PANO – To create a reason for escalating the war, striking Northern Vietnam, the White House and Pentagon made up the play “Gulf of Tonkin Incident” with vague allegations as follows: On August 4th, 1964, Northern Vietnamese torpedo boats groundlessly attacked a US destroyer in the international sea line. The play came into effect immediately. The Hawks succeeded in cheating the US public and parliament, which then gave the US President the absolute right to act.
In fact, on August 2nd, 1964, the US Maddox explicitly violated the waters of Northern Vietnam by repeating operations from the sea off Deo Ngang, Quang Binh province to Hon Me island off Thanh Hoa province. The Vietnam Naval Command ordered 3 torpedo boats of Battalion 135 to expel the US vessel. In the battle, despite enemy strong firepower, North Vietnamese boats boldly approached and fought against the US giant vessel. Our boats shot down one US aircraft and hurt another, forcing the US ship to run away from Northern Vietnam’s waters. Then the international opinion, including the American public, realized the facts and voice against the US Navy’s invasion.
The US Hawks then understood that the US-fabricated scenario was not convincing enough to cheat the public opinion. They told the public another distorted story: On the night of August 4th, 1964, North Vietnamese torpedo boats once again attacked the USS Maddox and Turner Joy without reason while the two US vessels operated in international waters. That was a pure fabrication because the weather on that day was so bad with strong wind and rough sea and no North Vietnamese boats could go to the open sea as the USA told the public.
However, the US President, despite the truth, relied on that false information, on August 5th, 1964, to order to launch the Operation Pierce Arrow. Accordingly, the US Navy suddenly mobilized 64 US aircraft to strike 4 coastal areas in Northern Vietnam, namely Gianh port, Quang Binh; Ben Thuy wharf, Vinh city, Nghe An province; Lach Truong, Thanh hoa province; and Bai Chay, Quang Ninh, commencing a large-scale destructive war in Northern Vietnam.
Under the leadership of the Party and Ho Chi Minh, the Vietnam People’s Navy with high alert, good preparation and combat readiness fought back the US extensive airstrikes. The Vietnam Navy deployed boats with air defense guns in the sea and people’s air defense system was set up along the coastline to fight US aircraft. In the first battles taking place on August 5th, 1964, the Vietnam Navy shot down 8 US aircraft, hurt 3 others, and captured several US pilots. The loss stunned and horrified the US Administration and Pentagon because in the US Air Force history, the US Army had never before suffered such a big loss in an air battle when it held the initiative and launched a surprise airstrike.
Nevertheless, the US army’s loss in the battles was understandable. In fact, the US Army miscalculated the strength and will of the Vietnamese, a nation with a long-standing tradition of fighting foreign invaders, in its history of building and protecting the country. The victory indeed glorified the tradition of the Vietnamese army and people and confirmed that the Vietnamese army and people under the leadership of the Party and President Ho Chi Minh were able to defeat the US Air Force and Navy even in the first battles.
The fact that our army and people expelled USS Maddox and shot down US aircraft in the first battles held great significance in both political and military terms, and marked a big milestone in the history of the national war against the American invaders. The feats in the first battles on August 5th, 1964 struck a blow at the US attempt to escalate the war; raised the ardor and confidence of our military and people in our army’s weapons, leadership and warfighting abilities; and served as a confirmation that our military and people could absolutely defeat the destructive war on the North waged by the US Air Force and Navy. The victory also reflected the Party’s proper guidelines on the whole people’s warfare, the initial success of air defense operations in joining three kinds of army to fight the US destructive war against the North. Finally, the victory encouraged the fighting spirit of the army and people in the South, refueling them to achieve more victories in the South Battlefield.
Valuable lessons on the arts of assessing the enemy situation before operations have been drawn from the Gulf of Tonkin Incident and our army’s and people’s feats in the first battles. First, we should realize the enemy’s real reasons and schemes to draw up timely and appropriate approaches in response to the enemy’s operations. Second, our army and people should always put on the alert, ready to fight and defeat enemy’s schemes and plots in any situation. The third lesson is the art of creating our side’s operational posture, determining the directions, areas and targets that the enemy is likely to attack. The fourth is the art of organizing, using and deploying our forces as well as the arts of leading, commanding and coordinating the three kinds of forces to fight enemy air strikes in a war defending the Fatherland.
Written by Pham Duc Truong Translated by Thu Nguyen
Đăng ký: VietNam News
