Political and spiritual factors - The source of strength of the Great Victory of Spring 1975

The workshop was attended by many leaders of central departments, ministries, branches, generals, officers and scientists inside and outside the Army. Associate Professor, Dr. Vu Trong Lam, Director - Editor-in-Chief of the National Political Publishing House Truth; Major General, Associate Professor, Dr. Dang Sy Loc, Director of the Academy of Politics; Lieutenant General, Bui Quoc Oai, Political Commissar of the Vietnam Coast Guard co-chaired the workshop.

Political and spiritual strength – The decisive factor for victory

In his opening speech, Associate Professor, Dr. Vu Trong Lam affirmed that, based on the aspiration for independence, freedom and national unification of the entire nation, with a wise and correct line of autonomous resistance, our Party has mobilized the highest strength of the entire nation, including material strength, political strength, spiritual strength, and the strength of the ardent patriotic tradition of the country with thousands of years of civilization for the resistance against the invading American imperialists. At the same time, steadfastly holding high the flag of national independence and socialism, with the viewpoint of loyal and pure international solidarity, our Party has effectively promoted the strength of the nation combined with the strength of the times. The great victory in the spring of 1975 is a symbol of faith, will and aspiration for independence, freedom and national unification, the glorious end of a historical period full of hardships and challenges, opening a new era for the Vietnamese people - the era of independence, freedom, and the whole country moving towards socialism. This victory continues to be a fulcrum for the belief, will, and aspiration to win of the entire nation in the current context.

Associate Professor, Dr. Vu Trong Lam, Director - Editor-in-Chief of the National Political Publishing House Truth, delivered the opening speech at the Workshop. (Photo: National Political Publishing House Truth)

To further clarify the value of the strength of political and spiritual factors in the great victory of Spring 1975, he suggested that delegates and scientists focus on clarifying the following four main contents:

Firstly, the significance and role of the Great Spring Victory of 1975 for the Vietnamese people, as well as a perspective on an event of great international importance and profound contemporary significance.

Second, the contributions of the forces, the Party, the Government and the people of the two regions in the General Offensive and Uprising in the Spring of 1975; analysis of the guiding viewpoints, decisions, and strategic battles that were turning points leading to the Great Victory in the Spring of 1975.

Third, the main values ​​and manifestations in the practice of the resistance war against America, saving the country of political and spiritual factors.

Fourth, lessons learned, theoretical and practical values ​​drawn to promote political and spiritual factors in the cause of national construction and defense; build a strong, compact and elite army, especially politically strong; build a "people's heart position" in the new era of the nation; proactively fight and criticize erroneous and hostile viewpoints, distort history, deny the historical and realistic values ​​of the Great Victory of Spring 1975.

The conference received more than 80 papers from leaders, generals, and scientists. The papers all affirmed that the great victory of the General Offensive and Uprising in the Spring of 1975, culminating in the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign, was recorded in the history of the Vietnamese people's resistance against foreign invaders as the most brilliant golden page and entered world history as a political-military event of epochal significance. On that basis, the discussions focused on deeper analysis and unanimously agreed that the Great Victory of Spring 1975 was a victory of Vietnamese mettle, strength and intelligence, a victory of the Vietnamese people's war, in which political and spiritual strength was the fundamental factor, the source of strength that made the Great Victory of Spring 1975. From the strength of politics and spirit in the Great Victory of Spring 1975, the discussions argued that it is necessary to continue to apply and promote it in the work of building and defending the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the new era - the era of national growth.

President Ho Chi Minh - The man who paved the way for the Great Victory of Spring 1975

Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Thi Minh Tuyet, Academy of Journalism and Communication, assessed that part of the source of spiritual strength is the will to unify the country, whose spiritual leader and chief architect of the path to liberate the South and unify the country is President Ho Chi Minh. Vietnam is not the only nation in the world to be divided, and when divided, every nation yearns for the day of reunification. With extraordinary courage and "unparalleled" prestige, President Ho Chi Minh turned the aspirations of the entire nation into the strategic goal of the Party, the uprising actions of the entire people.

Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Thi Minh Tuyet, Academy of Journalism and Communication, presented the paper “President Ho Chi Minh and the cause of liberating the South and unifying the country (1954 - 1975)”. (Photo: National Political Publishing House Truth)

He was the first person to predict that America would replace France in invading Vietnam. Exactly one day after the victory at Dien Bien Phu, he warned: "Although the victory is great, it is only the beginning." When General Vo Nguyen Giap returned from Dien Bien Phu, he "shaken hands to congratulate him and said: Our people must continue to fight America."

President Ho Chi Minh also predicted that the US would use B-52 bombers to attack Hanoi and would lose after losing in Hanoi's sky.

President Ho Chi Minh once emphasized that in war, “victory does not come naturally”; we absolutely cannot rely on luck or chance. To win against a powerful enemy, we must proactively enhance our strength in all aspects and that strength must ultimately be demonstrated on the battlefield through the fighting spirit, the unique military art of the people, of the “General Headquarters” and the effectiveness of weapons.

Ms. Tuyet affirmed that, with his belief and ability to motivate the people, President Ho Chi Minh turned ordinary Vietnamese people into heroes, creating in Vietnam a strange scene of "going out and meeting heroes".

In addition to military art and seizing opportunities, Associate Professor Nguyen Toan Thang, former Director of the Institute of Culture and Development, Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, emphasized that cultural traditions create the source of the nation's endogenous strength. Vietnamese history is a tradition of combining nation building and defense, and the cultural triangle of defense of the Vietnamese people is "defending the house - defending the village - defending the country" which is always deep in the subconscious. Every person who goes to war is for the village, the country, when the enemy comes to the house, the whole people are soldiers, which is a vivid manifestation of people's war.

"The Vietnamese people of all generations will do everything they can to defend the country," he affirmed, repeating the words of King Quang Trung in 1789, "fight to make history know that the heroic Southern nation has its owner", fighting for the survival and protection of national culture. He compared the footsteps of the spring of 1975 to the swift footsteps of the Tay Son army in the spring of Ky Dau 1789, which is the inheritance of the cultural tradition of defending the country.

Delegates visit the book display area at the conference. (Photo: Ministry of National Defense)

Concluding the workshop, Major General, Associate Professor, Dr. Dang Sy Loc, Director of the Academy of Politics, said that with a high sense of responsibility, scientists and officers from agencies and units inside and outside the Army focused on clarifying the theme of the workshop through more than 70 dedicated presentations.

He emphasized that in the new context, building an all-people national defense and people's war is still the basic and consistent viewpoint of our Party in the cause of defending the Fatherland. However, the basic strength and sharp weapon of people's war and defending the Fatherland is still political and spiritual strength.

Currently, the strong development of science and technology, especially the Fourth Industrial Revolution, creates both new opportunities and challenges for all countries and peoples. The emergence of modern weapons and military technical equipment fundamentally changes military organization, creates new forms of war, new strategic spaces; new types of operations, changes in strategic environments, and methods of conducting war. Along with the operational environments on land, in the air, at sea and in space, cyberspace and the electromagnetic spectrum have become new operational environments...

“From the lesson of the Great Victory of Spring 1975, we need to effectively implement the strategy of building, mobilizing and promoting political and spiritual factors in the new situation. That strategy must be closely combined and included in the overall strategy of national defense, security and protection of the Fatherland, as an integral part of the national comprehensive strength, closely linked with the strategy of socio-economic development and the strategy of national construction,” said Major General, Associate Professor, Dr. Dang Sy Loc.