The Strategic and Operational Genius of General Vo Nguyen Giap: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Hanoi.

Abstract

In his role as Commander of the Viet Minh, General Vo Nguyen Giap developed into an extremely effective military leader who demonstrated significant strategic and operational acumen in his approach to war. However, in the subsequent conflict against South Vietnam and the United States, his effectiveness was constrained by the additional duties and responsibilities he had been assigned. He was further hindered in executing the war as he saw necessary due to the involvement of the Politburo in the military strategic decision making process. Although North Vietnam ultimately compelled the United States to leave the country and subsequently conquered the South, a comparison of this effort with the manner in which they defeated the French raises questions for further study dealing with the issue of what is the most effective way to fight a revolutionary war.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 01, 1997
Accession Number
ADA328194

Entities

People

  • Linda J. Vetter

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Command And Control
  • Conventional Warfare
  • Doctrine
  • Education
  • Geography
  • Guerrilla Warfare
  • Insurgency
  • Military Operations
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Science
  • Military Training
  • North Vietnam
  • South Vietnam
  • Students
  • United States
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Educational Psychology
  • Library and Information Science/ Studies, Southeast Asia Studies, Bibliography of Vietnam and Lao Studies.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.