6.

Narrate the TET Cease Fire cum TET Lunar Celebration with specific focus on how the
North Vietnamese led by General Vo Nguyen Giap won over the US.

General Vo Nguyen Giap, who has died aged 102, was a self-taught soldier who became one
of the foremost military commanders of the 20th century. He used his charisma and tactical
skills to transform a tiny band of Vietnamese guerrillas into an army that defeated both France
and the US.
Tensions were exacerbated when Giap's tactics against the US forces after 1965 achieved only
mixed results. He was kept off guard by the mobility of American helicopter cavalry and his
forces suffered heavy losses in battles could have avoided.
On 30 January 1968, tens of thousands of communist troops launched the Tet offensive,
striking across South Vietnam during what was supposed to have been a truce to mark the lunar
new year holiday. A suicide squad stormed into the US embassy compound in Saigon. The
Viet Cong took over the former imperial capital of Hue. In Hanoi, the leadership had expected
the South Vietnamese to rise up and overthrow the government but instead the VC suffered a
huge military defeat. Their troops and command structures were nearly wiped out when the US
forces regained control.
The offensive was a severe military setback for the North, but they did win a psychological
victory. Dramatic news coverage of the offensive in the US damaged claims in Washington
that an end to the war was in sight. Support for the conflict and for President Lyndon B Johnson
slumped. Once again, Giap had suffered enormous losses but had still managed to declare
victory. "After the Tet offensive, the Americans moved from the attack to the defence," he said.
"And defence is always the beginning of defeat."
That defeat would take another seven years of fighting, less time than Giap had expected. The
South Vietnamese army collapsed precipitously as the North Vietnamese pushed down the
coast. Saigon fell on 30 April 1975. This marked Giap’s victory as the first general to defeat
the forces of the US in a war.

7. Describe “moral influence.” Why was this singled out by the analysts as the waterloo
(weakness) of both North Vietnam and US.

Sun Tzu described moral influence as the “leader having the will of people supporting him”
and further stated that the five fundamental factors for success in war are: “Weather, terrain,
leadership, military doctrine and most importantly - moral influence”.
The North Vietnamese carried blacklists and killed a lot of opposing South Vietnamese, even
nuns. Their brutality backfired, resulting in Vietnamese people realizing that they did not want
to live under that kind of leadership. Without the will of the people Giap’s forces are left
without reinforcements. The fragmented North Vietnamese weakened; over 10,000 got killed
in the first few days, when only 250 of the enemy’s forces died. In the same vein, US’ support
for the war eroded when people saw scenes from Vietnam which was a major reason as to why
they lost.
8. During the Vietnam War the US had the advantage: foreknowledge. Discuss this. Focus on
enigma and operations fortitude.

Sun Tzu described foreknowledge as “The way a wise general can achieve greatness beyond
ordinary men.” The concept of foreknowledge teaches the importance of deception and wit to
uncover the enemy’s intentions.
In the case of Enigma, the Germans believed their coding machine called Enigma was
completely unbreakable, but with the help of a polish mathematician the British were able to
use a breaking system, named Ultra, to decipher the codes within hours, gaining foreknowledge
by breaking German codes. Through Ultra, the British knew what the Germans are thinking,
what their perceptions are of the battle field. Thus they are able to feed German spies
information that reinforces those misconceptions.

9. Identify 5 strategies you learned from Sun Tzu that is applicable in business.

I. “The general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle
is fought”
 Create a game plan before you launch your business venture.

II. “If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred
battles”
 Find out what your competition provides poorly and focus on filling that need.

III. “Opportunities multiply as they are seized”

 Building a customer base through referrals compounds momentum and growth
for your business

IV. “Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest
valleys; look upon them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even
unto death”
 Grow yourself to be a benevolent leader and care about your employees they
will, in turn, care for the success of the business

V. “Supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy with no fighting”

 Do not battle your competition in a pricing war or attempt to steal their
customers in less than noble ways. Instead, earn clients by outperforming your
competitors