The Untold Story of President Ho Chi Minh Promoting General Vo Nguyen Giap

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At 1 p.m. on May 28, 1948, President Ho Chi Minh, along with members of the Government Council, attended the ceremony for the promotion of Comrade Vo Nguyen Giap. Before the altar of the Fatherland and in a solemn and dignified atmosphere, President Ho Chi Minh personally read the decree and handed the decision to General Giap. He said: “In the name of the President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, I confer upon you the rank of General, so that you can lead the soldiers to fulfill the mission entrusted by the nation.”
 

President Ho Chi Minh and General Vo Nguyen Giap

Later, when the promotion event was announced on Vietnam Radio, a foreign journalist requested an interview with President Ho Chi Minh. The journalist asked why so many generals and officers were promoted at the same time and what criteria were used for these promotions.

President Ho Chi Minh responded simply and humorously in his own style: “Those who defeat colonels are promoted to colonel, those who defeat brigadiers are promoted to brigadier, those who defeat major generals are promoted to major general, and those who defeat full generals are promoted to full general.”

Indeed, we cannot rely on the criteria of regular military numbers or the organization of military branches according to the “standards” of capitalist countries. The highest basis for promotion to general is President Ho Chi Minh’s trust in the outstanding leaders of a determined and victorious army, loyal to the Party and the people. As he later instructed three months later at the Fifth National Military Conference: “In the army, the duty of a general is to possess: intelligence, bravery, humanity, trustworthiness, integrity, and loyalty.”