http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/04/world/asia/vietnam-general-death/index.html?hpt=hp_t3 It's hard for us to appreciate what Giap was to the Vietnamese because we were his enemies. In 1954 he was George Washington, driving the French out of Vietnam. In 1965 he was Robert E. Lee, commanding an out-classed fighting force against the military might of a far mightier opponent. From 1968 to 1975 he was Ulysses S. Grant, turning the tide of war slowly and driving deep into enemy territory to re-conquer land he thought belonged to his country from countrymen who fought fiercely to hold onto it. That's a 21 year career that is probably unmatched by any of the great modern military figures. You probably have to go back to the days of Bismarck (1862-1890) and maybe even Napoleon (1793-1815) to find that span of time so thoroughly dominated by one man in the military affairs of his country.
Didn't he also have some sort of chicken or pork dish? All these generals look the same to me. Go ahead. Say it.
Stats don't tell the whole story with Giap. You put some weapons around this guy and he could deliver in the clutch.
He defined "Asymmetrical Warfare" and raised it to an art form. It's how his ragtag army defeated the technologically superior US forces on the ground. He's the 20th century's Sun Tzu.
