Local Force
The Local Force is a mobile force operating mainly within its locality, and together with the militia and self-defense units, playing the core role in the people’s war at localities under the direct command of the provincial military commands (or centrally-governed cities) and the district-level military commands (or provincially-governed towns and cities). The Local Force is closely linked to a defense zone, carrying out combat operations in the general defense posture of the military region as well as the whole country in accordance with the requirements and characteristics of each area in the people’s war at the locality in combination with the people’s war of the entire country.
The organization, equipment, and disposition of the Local Force depends on the size and the importance of provinces (or centrally-governed cities) and districts (or provincially-governed towns and cities). Depending on the organizational size, terrain conditions, and the socio-economic situation of each locality, the Local Force units are equipped with the amounts and types of weapons suitable for combat needs. The Local Force also has professional and technical units, as well as air-defense, artillery, reconnaissance, commando, engineering and other support units.
Nowadays, education and training for Local Force units are conducted regularly in order to raise the sense of vigilance and readiness necessary for the coordination and combination with militia and self-defense units in fighting for the protection of the local people and authorities. The Local Force also closely coordinates with the Militia and Self-Defense Force to maintain order and security within their own localities, render assistance to the Militia and Self-Defense Force in training, and contribute to the fulfilment of training task for the Reserve.
There are ideological and economic reasons to maintain such forces, especially in a defensive situation. There is also a sound strategic reason for such units, as conceded by General Van Tien Dung after the Sino-Vietnamese War. General Dung noted that to defeat an enemy "we must use ... a combination of several fighting methods, of which the local people's war and the war fought by mobile main force army corps are considered to be the two most basic strategic fighting methods."
This does not mean, however, that the main and local forces of the VPA will share the same or interchangeable missions. On the contrary, it is likely that the mission of the two forces will be quite different. The task of the main force units will be to annihilate the enemy; that of the local force units to fix the enemy, delay his advance, break up his formations, force him to deploy prematurely, and make him subject to defeat in detail.
It can be anticipated that Vietnam, faced with the necessity of staying on the defensive strategically, will opt for a policy of static rather than mobile defense. The most compelling reason for such a posture is geographic. The mountains of the Viet Bac in the northeast and the Tay Bac in the northwest impose a natural barrier between the Sino-Vietnamese border and the Red River Delta, the heartland of Vietnam to be protected at all costs. It can be further postulated that the defense of this zone will be entrusted principally to local and regional force units. Such forces would be more familiar with the mountainous terrain and, in accordance with current VPA doctrine, would have the time to prepare concealed fighting positions, such as bunkers, caves, and tunnels, to delay any enemy advance. Lightly armed local forces, however, probably would be augmented by specialized main force units to increase their firepower.
The regional forces acquitted themselves competently in the Sino-Vietnamese war, and thus are a proven factor in the defense of their nation. The reserves, however, are a more unknown factor. Their tactical worth in a conflict would depend on such variables as mobilization time and the celerity with which they could be deployed to face the enemy. These variables depend, in turn, on the existence of a reliable communication and transportation network so that the troops can be notified and join their units in a timely fashion.
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