Top 7 Legendary Generals of the Vietnam People's Army

General Lê Trọng Tấn (1914-1986) was the former Chief of General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, Deputy Minister of Defense, and Deputy Commander of the Southern Liberation Army. He was the oldest General in Vietnam when promoted at the age of 70. A veteran strategist, he was always present in the fiercest battlefields, capable of turning the tide and winning every battle.

His comrades affectionately called him the 'Zukov of Vietnam', united in trust for his intelligence, leadership, creativity, sharp judgment, and decisiveness. As General Võ Nguyên Giáp once stated: 'Lê Trọng Tấn deserves two Hero titles!' His military expertise was most notably displayed in the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign in 1975.

During his command, soldiers under his leadership were devoted, ready to fight and sacrifice for victory. Though victory was assured, casualties were unavoidable, and General Tấn mourned the loss of his soldiers. He could never accept the notion of 'insignificant losses'. The lives of his soldiers were priceless to him, and he always sought to minimize casualties. Later, he would visit the battlefield and honor the fallen, with his eyes often red from emotion and grief for his comrades.

General Chu Huy Mân (1913-2006), former: Member of the Politburo, Vice Chairman of the State Council, Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Party Committee, and Head of the General Political Department of the Vietnam People's Army; was a military talent with strategic vision and deep expertise in tactics and campaigns, a shining example of revolutionary ethics.

He contributed significantly to the development of military strategy, especially in the integrated operational art involving two forces: Politics (political struggle, military mobilization) and Military (the three armed forces), which formed the pinnacle of people's war in the Central Region, particularly during the 1972 East-West Spring Campaign in Binh Dinh and the 1975 Spring Offensive and Uprising in the region.

General Chu Huy Mân was deeply involved in strengthening the military's fighting power, holding positions such as Politburo Member, Vice Chairman of the State Council, and Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Party Committee. He paid particular attention to consolidating and enhancing the combat effectiveness of the military's party organizations, significantly contributing to building a politically, ideologically, and organizationally strong and clean Party, developing political institutions, and improving the cadre system, especially political officers at all levels.

General Hoàng Văn Thái (1915-1986) was one of the first 34 soldiers of the Vietnam Propaganda and Liberation Army alongside General Võ Nguyên Giáp. He was one of the earliest generals and played a crucial role in shaping and developing the Vietnam People's Army. He was an indispensable chief of staff to General Võ Nguyên Giáp during many significant campaigns.

Having held numerous key positions in the resistance wars against the French and Americans, General Hoàng Văn Thái was an outstanding hero of the Ho Chi Minh era. Known for his exceptional knowledge and rare military skills, he grew to be a formidable military commander and advisor.

General Hoàng Văn Thái placed great importance on political factors and the people. He was the first to organize and lead the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army. Always loyal to the revolutionary cause, he was known for his organization, creativity, and exceptional execution of every task assigned to him, earning the title “outstanding student of President Hồ Chí Minh.”

General Nguyễn Chí Thanh (1914-1967) worked in various political areas and was able to excel in each, earning him the title of the "commander of the movement." He also developed the tactic of close-quarters combat for the Southern Liberation Army, with the principle of "attacking by holding the enemy by the belt."

He was an outstanding leader of the Party, a brilliant general of the Vietnam People's Army, and an excellent disciple of President Hồ Chí Minh, making significant contributions to the Party and the Vietnamese nation. During the Vietnam War, he served as the Secretary of the Central Committee of the South, the Secretary of the Military Committee of the local area, and the Political Commissar of the Southern Liberation Army, directly commanding the battlefields of Southern Vietnam.

General Nguyễn Chí Thanh passed away due to a heart attack in Hanoi on July 6, 1967, while en route to report to President Hồ Chí Minh on the situation in the South. Before his death, he was awarded the 30-year Party badge.

General Võ Nguyên Giáp (August 25, 1911 – October 4, 2013), born Võ Giáp, also known as General Giáp or simply Ông Văn, was a military leader and politician from Vietnam. He was the first general and commander-in-chief of the Vietnam People's Army.

Throughout the history of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, General Võ Nguyên Giáp left a significant mark during both the resistance wars against French colonialism and American imperialism, personally commanding life-or-death battles for the nation. Not only was he a legendary general in the hearts of the Vietnamese people, but he was also revered worldwide as a military genius, hailed as one of the top ten greatest generals in history.

With his genius military insight, General Võ Nguyên Giáp inherited the finest global military strategies and elevated the art of people's warfare, grounded in the Vietnamese tradition of resistance against foreign invaders. His military thinking and close guidance from President Hồ Chí Minh led to victorious battles that brought glory to the heroic Vietnamese people.

General Văn Tiến Dũng (1917-2002), former Minister of National Defense, was a brilliant strategist and an exceptional military leader of the Vietnamese people. With over 60 years of revolutionary activity, General Dũng made significant contributions to the national liberation struggle and the construction of socialist Vietnam.

When referring to General Văn Tiến Dũng, General Võ Nguyên Giáp remarked that he was "a general with an unwavering will to win and extraordinary tactical brilliance, a steadfast communist who devoted his entire life to the ideals of the Party, the national liberation cause, reunification, and the construction and defense of socialist Vietnam."

For his selfless contributions to the revolutionary cause of the nation, General Văn Tiến Dũng was honored with numerous prestigious awards, including the Gold Star, Hồ Chí Minh Order, and the First and Second Class Military Merit Medals. He also received the First-Class Freedom Medal from the Democratic People's Republic of Laos and the Angkor Order from Cambodia.

General Lê Đức Anh (1920-2019) was a distinguished military officer who directly participated in both the wars against the French and Americans, as well as fulfilling international duties in Cambodia. As the President during the initial phase of Vietnam's renovation period, he contributed significantly to shaping important policies both domestically and internationally for the Party and the State.

He was a major figure in the renewal era, an exceptional military leader for the Party and State of Vietnam. He carried on the patriotic legacy of his country and family, which led him to develop a profound understanding of the revolution. In 1937, at the age of just 17, he joined the democratic movement in Phú Vang, Thừa Thiên Huế. By May 1938, he became a member of the Indochinese Communist Party (now the Communist Party of Vietnam). He worked hand-in-hand with his comrades, building and leading grassroots revolutionary movements in provinces such as Thừa Thiên Huế, Quảng Nam, Lâm Đồng, Bình Dương, and Bình Phước.

His military career spanned across various battlefields, from North to South Vietnam, and he played a key role in fulfilling significant international missions. During the defense of the Southwestern border, he directly commanded the battlefield and was one of the many generals who secured victory, protecting the sacred border of the homeland and helping the Cambodian people escape from the horrors of genocide.