Vietnam overpowering the United States of America in the war had no parallel in history, transcending combative spirit and creative resistance to regions unexplored. This 30th April marks the 50th anniversary of the historic victory of the Vietnamese people against US imperialism, while 19th May marked the 135th anniversary of the birth of Ho Chi Minh.
Vietnam’s victory in the twentieth century marked a benchmark and wrote a new chapter in history. It was a testament to military skill, courage, endurance, and tenacity in overcoming adversity, transcending heights unparalleled. Its victory reflected the unwavering commitment to nationalism and communism, driven by a Communist Party deeply rooted in the traditions of its people and escalating revolutionary spirit to a pinnacle.
It was almost miraculous that the people of Vietnam – a relatively small, under-developed, oppressed country – could paralyse and shatter the myth of the invincibility of first French and then US imperialism. As the liberation and survival of humanity requires extinguishing imperialism globally, we must enrich ourselves with the experience of how the Vietnamese achieved what they did.
Fifty years ago, on the 29th of April 1975, the joint forces of the North Vietnamese Army and the National Liberation Front stormed into Saigon, greeted by a population overwhelmed with joy after decades of misery under foreign invaders and puppet governments. Just a day later, at around 10:45 am, a North Vietnamese tank broke through the gates of the presidential palace and waved the red flag.
An army of peasant guerrillas had defeated US imperialism in a full-scale war, overcoming unsurmountable odds. The Vietnamese did not fight alone; the American people became their able allies, alongside millions across the globe. Among the crucial factors that enabled Vietnam to defeat America were the mastery of guerrilla warfare through underground tunnels and selective encircling campaigns, the construction of genuine people’s organisations ensuring real autonomy, the deep roots of the Vietcong among the masses, overwhelming anti-imperialist support in the USA and developed countries, and the support of China and the USSR.
During its wars in Indochina – against South Vietnam, North Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia – the US dropped over eight million tons of explosives, three times the total tonnage dropped during World War II. Up to five million people perished in the Vietnam War, with only 58,000 of them being American soldiers, and the rest overwhelmingly Vietnamese civilians, many killed by aerial bombing.
In 1941, the Vietminh national front embarked on a protracted guerrilla war against occupiers. By summer 1944, larger guerrilla detachments staged a general insurrection, and on 2 September 1945, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was declared independent. Yet on 26 September, British forces landed in Saigon to help the French imperialists regain control. The French dispersed their forces, only for the guerrilla units to deal a mortal blow by concentrating forces and transforming the imperialist rear into liberated zones. Plantations were destroyed, feudal landlords were overthrown, and alternative people’s power was established.
The Vietnam Workers Party was founded in 1951, its programme aimed at winning independence, unifying the nation, eradicating colonialism, obliterating feudal structures, distributing land to peasants, and establishing popular democracy. In May 1954, the French were finally vanquished at the decisive battle of Dien Bien Phu after 55 days of fighting, forcing them to enter peace talks at Geneva. However, Vietnam was divided into North and South, with elections promised but later scrapped by Ngo Dinh Diem, the US-backed ruler in Saigon.
In 1960, the National Liberation Front was formed to unite people politically and militarily against US occupation. Fighters blended with the general population, creating an inseparable bond and mobilising millions to provide food, shelter, and intelligence. The US military committed countless massacres, relentlessly bombed the countryside, and deployed chemical warfare with Agent Orange, yet the Vietnamese refused to relent. Escalating US violence only fueled Vietnamese rebellion.
The guerrillas fought with outdated weapons, homemade bombs, and jungle booby traps, protected by elaborate tunnel networks. They were highly organised within the Communist-led National Liberation Front and embodied a people long experienced in resisting foreign invaders. The Vietcong, originally formed by former Vietminh fighters, maintained extensive underground networks, organising resistance and winning mass support. The Ho Chi Minh Trail was resurrected with astonishing ingenuity, transformed into a network of roads, footpaths, storage areas, and command facilities hidden from US planes.
The Tet Offensive in 1968 was a turning point. The NLF and DRV armies attacked 140 cities and towns, shocking US and puppet forces. The offensive demonstrated that the Vietnamese were invincible, pushing the US administration into despair. Lyndon Johnson’s approval ratings plummeted, and he refused to run for a second term, while the anti-war movement inside the US exploded into a mass movement.
The rundown of the US commitment to Vietnam had begun, culminating in 1973 with the ending of US occupation, and in 1975 with the overthrow of the Saigon dictatorship and reunification of Vietnam. Although US bombing intensified between 1969 and 1971, the North Vietnamese were strengthening their position. By the end of 1974, the NVA had amassed overwhelming superiority along the border.
The spring offensive of 1975 sealed the fate of South Vietnam. The Saigon regime collapsed in less than two months; revolutionary forces captured Saigon, renamed it Ho Chi Minh City, and delivered a mortal blow to American imperialism. By April 30, the revolution was complete.
Marxist-Leninist ideology played a pivotal role in this victory, enabling the Vietnamese revolutionaries to forge unity among workers, peasants, and intellectuals. Leninism’s application to the realities of imperialist domination enabled them to relate revolutionary science to the masses, fostering a movement capable of defeating the most powerful enemies. Scientific socialism promoted gender equality, drawing women into revolutionary activity on an equal footing. Vietnam did not blindly copy China’s path but tailored its revolutionary war strategy to its own conditions, although it owed much to Mao Tse-tung’s principles of people’s war.
The Vietnamese revolutionaries, armed initially with bows and arrows, developed the most determined and skilled anti-imperialist fighting force ever seen. Their defeat of US imperialism remains one of the most significant chapters in world history.
Today, the Vietnam experience cannot be duplicated exactly in an era shaped by radical global transformations and the advent of artificial intelligence. However, liberation movements can still learn vital lessons from Vietnam’s methods of battling seemingly invincible enemies with weaker forces, and the power of reviving mass anti-war movements as seen in the 1960s and 1970s. This is highly relevant in contemporary struggles, whether it be the conflict in Ukraine, the Palestinian struggle against Israel, or the Maoist insurgency in India’s Bastar region. The world today lacks genuine socialist countries and properly built Communist parties, making the battle against imperialism more challenging.
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*Freelance journalist
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