Hoàng Văn Thái
General Hoàng Văn Thái | |
---|---|
PLAF | |
In office 1967–1973 | |
Preceded by | Trần Văn Trà |
Succeeded by | Trần Văn Trà |
Personal details | |
Born | Hoàng Văn Xiêm 1 May 1915 An Khang, |
Spouses | |
Awards | People's Liberation Armed Forces |
Battles/wars | First Indochina War Battle of Điện Biên Phủ Vietnam War Tết Offensive |
Hoàng Văn Thái (1 May 1915 – 2 July 1986), born Hoàng Văn Xiêm, was a Vietnamese Army General and a
Early life
Hoàng Văn Thái was born Hoàng Văn Xiêm, on 1 May 1915 (or 1917 since his older brother was born in 1915), in the village of
The third born of seven siblings, Hoàng Văn Thái was dedicated to studying and graduated from a French-Vietnamese colonial elementary school, however, he dropped out of school at the age of 13 because of financial difficulties; Xiêm had to work as a barber. At the age of 15, he was influenced by a Communist movement.
At the age 18, Hoàng Văn Thái worked in a mine in
In 1938 he joined the
In January 1948 Hoàng Văn Thái was promoted to one of the first generals of Vietnam. On August 31, 1959, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general. In 1966 he was assigned as Commander and Political Commissar to the Military Region V. From 1967 to 1973, when he was assigned to the south, he was commander of the South Vietnamese Liberation Army and the deputy COSVN. At the Battle of Loc Ninh he was Commanding Officer (27 October 1967 – 10 December 1967), also during the Tet Offensive in January 1968. In April 1974 he was promoted to the rank of colonel general. He was appointed Deputy Minister of Defense, First Deputy Chief of the General Staff and permanent member of the Central Military Committee. In January 1980 he was promoted to general. He was a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam and delegate of the 7th Party Congress. On July 2, 1986, he died suddenly after a heart attack in Army Hospital 108.
He opened a music class to organise young men to participate in rebellious activities. After few months, students were numbered to 170 members with himself as a secretary. Through experiences gained from secret activities, he spread leaflets on the sly in order to encourage people to get involved against high taxes, struggling for democratic freedom.
Early service in military
In 1941,
In late 1943, he met with
In March 1945, he commanded a group of 100 members to advance to
In April 1945, the Northern Military Meeting determined the merging of several groups, including the Vietnam People's Army, into the Vietnam Liberation Army (Việt Nam Giải Phóng Quân). Vietnam Liberation Army was considered as the main force of Việt Minh. At the same time, the Political-Military Japanese Resistance school (Trường Quân chính kháng Nhật) was established in Tan Trao. Thai was assigned as the principal in charge of educating army staffs for the Vietnam Liberation Army.
The First Indochina War
On 7 September 1945, The President of the Provisional Government of Democratic Republic of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh mandated the foundation of a General Staff and appointed Thai as the Chief of General Staff. Under this mandate, Thai was assigned as the first Chief of General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army. (1945–1953), by President Ho Chi Minh of the Provisional Government at the age of 30.
On 22 May 1946, the National Guard was renamed as Vietnamese National Army, officially becoming a regular army placed under the control of the General Staff. In the meantime, although Ho–Sainteny agreement and Provisional 14 September agreement were signed and being active, but the French put pressure by force on the newly government to reattain French Indochina. As the Chief of General Staff of the Vietnamese National Army, Thai organised the army personnel and established armed forces as well as paramilitaries in countrysides and defence forces in cities. By the end of 1946, approximately 1 million militias were organised and trained in preparation for war while every diplomatic means failed.
When French troops provoked in
After baffling the French attempt, on 26 August 1947, a major Division regarded as Independence Division was created. Chief of General Staff Hoang Van Thai was assigned as a commander. However, on 7 October, the French launched the Operation Léa attacking Việt Bắc base. Units that had been organised to form Division previously had to disperse into small fronts. Thai was assigned to play a role as the commander of the Route Coloniale 3 front. Eventually, Operation Léa resulted in French limited success and Vietnamese strategic victory.
In January 1948, he was promoted as one of the first Generals of Vietnam, along with:
In 1950, he was Chief of Staff of
Campaign in First Indochina War
Campaigns that Thai participated in as the Chief of General Staff (with Võ Nguyên Giáp playing the role of a commander) in the First Indochina War:
- Operation Léa, autumn-winter 1947.
- Battle of Route Coloniale 4, September–October 1950.
- Battle of Vĩnh Yên, December 1950.
- Battle of Hoang Hoa Tham, 1951.
- Battle of Hà Nam Ninh, May 1951.
- Battle of Hòa Bình, December 1951.
- Battle of Northwest, September 1952.
- Upper Laos campaign, April 1953.
- Battle of Dien Bien Phu, March to May 1954.
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
In 1953, Major General
On 30 November 1953, the group arrived in Nà Sản, he ordered the group to halt to investigate entrenched fortifications that the French had left earlier in August. The group began making operational plans in a bit later on. On 12 January 1954, Võ Nguyên Giáp's group arrived.
Following the victory of
In Vietnam War
On 31 August 1959, he was one of four people to be proposed for
In 1960 to 1965, he held the position of chairman of the Committee for Physical Training and Sports of the Government, which was involved in military training. [5]
In March 1965, the first US troops were sent to
From 1967 to 1973, he was assigned to the South, made Commander of the
During the time, he was the leader of First Battle of Loc Ninh Commanding Officer (27 October 1967 – 10 December 1967). Also on 30 January 1968, he was the main commander of events during the Tet offensive throughout South Vietnam under instructions from the North.
After the war
In 1974, he was promoted to the rank of colonel general and was appointed Deputy Minister of Defense, and First Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Standing member of the Central Military Committee. After 1975, he was also proposed to be a member of the Politburo; however, he refused.
In January 1980, he was promoted to full Army General.
He was a member of III, IV, and V Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, and a member of the VII Congress.
On 2 July 1986, he died suddenly of a heart attack at the Army Medical Institute 108 before he would have been promoted as the Minister of Defense, the first chairman of the Vietnam National Security Council (responsible for national security, home affair, and foreign policy matters. However, the position was rejected and has never been active since his death).[7][8] Although he did not officially become the 7th minister of defence, Thai, in fact had been the acting minister before the transition of power that should have occurred in December 1986.
Awards and honours
Streets that are named after Hoàng Văn Thái are in
- Thanh Xuân District, Hanoi
- Điện Biên Phủ, Điện Biên Province
- Phú Thọ Province
- Thái Bình, Thái Bình Province
- Tiền Hải District, Thái Bình Province
- Liên Chiểu District, Da Nang
- Nha Trang, Khánh Hòa Province
- Pleiku, Gia Lai Province
- Đồng Xoài, Bình Phước Province
- Tân Châu District, Tây Ninh Province
- District 7, Ho Chi Minh City
Vietnam orders and decorations
Military Exploit Order (2)
Resolution for Victory Order
Resistance Order (2)
Liberation Order (3)
Glorious Fighter Medal (3)
Determined-to-Win Military Flag Medal
Vietnam badges
- 40 Years Communist Party Membership Medal (1938–1978)
- "Dien Bien soldiers" badges
Foreign orders and decorations
Order of the Red Banner
USSR Brotherhood in Arms Medal
USSR Jubilee Medal
Czechoslovak Meritorious Fighters against Fascism Medal
Polish Brotherhood in Arms Medal
Laos Freedom Medal
Foreign badges
- 50th Anniversary Of The D.O.S.A.A.F.
- USSR 40 years of the Great Victory on 9 May
- 60 Years of the Armed Forces of the Mongolian People's Republic
- People's Republic of Kampuchea's Fifth Anniversary of the Seventh of January Badge
Personal life
Hoàng Văn Thái's first wife was Lương Thị Thanh Bình, a native of
His second wife was
Thai was fluent in Mandarin, as well as proficient in writing
Thai's height was 1.75 meters (approx. 5 ft 9), higher than the average height of Vietnamese people in the 20th century.
References
- ^ Ronald B. Frankum Jr. Historical Dictionary of the War in Vietnam, 2011 p.207. "Hoàng Văn Thái"
- ^ Ford 1995, p. 87
- ^ AP (5 July 1986). "Hoang Van Thai, 71; A Vietnamese General". The New York Times.
- ^ Christopher E. Goscha : Historical Dictionary of the Indochina War (1945–1954), Kopenhagen, 2011, S. 216
- ^ Ronald B. Frankum Jr. Historical Dictionary of the War in Vietnam. p. 206.
- ^ The Vietnam War, edited by Peter Lowe 1998, p.70
- ^ a b Tran Kien Quoc (15 December 2009). "General Hoang Van Thai coast with a national flag". Life Science News Online. Archived from the original on 18 December 2009. Retrieved 4 February 2011.
- ^ Col: Bui Dinh Nguyen (7 September 2010). "Senior General Hoang Van Thai: The first Chief of General Staff of the army". News Electronic Law and Society. Archived from the original on 24 August 2011. Retrieved 4 February 2011.
Works cited
- Ford, Ronnie E. (1995). Tet 1968: understanding the surprise. Routledge. ISBN 9780714645872.