Võ Nguyên Giáp (25 August 1911 – 4 October 2013) was a Vietnamese general in the Vietnam People's Army and a politician. Giap is considered one of the greatest military strategists of the 20th century. He first grew to prominence during World War II, where he served as the military leader of the Viet Minh resistance against the Japanese occupation of Vietnam. Giap was a principal commander in two wars: the First Indochina War (1946–54) and the Vietnam War (1960–75), participating in several his ...