10 – Vo Nguyen Giap (1911 – 2013)
As well as being the longest-lived entrant on this list, Vo Nguyen Giap is widely regarded as one of the greatest military strategists of the 20th century. Giap served his nation in numerous conflicts including World War II, the First Indochina War, and the Vietnam War. He was born in 1911 in Quang Binh Province which was part of French Indochina at the time. At the age of 14, he joined a secret nationalist movement before attending Hanoi University. He graduated with a doctorate and began his career by teaching history in a Hanoi private school. Giap joined the Indochinese Communist Party in 1938 which was led by Ho Chi Minh.
Giap helped Ho to form a new coalition commonly known as Viet Minh; its primary goal was to end French colonial rule. He had already fallen foul of the French as he was arrested for his opposition to the colonists and imprisoned for 18 months in the early 1930s. When France outlawed communism in 1939, Giap fled to China and this is probably where he first met Ho Chi Minh. While in China, Giap’s wife died in prison and his sister was executed by the French.
Between 1942 and 1945, Giap organized the resistance against Japanese forces that invaded Vietnam and China. It was during these campaigns where Diap first learned how to use guerrilla tactics. Japan’s surrender in World War II gave Ho Chi Minh a chance to grab power and he installed Giap as his Minister of the Interior. When the French refused to recognize the new government, conflict was inevitable. Despite being heavily outnumbered, Giap defeated the French and forced their surrender in 1954. One of his finest victories was the outmaneuvering of the enemy at Dien Bien Phu.
After the French surrendered, Giap was free to expand and modernize the army as the Vietnamese Government was able to establish itself fully. He helped create the Maritime Force in 1955 and the People’s Air Force in 1959. Throughout the Vietnam War, Giap was the commander in chief of the North Vietnamese army against South Vietnam and its army. After the Americans landed troops in Vietnam in 1965, Giap dismissed their chances and claimed they did not want a lengthy war: “To fight a protracted war is a big defeat for them. Their morale is lower than grass.”
Most evidence suggests he was not involved in the famous Tet Offensive of 1968 which dealt their enemies a serious psychological blow. The war finally ended in 1975 when the communists took Saigon and proclaimed the formation of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Giap was Minister of Defense until 1991 and is also known for publishing a number of books on military strategy. Known as The Volcano, Giap is not lauded by all. General Westmoreland, the U.S. commander in Vietnam, criticized Giap for his utter disregard for human life which made Giap “a formidable adversary but it does not make a military genius.”
Where Do We Get This Stuff? Here’s a List of Our Sources:
“Hammurabi.” Joshua J. Mark in Ancient History Encyclopedia. November 2011.
“The Book of War: From Chinese History.” Long Tang
“Chandragupta Maurya.” Cristian Violatti in Ancient History Encyclopedia. June 2014.
“Obituary: General Vo Nguyen Giap.” BBC News. October 2013.
“Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500 – 1250.” Florin Curta.
“Saint Nuno Alvares Pereira – Portuguese Military Leader.” Encyclopedia Britannica.