TRAN HUNG DAO – WARRIOR-POET, MILITARY GENIUS, HERO OF A NATION

Every great country has its great historical figures from which it draws strength and inspiration. Britain has its Churchill, America it’s George Washington, France its Napoleon Bonaparte. To those unfamiliar with the history of Vietnam, the name Tran Hung Dao may be obscure. But to the Vietnamese people, no name is better known.

Born in the year 1228, Tran Hung Dao remains one of the most revered men in the pantheon of Vietnamese patriots and heroes. Never defeated on the field of battle, he achieved feats of arms that are remembered as some of the greatest in history – not only in Vietnam but in the entire history of human warfare. To this day, General Tran Hung Dao’s brilliant defeats of Mongol forces loyal to emperor Kublai Khan are recalled with admiration by military strategists around the world. His mastery of the art of war is reflected in his writings on the principles of martial strategy. 

The General is an immortal figure whose example has inspired the Vietnamese people throughout their history, in times of peace and war. Main thoroughfares of Vietnam’s largest cities are named for Tran Hung Dao. Festivals are held yearly to remember him and his victories in battle. And statues erected in his honor stand at numerous sights throughout Vietnam, reminding the people of his contributions to the history of their nation.

EARLY LIFE

General Tran Hung Dao was born Tran Quoc Tuan in the year 1228. His father was Tran Lieu, elder brother of the first emperor of the Tran Dynasty, Tran Thai Tong. As a result of the politics surrounding the transfer of power from the Ly Dynasty to the new Tran emperor, Lieu was forced to give up his wife, the mother of Quoc Tuan, allowing her to become the wife of his younger brother, the emperor. This insult to the honor of Tran Quoc Tuan’s father was remembered as his father lay on his deathbed. The dying Lieu enjoined his son to seek vengeance for the shame and dishonor brought upon their family.

As a member of the royal family, the young Tran Quoc Tuan was afforded the education befitting a child of the royal court. His father Lieu appointed tutors of the highest quality to teach his son. The result was a young man with the soul of a poet who might have gone on to be one of the great men of letters in the history of Vietnamese literature had not the forces of destiny put him on another course.

THE MONGOL INVASIONS

By the mid-13th century, the Mongols, led by their emperor Kublai Khan, had conquered southern China. A race of fierce warriors, they were continually seeking to expand their territory and exert their power over conquered peoples. Lying directly adjacent to China, Vietnam and the Champa empire (in modern times the southern region of Vietnam) were prime targets for Mongol aggression. 

The Mongols invaded the territory of Vietnam three different times. Each time they met with fierce, unconventional resistance. The Vietnamese were outnumbered and had to resort to a scorched earth tactics and guerrilla fighting, of which Tran Hung Dao was a master. His methods of operation later informed the strategy of the North Vietnamese communists in their 20th-century struggles against the French and American armies.

Tran Hung Dao was the supreme commander of the Vietnamese armies against the second and third Mongol invasions. Both times the Mongols were able to occupy the capital of Vietnam at Thanh Long (Hanoi). And both times they arrived to find an empty city – no citizens, no food, nothing to support their armies so far from home. Tran Hung Dao and the other Viet generals continually engaged the Mongol enemy using the hit-and-run strategy of guerilla warfare to wear down the Mongol fighters and horses.

The most famous battle occurred at the Bach Dang River in 1288. Tran Hung Dao prepared to attack a Mongol supply flotilla led by the Mongol general Omar. He studied the river tides and had his soldiers drive steel-tipped bamboo stakes into the bed of the river. He once again resorted to guerilla attacks – this time by boat – to lure the Mongol army into his trap. Tran Hung Dao’s army launched a full-scale attack driving back the Mongol ships. Caught on the Bach Dang River at low tide, the Mongol vessels were severely damaged by the bamboo stakes in the river bed. The Vietnamese army then routed the Mongol forces. General Omar was captured and the Mongol supply fleet was lost. 

After this third invasion, the Mongols gave up their efforts to invade and occupy the territory of Vietnam. Tran Hung Dao’s strategic prowess is credited as one of the key factors in the Mongols’ ultimate failure to conquer Vietnam.