The victory of the first battle on August 2 and 5, 1964 is a symbol of the indomitable will of the Vietnamese people, a victory of the political strength, the spirit of the entire nation, the determination to "dare to fight, know how to fight and win" against the American invaders of our army and people in general, the Navy in particular, including the predecessor units of Squadron 135, Brigade 170, Naval Region 1 during the years of fighting against the destructive war of the American imperialists in the North. 60 years have passed, but the historical significance and lessons learned from the victory of the first battle are always the motivation for officers and soldiers of Naval Region 1 to continue to make many new achievements and feats in the career of managing and firmly protecting the sovereignty of the sea of the Fatherland.
On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the First Victory, reporters from the Quang Ninh Provincial Media Center interviewed Rear Admiral Tran Xuan Van, Political Commissar of Naval Region 1.
- Dear Rear Admiral, what historical lessons did the victory of the first battle leave behind?
+ On August 2 and 5, 1964, three ships 333, 336, 339 of the 135th Naval Battalion (now Squadron 135, Brigade 170, Naval Region 1) bravely chased away the destroyer Madoc that had invaded the northern waters; at the same time, they coordinated with Patrol Zone 1, Bai Chay Naval Base and air defense forces to shoot down 8 planes, damaged many others, captured the pilot An-ve-ret, crushed the "Piercing Arrow" attack of the US imperialists, creating an extremely glorious victory in the first battle.
The victory of the first battle of the Navy and the people of the North resonated loudly in the world, affirming the indomitable will of the Vietnamese people: Not giving in, daring to fight, knowing how to fight and determined to defeat the American invaders.
The victory of the first battle was praised by Uncle Ho: “You have achieved great success in the recent battles against American imperialism. You fought very bravely, shot down 8 American planes and damaged 3. You captured American pilots and drove American warships out of our waters. That is very good.”
The victory in the first battle on August 2 and 5, 1964 left many valuable lessons of profound theoretical and practical value, namely: Always heighten vigilance, be ready to fight, not be passive or surprised; build the determination to fight for the troops with the motto: "When the enemy comes, know, when the enemy enters, fight, fight to win"; grasp the enemy firmly, carefully prepare combat plans, train, practice and master the plan, have appropriate fighting methods; use forces and choose appropriate combat areas, coordinate closely, command resolutely, act secretly, fight at the right time, flexibly apply combat tactics to achieve high efficiency.
- How will the activities commemorating the 60th anniversary of the first victory help officers and soldiers understand more deeply the history, stature, significance, and achievements of the Vietnam People's Navy, comrade?
+ The Command of Region 1, the Navy has requested Quang Ninh province to support the organization of the memorial ceremony very thoughtfully, arrange the area for naval ships to dock and ensure security and safety... Based on the request of the Command of Region 1, Quang Ninh province has issued a plan to unify the content of the organization and has coordinated well to organize the memorial event. The memorial ceremony for the heroic martyrs and people who sacrificed in the "Victory of the Bare Head" is a noble humanitarian activity, demonstrating the spirit of "drinking water, remembering the source" of the entire nation and people of all generations. Thereby helping officers, soldiers and people better understand the achievements of the naval force and the people of the North in the resistance war against the US to save the country, fostering and raising awareness and responsibility for the cause of building and defending the Fatherland.
- 60 years have passed, how has the generation of officers and soldiers of Naval Region 1 continued the glorious tradition of their fathers and brothers to fulfill the mission of protecting the sovereignty of the sea and islands?
+ Implementing the policy of building a revolutionary, disciplined, elite, and modern Navy, in recent years, Naval Region 1 has been equipped with many types of new and modern ships, weapons and equipment, promoting learning and research to master science, technology, and technology associated with the application of the 4.0 industrial revolution in the naval military field, focusing on training to master new and modern weapons and equipment along with preserving, maintaining, and modernizing old equipment, improving combat readiness and autonomy in ensuring technical and equipment for units.
Naval Region 1 was born from the unit that won the first battle on August 2 and 5, 1964, so the role, significance and lessons learned from the first victory are always deeply understood by officers and soldiers. The Standing Committee of the Party Committee and the Command of the Region regularly pay attention to leading and directing the good performance of political education, especially education on traditions, including the tradition of winning the first battle, to build the mettle, belief, will and determination for soldiers in the entire region to overcome all difficulties and hardships to successfully complete assigned tasks.
- Dear comrade, with the historical lessons of the first victory in 1964, how have the officers and soldiers of Naval Region 1 applied the lessons learned in training and performing the task of protecting the sovereignty of the sea and islands to meet the requirements of the task in the new situation?
+ In response to the task of protecting the sovereignty of the sea and islands of the Fatherland, flexibly applying lessons learned from the first victory, the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and the Command of Naval Region 1 regularly pay attention to leading and directing the good implementation of political and ideological education, building the mettle, confidence, will and determination of officers and soldiers.
The victory of the first battle is a great source of encouragement and motivation for officers and soldiers today to maintain and promote to a new height in the cause of building a “revolutionary, disciplined, elite, modern” Vietnam Navy, firmly protecting the sovereignty of the sea and islands of the Fatherland. At the same time, constantly improve the overall quality, strength and combat readiness of the forces, improve the quality of practical training, exercises, master new weapons and technical equipment, and effectively handle situations at sea.
Party committees and commanders at all levels focus on leading and directing training for troops from low to high levels, from basic to advanced; promote self-study, self-research, and technical innovation initiatives to serve training. The region directs agencies and units to closely combine training with practice and drills, especially confrontation drills according to combat plans, close to the mission, close to the target of the combat, close to the battlefield. The region pays special attention to training in complex and difficult weather conditions to train troops. When a situation occurs, officers and soldiers can calmly handle it, complete the task well without being passive or surprised.
- Promoting the tradition of winning the first battle, how will Naval Region 1 today proactively enhance its overall strength, combat readiness, and firmly protect the Northeastern sea and islands of the Fatherland, comrade?
+ As the core force in protecting the sovereignty of the sea and islands in the North of the Fatherland, promoting the glorious tradition of previous generations, officers and soldiers of Naval Region 1 always receive and excellently complete all assigned tasks, contributing to firmly protecting the sovereignty of the sea and islands of the Fatherland.
Faced with the complex developments of the situation, the units of the Region must grasp and forecast early all movements at sea to advise and propose to the Service, and at the same time have plans and countermeasures to successfully respond; maintain forces, raise vigilance, be ready for combat, avoid being passive or surprised, and carefully prepare logistics and techniques, and strengthen decentralization.
At the same time, adjust the amount of combat-ready material reserves in accordance with the mission requirements of each force component with the goal of ensuring all aspects are fully and promptly available for ships to depart quickly, secretly and safely. When a situation arises, it must be handled in accordance with the motto and countermeasures; at the same time, lead and command the forces resolutely, persistently and skillfully to firmly protect sovereignty, maintain a peaceful and stable environment at sea, especially in the northern sea and island areas of the Fatherland.
- In the past time, how have the soldiers of Naval Region 1 supported Quang Ninh fishermen to confidently go out to sea, comrade?
+ Along with the task of training, combat readiness, and firmly protecting the sovereignty of the assigned sea and island areas, units such as Brigade 147, Brigade 169, Brigade 170 always closely coordinate with the Party committees and authorities of coastal localities, and functional forces at sea such as border guards, fisheries control, and coast guard to carry out well the work of mass mobilization, support fishermen both at sea and on shore, propagate about Vietnam's sea and islands to fishermen in many diverse, practical and effective forms, provide medical examination and treatment, provide free medicine to fishermen, give national flags, personal life jackets, provide food, rescue, tow, support fishermen's boats in distress, mobilize to clean the sea, etc.
The Naval Region 1 Command presided over and coordinated with the Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development of Quang Ninh, Thai Binh, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh provinces and Hai Phong City to launch the program "Vietnam Navy as a support for fishermen to go offshore and stick to the sea". Through these activities, it has contributed to strengthening the close relationship between the army and the people, making the image of "Uncle Ho's soldiers - Navy soldiers" shine more and more, helping fishermen feel secure to go offshore and stick to the sea, together with the Navy force to firmly protect the sovereignty of the sea, islands, and sacred continental shelf of the Fatherland.
Thank you for the interview!
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