Forty-one years ago, on February 17,1979, the Vietnamese Party, people and army had to face a war of aggression across the entire northern border.
Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh leads a delegation to lay wreaths and offer incenses at Vi Xuyen National Martyrs’ Cemetery, January 5, 2020 (Photo: VNA)
Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh leads a delegation to lay wreaths and offer incenses at Vi Xuyen National Martyrs’ Cemetery, January 5, 2020 (Photo: VNA)
Leaders of Ha Giang province offer incenses at Vi Xuyen National Martyrs’ Cemetery, January 21, 2020 (Photo: VNA)
Leaders of Ha Giang province and Vi Xuyen district offer incenses at Vi Xuyen National Martyrs’ Cemetery, January 21, 2020 (Photo: VNA)
Artillery soldiers at Ha Tuyen Front (Photo: VNA)
Border guard Ngo Duy Nhung saves the life of a young boy from the collapse (Photo: VNA)
Artillery soldiers at Ha Tuyen Front ready for the battle (Photo: VNA)
Soldiers of Company 39, Battalion 313 destroy the enemy’s machine gun nests (Photo:VNA)
Lang Son province’s soldiers reclaim Chau Canh and Cay Xanh hills in Tam Lung commune, Van Lang district, having been occupied by the enemy since February 17, 1979 (Photo: VNA)
Militants in Van Quan district, Lang Son province fight against the enemy and carry logistics works to facilitate artillery soldiers, February 27, 1979 (Photo: VNA)
Houses in the town of Pho Bang in the northern mountainous province of Ha Tuyen were destroyed by the enemy on March 8-9, 1979 (Photo: VNA)
Doctors cure wounded pupils in Quyet Tien commune, Quan Ba district, Ha Tuyen province after they got shot when hanging out (Photo: VNA)
Artillery soldiers under Team 368 of Lang Son army attack the enemy, March 10, 1979 (Photo:VNA)
Female militants in Phiet village, Muong Khuong district, Hoang Lien Son province (now Lao Cai province) join soldiers in battles against the enemy (Photo: VNA)
Ho Kieu bridge in Lao Cai town, Hoang Lien Son province (now Lao Cai province) is destroyed by the enemy, late March, 1979 (Photo: VNA)
Prefabricated houses of workers in Lao Cai town, Hoang Lien Son province (now Lao Cai province) are damaged by enemy explosives (Photo: VNA)
Public warehouse of rice in Hoang Lien Son province (now Lao Cai province) is damaged by the enemy before they run away (Photo: VNA)
A tank of the enemy is destroyed by Vietnamese troops in Say village, Hoa An district, Cao Bang province (Photo: VNA)
The art of command during the northern border defence war in 1979 is analysed in an article by Associate Professor and Doctor Ho Khang, former deputy director of the Vietnam Military History Institute.