Editor's note: On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of national reunification, VietNamNet introduces a series of articles with the theme "April 30 - a new era".

Here, experts, military experts, and historical witnesses shared memories, lessons, and experiences from the victory of the resistance war against the US to save the country. That is the strength of great national unity - the source of victory of the resistance war, the will to protect the independence and autonomy of the nation and unify the country, and the belief in entering a new era of national development.

It is also a lesson in mobilizing people's strength and gaining international support; a lesson in diplomacy and military in the resistance war for the task of protecting the Fatherland early and from afar. It is the creativity, resilience, and strength of the people's war for the cause of national liberation, a great lesson in promoting internal strength for the cause of building and protecting the Fatherland.

Lessons in seizing strategic opportunities

In April 1973, the Central Military Commission established the Central Group under the General Staff to prepare the Strategic Plan to completely liberate the South.

Next, the 21st Central Conference (July 1973) determined that the revolutionary path in the South would continue to be the path of violence. Based on the Strategic Plan of the General Staff, through the process of both attacking the enemy and exploring the world situation, the Politburo Conference in September 1974 affirmed the determination to complete the liberation of the South in the two years of 1975-1976.

And especially the expanded Politburo Conference in late 1974 and early 1975, when the situation became clearer, had an extremely wise assessment: We are facing a great strategic opportunity to complete the national democratic revolution in the South, moving towards peaceful reunification of the Fatherland.

On that basis, the Politburo made a historic decision: “ …urgently prepare all aspects to successfully end the war to save the country in 1975 or 1976” . This was the root, the cause of all causes leading to the Great Victory in the spring of 1975.

The liberation flag flies at Tan Son Nhat airport on April 30, 1975. Photo: Quang Thanh/VNA

The lessons learned from recognizing and seizing strategic opportunities continue to be creatively applied, contributing decisively to helping our Party lead the country to overcome vital challenges and achieve historic victories.

The decision to launch the Renovation process in 1986 (the 6th Party Congress) was a strategic decision that brought the cause of building and defending the Vietnamese Fatherland into a new era: the era of renovation and development, overcoming serious crises, and moving forward steadily.

Thanks to that, after nearly 40 years of renovation, the foundation, potential, position and international prestige of our country and our regime are stronger than ever, ready to enter a new era of development.

Now, on the eve of the 14th National Party Congress, our country is facing a new strategic opportunity with new challenges. The increasingly accelerated globalization process and the stormy new industrial revolution have brought new resources and opportunities to the country's sustainable development. However, globalization and the new industrial revolution also pose many unprecedented and dangerous challenges.

Particularly serious is the risk of falling behind in development level and becoming dependent on foreign countries in science and technology. Global climate change can put some regions of our country at risk of natural disasters, droughts, and saltwater intrusion that are difficult to overcome. The wave of cultural encroachment and the digital transformation process with AI and IoT can distort the lifestyle and erode the traditional cultural values ​​of the nation. Epidemics, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, can cause enormous damage...

In that context, the lessons of scientific analysis, vision and the courage to seize strategic opportunities of the Great Victory of Spring 1975 have even more practical value.

The reality is, just like 50 years ago, the Vietnamese nation and the Vietnamese revolution have no other choice, no place to pause or retreat, but only the sole choice to resolutely rush into the flood of the times, accepting historical challenges. Therefore, we need to “turn danger into opportunity”, promote the will and aspiration of the nation to seize advantages, overcome obstacles to move forward.

This is what General Secretary To Lam has repeatedly emphasized: We have all the necessary conditions and we cannot delay, we must immediately do what needs to be done with the spirit of "running and lining up at the same time". First of all, we must thoroughly fight corruption and waste and quickly and synchronously carry out the lean revolution, improve the efficiency, effectiveness and efficiency of the national leadership, operation and governance system. These are tasks of strategic significance and importance, paving the way for the entire nation to enter a new era.

Creativity and strategy in strategic direction

The second valuable lesson that the Great Victory of Spring 1975 left for the cause of building and defending the Vietnamese Fatherland today is the lesson of creativity and strategy in strategic direction.

The ancients used to say that to win in war, "A good commander does not need to arrange battle formations, a good strategist does not need to fight, a good fighter does not lose...".

The General Offensive and Uprising in the Spring of 1975 was the most typical demonstration of the outstanding military talent of the Politburo and the Central Military Commission. The whole country joined the battle, concentrating all resources to create a combined impulse like Phu Dong rising up.

For the first time, the combined combat command of the arms, corps, and fronts was unified, coordinated, and extremely effective. After the probing military and diplomatic attacks, the attack hit the enemy's weak points in Buon Me Thuot, pushing the enemy out of the Central Highlands, opening a new battle situation. Next was the Hue - Da Nang campaign, which led to the complete liberation of the Central strip of land with fierce attacks, defeating the defensive efforts and breaking the enemy's spirit and will.

The favorable situation opened up for the final campaign, the Ho Chi Minh campaign, with the motto: “Fast, faster! Bold, more daring! Seize every hour, every minute, rush to the front, liberate the South. Determined battle! Total victory!”.

The current domestic and international context also places very high demands on creativity and strategy for the leadership and strategic direction of our Party and country.

Of course, such creativity and strategy cannot be found in any book, nor can it be based solely on accumulated experience and individual intelligence or talent. It must be the achievement of collective leadership, first of all the collective of the Politburo, the Secretariat, and the Party Central Committee. But it is also necessary to promote the intelligence and advice of the team of experts, innovative enterprises, and the entire population.

Creativity and strategy in the era of globalization and intellectual civilization must rely even more on truly objective and scientific research and analysis results of professional research agencies and teams as well as rich initiatives of the people.

At present and in the future, the fiercest competition among countries, economies, corporations and companies is the competition in the speed of knowledge innovation and the speed of shortening the technology life cycle. And in short, it is the level of cultural integration and intellectual content in economic and cultural products.

In that context, our Party promptly issued Conclusions No. 91 and No. 57 of the Politburo, which determined very accurately and strongly: science - technology and education - training must truly be the top national policies; cultural development, especially cultural industry, must create a breakthrough so that culture becomes a direct development resource; linking cultural development with human development so that culture truly plays the role of the spiritual foundation of society.

Awakening the thousand-year-old national spirit

The third invaluable lesson is the lesson of promoting national spirit to the fullest based on the principle of putting national cause and national interests above all else.

History has shown that, at turning points and decisive moments, if national spirit is promoted and national cause is upheld, the Vietnamese people will certainly overcome all challenges and achieve glorious feats.

"In the new context, national spirit needs to be aroused and promoted." Illustration: Bui Quang Thuy

The golden pages of the nation’s history have vividly recorded such moments. That was when the poem “Nam quoc son ha” resounded when the resistance war against the Song in 1075 reached its fiercest climax. That was when the elders shouted the word “ Fight ” at the Dien Hong Conference in 1284 - “thousands of people shouted at the same time, as if coming from one mouth” - in response to King Tran Nhan Tong’s question about how to deal with the Yuan-Mongol invaders. That was also when all our people rose up to break the shackles of slavery, “using our own strength to liberate ourselves” following the call of the Party and leader Nguyen Ai Quoc in the fall of 1945.

In the spring of 1975, our whole country joined the battle with heroic spirit and determination like the thousand-year-old national will.

In the new context, when the whole nation enters a new era, ready to accept the existential challenges of the times, national spirit needs to be aroused and promoted. This is for the whole nation to join hands, unite, join minds, join forces to bring the country out of backwardness, successfully build a strong and sustainably developed Vietnam.

When it comes to national spirit, it is easy to think that it is simply an outburst of national sentiment. The history of our nation and the history of our Party show that the reality is not just like that.

National spirit is both an emotion and a rational belief. When it is aroused and promoted, it will have enough endurance and strength to become the ideal and will of the entire people. The core of that rational belief is the practical verification of the Party's political principles, as President Ho Chi Minh said: "Apart from the interests of the Fatherland and the People, our Party has no other interests."

50 years have passed. The stature, significance and historical lessons of the Great Victory of Spring 1975 are increasingly affirmed and understood more deeply and fully. That glorious feat not only opened a new page in the history of the nation but also always encouraged our entire Party, army and people on new revolutionary paths.

Prof. Dr. Pham Hong Tung (Institute of Vietnamese Studies and Development Sciences)

Vietnamnet.vn

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/dai-thang-mua-xuan-1975-va-bai-hoc-khoi-day-hao-khi-dan-toc-trong-ky-nguyen-moi-2379532.html