Vietnam Marines practice retaking island

Vietnam Navy fires live ammunition, conducts beach landing exercises (Video: Ngoc Tan - Thanh Dong).

One day in mid-August, the Naval Region 1 Command (Navy, Vietnam People's Army) conducted a live-fire exercise on an island at sea.

The hypothetical situation is that an island under Vietnamese sovereignty has been occupied by the enemy. The enemy has established coastal defenses and deep fortifications. Our mission is to use naval forces to coordinate with other units to retake the island.

The main force in the exercise was the 147th Marine Brigade. The coordinating force was the landing ships of the 169th Brigade.

The Marine Corps is the elite branch of the Vietnam People's Navy. This force is trained for landing missions from the sea to the mainland or islands; retaking islands under Vietnam's sovereignty in the event that the island is occupied by the enemy.

The exercise began at dawn. The landing craft (open-mouthed ships) approached the island, opening their bows for the PT-76 amphibious tanks to launch.

Tank crews perform complex techniques while wading through water and opening fire to destroy enemy forces on the shore.

After the tank artillery barrage, the marines used troop boats to advance to the shore with the mission of opening the gate and destroying the entire coastal defense.

Rear Admiral Vu Van Nam, Commander of Naval Region 1, observed the exercise from the command ship. He gave professional instructions to the exercise force.

Landing craft and amphibious tanks deployed in formation, accelerating towards the shore.

The marines rushed ashore, formed battle formations, and destroyed enemy forces along the shore.

After controlling the coastal area, the second transport ship pushed into the sandbank, bringing the DKZ gun batteries ashore to reinforce the firepower for phase 2.

In phase 2, our forces penetrated deep into the middle of the island, where the enemy still had a solid fortification system and firepower from resistance mounds, armored vehicles, etc.

Marines are equipped with many modern weapons such as Tavor-21 assault rifles, bulletproof helmets and many other survival equipment (bulletproof helmets did not appear in this exercise, instead they were replaced by hard plastic A2 training helmets).

BTR-60PB amphibious armored vehicles were also brought to the island to prepare for joint military operations.

At the center of the island, PT-76 tanks opened fire and destroyed enemy bunkers and fortifications.

At the same time, the marines used DKZ and B41 guns to destroy enemy armored vehicles.

One of the unique experiences of live-fire drills is the loud explosions from powerful weapons. Soldiers must have good skills to aim at the target, and must also have a good grasp of the principles and movements to ensure the safety of themselves and their teammates.

The simulated targets were destroyed by the precise fire of the Vietnamese naval forces.

According to the scenario, after a period of fierce fighting, the enemy still had a stubborn group that refused to surrender, causing a lot of damage to us.

The commander decided to mobilize combined arms forces, allowing BTR-60PB armored vehicles and infantry to approach and completely destroy the enemy force.

At the end of the exercise, the marines of Brigade 147 successfully completed their mission. The shooting exercises were performed accurately while the people who directly aimed and fired were mostly conscripts who had just completed more than a year of training.

Rear Admiral Vu Van Nam (Commander of Naval Region 1) and Rear Admiral Tran Xuan Van (Political Commissar of Naval Region 1) awarded certificates of merit and encouraged officers and soldiers after the drill.

Naval Region 1 Command (under the Navy) manages and protects the sea area from Quang Ninh to Ha Tinh and the islands in the Gulf of Tonkin, including the provinces of Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Thai Binh, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, and Ha Tinh.

Dantri.com.vn

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/xa-hoi/hai-quan-danh-bo-viet-nam-dien-tap-chiem-lai-dao-20240818235628182.htm