Vietnam independence hero General Giap dead at 102
Vietnam's legendary General Vo Nguyen Giap, whose guerrilla
tactics defeated the French and American armies, died Friday at the age of 102,
prompting an outpouring of tributes for the independence hero. A military
source confirmed the time of Giap's death at Hanoi's 108 military hospital,
where he had been living for the last three years. He died surrounded by his
family. Giap, second only to late revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh as modern
Vietnam's most revered figure, was the founding father of the Vietnam People's
Army, whose guerrilla tactics inspired anti-colonial fighters worldwide.
Vietnamese Internet users immediately begun paying tribute to the general, who
remained hugely popular in Vietnam despite being relegated to the political
sidelines after the war. He went on to secure victory in 1954 at Dien Bien Phu,
the battle that ended French rule in Indochina and precipitated nearly two
decades of US involvement in Vietnam. His greatest triumph will always be the
Dien Bien Phu victory, based on an astounding logistical feat by his Viet Minh
fighters, who surprised the French by hauling their artillery into surrounding
jungle hills from where they pounded enemy positions below. "It was the
spark that lit the powder keg for the empire. Less than six months after Dien
Bien Phu, the Algerian war (for independence) began with the All Saints Day
attacks. Dien Bien Phu was effectively where it all started," said French
historian Hugues Tertrais. He was eased out of the Politburo in 1982 and left
politics officially in 1991. He is survived by Dang Bich Ha, his wife since
1949, and four children.
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