The Dien Bien Phu victory is a great symbol of patriotism.

69 years have passed, but the significance and significance of the Dien Bien Phu victory have not faded. Moreover, the historical lessons still hold true value in the cause of building and defending the Socialist Republic of Vietnam today and in the future.

The painting "Moment of Victory" at the Dien Bien Phu Historical Victory Museum. Photo: Van Thanh Chuong

The pinnacle of Vietnamese military art On May 7, 1954, the Dien Bien Phu campaign successfully ended the 9-year resistance war against French colonialism; completely ending the invasion of French colonialism in our country and other countries on the Indochina peninsula. The Dien Bien Phu victory protected and developed the achievements of the August Revolution in 1945; opened a new revolutionary stage, carried out the socialist revolution in the North, fought to liberate the South, reunified the Fatherland, and led the whole country to socialism. 69 years have passed, but the significance and magnitude of this great historical event left historical lessons that are still valuable in the cause of building and defending the socialist Fatherland of Vietnam. According to Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Trong Phuc - former Director of the Institute of Party History, the Dien Bien Phu victory was the peak development of Vietnamese military art, especially the art of campaigning in the resistance war against French colonialism. It is also the victory of our Party's correct revolutionary line. It is the line of all-people, comprehensive, long-term resistance, knowing how to fight and win, promoting the strength of great national unity, relying mainly on our own strength, while at the same time seeking the help of international friends, combining national strength with the strength of the times.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Trong Phuc - former Director of the Institute of Party History. Photo: Tran Vuong

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Trong Phuc analyzed that the decisive battle of Dien Bien Phu took place in rugged mountainous terrain, far from the rear, with many high passes, deep ravines, and almost no strategic transportation network. In that situation, our Party brought into full play the combined strength of both the rear and the front to fully and promptly provide all the needs of the troops throughout the campaign. In many places, because the enemy could not attack in time, in order to have food in time to feed the troops, the people agreed to hand over rice fields and corn fields to the units to harvest and then record the numbers. In many areas, ethnic minorities even pounded rice at night for the troops, something that was previously taboo according to long-standing customs. Only with absolute trust in the Party and in Uncle Ho, would the people be willing to contribute to the campaign like that. "And it is thanks to such unity, cooperation, solidarity and unanimity that the revolution was led to victories in the struggle to defend the nation," said Mr. Phuc. Symbol of patriotism Through research, Associate Professor, Dr. Le Quoc Ly - former Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics - said that through many campaigns, accumulating a lot of experience, and maturing under the protection and care of the people, our main force troops really grew strong, becoming a formidable opponent to the enemy. Entering the Winter-Spring of 1953-1954, the art of directing war and the art of using our main force troops increasingly proved to be more flexible and proactive than the enemy.

Associate Professor, Dr. Le Quoc Ly - former Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics. Photo: Tran Vuong

With the Dien Bien Phu campaign, this was a long campaign, where the highest efforts of both sides were concentrated. Therefore, this was an extremely arduous battle with many losses and sacrifices. However, under the leadership, education, organization and training of the Party, headed by President Ho Chi Minh, the invincible spiritual strength of the nation was aroused, transformed into material strength to defeat the enemy. The policy of rent reduction, land reform, bringing land to farmers, including many families of cadres and soldiers on the front line, aroused the gratitude and absolute trust of the army in the Party, Uncle Ho and the final victory of the resistance war. The 1953-1954 Winter-Spring campaign, culminating in the historic Dien Bien Phu campaign, ended the victory of the resistance war against the French, marking the collapse of the old-style colonialism of the French empire in Indochina and opening the period of collapse of imperialism in the world. "The Dien Bien Phu victory has become a symbol of our nation's fighting spirit; one of the great symbols of the passionate patriotism and indomitable will of the Vietnamese people," Mr. Ly affirmed.

All for the front, all for victory According to the “History of Logistics of the Vietnam People's Army (1944 - 1954), in the Dien Bien Phu campaign, our Party highly promoted the combined strength of both the rear and the front to fully and promptly provide all the requirements of the troops during the entire Dien Bien Phu campaign. With the spirit of “all for the front, all for victory”, in total during the campaign, our people “contributed 25,560 tons of rice, 226 tons of salt, 1,909 tons of food, 26,453 laborers, 20,991 crude bicycles, 1,800 bamboo rafts, 756 crude vehicles, 914 pack horses and 3,130 boats”.

Laodong.vn