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Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap

Born: 1912
Place of Birth: An Xa, Vietnam
Military University: none
Wars Fought:
-World War II
-First Indochina War(French-Indochina War 1946-1954)
-Second Indochina War(Vietnam War 1965-1972)
-Third Indochina War 1979-81
Vietnam War:
Gen. Giap planned and directed the military operations against the French that culminated in their defeat at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954. During the 1960's Giap controlled guerrilla operations against South Vietnam and the United States and planned the Tet Offensive of 1968.

In his book, Giap clearly indicated that NVA troops were without sufficient supplies, and had been continually defeated time and again.

By 1968, NVA morale was at it's lowest point ever. The plans for "Tet" '68 was their last desperate attempt to achieve a success, in an effort to boost the NVA morale. When it was over, General Giap and the NVA viewed the Tet '68 offensive as a failure, they were on their knees and had prepared to negotiate a surrender.

At that time, there were fewer than 10,000 U.S. casualties, the Vietnam War was about to end, as the NVA was prepared to accept their defeat. Then, they heard Walter Cronkite (former CBS News anchor and correspondent) on TV proclaiming the success of the Tet '68 offensive by the communist NVA. They were completely and totally amazed at hearing that the US Embassy had been overrun. In reality, The NVA had not gained access to the Embassy--there were some VC who had been killed on the grassy lawn, but they hadn't gained access. Further reports indicated the riots and protesting on the streets of America.

According to Giap, these distorted reports were inspirational to the NVA. They changed their plans from a negotiated surrender and decided instead, they only needed to persevere for one more hour, day, week, month, eventually the protesters in American would help them to achieve a victory they knew they could not win on the battlefield. Remember, this decision was made at a time when the U.S. casualties were fewer than 10,000, at the end of 1967, beginning of 1968.

http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/Camp/7624/Generals/giap.htm

General Vo Nguyen Giap: "Once Again We Will Win"

This excerpt is part of an essay published in a Vietnamese journal in 1966. General Giap was the architect of the North Vietnamese victory over the French at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. The original title was "The Entire People Resolutely and Unanimously Step Up Their Great Patriotic War to Defeat the Aggressors."

The American Imperialists' scheme is to prevent the collapse of the puppet army and administration, to launch offensives aimed at wiping out the revolutionary forces in the South, especially the Liberation Armed Forces, to strive to consolidate the areas still under their control and gradually to carry out pacification by priority sectors, to attack the liberated zones and to wrest back some of the lost areas, to seek every means to encircle and isolate the southern theater. At the same time, they intend to intensify sabotage warfare against the North and carry on deceptive "peace offensives." Banking upon a force of over seven hundred thousand men, to be increased eventually, they hope to realize the above-mentioned scheme by means of more radical and efficacious measures. They reckon that they can gradually win military and political successes, secure a position of strength to end the war with a solution favorable to them, or if need be, to prolong or expand the aggressive war. ...

First of all, the United States imperialists are the enemy not only of the Vietnamese people but also of progressive people throughout the world. In the present situation, whereas the socialist camp is growing, the national liberation movement surging, the workers' movement in the capitalist countries and the movement for peace and democracy developing, the forces of imperialism are continually declining. In the over-all relation of forces in the world the American imperialists are not in a strong but in a weak position and have to scatter their forces to cope with the situation everywhere. That is precisely why they cannot send to South Vietnam whatever number of troops without reckoning with their difficulties in every field in the world, right in the United States, and in the Vietnam theater.

The dispatch of an expeditionary force for the invasion of our country is itself fraught with most fundamental dangers that they cannot overcome. ...

The introduction of American troops into the South aims at preventing the collapse of the puppet army and administration and at creating favorable conditions to consolidate and strengthen the puppet forces. But the United States imperialists openly invade the South of our country at a moment when the puppet army and administration are seriously weakening. At this point, the more open is the United States aggression, the more isolated and differentiated the puppet army and administration, and the sharper the contradictions between the United States imperialists and their placemen. Those people in the puppet army and administration who still have some national feeling will become more conscious of the real situation, and the number of those who cross over to the people's side will increase. Consequently, the introduction of more United States troops, far from retrieving the predicament of the puppet army and administration, aggravates the mercenary army's destruction and disintegration, and the puppet administration's collapse in the face of our people's resistance. When the American imperialists' crack troops are defeated by our people, the disintegration and collapse of the puppet army and administration will be all the more inevitable.

The strong points of the United States imperialists are limited, whereas their weak points are basic ones. As the aggressive war goes on, the latter will become more visible and more serious and will surely lead the American imperialists to ignominious failure.

Above are the American imperialists' strong and weak points after some hundred thousand enemy troops have been introduced into South Vietnam. On our side, we do not enjoy the advantages attached to a country with a wide territory and a large population, but our people are resolved to carry on their just patriotic war to defend our life and wrest back our independence and freedom. In this fierce and protracted revolutionary war against such a cruel enemy as American imperialism, our force has developed unremittingly and has many a time put him into confusion. Weak in equipment and technique and in economic potential, we have absolute political and moral superiority, a correct leadership, the strength of an entirely united people, the invincible people's war, and the sympathy and strong support of people throughout the world. It is certain that, as we fight, we will score ever greater victories and become stronger. These are the fundamental factors accounting for our people's final victory in the sacred liberation war for national salvation against United States aggression. Whatever the number of expeditionary troops that the aggressors may bring in, they can in no way escape the inevitable: they will be defeated; the ultimate victory will be ours.

First, our Party has a correct revolutionary line. This line is the condensed expression of the clever and creative combination of Marxist-Leninist general principles with the correct practice of our revolution. This is the line of the people's national democratic revolution progressing to socialism in a former colonial and semi-feudal country. Our Party's line has been tested in our people's long and heroic revolutionary struggle and has led our revolution from one victory to another. In the light of this line, Vietnam has been the first colony to rise up and defeat the mighty army of an imperialist power-France-to liberate itself, the North of our country is also the first state to take the path of socialism in Southeast Asia. ...

Our compatriots in the South have closed their ranks in the fire of the revolutionary struggle, fighting for twenty years, now overcoming countless difficulties and braving a cruel enemy with a fin-n resolve to march forward, to fight, and to win. Today our people in the South have the National Liberation Front, a broad organization with a correct line and a program which enjoys great prestige at home and abroad. Starting the fight with spikeboards and mantislike guns, they have built big and heroic Liberation Armed Forces comprising three categories of troops, having high combativeness, skillful strategy and tactics, versed both in guerrilla warfare and large-unit operations and credited with wiping out big units of the puppet and American forces. The heroic Liberation Armed Forces have developed everywhere and have been conducting ever more powerful operations throughout the South Vietnam theater, from the Ben Hal River to Ca Mau Cape, from the Western Plateaus to the delta countryside and even in the vicinity of big towns. At present the liberated zone accounts for the majority of the population and territory of the South; the Front's policies are being gradually applied there, a new life under an independent and democratic regime is being built, and, in fact, the liberated zone has become the image of tomorrow's entirely liberated South Vietnam.

Meanwhile, the people in the North are steadily progressing to socialism with an ardent love for the fatherland and for socialism and with an unprecedented political and moral unity. The North, thanks to its excellent political system and its strong economic and national defense potential, is not only a source of inspiration but also a solid rear for our entire people's struggle for national salvation against the United States imperialists. This is a favorable condition which did not exist in our former resistance against the French colonialists.

Since the extension of the war to the North, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam's army and people have been resolutely fighting and have initially foiled the enemy's sabotage air warfare. In response to the call of the Party Central Committee, the government, and President Ho Chi Minh, our people in the North have launched a strong movement for national salvation, carrying out production and fighting at the same time to defend the North, give wholehearted and all-out support to the liberation revolution in the South, and make a substantial contribution to the common victory of the whole nation.

The Vietnamese people have a tradition of unity and unbending resistance against foreign invasion, but if we look back to its millenary history as well as to the revolutionary struggle of the past many years, we shall realize that never have they united so firmly and so broadly as today, and never has their will to fight off the aggressors and defend the country been promoted to such a degree.

In our country, people's war has developed according to the general laws of all revolutionary wars and also to the specific laws of the Vietnamese society and theater of operations. Hence, it is a revolutionary war waged by a whole people on all planes, a revolutionary war fought by a small nation in a narrow and thinly populated country, having an underdeveloped economy, relying on the strength of an entire people united in the struggle. With it the people will finally beat an enemy originally many times stronger.

Generally speaking, people's war in Vietnam is revolutionary armed struggle developing on the basis of the political struggle of the masses brought to a high level. The boundless strength of the revolutionary masses has pervaded the revolutionary armed forces and has given them an extraordinary capacity to fight and to win. Moreover, the outstanding characteristic of people's war in our country at the present stage is that, in its very process, armed struggle and political struggle are very closely coordinated, supporting and stimulating each other. ...