Giap was a general in the North Vietnamese regular army.
They were uniformed regulars with a lot of training and motivation.
VC were rag tag civilian irregulars for the most part, though they fielded a few unit formations.
They were part of a National Liberation Front wanting freedom from French Colonialism and independence.
Their savagery and terrorist tactics cancelled any admiration one might have had.
They were all but wiped out during Tet 1968. That enabled the purely Communist North to enhance and establish that agenda.
Their mission was to expand their doctrine to the South. We were hardly invaders. As an advisor I was taught our entire mission was to stand up the ARVNs so they could fight off the invading North. They never rose to the occasion.
The few surviving VC were denied permission to march as a formation in their victory parade.
Giap's guys were tough as nails and suffered tremendous punishment and kept coming.
I can't speak personally of his abilities or character, but I have faced his troops eyeball to eyeball and they held hard, Commie bastards they were.
They were also indoctrinated in terror tactics, and what I have seen personally removes any respect I could have for the man.
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