He defeated the French and humiliated the Americans.
The modern day David who brought down Goliath. He is Vietnamese general Vo Nguyen Giap, whom I personally admire and one whom I would definitely say is one of the greatest, most brilliant commanders who ever lived. His grasp for strategy and tactics would definitely make the great Master Sun proud. An avid reader of Master Sun’s great work he is an advocate of manoeuvre warfare and a living symbol of Master Sun’s axiom of “defeating the enemy without ever fighting.”
Worked as a school teacher with a passion for military history and philosophy, some of his contemporaries within the communist party doubted his capability as a military commander but he proved them wrong time and again. First by helping defeat the Japanese invaders during WWII and then the French during the battle of Dien Bien Phu and finally the Americans, most notably during the Tet Offensive. Doubt turned to awe and awe turned to respect. A genius of guerrilla and psychological warfare he showed the world that in war firepower is not everything and that victory is not always achieved by sheer might alone, but by a combination of cunning strategy, ruthless efficiency and a good grasp of psychology. He epitomized Master Sun’s saying: “Know your enemy, know yourself and your victory will never be in doubt even in a hundred battles; know heaven, know earth and your victory will be complete.”
Gen. Giap wholeheartedly deserves to be in the pantheon of the greatest military commanders who ever lived.
Happy 100th birthday General Giap. You are truly a great inspiration.
