He combined nationalism to communism and perfected the deadly art of guerrilla warfare. An emaciated, goateed figure in a threadbare bush jacket and tattered rubber sandals, Ho Chi Minh refined the image of a humble, benign "Uncle Ho." But he was a skilled revolutionary and passionate nationalist obsessed by a single goal: independence for his country. Sharing his passion, his dirty guerrillas cleared daunting obstacles to crush France's desperate attempt to retrieve its empire in Indochina. Later, Ho built a largely conventional army; they frustrated the massive U.S. effort to prevent Ho's communist followers from controlling Vietnam. For Americans, it was the longest war and their first defeat in their history, and it drastically changed the way they perceived their role in the world. To Western eyes, it seemed inconceivable that Ho would make the tremendous sacrifices he did. But in 1946, as war with the French appeared imposing, he cautioned them, "You can kill 10 of my men for every one I kill of yours, yet even at those odds, you will lose and I will win" (Nguyen 77). The French, convinced of their superiority, ignored his warning and suffered severely as a result. Senior American officers similarly nurtured the illusion that their sophisticated weapons would inevitably break enemy morale. But as Ho's brilliant commander, General Vo Nguyen Giap stated that his principal concern had been victory. When asked how long he would have resisted the U.S. onslaught, he rumbled, "Twenty years, maybe 100 years--as long as it took to win, regardless of cost" (Nguyen102). The human toll was horrendous. An estimated 3 million North and South Vietnamese soldiers and civilians died. 1890- Ho was born in Hoang Tru in rural Vietnam. 1911- Ho sails to France to study and work. 1941- Ho forms the Vietnam Independence League, or Viet Minh. 1954- Ho defeats the French at Dien Bien Phu. Vietnam is divided, and Ho becomes first President ...
