Constructing Hydrosocialism while Fighting the Cold War

On the morning of 10 June 1972 just before 10:00 AM, a flight of four U.S. F-4 Phantom fighter-bombers approached their target, the Thác Bà hydroelectric facility 65 kilometers northwest of Hanoi, which at the time provided three-quarters of the total electricity consumption of the Communist-ruled Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV). Minutes later, each of the planes dropped its payload: a single laser-guided bomb. The bombs scored direct hits on the facility's power generation center, collapsing an entire floor and damaging its three generators, one severely. In military history, the strike is noteworthy because it was one of the earliest combat uses of the precision-guided munitions that subsequently became a feature of modern warfare.1 Yet if we look beyond the weapons system to the target, two puzzles emerge. The first is how, despite the heaviest bombing campaign in history, the Communist regime was able to build a massive 48-meter-high dam, creating a 23,500-hectare reservoir and powering a 108,000-kW generating station. The second, perhaps more fundamental puzzle is why DRV leaders even bothered when they knew their efforts could be destroyed at any moment by U.S. bomber aircraft.The explanation lies in the commitment of the DRV to achieving two objectives simultaneously: fighting for independence and building a Marxist-Leninist society through the construction of large technological systems like Thác Bà. The Third Congress of the Vietnamese Workers’ Party (VWP, as the Vietnamese Communist Party was then called) in 1960 marked the official adoption of the policy of “Constructing socialism in the north and fighting for national reunification.” Since then, scholarly analysis has tended to focus on the fighting—the Second Indochina War—rather than the constructing. As a result, the efforts of the regime in Hanoi to build a modern infrastructure that would serve as the basis for economic and social development is largely ignored. Many have assumed that whatever may have been built was destroyed by U.S. bombing after 1964. This was not the case. Despite repeated U.S. airstrikes, the leaders in Hanoi remained committed to the ideal of building the infrastructure of a modern Communist society. Throughout the war, irrigation systems, machine works, coal mines, and steel mills were built, rebuilt, and even expanded.Perhaps the most fundamental part of this unacknowledged infrastructure was hydroelectricity. Vietnam, with its mountainous terrain in the center and north, relatively wet climate, and more than 3,400 rivers and streams, has abundant potential for hydropower generation. The Vietnamese Electricity Corporation, EVN, estimates total potential hydropower generation as high as 110 billion kWh annually, with much of that potential concentrated in three river basins: the Đà in the country's north (6.8 GW), the Se San in the Central Highlands (2 GW), and the Đồng Nai (3 GW) in the south.2 The French had undertaken preliminary studies of potential hydropower sites, but only three small facilities were built before the outbreak of the war against France. With the signing of the Geneva Accords in 1954, both postcolonial regimes, the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) based in Saigon and the DRV based in Hanoi, saw hydropower as an important resource.This article focuses on the efforts by the DRV to develop its hydropower resources after 1954, which eventually saw the massive Thác Bà reservoir and hydroelectric facility enter operation in 1972. Thác Bà should be seen as the origins of a Vietnamese “hydrosocialism.” Writing in the context of Czechoslovakia, Jiří Janáč has defined hydrosocialism as a particular form of the “hydraulic mission” embraced by Communist states and their officials worldwide in the latter half of the twentieth century.3 Communist “hydrocrats” defined their mission in terms of reconfiguring water resources to build and sustain a Communist society, in ways supposedly distinct the of their Yet as the of the DRV was single for Communist states to hydropower in 1960 officials for more hydropower development and on the Thác Bà dam, it the of a particular of one the Vietnamese hydrosocialism then on was based on power to built through the of and the of and the of systems of the and the of the Republic of Vietnam the at Thác Bà was on at like and hydrosocialism the of Vietnamese and for irrigation and electricity was an important in the by the and the built on and in like the development of the the and the massive at and the U.S. in and to just a and their the construction of the in was on hydropower development in Central a by the and in to by the Despite the context of the the of and was in terms of economic development and a and more with the technological and of the generation of in has on and to a of and with to has to of and were in the and to their and in this hydropower development were more than to be by the and their they were even be by in their efforts to society, and is the of Thác Bà that Vietnamese As a of the and Second it not just an of and but an of at Vietnam in of particular the which had for and building the and the of the which a as the first to the facility and then it to operation after U.S. bombing The two as in a that at and in the the to Thác Bà in Vietnam have not been in any have been is the of of the DRV to focus on war and high after the of the U.S. war in Vietnam to for studies on society and the construction of Communist the DRV is on In works, and have on the through which the an its and the for is the of has the of to the In the of a as has was of Yet if we that to after the to only Bà that this was not the case. was as in it was not just the of a of military against was the of a in economic development in the north, building an infrastructure of large hydroelectric The of the and its was not The that was eventually built at Thác Bà power the of and of center and of and its of of and In Thác Bà was the DRV hydrosocialism was a of the DRV the earliest of its In a was of and In the was with at the of the of and for a had with the in and was in of the most important in Vietnam, the construction of the and hydroelectric Đà and the of the hydroelectric As the DRV assumed of the after 1954, was with and irrigation that had been was to and to to as were and the DRV its of the the focus to by and were with officials in Hanoi to and and for the country's were small and by the of the water is small irrigation is the of the is In to a of the DRV a national of with would to the at the in that the of irrigation be to is a of the entire were of could for a of of of construction The of for was to and and In the of of were in of The most was the in a that had in was as part of a campaign in only to the The of campaign and of in and in the of the campaign and the of its the of the in the the DRV remained committed to in Hanoi to in and and on a The was The was to of the to the of Hanoi the and The and was to its with a system of and that would both and the the to and of a and in the DRV at the was built in three through has the of social in Communist officials and the of to This as even the Vietnamese the through and even the and the In only on the first of the was of of and of by to at a to the construction of a Marxist-Leninist society in for the of society, building to building to technological and the the was by an with but in the war against the French in a of and eventually to and after the signing of the Geneva Accords the with for the of the the the like as in through and the of military and on the In more it that the would be in construction not only but and With irrigation like the was for the even more hydroelectric to a to the Central that the of in the DRV and to the first The had been in the in the Central had a hydropower the of the and by of the was the first to and the hydropower the of four in the in and they were by of hydropower development for and beyond of and potential sites, and with and against a of and with Communist hydropower the and in Communist of the after the at Many of not the of and its but the and at rivers and saw a In for Vietnamese with a for a of on the the with a total of much to the the of was its hydropower facilities in and to power to and The most was a by the of the of after with the in a on a of the the two their the would of electricity and eventually irrigation for of would in the of more than of and the of more than As they the would for development for and to the and on the to the of and the of resources had to on the of DRV The was not only the of electricity to important rivers with hydropower the at Thác Bà on the was as a with a first facility power to at and and a by to on the was to a single of at facilities of each were on the and to the steel mills of facilities the and mills in The a just would power to first with in as part of the The the the of power to like it is as an the the construction of with a total of just and to the construction of just power to the is objectives were to the of the and were to not only and but like generators, and The was to and build the at Thác and the were to the for the at they were to build an the of would and and when the it was on a Vietnamese The the of and that by the time the first Vietnamese would be of and hydropower to the DRV was even more it the of the country's hydropower it the the relatively high and construction of hydropower the first would to power generation. with a high had to to studies of and building a of small facilities to The DRV on the in and with the of on the and at the of the and at more Bà and for and as of the on hydropower was it as a to be in an As officials the on the first they not hydropower but irrigation to as as to power to the its Third which marked a in important as was the of a of power in the DRV that had in when the Republic of Vietnam had been to a Communist to a on the a by at the of the Central in in the and and potential for power by 1960 the the of the policy of “Constructing socialism in the north and fighting for national commitment to the Communist in the and the to direct U.S. military in the the of the first for the provided a for in the and it would be was to a in in hydropower was the it was by in This was not In just two before the the of had been the of and The concentrated for policy in a single at of the that had and the that hydropower would in the development of the the was by a and of their in the the the the irrigation was later, as when was to the of a marked of the of by military and the of a of hydropower development on through the of and the of military and In 1960 marked the origins of in the of As as a the of to with the construction of three hydroelectric Thác and three later, both and had been As the in the of Thác Bà have to the of but the two This was In the of Thác even two later, were of the which had to be than a of the to the two and with Thác Bà was by the the had been by the three hydropower facilities would have had relatively of to in small and with of to on the in was to power to the and on the was as a dam, irrigation for the of and power for and As of Thác Bà was to be built in two with an facility power to a of construction that would the facility to a total of as for electricity in the of and the for three would have seen relatively social and the of and the of and the Thác Bà by the in 1960 was was to be built the with a high a much dam, and a reservoir of electricity the was to to of hydropower development the leaders to important it Thác Bà an in the of to a more In the Thác Bà of to the with of through and the of and military it would the of more than the of the reservoir that would be by the would the construction of and the infrastructure of a Communist would electricity in of it the by the to than electricity to Thác Bà would be to power the for a Communist the the of the would the a to the of Vietnamese and its to and leaders would have been of the then by the in of the of the facility in and was three the to the of Thác Bà and an the Thác Bà was to that the and of Vietnamese were to the first On June in a by the of the for the construction of Thác Bà to of In this first of the the would have three of each for a total of for the was three The would be for the and construction of the and its The of would be for building the and economic infrastructure for the by the construction of the The of was for with the for with and the of and in the DRV and the and of the an to the the first would be by the of and the would by the was embraced by despite the In 1960 the provided to the of to and generating for the this of hydropower leaders in Hanoi to a On the DRV and the an the terms of and a for the of had with the of the of the of in to direct the construction of Thác Bà. for and the of Vietnamese was to a in was with the construction of large hydropower and the they to the had been part of the and the construction of its like and was the and its massive of a in the for Thác Bà was and a even with the of the to the the dam, its and the of its The would the for the to as much as and the construction two with for the first of Bà is in in The is on the at the of a small that was the construction the dam, the it the which in a the the and the in a large at the of the and the of the The is the three of the Hanoi and then in a on its to the French were the first to the potential for the of on a of the in a on the hydropower resources of a of as much as a of officials not to more on the of the the of French their on rivers with potential like the the Đồng and the Thác Bà is not the most for a large hydroelectric a the its most of its the river is with a mountainous to the only to more than the on the and even on the As a result, a reservoir for a hydropower facility would an In the the Thác Bà reservoir more than it the of water in the at the of the of of of The reservoir would of and which is to of the in the entire of This of of and of with and In officials the to at to of were the reservoir by official in relatively and a the its an high of in small a of wet and the of The was the DRV one was to than for the that the was of the of when the in the north at that time was As an official of the is then, the Communist to of the most and of its most and a In terms of and Thác Bà was relatively to Hanoi and by and the at The of the and reservoir was and construction like and were of on the much more Đà the of its and the of the that construction at the for the at Thác Bà was the of large but that was their we the of the an for the to officials at the center of the was a on which to their of society. was an in that would develop the of and systems of the construction of more than of and the construction of irrigation the of the the would build not only and but more like for and even the of the would be through the building of and for and the campaign was to a of the which the efforts of of and the like and to the like and Yet the of the Thác its was to than for of the they the that provided on the the the The that the reservoir would not only a in the of but a in economic for the entire the for would have to two even three as as only would they have to and but they would have to on their could they The regime and the infrastructure of the was not The that the was not only because of the would to their and to much to their in a but because the campaign was to of on the of was more the of the most of the first two of the campaign had been to that could be eventually of that could be with this they of that the reservoir had in of This total of an of a to the of to The that even the of after the of irrigation works, would be a in the the of the had a officials were to their by the of the campaign of in and of were of the officials the of and a of the has they have in the and the the the was to the in the in to the to and build a basis for the with against the efforts of to then it is that we the of the only of of an the In they were in large to on their if they could their as they their by and the of irrigation and it for of could three later, has of the in Vietnam, and it is not to the of the Thác Bà campaign in the of creating an ideal Communist society by the Yet as the DRV had in an important was to to a to to the construction of Thác Bà. of the to of the efforts of the of in particular the of and In the of was only at in the of the which the had been the of the had not been and were in for the not to in the was to even like the was by Vietnamese and In the that the Vietnamese of their construction and to and to the On the Vietnamese the that the of to with a of and fundamental was the of the Thác Bà was a dam, on the which on the of the and the of and to a of the of more than billion of water in the The a total of with a of The center of the dam, of the power generators, and was of The of the were with and the floor of the power center was in on a of the of a with a that the and a of and small as a the and the was of of construction and of an of to the official construction of In June officials in of construction a of and to be Communist they for an and were not the only they to the construction on The war it to As construction in in only of the had on not in In a officials the of that the of the and of remained were for were and the of to that could not be the of the of the of for the had been the of to be for the power generators, and only had been than half of the of had been The of and the it is to the construction in Hanoi even On the U.S. bombing campaign as in against the On U.S. their first strike on Thác and the construction then, a second, more U.S. in of the to was in the and the first of three the but not was DRV officials the entire construction to be like the was to to and the of the officials the to a of and the by to the for U.S. to bombing in the of as U.S. in and the of Vietnamese in in the for the of on Thác Bà. in the had the to to the by the of the and on a of the DRV by and of the of the for the national and for its as as only one a was on and construction had to be much the DRV officials to The of was to they were to the with a to be by the of in were that be than the in the construction when on the was in in Hanoi to on the and power this the of the to the of by The of the construction with the eventually to to with the of the and on the to the the three In the after of efforts to the the official and to Thác later, a of the DRV that of were a The ideal of not to to the of to the of were of were social and As in the by the of the reservoir had been with a small to for as and the may have been more to the of in in the of that the remained and the river to the reservoir both and The of the reservoir and its to be by the of by had been by a of and to the as as remained at of and of in the to be of and In the after a of more than to the the reservoir In the was of had to but an even part of the had to the the of on the the of of and the of and the this not a of a of at a direct to the In the wet would of the high to the river to the could be and on the This was and to the through like like the and each the were the the to the the the that to the of the to and to the be as The that more that were in one the were at as as remained to be with time the the with more the and at The with the was its and were for the of the and and On the of a the that could on the power construction was and the was to the later, on the first three were and electricity was two 110 to the in in after construction Thác Bà was not for a massive U.S. bombing campaign against the on 1972 in to by Communist in the The bombing was on infrastructure to the war as and The the of was to infrastructure like the in In terms of military history, the bombing campaign the first in combat of laser-guided to strike with than U.S. that the of precision-guided munitions in in a of that the in which power was hydroelectric is a of on the and the to electricity they to the with on U.S. F-4 had first Thác Bà in and a strike with munitions could to a the of the with the and the reservoir that was the case. laser-guided bombs a strike on June 1972 the one but the power later, four F-4 laser-guided bombs the facility The that they had direct hits on the facility and the but bombs the of the power center and three were and had to June in the of the a to the that had in the and to a The of Electricity and and were to and the to the the facility were were and was for the of efforts to the facility and electricity at As the in that to the of U.S. in the for to electricity to the and DRV to to operation at by on operation as was beyond and could not be after a and the On officials in Hanoi a with the for of to The DRV even to an to the and by With the and of the was in to the two and three were the first time in three that the facility was at With for on because of water Thác Bà has generating electricity to this Vietnamese had that Thác would be of to construction of hydroelectric in the to to be Thác Bà not only were but to of power The most was at in 1964. to the DRV to the construction at Thác Bà. in three as part of the for a on the Đà was in the of became the in the and after the of construction in assumed of the with In was to the Communist Central and in the that first as and then as of was the of a of and that one construction to the the The the dam, built to in the of of and the of was by a of and and of the total of as part of hydropower development in Vietnam as high as we social and this in to Vietnam not only has the hydropower facilities in by but first in the for total provided more than of total electricity consumption through the and as of is provided more than important in the the of hydropower potential in Vietnam were for the economic that in the DRV in the to the of hydropower to and of in the and for hydropower in Vietnam as facilities to of to the The was the construction of of electricity to the of the national Electricity Vietnam As of more than small had been were at of more than three-quarters of the total of hydroelectric facilities in Vietnam, but than of the total the of small to electricity is the for the country's and The have been to and This of development would have been to an generation of Communist Yet it would have been the hydrosocialism that defined policy 1960 to and the of and that it 1960 had in the only the with at its its policy of socialism in the north and fighting for national that the country's socialism would be by hydroelectricity. for hydroelectric facilities powering they embraced a hydrosocialism of power to and the of of of and the of even more The was Thác Bà. As and construction of the in the to and were were and one to Despite the of building were to for on and to in The of the Communist were as and DRV officials would for U.S. bombing of their Yet despite it Thác Bà the and resources to the in the of war and in the of U.S. bombing to DRV commitment to their of hydrosocialism was on a as facilities at and provided the of and and its the of the the commitment to Marxist-Leninist may have but the commitment to and to the more of