The victory of "Dien Bien Phu in the air" in 1972 - a vivid expression of the issue of "protecting the Fatherland early and from afar"

The document of the 13th National Party Congress affirmed: “Maintain a peaceful environment, political stability, national security, human security; build an orderly, disciplined, safe, and healthy society to develop the country in the direction of socialism”; at the same time, emphasize “having policies to prevent the risks of war and conflict early and from afar. Strive to prevent conflicts and wars and resolve disputes by peaceful means, in accordance with international law. Resolutely and persistently fight to firmly protect independence, sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity, airspace, and sea; maintain a peaceful and stable environment for development” ⁽¹⁾ . That strategic thinking is the product of the crystallization of valuable experiences in the long-term process of building and defending the country of the nation, and at the same time demonstrates the creativity and acumen in the revolutionary leadership of our Party. Looking back 50 years later, the "Hanoi - Dien Bien Phu in the air" victory is a vivid manifestation of the Party and President Ho Chi Minh's early and far-sighted thinking of protecting the Fatherland.

Wreckage of a US plane shot down in the suburbs of Hanoi, December 1972_Photo: VNA

The capital Hanoi - the center of the great rear in the North - plays a particularly important role, not only providing human and material support, but also "sharing the fire" with the South. Therefore, protecting the capital Hanoi is a very important task for the cause of building a socialist regime in the North in particular, and the cause of resistance against the US and national salvation in general. The importance of the capital Hanoi in the resistance against the US and national salvation was predicted by President Ho Chi Minh: "In Vietnam, the US will definitely lose, but it will only lose after losing in the sky of Hanoi" ⁽²⁾ . Under the direct direction of the Party Central Committee and President Ho Chi Minh, the issue of protecting the capital's sky has been of concern to the Air Defense - Air Force since the early 60s of the 20th century.

Protect Hanoi's sky early

Protecting Hanoi's sky early means being proactive in preparing in advance. Protecting Hanoi's sky "early" means being early in thinking, awareness, having a guiding viewpoint, a motto for action, being early in identifying threats, having plans, forces, and means of protection. The process of building, consolidating, and developing is also the process of implementing preventive, protective, and self-protective measures in advance. Thus, protecting Hanoi's sky early means having a strategy to protect and self-protect internally, from within; preventing and eliminating factors of invasion, sabotage, and instability both internally and externally. Therefore, right after the Dien Bien Phu victory, President Ho Chi Minh said: "Hanoi without anti-aircraft artillery is like a house without a roof." Implementing his guiding ideology and meeting revolutionary requirements, from 1954 to 1964, the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defense decided to establish many anti-aircraft artillery units: Regiments 210, 220, 230, 240, 250, 260, 280; of which, there were three anti-aircraft artillery regiments protecting Hanoi: 220, 230 and 260.

As early as 1962, when the US had not yet used B-52 aircraft in the Vietnam battlefield, President Ho Chi Minh was interested in this most modern and sophisticated weapon of the US and instructed the air defense force to actively research to destroy it.

Along with preparing himself in terms of thinking, viewpoints, and forces, President Ho Chi Minh proactively asked the Soviet Union to help Vietnam build an air defense missile force on the occasion of the visit of Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union Kosygin to Hanoi in February 1965. Two missile regiments 236 and 238 were established, of which Regiment 236 - the first missile unit - was deployed to fight in the area of ​​Suoi Hai, Bat Bat, Ha Tay (now Hanoi), to deal with the US air force that was escalating attacks on the North.

To create more fire to protect Hanoi, on May 19, 1965, the General Command issued Decision No. 67/QD-QP, establishing the Hanoi Air Defense Command, under the Air Defense - Air Force Service. The birth of the Hanoi Air Defense Command, along with other air defense forces, opened the way for the formation of a three-service air defense force in the capital, in which the 361st Air Defense Division air defense force was the core, which was extremely important in the fight against the US Air Force's destructive war in the North. At the same time, this event also marked a step forward in both quantity and quality, promptly meeting the requirements of air defense operations to protect the capital Hanoi - the sacred heart of the Fatherland.

On June 18, 1965, the US imperialists used B-52 strategic aircraft to carpet bomb the Ben Cat area (northwest of Saigon). In response to the new US military adventure, on July 19, 1965, when visiting the Air Defense - Air Force, at Regiment 234 (Tam Dao Anti-Aircraft Artillery Group), President Ho Chi Minh affirmed: “Even if the US imperialists have a lot of guns and money. Even if they have B-57s, B-52s, or whatever, we will fight. With that many planes, that many American troops, or even more, we will fight, and if we fight, we will definitely win” ⁽³⁾ . In response to the US using B-52s to attack Quang Binh, then expanding to Vinh Linh - Quang Tri in 1966, the Party Central Committee and President Ho Chi Minh instructed the air defense - air force to find a way to fight the B-52s.

Instilling that spirit, the Central Military Commission directed the armed forces, directly the Air Defense - Air Force, to develop an air defense plan to counter the enemy's B-52 raid on Hanoi. With the view that "to catch a tiger, one must go into its den", the 238th Missile Regiment was sent to the Vinh Linh fire line to study how to fight the B-52.

After many scientific seminars and lessons learned in combat, the Air Defense - Air Force found a way to fight and was determined to defeat the plot of the US imperialists. All the careful preparations in all aspects, in terms of will and determination, demonstrated that we "would not be surprised", ready to defeat all plots and tricks of the enemy. In 1968, the Air Defense - Air Force began to develop a plan to counter the US imperialists' B-52 raid on Hanoi.

With initial experience and high determination, from 1968 to mid-1972, the Air Defense - Air Force continued to mobilize 4 missile regiments and a number of MiG aircraft to Zone 4 to support the Tri - Thien Campaign and continue to research how to fight B-52s. At the same time, proactively developed a combat plan to counter the US B-52 raids on Hanoi and Hai Phong. By September 1972, the Service had officially developed a plan to fight B-52 aircraft by disseminating to the air defense troops the "red handbook" "How to fight B-52s by the Missile Troops". This was the result of the process of research, testing, summarizing combat practices, and creating fighting methods of the air defense - air force. Based on this document, on October 31, 1972, the Air Force held a staff conference to discuss and disseminate methods of fighting B-52s, then organized training for combat crews; conducted political education, ideological leadership, and determination building; urged and inspected all aspects of preparation and counterattacked the enemy's air raid.

With the revolutionary spirit of attack, from 1971 to 1972, the army and people of the South launched a major strategic offensive across the Southern battlefield. The liberated areas in the areas of Tri-Thien, the plains of Zone 5, the Central Highlands and the Southeast expanded, creating a siege and dividing the enemy. The US strategy of "Vietnamizing the war" was facing the risk of bankruptcy. To save the situation, the US imperialists had to use most of the firepower of the air force and navy, "Americanizing" the war in the South again, and at the same time preparing to bomb the North again. US President Nixon decided to launch a strategic air raid called Linebacker-II, mainly using "B-52 super fortresses" to attack Hanoi, Hai Phong and some localities in the North.

Faced with the US plot, implementing the direction of the Party Central Committee and the General Staff, the Air Defense - Air Force urgently consolidated and supplemented forces and combat plans to meet strategic requirements. In Hanoi and Hai Phong, there were 5 missile regiments, 6 anti-aircraft artillery regiments (not including 8 anti-aircraft artillery regiments of Military Region 3 and Viet Bac Military Region), 4 air force regiments, of which there were only 2 MiG-21 regiments, and only 4 radar regiments spread throughout the North. In addition, the air defense force of the militia and self-defense forces of 9 provinces had 1,316 anti-aircraft artillery of various types. Due to the requirements and nature of combat, the Ministry of National Defense adjusted a number of key units and established new air defense units. In Hanoi, Division 361 was supplemented with 3 57mm and 37mm anti-aircraft artillery regiments (newly established). By June 1972, the arrangement of anti-aircraft firepower in the North and Hanoi had many new points to focus on the battlefields in Hanoi.

In November 1972, General Vo Nguyen Giap, Commander-in-Chief of the Vietnam People's Army, affirmed that the US plot to send B-52s to attack the capital Hanoi - the soul of the resistance - would be the final act of pressure to force us to make concessions. Therefore, we must resolutely defeat them in the sky of the capital... On November 25, 1972, the Central Military Commission issued a directive: "Strengthen combat readiness". The General Command instructed the armed forces to strengthen all aspects of combat preparation, and at the same time assessed that there was a high possibility that the enemy would attack the entire North with greater ferocity, including using B-52s to massively attack Hanoi and Hai Phong. Therefore: "The immediate central task of the Air Defense - Air Force is to concentrate all capabilities on the main target, the B-52s, and destroy them" ⁽⁴⁾ .

Thus, determining that the US would send B-52s to attack Hanoi's sky and only lose in Hanoi's sky helped us have a thorough preparation process 10 years before the US sent B-52s to attack Hanoi's sky. Early preparation in terms of time, forces, technical and tactical training, improved weapons and equipment, preparedness in terms of mentality, early finding a way to attack B-52s and preparing a three-armed air defense position, the core of which was the air defense - air force, helped us gain the initiative right from the first day, the first battle. In 12 days and nights, the army and people of Hanoi and the army and people of the northern provinces defeated the largest strategic air raid of the US imperialists, shooting down 81 aircraft of all types, including 34 B-52 strategic aircraft, creating a miraculous victory of "Hanoi - Dien Bien Phu in the air", which was a brilliant result of the early thinking of protecting Hanoi's sky.

Soldiers of the Chem battlefield - Missile Battalion 77 - practice combat readiness to protect the capital's airspace_Photo: VNA

Protect Hanoi's sky from afar

Protecting Hanoi's sky from afar emphasizes the proactiveness, vigilance, early detection, and elimination of unfavorable factors from afar in terms of geographical space and time, and eliminating the causes and conditions that create threats and intimidation. With early warnings about the risk of facing a large-scale strategic attack by the US using B-52 aircraft, along with full preparation in all aspects, from the beginning of 1968, the Air Defense - Air Force built a plan to counter the US imperialists' B-52 raid on Hanoi, and specifically identified the space that needed to be protected. The US's use of B-52 aircraft to attack Hanoi's sky was closely related to the Paris Conference process. After a very long period of negotiation (from May 13, 1968 to October 17, 1972), the basic text of the agreement was completed in the spirit that the US had to withdraw its troops from Vietnam and the expected date of signing the Agreement was October 31, 1972. However, on November 7, 1972, after being elected President, Nixon turned around and demanded to amend many contents of the Agreement to benefit the US. At the same time, to put pressure on us to sign the Agreement, Nixon decided to mobilize most of the B-52 super bombers to carpet bomb and bombard Hanoi.

The decision to reinforce the 238th Missile Regiment into the Vinh Linh "fire line", together with the armed forces and local people, to directly fight back and study how to fight the B-52s of the Central Military Commission from May 1966 was the right decision, with a long-term vision. Determining that combat experience can only be gained when fighting directly with the enemy, from which careful research on the technical and tactical characteristics, means of war, and understanding the operating rules of the B-52 aircraft can be used to assess the level and effectiveness, therefore, sending experienced commanders, staff, military intelligence, military scientists and pilots to Vinh Linh to study the operating rules of the B-52 aircraft to find ways to fight was a very high determination demonstrating the positive, proactive thinking, the spirit of determination to fight and win of the units in the Air Defense - Air Force. With the slogan “Clear the way, fight the enemy and advance”, following President Ho Chi Minh’s advice “If you want to catch a tiger, you must go into its den”, the officers and soldiers of Regiment 238 raised the spirit of determination to fight and win, marching and fighting, overcoming countless difficulties to bring equipment to the battlefield to fight the US. On March 15, 1967, B-52 aircraft appeared, for the first time Regiment 238 organized a concentrated battle to destroy B-52 but failed. The enemy attacked fiercely to destroy both our people and equipment, but the people of Vinh Linh and the officers and soldiers of the Regiment did not falter. From that initial failure, the officers and soldiers of the Regiment were even more determined to fight the US B-52. On September 17, 1967, after a long period of research and identification, the combat crew of Battalion 84 - Regiment 238 shot down a B-52. This was the first time we shot down the "Super Flying Fortress B-52" of the US imperialists. This feat had a great impact on the ideology and fighting determination of our army and people, affirming our ability to defeat the enemy's B-52 air raids, strengthening the confidence and spirit of determination to fight and win of the army and people, and at the same time serving as a basis for compiling documents and instructions on how to fight B-52 aircraft. The feat of shooting down the first B-52 of Regiment 238 in Vinh Linh, about 600km from Hanoi, became an invaluable source of spiritual motivation and contained some necessary initial practical experiences for the Air Defense - Air Force to continue researching and finding the most effective way to fight B-52.

On June 4, 1972, the US imperialists mobilized air force and navy to attack the North for the second time. On July 13, 1972, the General Staff instructed the Air Defense - Air Force: "Urgently continue to research and deploy the plan to attack B-52, compile training materials and conduct training for troops to attack B-52 in complex situations" ⁽⁵⁾ . Based on the judgment that the US would concentrate B-52 combined with tactical aircraft to attack the North, mainly Hanoi and Hai Phong, to be ready to deal with B-52 aircraft, on November 24, 1972, the Air Defense - Air Force's plan to attack B-52 to protect Hanoi and Hai Phong was approved, requiring all preparations to enter the highest state of combat readiness before December 3, 1972. In particular, predicting the attack direction and main flight path of the B-52 is an important task to readjust the combat formation of missile troops and anti-aircraft artillery.

Determining the main attack direction and flight path of the B-52s to be northwest and southwest of Hanoi, the Air Defense - Air Force Service directed: "Must arrange missile forces at the ring in combination with 100mm artillery to attack the B-52s. Concentrate forces and firepower on the main direction and flight path of the B-52s" ⁽⁶⁾ . Therefore, missile units were adjusted to be deployed in the main direction; anti-aircraft artillery forces in Hanoi and Hai Phong were arranged to hug important targets to be able to attack the enemy when flying level and diving to drop bombs, especially laser-guided bombing. Air force units, in addition to the forces participating in fighting the enemy according to the combat plan to protect Hanoi, the night flight company was the core force to attack the B-52s. The radar network formation was adjusted and improved to both meet the task of ensuring radar for air defense operations to protect the North, focusing on Hanoi and Hai Phong, and to be able to detect B-52s from a distance.

Half a century has passed, but the "Hanoi - Dien Bien Phu in the air" campaign is still the pride of generations of Vietnamese people, the most vivid proof of the strength of the great national unity bloc, in which the talented, correct and creative leadership of our Party, of President Ho Chi Minh and the role of the air defense and air force. That is the inevitable result of proactively protecting the sky of Hanoi Capital early, from afar, with a period of about a decade to prepare all aspects of forces, build accurate and effective plans and combat strategies.

Nowadays, with the rapid development of science and technology and the Fourth Industrial Revolution, great achievements have been made in all areas of social life, in which the latest achievements in science and technology have been applied to the military field, creating many types of means and weapons of air attack with high speed, long range, high accuracy, can attack from a distance, not directly, contact, overwhelming from the beginning; The air force and cruise missiles were the main attacking forces, while closely combining with widespread electronic warfare in the air, land, sea, space and increasingly fierce cyber warfare environments... The victory of "Dien Bien Phu in the air" in 1972 left lessons on proactive preparation, early forecasting of the situation, clear-sighted leadership and direction of strategic significance to have many positive and practical measures to build a widespread, interconnected, solid people's war and people's air defense posture, ready to fight and defeat all enemies, firmly protecting the socialist Vietnamese Fatherland./.

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(1) Documents of the 13th National Congress of Delegates , National Political Publishing House Truth, Hanoi, 2021, vol. I, pp. 156 - 157
(2) Vietnam Military History Institute: Ho Chi Minh - Chronicle of military events and documents, People's Army Publishing House, Hanoi, 1990, p. 203
(3) Ho Chi Minh: Complete Works, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2011, vol. 14, p. 574
(4) Telegram No. 420A, dated December 24, 1972 of the General Staff sent to the Air Defense - Air Force Service
(5) Vietnam Military History Institute: Vietnam People's Army (chronicle of events) , People's Army Publishing House, Hanoi, 2002, p. 294
(6) History of the Air Defense - Air Force General Staff (1963 - 2003), People's Army Publishing House, Hanoi, 2003, p. 216

Source: https://tapchicongsan.org.vn/web/guest/quoc-phong-an-ninh-oi-ngoai1/-/2018/826909/chien-thang-%22dien-bien-phu-tren-khong%22-nam-1972---bieu-hien-sinh-dong-ve-van-de-%E2%80%9Cbao-ve-to-quoc-tu-som%2C-tu-xa%E2%80%9D.aspx