9 talented generals of the Vietnam People's Army

Hoa Lo Prison Relic (Hanoi) is displaying documentary photosliver of gold, heart of iron, summarizes the 80-year journey of the Vietnam People's Army and portraits of 9 talented generals.

General Vo Nguyen Giap is affectionately called the "big brother" of the entire army by generations. The photo on the left was taken when he was 19 years old, imprisoned by the French in Thua Phu prison (Hue), the photo on the right is of Mr. Giap teaching history at Thang Long Private School (Hanoi).

Holding the rank of general at the age of 37, the Commander-in-Chief of the Vietnam People's Army directly led the entire army in the Dien Bien Phu campaign in 1954 and the Ho Chi Minh campaign in 1975, creating a turning point in ending the war against France and the US.

"If I had not become a soldier, I could have been a teacher, a philosopher or a historian," the general once told American historian Stanley Karnow in an interview at his home in 1990. Many domestic and international military experts consider the general to be "a versatile person in both wartime and peacetime."

General Vo Nguyen Giap and military delegates at the 6th National Assembly session in July 1976. The first National Assembly session after the country's reunification passed a resolution on the country's name, national flag, national emblem, capital and national anthem.

The first General, Supreme Commander of the Vietnam People's Army, passed away on October 4, 2013 at the age of 103. He was buried in his hometown of Quang Binh. The house at 30 Hoang Dieu (Ba Dinh, Hanoi), where he lived with his family during his lifetime, has been a place of visit for veterans and soldiers every year on the occasion of the anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu victory, December 22...

General Nguyen Chi Thanh, real name Nguyen Vinh (right), is famous for his tactic of "grabbing the enemy's belt and fighting". In the photo, Mr. Nguyen Chi Thanh, at the time Secretary of the Central Office for Southern Vietnam and Political Commissar of the Southern Liberation Army, and Lieutenant General Tran Van Tra, Commander of the Southern Liberation Army, listen to a report at the Regional Command in 1966.

He was in charge of agriculture from 1960 to 1964 before going to the South to fight.

General Nguyen Chi Thanh and his daughter Nguyen Thanh Ha in the Viet Bac resistance base in 1952. "My father was a general, but at that time we did not understand anything about his career and military command. We only knew that the army was his career, his reason for living, his blood, his passion and his love. My mother was a soldier, and my sisters all joined the army when they graduated from 10th grade. As for Vinh, my father always said that when he grew up, his path would be the army," the exhibition quoted Ms. Thanh Ha as saying.

Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh, his youngest son, once held the position of Deputy Minister of Defense.

General Van Tien Dung - who had been through Hoa Lo, Son La, and Bac Ninh prisons in 1940-1944. He disguised himself as a monk at Bot Xuyen Pagoda (old Ha Tay) from January to August 1943 to avoid the eyes of the colonialists and carry out revolutionary activities.

General Van Tien Dung, when he was the Commander of the 320th Division (Dong Bang Division), inspected and commanded troops in combat in Ninh Binh in 1952. He was appointed as Head of the General Command Delegation to attend the Trung Gia Military Conference in July 1954. The first official "negotiation" between the General Command of the Vietnam People's Army and the General Command of the French Union forces in Indochina aimed to agree on measures to realize the provisions of the Geneva Conference on ceasefire, troop regrouping, prisoner exchange, etc.

"At the negotiating table, we are rookies. But with the will to try to carry out the tasks assigned by President Ho Chi Minh and the Central Military Commission, we will become veterans," he said before entering the conference.

Later, he participated in directing many major campaigns such as Route 9 - Southern Laos in 1971, Tri Thien campaign in 1972, Tay Nguyen campaign in 1975 and was the Commander of Ho Chi Minh campaign in 1975.

General Vo Nguyen Giap and General Van Tien Dung met after the country's reunification in May 1975. During the 1975 spring campaign, General Vo Nguyen Giap and the Politburo directly commanded it, while General Van Tien Dung was the campaign commander. The two generals were former Ministers of Defense.

Lieutenant General Vuong Thua Vu, a son of Hanoi, on the day he returned to take over the capital on October 10, 1954. He was the Commander of the 308th Regiment (Vanguard Corps), the first main infantry unit of the Vietnam People's Army.

"During training, if you make a wrong move, you can re-order, redo it, and sweat a few drops. But in combat, if you make a wrong move, you may not have the chance to redo it, or if you do, blood will have already been shed. Therefore, as a commander, no matter how many people you command, you must train your stance, ideology, practice techniques, tactics, and learn about organization and command," General Vuong Thua Vu was quoted as saying.

Senior Lieutenant General Song Hao, who has made many contributions to the Party and political work of the army. He was the Political Commissar of the 308th Division during the resistance against the French and the Political Commissar of the Quang Tri front during the years of fighting the Americans.

During his lifetime, he considered political work a key task and emphasized that "the mettle of a commanding officer must first be demonstrated in fighting spirit, sense of organization and discipline, and spirit of solidarity and coordination. The mettle of a commanding officer must be demonstrated in a level of military knowledge appropriate to the requirements of combat missions and the practical demands of the battlefield."

Senior Lieutenant General Dinh Duc Thien (first from right) - the "big brother" of the military transportation industry. He made great contributions to the construction of the Truong Son oil pipeline, more than 5,000 km underground from the Vietnam-China border to Binh Phuoc, supporting the battlefield and combat troops in campaigns.

In the photo, Director of the General Department of Logistics Dinh Duc Thien directs the making of bamboo containers for long-distance transport vehicles to facilitate loading and unloading, January 1973.

Commander of the Truong Son Corps Dong Sy Nguyen (left) and Political Commissar Vu Xuan Chiem at the forward command post in November 1971.

Lieutenant General Vu Xuan Chiem was the logistics general of the legendary Truong Son road. The "Eight Trigrams Formation" crossed the forest with 5 vertical axes, 21 horizontal axes, with a total length of 20,000 km, covering the Truong Son range from east to west, sending more than two million soldiers from the South to the North under bombs and bullets, making it "impossible for the US army to stop". Once holding the position of Deputy Director of the General Department of Logistics, he and the entire industry promptly ensured human resources, weapons, and logistics for the southern battlefield in 1975. After the country was liberated, he became Director of the General Department of Logistics and then Deputy Minister of National Defense.

Daily life photo of Major General Tran Tu Binh's family in 1960 - a man who made many contributions on both the military and diplomatic fronts. He participated in the Phu Rieng rubber plantation workers' movement, the 1945 General Uprising to seize power in Hanoi and later held important positions in the government and the army. In 1959, he was the Vietnamese Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to China and Ambassador to Mongolia.

Mr. Tran Viet Trung, son of Major General Tran Tu Binh, said: "During the farewell ceremony for my father as Ambassador, Uncle Ho said before that he was a general on the military front, now he is a general on the diplomatic front."

Major General Huynh Dac Huong (third from left), a native of Quang Nam, has been with the army since its early days until today. He has been a "pioneer" in many positions inside and outside the army. During the August 1945 General Uprising, he was a member of the Quang Nam Provisional Provincial Party Committee, held many positions in the resistance war against France and the US, and became Political Commissar of the volunteer army and Head of the Vietnamese military expert delegation in Laos.

At the age of 104, he is still involved in many activities. In September, Major General Huynh Dac Huong, representing the Liaison Committee of Vietnamese Volunteer Soldiers and Military Experts to help Laos, met with General Secretary and President Thongloun Sisoulith during his state visit to Vietnam; visited the exhibition at Hoa Lo Prison in mid-December...

The exhibition will run until the end of December.