Rest in peace, General Giap.
He still had a huge influence on the army right up till his death at 103 - purely due to how much respect they have for him - that he managed to stop a coup a decade or so ago.
He lived a very healthy life (good diet, exercise, meditation) in his later years too, which is why he lived so long.
Regarding the origin of Communist Vietnam, as mentioned above, most Westerners might not realise but it's America that pushed them to communism. In 1945 when they formed the country, its name was Democratic Republic of Vietnam, with the founding speech and ideals largely based on the American ones, because America promised help. Later on, when the French returned, America left them to their own, and they had to get help from their Enemy of 3000 years+ and counting, China (so much for domino theory, coming from the genius who never read a single history book of the region he was making policies about), and of course, the USSR. Afterwards, the country's name became "Socialist Republic of Vietnam" and we had the lovely Vietnam war...
General Giap might have been a communist officially, but a hardliner? He was far from it.
He still had a huge influence on the army right up till his death at 103 - purely due to how much respect they have for him - that he managed to stop a coup a decade or so ago.
He lived a very healthy life (good diet, exercise, meditation) in his later years too, which is why he lived so long.
Regarding the origin of Communist Vietnam, as mentioned above, most Westerners might not realise but it's America that pushed them to communism. In 1945 when they formed the country, its name was Democratic Republic of Vietnam, with the founding speech and ideals largely based on the American ones, because America promised help. Later on, when the French returned, America left them to their own, and they had to get help from their Enemy of 3000 years+ and counting, China (so much for domino theory, coming from the genius who never read a single history book of the region he was making policies about), and of course, the USSR. Afterwards, the country's name became "Socialist Republic of Vietnam" and we had the lovely Vietnam war...
General Giap might have been a communist officially, but a hardliner? He was far from it.