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Worthy successor to Ho Chi Minh’s ideology

After the signing of the 1954 Geneva Accords, Comrade Le Duan voluntarily remained in the South to lead the revolutionary movement under extremely harsh and dangerous conditions. In the U Minh forest that same year, he drafted the Outline of the Southern Revolution, a key strategic document that laid the foundation for the resistance against the United States and paved the way for the Party Central Committee’s Resolution 15 (1959)—a historic decision that authorized the combination of political struggle with revolutionary violence.

Comrade Le Duan delivers the Political Report at the 3rd National Congress of the Vietnam Workers’ Party, held in Hanoi from September 5 to 10, 1960. (Photo: VNA)

From the 3rd National Party Congress in 1960, as First Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Le Duan directly led and oversaw the entire resistance war against the United States. He, together with the Party Central Committee and the Politburo, successfully addressed both theoretical and practical issues of the revolution amid a complex international context.

At the 3rd Congress, Le Duan’s Political Report affirmed the path of independence and self-reliance for the Vietnamese revolution. At that historical juncture, choosing the right and suitable course for the revolution was by no means easy.

Vietnam was not the only divided nation at the time. East and West Germany, and North and South Korea, were also split. In an era of temporary detente between the two Cold War blocs, the prevailing discourse leaned toward “peaceful competition” or “long-term confrontation,” with little emphasis on armed struggle or national reunification. Le Duan insisted that the revolutionary path of South Vietnam must be uniquely Vietnamese—a revolution by the people and for the people, pursuing just and legitimate goals.

Shaping the strategy of “People’s War”

From 1960 onward, as First Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Le Duan bore primary responsibility before the Politburo and the Central Committee for the Southern revolution. He directly drafted documents to concretize and gradually refine the revolutionary line, formulating the strategy for national liberation and reunification. Among his most significant contributions was shaping and steadfastly pursuing the strategy of a “people’s war”—prolonged, involving the entire population, and comprehensive in scope.

General Secretary Le Duan welcomes the delegation of the Cuban Party and Government led by President Fidel Castro during their visit to Vietnam on September 12, 1973. (Photo: VNA)

In his book Vietnam’s American War: A New History, historian Pierre Asselin wrote: “Among the key figures in Hanoi, it was Le Duan who most strongly advocated for war, insisting that armed struggle was the principal means to reunify the country. His influence on strategic planning during the war against the United States was unparalleled.”

The strategy of “people’s war” was operationalized by building the three-tiered armed forces (main, local, and guerrilla), expanding grassroots revolutionary movements across urban, rural, and mountainous regions, and combining political and military struggle.

General Offensive and Uprising: Forging historic turning point

As early as the 11th Party Central Committee Conference (March 1965), the Party resolution clearly stated the need to resolutely defeat the U.S. war of aggression, warning against illusions of peace or reliance on the goodwill of American imperialism.

On April 24, 1980, General Secretary Le Duan visits Tank Brigade 202, the unit that captured the General Staff Headquarters of the Saigon regime on April 30, 1975. (Photo: VNA)

That strategic line was manifested in the Tet Offensive of 1968. In Vietnam’s American War, Pierre Asselin noted that while the Tet Offensive did not achieve immediate military objectives, it delivered a profound psychological shock to the American public and fundamentally changed U.S. perceptions of the war.

Later historical analyses regard the Tet Offensive as a critical “psychological turning point” that undermined U.S. political will in the Vietnam War.

Journalist Walter Cronkite, after a visit to Vietnam, declared on CBS News in February 1968 that the war would end in stalemate and called for an honorable negotiation. His statement deeply eroded American public confidence in the possibility of victory.

That consistent strategic course reached its climax in the Spring 1975 General Offensive and Uprising, culminating in complete victory, the liberation of the South, and national reunification.

Legacy of global recognition

General Secretary Le Duan’s historic role has been widely recognized by the international community.

In an article titled The Man Who Won Vietnam’s War published in Foreign Policy on April 30, 2021, scholar Mark Atwood Lawrence wrote: “Le Duan, more than any other Vietnamese leader, was the true architect of Vietnam’s revolutionary victory—yet he remains little known outside Vietnam.”

The New York Times, in a July 11, 1986 article, also noted: Le (Le Duan) was regarded as the chief architect of Hanoi’s war strategy against the United States.”

Upon his passing in July 1986, leaders from numerous countries sent condolences to Vietnam. In his message, Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev called Le Duan “a staunch fighter, an outstanding leader who devoted his entire life to the Vietnamese revolutionary cause and the international communist movement.”

General Secretary Le Duan (right) visits the German Democratic Republic on October 15, 1975. (Photo: VNA

From Havana, Cuban President Fidel Castro praised Le Duan as “a great friend of the Cuban people, who devoted his life to Vietnam’s national liberation and to the global revolutionary cause.”

The Guardian (UK) similarly recognized: “Le Duan was the chief strategist of Vietnam’s military campaigns in the war against the United States, maintaining a hardline stance throughout.”

These assessments affirm Le Duan’s historical stature: a steadfast and innovative strategic leader who played a pivotal role in the ultimate victory of the Vietnamese revolution in its struggle for national independence and reunification.

Through the trials of history, General Secretary Le Duan left a profound legacy in Vietnam’s fight for independence and unity. His practical strategic thinking, unwavering determination, and decisive leadership remain valuable lessons for the country’s ongoing path of development.

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