WI: Giap killed at Dien Bien Phu

[SunKing105]

Võ Nguyên Giáp is considered by some to be one of the greatest military strategists of the 20th century and was a high-ranking general in the Vietnam People's Army as well as being Deputy Prime Minister for decades, and was influential in the course of the Vietnam War. So what if he died at Dien Bien Phu? Assume it happens late, and a Vietminh victory still happens, so how would this affect North Vietnam? How does this affect the Vietnam War, if it still happens? How are the politics in North Vietnam affected? How does this affect the rest of Indochina?

 

[Sam R.]

Giap is even less well placed to defend Northern Development line comrades from attacks from Duan. During the massive Tet clusterfuck the party is even less prepared for the necessity of shifting from General Uprising-General Offensive to General Offensive lines.

So a bunch of nomenklatura predisposed to economic development and achievable warfare die, and the party's capacity to think in this area is reduced.
And a bunch of offensives are less well organised in the 1970s, leading to greater costs.

Given that the Vietnamese state and revolutionary apparatus were nowhere near cracking, and didn't crack later during massive economic failure and poorly conducted war with neighbours, then I don't see the loss of Giap as being determinate.

 

[Bob in Pittsburgh]

I doubt there would have been much difference. Giap was a successful general but hardily a strategist. He understood that so long as the revolutionary did not lose he won. Like Mao he simply threw bodies at the enemy until the enemy, France or teh US, decided it was not worth it. Whoever replaced Giap presumably would have done the same thing.