Văn Tiến Dũng (; 2 May 1917 – 17 March 2002) was a Vietnamese general in the

People's Army of Vietnam The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), officially the Vietnam People's Army (VPA; , , ), also recognized as the Vietnamese Army (), the People's Army () or colloquially the Troops ( ), is the national Military, military force of the Vietnam, S ...

(PAVN), PAVN chief of staff (1954–1974); PAVN commander in chief (1975–1980); member of the Central Military–Party Committee (CMPC) (1984–1986) and

Socialist Republic of Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

defense minister (1980–1987).

Military career

Born in Cổ Nhuế commune, Từ Liêm District,

Hà Nội Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

Tonkin (French protectorate) Tonkin (), or Bắc Kỳ (), was a French protectorate encompassing modern Northern Vietnam from 1883 to 1949. Like the French protectorate of Annam, Tonkin was still nominally ruled by the Vietnamese Nguyễn dynasty. In 1886, the French sepa ...

to a craftsman family, Văn Tiến Dũng took part in some democracy movements and public struggles of Hà Nội workers since 1936, joined the Indochinese Communist Party in 1937. He was imprisoned by French colonial authorities three times and escaped from prisons successfully two times between 1939 and 1944. In the

August Revolution The August Revolution (), also known as the August General Uprising (), was a revolution led by the Việt Minh against the Empire of Vietnam from 16 August to 2 September 1945. The Empire of Vietnam was led by the Nguyễn dynasty and was ...

, Dũng directed the armed forces to seize power in the province of Hòa Bình, Ninh Bình and

Thanh Hóa Thanh Hóa () is the capital of Thanh Hóa Province. The city is situated in the east of the province on the Ma River (Sông Mã), about 150 kilometers (93 miles) south of capital Hanoi and 1560 kilometers (969 miles) north of Ho Chi Minh Cit ...

. In 1951, he was appointed as a commander commissar of the newly formed Brigade 320. By November 1953, during the

First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam, and alternatively internationally as the French-Indochina War) was fought between French Fourth Republic, France and Việ ...

, he rose to Chief of Staff of the Vietnam People's Army under General

Võ Nguyên Giáp Võ Nguyên Giáp ( vi-hantu, , ; 25 August 1911 – 4 October 2013) was a Vietnamese general, communist revolutionary and politician. Highly regarded as a military strategist, Giáp led Vietnamese communist forces to victories in wars agains ...

prior to the siege of Điện Biên Phủ in 1954. He commanded the vital Tri-Thien-Hue Front during the 1972

Easter Offensive The Easter Offensive, also known as the 1972 spring–summer offensive (') by North Vietnam, or the Red Fiery Summer (') as romanticized in South Vietnamese literature, was a military campaign conducted by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN, t ...

, replacing his mentor as PAVN commander in chief in 1974, when the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

against the Americans and South Vietnamese evolved from a guerrilla struggle into a more conventional war. Michael Lee Lanning and Dan Cragg, ''Inside the VC and the NVA: The Real Story of North Vietnam's Armed Forces'' (Texas A&M University Press, 2008) Mai Elliott, ''RAND in Southeast Asia: A History of the Vietnam War Era'' (Rand Corporation, 2010) p525 Dũng planned and commanded the

1975 spring offensive The 1975 spring offensive (), officially known as the general offensive and uprising of spring 1975 (), was the final North Vietnamese campaign in the Vietnam War that led to the capitulation of the Republic of Vietnam. After the initial succ ...

, which overwhelmed South Vietnamese defenses and captured Saigon in 1975. He also directed Vietnam's

invasion An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory (country subdivision), territory controlled by another similar entity, ...

of Khmer Rouge Cambodia and the resulting border conflict with the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

in 1979."China "Should Learn from its Losses" in the War against Vietnam" from "August 1" Radio, People's republic of China, 1400 GMT, February 17, 1980, as reported by BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, 22 February 1980Cambodia – The Fall of Democratic Kampuchea
U.S. Library of Congress. Retrieved 9 July 2013. He was appointed

defence minister A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

in 1980. He retired in December 1986 at the 6th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Văn Tiến Dũng died on 17 March 2002 in

Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

, at the age of 84.

References

Notes

Sources

* Van Tien Dung, ''Our Great Spring Victory: An Account of the Liberation of South Vietnam''. Trans. by John Spragens, Jr. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1977. * Tobin, Thomas G., Arthur E. Laehr, and John F. Hilgenberg, ''Last Flight from Saigon''. Maxwell Air Force Base AL: Air University Press, 1979. * Nguyen Duy Hinh, Major General, ''Vietnamization and the Cease-Fire''. Washington, D.C.:

United States Army Center of Military History The United States Army Center of Military History (CMH) is a directorate within the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command. The Institute of Heraldry remains within the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Arm ...

, 1980. * * Cao Văn Viên, General, ''The Final Collapse''. Washington, D.C.:

, 1983. * *

External links

Interview with Van Tien Dung, 1981

CBS News report of World Airways evacuation flight from Da Nang

“The Trials of Henry Kissinger”
documentary by Eugene Jarecki (video, 1h19). Sequence on Nixon campaign sabotage of Paris Peace Accords: start 15min 20sec – end 20min 10sec.
Tran Van Tra, ''Vietnam: History of the Bulwark B2 Theater'', vol. 5, ''Concluding the 30-Year War''. Ho Chi Minh City: Van Nghe Publishing, 1982. On-line edition

1979: Vietnam forces Khmer Rouge retreat

Meanwhile: When the Khmer Rouge came to kill in Vietnam

Second Life, Second Death: The Khmer Rouge After 1978

Ministry of Defence Vietnam
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van, Tien Dung 1917 births 2002 deaths Viet Minh members Military personnel from Hanoi Generals of the People's Army of Vietnam North Vietnamese military personnel of the Vietnam War Government ministers of Vietnam Alternates of the 3rd Politburo of the Workers' Party of Vietnam Members of the 3rd Politburo of the Workers' Party of Vietnam Members of the 4th Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam Members of the 5th Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam Alternates of the 2nd Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Vietnam Members of the 3rd Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Vietnam Members of the 4th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam Members of the 5th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam Members of the 6th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam Ministers of defence of Vietnam Vietnamese military personnel of the Sino-Vietnamese War