12 December 2018by Chris Wylie Vietnam Ho Chi Minh1 Comments Ho Chi Minh 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969 Ho Chi Minh was a Vietnamese Communist revolutionary leader who was Chairman and First Secretary of the Workers' Party of Vietnam. He was also Prime Minister (1945–1955) and President (1945–1969) of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam). He was a key figure in the foundation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945 as well as the People's Army of Vietnam and the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War. Hồ Chí Minh led the Việt Minh independence movement from 1941 onward, establishing the Communist-ruled Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945 and defeating the French Union in 1954 at the battle of Điện Biên Phủ. He officially stepped down from power in 1965 due to health problems. After the war, Saigon, the former capital of the Republic of Vietnam, was renamed Hồ Chí Minh City. Any description of Hồ Chí Minh's life before he came to power in Vietnam is necessarily fraught with ambiguity. He is known to have used at least 50 and perhaps as many as 200 pseudonyms. Both his place and date of birth are subjects of academic debate since neither is known with certainty. At least four existing official biographies vary on names, dates, places and other hard facts while unofficial biographies vary even more widely. It is generally agreed that he did live in France, the United States and the United Kingdom during his early years either studying or doing menial labor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ho_Chi_Minh Ho Chi Minh Trail The Ho Chi Minh trail was a logistical system that ran from the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) to the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) through the kingdoms of Laos and Cambodia. The system provided support, in the form of manpower and materiel, to outposts of the North Vietnamese Army fighting in the south during the Vietnam War. According to the United States National Security Agency's official history of the war, the Trail system was "one of the great achievements of military engineering of the 20th century". The trail was able to effectively supply troops fighting in the south, a military feat unparalleled given it was the site of the single most intense bombing campaign in history, with bombs dropping on average every seven minutes. Parts of what became the trail had existed for centuries as primitive footpaths that facilitated trade. The area through which the system meandered was among the most challenging in Southeast Asia: a sparsely-populated region of rugged mountains of 500–2,400 metres, triple-canopy jungle and dense primeval rainforests. During the First Indochina War, with France, the Việt Minh maintained north/south communication using this system of trails and paths. The notion of barefoot hordes pushing heavily loaded bicycles, driving oxcarts, or acting as human pack animals, moving hundreds of tons of supplies in this manner was quickly supplanted by trucks (especially Soviet, Chinese, or Eastern Bloc models), which quickly became the main method of supply transportation. The system developed into an intricate maze of 5.5-metre-wide (18 ft) dirt roads (paved with gravel and corduroyed in some areas), foot and bicycle paths, and truck parks. There were numerous supply bunkers, storage areas, barracks, hospitals, and command and control facilities, all concealed from aerial observation by an intricate system of natural and man-made camouflage that was constantly expanded and replaced. By the end of 1967 the North Vietnamese had completed 2,959 kilometers of vehicle capable roads, including 275 kilometers of main roads, 576 kilometers of bypasses, and 450 entry roads and storage areas. The Ho Chi Minh trail required, on average, four-months of rough-terrain travel for combatants from North Vietnam destined for the Southern battlefields. Unknown to the Americans the North Vietnamese had also begun to transport and store more than 81,000 tonnes of supplies and 200,000 troops to be utilized during a surprise attack on the lunar new year Tết holiday of 1968. By 1973, trucks could drive the entire length of the trail without emerging from the canopy except to ford streams or cross them on crude bridges beneath the water's surface. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ho_Chi_Minh_trail Defending the Homeland Over the years there have been dozens of foreign occupations, international wars and civil wars. Rough guide to occupations in the common era: 111 BC - 544 - First and Second Chinese occupation 602 - 905 - Third Chinese occupation 1407 - 1427 - Fourth Chinese occupation 1887 - 1954 - French Indochina 1940 - 1945 - Japanese occupation of North Vietnam 1959 - 1975 - American occupation of South Vietnam 1979 - Chinese occupation of northern border area After the American occupation, various internal insurgencies and wars with Indochina neighbors only ended in 2007. As a result of both recent and ancient history there is a strong identification with valorous soldiers and war martyrs. Sometimes it is said that women won the American war due to their hard work and fierce determination to defend their homes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_involving_Vietnam All About Amazing Eight Ladies Cave “Eight ladies cave is an aghast historical relic of the sacrifice of eight youth volunteers to keep the north-south route Smoothly. The cave is on the Route 20 road – part of the legendary Ho Chi Minh Trail. At here, US bombing raids day and night to cut off the North’s supplies to the South. “It was a fire flame day on November 14, 1972, when the US dropped bombs from B52 on the Route 20. In order to avoid the bombs, the Volunteers group ran into a nearby rock cave. A series of bombs killed five artillery fighters nearby. Soon after, a tremendous explosion resounded, giant boulders collapsed and sealed the mouth of the cave, including the eight young volunteers - four men and four women. As the smoke cleared, other units fought nearby, realizing that the door to the Eight Immortal (Ladies) Cave had been sealed by hundreds of tons of giant rocks. When they arrived, they heard only the cry of the comrades from behind the rock. “Three tanks arrived with the hope of rescuing those in the cave. The tanks were scurrying, the cables were stretched, the chainsaws plunged into the fire, but the rock was still inert. Another alternative is given: rock blasting. After a moment of deliberation, the highest commander at the time disagreed. Because the pressure of enough explosives to break the giant rock would almost certainly kill those in the cave. In the following days, the team of brothers and sisters continued to hang around the cave. They find openings, cracks in the stone to drain the pump, pump, milk, but not successful. After 8 days and nights, the volunteers in the cave sacrifice … “In 1996, when the road through here was improved, the remains of eight martyrs were finally taken out of the cave. At the same time they were buried with the soldiers from the mortar guns killed in the same bomb raid.” http://phongnhacavestour.com/blog/memorial-temple-8-ladies-cave To This Day Women continue to be highly respected for managing both home and business affairs. Some construction contractors only hire women because they are more dependable and sober. Hate to say it, but we often saw groups of men smoking tobacco from bongs and drinking rice wine from dawn till dusk, while the women were working. More than one Vietnamese woman told us they would marry anyone except for a Vietnamese man. Men from the north of Vietnam, of Chinese descent, are hot items. Of course, this is an overly simplified stereotype from a limited sampling by a white guy from the States. However, my sources were Vietnamese and this observation has been made by other people as well, including my wife! https://talk.onevietnam.org/?p=3135 Comment (1) Bruce Baird I'm still following along. It sounds, and looks (from the great photos) like a fantastic trip.Where to next?Bruce 3 years ago Comments are closed.