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The so-called "red Napoleon" stood out as the leader of a ragtag army of guerrillas who wore sandals made of car tires and lugged their artillery piece by piece over mountains to encircle and crush the French army at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. The unlikely victory, which is still studied at military schools, led not only to Vietnam's independence but hastened the collapse of colonialism across Indochina and beyond.

Giap went on to defeat the U.S.-backed South Vietnam government in April 1975, reuniting a country that had been split into communist and noncommunist states. He regularly accepted heavy combat losses to achieve his goals.

"No other wars for national liberation were as fierce or caused as many losses as this war," Giap told The Associated Press in 2005 in one of his last known interviews with foreign media on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, the former South Vietnamese capital.

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Born Aug. 25, 1911, in central Vietnam's Quang Binh province, Giap became active in politics in the 1920s and worked as a journalist before joining the Indochinese Communist Party. He was jailed briefly in 1930 for leading anti-French protests and later earned a law degree from Hanoi University.

He fled French police in 1940 and met Ho Chi Minh in southwestern China before returning to rural northern Vietnam to recruit guerrillas for the Viet Minh, a forerunner to the southern insurgency later known as the Viet Cong.

During his time abroad, his wife was arrested by the French and died in prison. He later remarried and had five children.

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At Dien Bien Phu, his Viet Minh army surprised elite French forces by surrounding them. Digging miles (kilometers) of trenches, the Vietnamese dragged heavy artillery over steep mountains and slowly closed in during the bloody, 56-day battle that ended with French surrender on May 7, 1954.

"If a nation is determined to stand up, it is very strong," Giap told foreign journalists in 2004 prior to the battle's 50th anniversary. "We are very proud that Vietnam was the first colony that could stand up and gain independence on its own."

It was the final act that led to French withdrawal and the Geneva Accords that partitioned Vietnam into north and south in 1956. It paved the way for war against Saigon and its U.S. sponsors less than a decade later.

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"We were not strong enough to drive out a half-million American troops, but that wasn't our aim. Our intention was to break the will of the American government to continue the war." Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap, 1990



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All great men, be they kings, emperors, generals, politicians, die just like the rest of us. Giap's contribution was for the liberation of vietnam from foreign oppression. May God rest his soul.



Dại tướng,

phần còn lại trong hòa bình !



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Reactions to the Death of General Diap


 Cuba: President Raúl Castro expressed his condolences to the people of Vietnam and said that "the Cuban people will always remember, with admiration and respect, the figure of General Giap and our Revolutionary Armed Forces for their invaluable contribution to the Cuban military doctrine."

 France: Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius praised Giap: "I am saddened to learn of the death of General Giap. He was a great Vietnamese patriot, loved and respected by all his people and for the prominent role he played in founding the independence of his country."

 Laos: The Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Commitee, National Assembly, and government, sent their messages of condolences to their Vietnamese counterparts. The message read that "the general tirelessly devoted his wisdom and energy to throwing off the yoke of foreign colonialism" and that "[h]e contributed significantly to enriching the friendly relations, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Laos and Vietnam."

 Nicaragua: First Lady Rosario Murillo expressed her condolences on behalf of the people of Nicaragua.

 Singapore: The government of Singapore said that it was saddened by the death of Vo Nguyen Giap and that he "played a pivotal role in Vietnam's fight for independence."

 Venezuela: President Nicolas Maduro expressed his condolences for the death of General Vo Nguyen Giap, who "fought tirelessly against the yoke of the colonizer, both French and American, which for years curtailed the freedom of the Vietnamese people." --Wiki

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