of our country.
The event is also a symbol of the resilient and indomitable Vietnamese spirit, of a nation that loves freedom and independence and never submits to invaders; of the intelligence, patriotism, hatred of the enemy and the Vietnamese military art inherited and developed in the Ho Chi Minh era.
This victory was also the beginning of the glorious feats of arms of the army and people of the North in fighting against the destructive war of the American imperialists to protect the socialist North; at the same time, it was also the beginning of the heroic history of the Vietnam People's Navy with resounding feats that later entered the history of the nation. Those were the resounding victories of the Navy special forces on the river and sea battlefields; the feats of the unnumbered ships that created the legend of the Ho Chi Minh Trail at sea.
In particular, during the 1975 Spring General Offensive and Uprising, culminating in the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign, the Vietnam People's Navy coordinated with other forces to rapidly, boldly, and unexpectedly attack and liberate Truong Sa and the islands in the central and southwestern seas of the Fatherland; at the same time, fulfilling its international obligations to fraternal countries.
In the cause of building and defending the socialist Fatherland of Vietnam, the steely, brave, resilient, and indomitable spirit of the Vietnam People's Navy soldiers facing danger and resolutely fighting against acts of violating our country's sovereignty and sovereign rights over the seas and islands has been deeply engraved in the minds of millions of Vietnamese people as well as peace-loving friends around the world./.
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