His thoughts on the combat power of the Army still retain their scientific and contemporary value. For Vietnam, inheriting and creatively applying those theses has been directly contributing to the construction of a lean, compact, strong Vietnam People's Army, advancing straight to modernity, meeting the requirements of defending the Fatherland in the new context.
F. Engels's thoughts on the fighting power of the Army
As early as the 70s of the 19th century, F. Engels pointed out that the Army was a tool of violence of the ruling class, closely linked to the existence of the state. He affirmed: "The Army has become the main purpose of the state, becoming a purpose in itself" 1 . For him, there is no classless Army; the class nature of the Army is relatively stable, but is always affected by economic, political , social conditions, production methods and the correlation of forces in society. Due to the impact of the above factors, the class nature of the Army can be strengthened or faded. The change takes place gradually through the strengthening or weakening of relationships.
In history, no Army has fought for the common interests of all classes. F. Engels pointed out that the Army is a tool of violence for the state to dominate, oppress the working people, deter, force the working people to obey the ruling class and the state, protect the interests of the ruling class in the country; conduct wars to protect the state's territory from external invasion, or conduct wars of aggression to expand the territory, serve the interests of the ruling class, and impose slavery on other nations.
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Regarding the functions and tasks of the Army, F. Engels believed that any Army is the main basis for the state to carry out its internal and external functions. In each different historical period, due to the political purposes, viewpoints and methods of use of different classes and states, the functions and tasks of the Army change accordingly.
Regarding the fighting strength of the Army, according to F. Engels, it is the synthesis of many constituent elements, such as people, economic, political, cultural, social conditions, military science and production methods, in which the economy is the basic and important factor determining the fighting strength of the Army in general and the Army of the proletariat in particular. F. Engels said: "The entire organization and fighting method of the Army, victory or defeat clearly depends on material conditions, that is, economic conditions" 2 . Accordingly, the strength of the Army of the proletariat must be organized according to a strict and rigorous rule, from people, weapons, technical equipment, organization to the level of use of weapons, in which people are the most important. According to F. Engels, Engels, no matter how modern technical equipment is, it can never replace people. People create weapons, technical equipment and use those weapons and technical equipment for different political purposes.
F. Engels's thoughts and viewpoints on the strength of the Army in general and the Army of the proletariat in particular created a fundamental turning point in the military theory of the proletariat, which was both scientific and revolutionary. Therefore, C. Marx considered F. Engels as "the most prestigious military person". F. Engels' military theory became a sharp tool for each ruling communist party to deeply perceive and effectively implement in the struggle to gain and maintain revolutionary power, to organize and build the Army in accordance with the characteristics of the situation, requirements and tasks of the country, to meet the demands of reality.
Applying creativity to the Vietnamese revolution
Right from the early days, President Ho Chi Minh and our Party absorbed and creatively applied the ideology of F. Engels. He affirmed: "To save the country and liberate the nation, there is no other way than the proletarian revolutionary path." And to win and maintain revolutionary power, it is necessary to organize a new type of Army - the Army of workers and peasants, placed under the absolute leadership of the Party.
From small self-defense and guerrilla teams, the Vietnam People's Army has grown through the resistance wars against French colonialism and American imperialism and international obligations. Although most of the cadres and soldiers came from peasant backgrounds, with their patriotism and revolutionary spirit, they have transformed from national awareness to class awareness, from the spirit of national independence to socialist consciousness, becoming soldiers absolutely loyal to the ideals of the Party and the nation. This is a vivid proof of F. Engels's thesis: People are the decisive factor in the strength of the Army.
After more than 80 years of building, fighting and growing, the Vietnam People's Army has affirmed its position as a political force, a loyal and trustworthy fighting force of the Party, State and people; a sharp tool of violence to protect the Fatherland, maintain peace and national independence.
New opportunities and challenges in military building
Currently, our country is entering a new stage of development, with intertwined opportunities and challenges. The trend of peace, cooperation and development continues to be the dominant trend, but destabilizing factors are still latent: Strategic competition between major countries; disputes over sovereignty of seas, islands and borders; trade wars, non-traditional security, climate change, natural disasters, global epidemics...
In particular, hostile forces are constantly increasing sabotage, promoting “peaceful evolution”, “self-evolution”, “self-transformation”, demanding “depoliticization of the Army”. At the same time, the Fourth Industrial Revolution poses an urgent need to modernize the Army, prepare to deal with high-tech warfare, cyber warfare, and multi-domain operations.
That situation requires the Vietnam People's Army to continue to creatively apply Engels's thought, build a lean, strong, and modern Army, ready to defeat all forms of war, and not be passive or surprised.
Some key contents that need to be implemented to build a strong, compact, and elite Vietnam People's Army, advancing straight to modernity in the era of national growth
, firmly upholding the principle of the Party's absolute and direct leadership in all aspects over the Army. This is a matter of principle, immutable, regardless of conditions and circumstances, the Army must be absolutely loyal to the Party's goals and ideals, national independence associated with socialism, ensuring the correct leadership and direction that President Ho Chi Minh and the Party established right from the time the Vietnam People's Army was born: the Party organizes and leads the Workers' and Peasants' Army to gain and maintain power. Consistent with that spirit, throughout the process of leadership and direction, President Ho Chi Minh and our Party have constantly consolidated, supplemented, adjusted, and gradually strengthened the Party's leadership over the Army, in accordance with each time, stage, requirement, and revolutionary task.
At the third session of the National Assembly (1st term) of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, on December 1, 1953, President Ho Chi Minh emphasized the need to strengthen the Party's leadership over the Army: "The key to victory in the resistance war is to consolidate and expand the National United Front, consolidate the worker-peasant alliance, consolidate the people's government, consolidate and develop the Army, consolidate the Party and strengthen the Party's leadership in all aspects" 3 . The Party affirmed: "Building Party committees, Party organizations and a contingent of cadres and Party members in the Army to be absolutely loyal to the Fatherland, the Party, the State and the people, steadfast in the Party's revolutionary goals and ideals, ensuring comprehensive quality and high combat strength, meeting requirements and tasks in all situations" 4 . On that basis, the Army must concretize and institutionalize in each field of operation, maintain political and ideological orientation for officers and soldiers in the process of performing combat readiness training tasks, fighting, building a strong unit in all aspects, especially strong in politics, so as not to be passive or surprised by any situation or incident that may occur, firmly protecting the Party, State, people and socialist regime.
, building a lean, strong, and modern Vietnam People's Army. It is necessary to strengthen education on the traditions of the Party and the Army, and to foster in cadres and soldiers patriotism, national pride, and determination to overcome difficulties and fulfill their tasks well. At the same time, building a clean and strong grassroots Party organization to meet the requirements of defending the Fatherland; resolutely overcoming the situation of overlooking Party and political work.
Raise vigilance, resolutely defeat the plot of "depoliticizing the Army" by hostile forces. Continue to build and rectify the Party in the spirit of Resolution 4 of the Central Committee (term XII, XIII), associated with Directive No. 05 of the Politburo and the Campaign "Promoting tradition, dedicating talent, worthy of being Uncle Ho's soldiers" in the new period; implement Resolution No. 847-NQ/QUTW, resolutely fight against individualism, tighten discipline, maintain regularity, and a healthy cultural environment.
At the same time, promote the historical value of the national military, absorb the world's military quintessence; invest in modernizing weapons and equipment, focusing on core forces in high-tech warfare. Along with that, effectively implement the campaign "Manage and exploit weapons and technical equipment well, durable, safe, economical and traffic safe", contributing to saving the budget, enhancing combat strength.
, building a team of cadres and party members with mettle, qualities, and abilities equal to the task.
It is necessary to thoroughly grasp the Party and State's viewpoints and guidelines on personnel work, especially Resolution of the 3rd Central Committee (VIII term); Conclusion No. 37-KL/TW (2009); Conclusion No. 24-KL/TW (2012); Resolution No. 18-NQ/TW (2017) on "Some issues of continuing to innovate and reorganize the apparatus of the political system to be streamlined and operate effectively and efficiently"; Resolution No. 109-NQ/QUTW (2019); Resolution No. 05-NQ/TW (2021); Resolution No. 230-NQ/QUTW (2022); and Conclusion No. 126-KL/TW (2025). At the same time, effectively implement the Project on training and fostering leaders and commanders of the Army. Focus on evaluating, planning, training, and arranging cadres, especially leading cadres, to ensure moral qualities, political standards, and working capacity. Thoroughly implement the motto "Setting an example, compassion, responsibility", and build a team of truly exemplary cadres who are a reliable support and shining examples for soldiers to learn from and follow.
, improve the quality of Party work and political work in the Army. Strengthen education on patriotism, national pride, determination to overcome difficulties, and complete tasks well. Timely fight against erroneous and hostile viewpoints; prevent the plot of "depoliticizing the Army". At the same time, strictly maintain discipline and order; build a clean, healthy military cultural environment imbued with the identity of Uncle Ho's soldiers.
, combining national strength with the strength of the times. Inheriting and promoting the nation's tradition of building and defending the country, while selectively absorbing the military quintessence of humanity. Expanding international defense cooperation, actively participating in the United Nations peacekeeping force, enhancing Vietnam's international position and prestige.
F. Engels's thoughts on the combat power of the Army not only have historical value but also serve as a guideline for the construction of the Vietnam People's Army in the current period. Creatively applying that thought, under the absolute leadership of the Party, the Vietnam People's Army will continue to grow, successfully achieving the goal of building a revolutionary, disciplined, elite, gradually modern Army, advancing straight to modernity, firmly protecting the socialist Fatherland of Vietnam in all situations, actively contributing to peace, national independence, democracy and social progress in the world.
Colonel, PhD PHAM VAN VINH and Lieutenant Colonel, MSc NGUYEN MANH HA (Faculty of Party History, Academy of Politics, Ministry of National Defense)
1, 2. C. Marx and F. Engels Complete Works (1994). Volume 20. H. National Political Publishing House Truth, pp. 240, 241.
3. Ho Chi Minh Complete Works (2011). Volume 14. H. National Political Publishing House Truth, p. 435.
4. Ho Chi Minh Complete Works (2011). Volume 8. H. National Political Publishing House Truth, p. p. 352.
Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/quoc-phong-an-ninh/xay-dung-quan-doi/van-dung-tu-tuong-ph-angghen-ve-suc-manh-chien-dau-cua-quan-doi-trong-xay-dung-quan-doi-nhan-dan-viet-nam-tinh-gon-manh-tien-thang-len-hien-dai-839329
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