Existing comment:
North Vietnamese Strategy: Revolutionary War:
The North Vietnamese adopted a strategy derived form Chinese communists and used successfully to achieve communist domination of China during the Chinese Civil War. This strategy was outlined by the Chinese communist leader Mao Tse-Tung. He emphasized the importance of securing popular support for guerrilla war intended to establish a communist state. To do so, he described a three-stage process. First, communist forces must organize themselves and consolidate their power base among the population. The second state witnessed the expansion of communist control. Finally, revolutionary forces undertook major military operations to destroy opposition on the battlefield. These three stages corresponded to the parallel escalation of military operations, which progressed from small-scale guerrilla operations to large-scale conventional battles. The Viet Minh successfully applied this model against the French, culminating in the latter's defeat at Dien Bien Phu. They also followed a similar strategy against the South Vietnamese and their American allies. |