Word: giap
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...Nguyen Giap...
...French could afford a small celebration. General Vo Nguyen Giap's Communist army was now in the situation previously occupied by the French: their forces were spread out thinly over a vast area of jungle and mountain country. In the north, the Communist supply lines were at that moment being attacked by Thai guerrillas, most pro-French of the tribesmen. On the other hand, the French were now concentrated in Nasan and the Hanoi delta. But where would this lead in the coming seventh year...
...Communist General Giap was not wasting time licking his Nasan wounds. Part of his forces had pulled out for a three-week rest north of the Hanoi delta, while others 1) captured Dien Bien airport and garrison, 65 miles west of Nasan; 2) ambushed a detachment of Moroccans retreating from Laichau and then encircled the old Thai capital; 3) forced the French to abandon Phong Tho, 35 miles north of Laichau; 4) moved south to the borders of Laos. Giap's most serious effort was a two-division attack (20,000 men) on the flooded area around Phat Diem...
...Dongtrieu battles, the late great Marshal de Lattre de Tassigny had shown briefly what could be done if the Viet Minh Communists could be tricked out into open combat. Now, at the encircled air strip of Nasan, 117 miles west of Hanoi, there was a chance that Communist General Giap would repeat his earlier mistakes...
...readily, some critics think. With more men than Giap, with an abundance of U.S. equipment, with an overwhelming superiority in guns and planes, the French, instead of ranging all over the map as Giap is doing, seem to be handicapped by the bunker-or Maginot-mentality. In the high command there is a conflict of personalities: two four-star generals, Linares and Salan, competing for military advantage. What France badly needs is another De Lattre, one who knows'how to use the material at hand...