General Vo Nguyen Giap, whose birth name was Vo Giap, alias Van, was born on August 25, 1911 in An Xa village, Loc Thuy commune, Le Thuy district, Quang Binh province in a poor Confucian family with a strong love for the country. Born as a teacher, General Vo Nguyen Giap became a talented military leader, a high thinker of the nation's art of People's War with the character and virtue of a sage deeply engraved in the hearts of the Vietnamese people and friends around the world.
Born in a rural area with a rich tradition of patriotism, directly witnessing the oppression and exploitation of his fellow countrymen by the colonialists and their lackeys, Vo Nguyen Giap developed a burning will and determination to stand up and fight for national independence. In 1925, while still a student, due to his early exposure to the revolutionary ideology of Leader Nguyen Ai Quoc, Vo Nguyen Giap actively participated in the struggle movement, the strike at the Hue National School; joined the Tan Viet Revolutionary Party; participated in the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement, was arrested by the French colonialists and imprisoned in Thua Phu prison, Hue. At the end of 1931, thanks to the intervention of the French Red Relief Association, he was released. When he was released from prison, he lost contact with the organization, went to Hanoi to teach at Thang Long Private School, wrote articles to promote the building of revolutionary bases among youth and students, and continued to study at the University of Law and Economics.
In June 1940, Comrade Vo Nguyen Giap was admitted to the Indochinese Communist Party, then sent to China to meet with Leader Nguyen Ai Quoc. In December 1944, he was assigned by Leader Nguyen Ai Quoc to establish the Vietnam Propaganda Liberation Army - the first main force of the Vietnam People's Army. From May 1945, he was the Commander of the new revolutionary armed forces, unified into the Vietnam Liberation Army; in January 1948, he was promoted to the rank of General, Commander-in-Chief of the Vietnam People's Army. In February 1951, at the 2nd National Congress of the Party, he was elected as a member of the Central Executive Committee and was elected by the Central Executive Committee to the Politburo. From September 1955 to December 1979, he was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense. From January 1980, he was Permanent Deputy Prime Minister; from April 1981 to December 1986, he was Vice Chairman of the Council of Ministers (now Deputy Prime Minister). He was continuously elected as a National Assembly Delegate from the first to the seventh term.
“Whether the revolution was favorable or difficult, he always had absolute trust, loyalty, and steadfastness in the Party and the people, just as he once said during his lifetime: “Every day I live, is for the country.” He always remembered, followed the example, and exemplaryly practiced President Ho Chi Minh’s advice: To make a revolution, one must “take public interest as the highest priority,” meaning one must put the common interest above all else, first and foremost, considering it a motto to live by and strive for throughout one’s life.” (Excerpt from a speech delivered by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the ceremony commemorating the 110th anniversary of General Vo Nguyen Giap’s birthday).
During his military career, under the direction of the Party and President Ho Chi Minh, as Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Secretary of the Central Military Commission, he and the Party Central Committee led the 9-year armed struggle against the French colonialists (1945-1954) to victory. As Commander-in-Chief of the campaign and Secretary of the Party Committee, he commanded many important campaigns, such as: Border, Midland, Delta, Hoa Binh, Northwest, and Upper Laos Campaigns. In particular, in 1954, the Party and President Ho Chi Minh trusted him to directly command the Dien Bien Phu campaign. He commanded the army's divisions and forces to attack the Dien Bien Phu stronghold, defeating the professional army of the French colonialists, contributing with the entire Party, people and army to the historic Dien Bien Phu Victory, forcing the French colonialists to sign the Geneva Agreement on the cessation of war, restoring peace in Indochina, and completely liberating the North of our country.
Not long after the Geneva Agreement was signed, the US imperialists quickly ousted France, turned South Vietnam into a US military base, and plotted to permanently divide our country. In the face of the new revolutionary situation, he and the Party Central Committee led the entire people and army to simultaneously carry out two strategic tasks: building and protecting the socialist North and promoting the national democratic revolution in the South, successively defeating the war strategies of the invading US imperialists, achieving glorious victories, the peak of which was the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign in the spring of 1975, completely liberating the South, unifying the country, and leading the whole country to socialism.
The country was peaceful and unified. As Secretary of the Central Military Commission, Vice Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Minister of National Defense, he and the collective leadership of the Party, State, and Army led the entire people and army to carry out two strategic tasks: building and defending the socialist Fatherland of Vietnam, and carrying out the cause of national renewal. In 1980, he resigned from the position of Minister of National Defense but continued to be a member of the Politburo and Deputy Prime Minister in charge of science and technology. He retired at the age of 80 and until his death, he continued to contribute to the cause of building and defending the Fatherland.
In the life of General Vo Nguyen Giap, people talk about him not only as a famous general, an outstanding politician and military strategist, but also as a "big tree with a humane shade". It is not by chance that the world praises General Vo Nguyen Giap as a humane general, because for him, victory is not something to be won at all costs, but must always go hand in hand with minimizing the sacrifice of soldiers' blood and bones. Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Minh Thao once said, "That is Van's heart! That is the humane way of fighting and attacking of General Commander-in-Chief Vo Nguyen Giap". Many nights he lay awake, tears streaming down his face because he heard that in a certain campaign, too much blood was shed by soldiers, but the victory was not commensurate. The pinnacle of humane, humanitarian and peaceful military thought in General Vo Nguyen Giap is also expressed in the viewpoint of avoiding "annihilating everything, fighting to the last enemy". That is why many people who once stood on the other side of the battle line, from the generals of the French colonialists, the American imperialists to the mercenaries... all had special respect and admiration for him. The General always shone with an exemplary example of revolutionary ethics: Diligence, thrift, integrity, justice, impartiality; especially the general's ethics that Uncle Ho pointed out: "Wisdom, Courage, Humanity, Trust, Integrity, Loyalty" were always fully and completely implemented by him. Throughout his life, the General always put the interests of the nation, the collective above personal interests, as he confided in his lifetime: "Living every day is for the country that day". On the occasion of the 112th anniversary of the General's birth, the Vietnamese people and friends around the world remember the General: an outstanding general with a kind heart.
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