<p>Vo Nguyen Giap, the Vietnamese general who masterminded victories against the US and France, died at the age of 102, BBC reported Friday. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Giap was the most prominent military commander, beside Ho Chi Minh, during the Vietnam war and was responsible for major operations and leadership until the war ended.<br /><br />In 1953, Vietnamese forces led by Giap defeated French forces at Dien Bien Phu making him the first military commander to defeat a major Western power in Asia. It was a military and psychological defeat for the French in Vietnam. <br /><br />The battle, which had begun March 13, 1954, was the decisive engagement of the French war in Indo-China.<br /><br />He went on to oversee the Tet Offensive against US forces in 1968, often cited as one of the factors that led to the US withdrawal from Vietnam.<br /><br />Giap also published a number of works on military strategy.<br /></p>
<p>Vo Nguyen Giap, the Vietnamese general who masterminded victories against the US and France, died at the age of 102, BBC reported Friday. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Giap was the most prominent military commander, beside Ho Chi Minh, during the Vietnam war and was responsible for major operations and leadership until the war ended.<br /><br />In 1953, Vietnamese forces led by Giap defeated French forces at Dien Bien Phu making him the first military commander to defeat a major Western power in Asia. It was a military and psychological defeat for the French in Vietnam. <br /><br />The battle, which had begun March 13, 1954, was the decisive engagement of the French war in Indo-China.<br /><br />He went on to oversee the Tet Offensive against US forces in 1968, often cited as one of the factors that led to the US withdrawal from Vietnam.<br /><br />Giap also published a number of works on military strategy.<br /></p>