The army of Vietnam began to acquire its modern look in 1944. Then the first regular units were created under the command of local generals. Despite the fact that the first detachment consisted of only 34 warriors, it was with him that the history of the armed forces of Vietnam begins.
Vietnam Armed Forces during the First Indochina War
The Indochina war, which France waged in the hope of preserving its colonies in Southeast Asia, lasted from 1946 to 1954. She became one of the most bloody in Asia and influenced not only the political alignment in this region, but also the internal state of affairs of the French Republic.
Also, this armed conflict had a significant impact on the formation of the Vietnamese army. Since the young state could not have resisted the military machine of the European empire without outside help, the local leaders turned to China for help.
Thanks to the help of the Chinese Communists, the young government managed to defend independence. However, France was also not alone in its struggle, as it received substantial financial support from the UK, as well as military and material assistance from the United States.
Thus, despite the difficulties that the newly created army had to face, this conflict served as a serious incentive for the development of the Vietnamese army. All subsequent changes were based on the model of the Soviet armed forces.
Vietnam Armed Forces
An independent Vietnam Armed Forces began to form immediately after the French colonial corps was partially withdrawn from Indochina. Despite the fact that 80 years have passed since the creation of the Vietnamese army, it still retained a very archaic structure. All units of the Vietnamese armed forces are divided into three large groups: main forces, local forces, and self-defense forces. Each of these groups has its own reserve of military personnel.
The arms of the country have four types of troops. These include land forces, border guards, the navy, the air force and air defense.
All the country's armed forces are divided into nine districts, as well as a separate capital defense command. The Vietnamese army has numerous infantry divisions, infantry regiments, tank regiments, an air defense brigade, engineering brigades, special defense units of industrial facilities, and artillery brigades.
Features of the geographical location of the army
There is a very common misconception regarding the size of Vietnam. Quite often this country is called a small Asian state. However, the length of Vietnam from north to south reaches 2700 km, and the population is approaching 93 million people.
Therefore, it is not surprising that the country has the largest army in Southeast Asia. As already mentioned, the army of Vietnam was created with the direct participation of the PRC. At the same time, the Chinese Armed Forces was formed with the support of the USSR. In the sixties of the 20th century, military-technical cooperation intensified between Vietnam and the USSR.
In 1979, an agreement was signed between Vietnam and the Soviet Union on the long-term lease of a naval base in Kamrani, which formerly belonged to the US Navy. Thus, the Soviet Union received a strategically important facility in Southeast Asia, and the Vietnamese government gained access to the military equipment of its northern ally. This cooperation has been fruitful enough for both sides.
Vietnamese army after the collapse of the USSR
After the Soviet Union ceased to exist, Vietnam was forced to reconsider the direction of its foreign policy. Having lost the main partner in military-technical cooperation and economic assistance, the authorities of the Asian republic were forced to go on a series of market reforms.
However, despite all the changes, the samples of Soviet military equipment and Chinese weapons are still in service with the Vietnamese people's army. The main battle tank of Vietnam is the T-55, which was delivered to the country in 1973. In total, the Soviet Union transferred about 600 such tanks to the state. Cooperation with Russia in the field of arms supplies is much smaller in volume. As of 2018, the Russian Federation has delivered 64 modern T-90 tanks to Vietnam.
Army technical equipment
By and large, all the weapons of Vietnam, including those supplied by the PRC, are of Soviet origin. Although China supplied a large number of equipment, all of it was developed on the basis of Soviet models.
Thus, the Type-59 Chinese tank that was widely used in Asia was created in the 1950s on the basis of the Soviet T-54 tank. Until 1988, this unit served as the basis of not only the Vietnamese, but also the Chinese army.
In service with the People’s Army of Vietnam are three types of medium tanks. T-50 and T-62 cars were supplied by the USSR. Also in the army there are light tanks. The most legendary of them is the PT-76.
Legendary amphibious tank
In 1951, a light floating tank was adopted for service in the Soviet Union. Over the next 16 years, more than 3,000 such machines were produced and modernized. Also, several modifications were created on its basis. Despite the fact that the tank was very effective in hostilities, it was subsequently decided to replace it with infantry fighting vehicles. However, about 100 units were in service with the Russian army until 2004. About 2,000 PT-76s were exported, including to Vietnam.
This tank entered the history of the army thanks to the Vietnam War. Not least, thanks to this machine, residents of the state managed to defend the independence of foreign policy from the United States. As for the characters, the most legendary commander of the Vietnam War was Van Tien Dung, who flawlessly planned and successfully implemented the spring offensive of the Vietnamese army in 1975. It was this offensive that became the reason why the Americans were forced to end the conflict.
Vietnam Navy
The birthday of the naval forces of Vietnam is considered May 7, 1955. It was on this day that the decision was made to create the coastal defense of the country. Initially, the main task of the fleet was only to patrol the coastal territories and waterways in the country.
It is worth noting that an effective fleet is one of the foundations of national security, since the length of the coastline of Vietnam is 3444 km. In addition, the Navy is of great non-military importance, as it performs rescue missions and humanitarian support in the event of natural disasters, which happen in this country quite often.
In its modern form, the people’s fleet of Vietnam protects sovereignty, including economic. The Vietnamese fleet ensures the safety of trade routes both for its economy and for foreign partners. In recent years, increasing efforts have been made to modernize this type of troops.
Technical equipment of the Navy
As in the case of the ground forces, the basis of the navy is the samples of Soviet technology. So in the fleet there are six multi-purpose submarines Varshavyanka. The total value of this contract for Vietnam was $ 1.8 billion.
Also in service are frigates and corvettes built at the Gorky Zelenodolsk plant. During the fleet modernization program, the government purchased $ 350,000,000 in warships in Russia.
It is worth noting that the conduct of hostilities in modern conditions is impossible without naval aviation. However, at the heart of the naval aviation of the People’s Republic is cooperation with countries such as Indonesia and Canada.
Tactically, missile forces are an important part of the country's coastal defense. Given the length of the coastline, Vietnam is forced to closely monitor the fortifications. Mostly, the troops of this unit operate Russian and Indian equipment. Russia supplies Bastion-P missile systems to Vietnam, which have established themselves as one of the most efficient missile systems in the world.
Vietnam Air Force
Despite the fact that the Air Force did not play a decisive role during the Vietnam War, substantial attention was paid to their subsequent development.
Since the seventies of the XX century, the Soviet Union began to actively equip Vietnam with its own aircraft. Also in service with the Air Force were captured samples of American aircraft captured from the army of South Vietnam.
On May 31, 1977, a decision was made to create air defense forces. However, in 1999, air defense was combined with air forces. Before the collapse of the USSR, Vietnam could afford to contain a large number of military aircraft. Until 1991, more than 700 aircraft, 120 helicopters, as well as 158 missile systems were in service. However, after the Soviet Union was eliminated, Vietnam could no longer independently provide maintenance for such a quantity of military equipment. That is why by the end of the nineties the aviation fleet was significantly reduced.
Today, the command of the Vietnamese Air Force faces a serious task to modernize this type of troops. In the near future, it is planned to replace obsolete samples of Soviet technology with modern ones, manufactured and developed already in Russia. Preliminary contracts for the supply of SU-34 and Yak-130 aircraft have been concluded.