Vo Nguyen Giap was North Vietnam's greateast general. He was born in 1911 to an educated peasant family. He became an anti-colonial activist early in his life, and eventually shifted ideologically towards Marxism.

Despite his absolute lack of military training, Ho Chi Minh made him responsible for organizing the military structure of the Vietminh that defeated the French at Dien Bien Phu.

Giap on North Vietnamese Strategy
From Professor Sage's Page at Northern Virginia Community College
http://www.nvcc.edu/home/nvsageh/Hist122/Part4/Giap.htm

North Vietnamese General Giap explains the principles that lay behind North Vietnam's policy, and how the weaknesses of the U.S. will help North Vietnam win the war.