General Giap, the mastermind of the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu and War Minister for North Vietnam during the years of American involvement, was a unique leader and strategist of guerrilla warfare.

This book is based on source material relating to Giap’s early participation in the Communist movement, his activities during the Second World War, and his leadership of the Viet Minh armed forces against the French. The author assesses Giap not only ex post facto by what his plans actually achieved, but also by the quality of the decisions he made as the first step toward achieving a military result. An attempt has been made to provide a comparison of facts from which value judgements may be made.