Vietnam People's Army Day, 22 December

In late 1944, as the revolutionary movement grew strongly in Cao Bằng, Bắc Kạn and Lạng Sơn, Hồ Chí Minh saw the need for a main force to form the core of the nation's armed forces. In December 1944 he wrote the directive establishing the Vietnam Propaganda Liberation Army and entrusted Võ Nguyên Giáp with carrying it out.

The directive was short but set a clear line: the unit must put political work first, rely on the people, and both mobilise the population and fight. He wrote that the name meant politics weighed more than military action, that this was a propaganda unit. That idea became the foundation of the army's character in the years that followed.

On the afternoon of 22 December 1944, in the forest between the Trần Hưng Đạo and Hoàng Hoa Thám cantons of Nguyên Bình district, Cao Bằng province, the Vietnam Propaganda Liberation Army held its founding ceremony. It had 34 soldiers in three squads, with Hoàng Sâm as leader and Xích Thắng as political officer, under the overall command of Võ Nguyên Giáp.

Their first weapons were basic: a few rifles, flintlock guns and one light machine gun. Beneath the red flag with the yellow star, the soldiers swore an oath of honour to fight for national independence. The forest is now the Trần Hưng Đạo Forest Special National Relic Site, visited every December by officers, soldiers and students.

Only three days after its founding, on 25 December 1944, the unit attacked the Phai Khắt post, then on the afternoon of 26 December struck the Nà Ngần post, both in Nguyên Bình. Using disguise, swift strikes and quick withdrawals, it won both battles outright, seized weapons and made a strong impression across the region.

Those first victories bore out the directive: a small force that relies on the people and picks its moment can still win. The news spread fast, many young people asked to join, and the 34-strong unit grew quickly with the revolutionary movement in Việt Bắc.

In April 1945, the Northern Revolutionary Military Conference merged the Propaganda Liberation Army with the National Salvation Army into the Vietnam Liberation Army. Together with the people it carried the August Revolution of 1945 to victory, and was later known as the National Defence Guard and then the Vietnam National Army.

From 1950 it took the name Vietnam People's Army. Through the victory at Điện Biên Phủ in 1954 and the Great Spring Victory of 1975, the army and the whole nation defended and reunified the country. The people call its soldiers by the affectionate name Uncle Hồ's Soldiers, a picture of troops who stay close to and help the people.

Every mission accomplished, every hardship overcome, every enemy defeated.

President Hồ Chí Minh, 20th anniversary of the army, 22 December 1964

On 17 October 1989, the Party Central Committee's Secretariat issued Directive 381-CT/TW, making 22 December, the founding day of the Vietnam People's Army, All-People National Defence Day every year. Since then 22 December has been both the army's traditional day and a day for every citizen.

The spirit of the day is that defending the country is not only the work of those in uniform. Every 22 December, localities hold army-civilian exchanges, sports events and defence awareness activities. In the same year, 1989, the Vietnam Veterans Association was founded, bringing together those who had served and returned to civilian life.

Today, around 22 December, army units hold ceremonies and offer incense at sites such as the Trần Hưng Đạo Forest and martyrs' cemeteries. Youth unions, schools and companies visit their partner units, share music and sport, and send gifts to soldiers serving on the borders and islands.

At work, many who once wore the uniform bring discipline, punctuality and team spirit into civilian jobs. 22 December is the moment for colleagues to thank those veterans, the families of serving soldiers and the troops who keep the country at peace day and night.