Lê Thiết Hùng

Lê Thiết Hùng (13 August 1908 – 26 January 1986), born Lê Văn Nghiệm, was a Major General in the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) active during the First Indochina War and an intelligence agent. He was the first commander of PAVN artillery forces and the first general officer ever appointed in the PAVN, preceding even the implementation of the rank system.

Early revolutionary career

In 1923, Lê Thiết Hùng went to Thailand for revolutionary activities with his direct relative Lê Hồng Phong, Phạm Hồng Thái and Trương Văn Lĩnh. In 1924, he moved to Guangzhou and was chosen to join the Vietnamese Revolutionary Youth League by Nguyễn Ái Quốc. In 1925, Lê Thiết Hùng, Lê Hồng Phong and 12 other comrades were sent to study at the Whampoa Military Academy. operating on the Gan-Xiang-Gui route, from which it became possible to smuggle weapons and medicine to the Eighth Route Army. His rank was raised to Colonel and he became the dean of a training school for armored vehicle and transport vehicle drivers, as well as technical troops. It was during this time that Hùng took the opportunity to learn how to operate and master the mechanical principles of various types of armored vehicles.

Vietnamese news outlets reported that Nguyễn Ái Quốc himself cultivated Lê Thiết Hùng to act as an "underground worker" from within Jiang Jieshi's army.

Return to Vietnam

In October 1941, Lê Thiết Hùng, together with Lê Quảng Ba formed the Pác Bó guerrilla team - the second armed group of Việt Minh. In a solemn ceremony held at a large rice field called Pài Co Nhản in Pác Bó village (now Trường Hà commune, Hà Quảng district, Cao Bằng), Ba was appointed commander of the force, Hoàng Sâm his deputy, while Hùng was made political commissar. Aside from this responsibility, Lê Thiết Hùng carried out the duty of a Dean for an "underground" Military & Political School in Cao Bằng.

In the lead-up to the August Revolution in 1945, Việt Minh groups under his leadership seized control of local government seats at the communes of Thất Khê, Đồng Đăng, Na Sầm in Lạng Sơn. At the outset of Operation Bright Moon, this objective was completed.

During the temporary Chinese occupation, he moved to Hải Phòng with the aim of "cultivating self-defense forces and preparing to implement the people's war doctrine."

While inspecting the western areas of War Zone 4 to counter remnants of the French army that were threatening to attack from Laos, he received a telegram from Chairman Hồ Chí Minh summoning him to Hà Nội. Upon returning to the capital, he learned that the government had just organized a "Takeover & Defense Force" to replace Nationalist Chinese troops in their former positions and oversee their withdrawal. At this time, the government needed a Major General to command this provisional force. After careful consideration, Hồ and the Central Party Standing Committee decided to choose Hùng as Commander-in-Chief.

In a private meeting, Hùng turned down the appointment, citing his lack of knowledge regarding the French. Hồ reaffirmed his previous stance, specifying that this is a decision by consensus and mentioned Hùng's years of lurking among the Nationalist Chinese forces to encourage him. He relented and was given the pseudonym of Lê Thiết Hùng.

Indochina War

During the First Indochina War, Lê Thiết Hùng was assigned to command from October 1945 to March 1946, then commander of PAVN artillery force from 1954 to 1956.

On 23 July 1951, the CIA reported that North Vietnamese military figures:

The same file claimed that "Chinese Communist general Chen Yi will act as advisor to DRV forces on this front." A report sent to the CIA on 2 February 1952 named Hùng as "member of the Military Inspection Staff and Head of the Military Signs Bureau." By this point, he had been serving as Inspector General of the National Army by decree for more than 4 years, and had in fact been acting Inspector since 1947. In this capacity, Lê Thiết Hùng chaired the meeting which initiated the famous anti-graft investigation against the Director of Ordnance, Colonel Trần Dụ Châu. Present in this secret conference was Hùng's future superior, Xuân Thủy. An unsubstantiated claim placed Hùng as a major player in cracking an unspecified "faux espionage case". A CIA report on 6 May 1954 noted Lê Thiết Hùng as chief of a "Military Cadre Training Department", potentially referring to the school using its former name.

Later life

He retired to civilian life in 1963 and was made Ambassador Extraordinaire and Plenipotentiary to North Korea, where he would serve for 7 years before being replaced by Bùi Đình Đổng. Hùng was assigned the posts of deputy director of CP48, where he likely served for the next 6 years, and of the International Department for the Central Committee of the Communist Party, headed by Xuân Thuỷ.

Lê Thiết Hùng passed away on 26 January 1986, and was buried in the Mai Dịch Cemetery.

Dates of rank Lê Thiết Hùng's dates of rank were: