Hanoi's Military History Museum is the standout of Vietnam's numerous war museums. There's plenty it lacks in terms of narrative and English language descriptions. But it's a great place to get the winner's official take on battles against the French and the US backed South Vietnamese government. The museum is located a short walk from Ba Dinh Square and sits opposite this park with what must be one of the most well placed Lenin statues left in the world.
You won't miss the museum since this early nineteenth century structure, the Cot Co Tower sits bang in the middle of the complex. The tower is one of the few remaining significant structures of Hanoi's Citadel - most of which was destroyed by the French in the nineteenth century.
This Russian MIG fighter has pride of place at the museum entrance. The symbolism is pretty straightforward and dates back to the Cold War. The MIG triumphs while the B52 wreckage not far away sums up the US mission in Vietnam.
US military wreckage, including that B52, decorates the museum grounds.
General Giap - the General behind many of the communists' finest victories from Dien Bien Phu to the American War.
Ho Chi Minh's declaration of independence in 1945 met with disapproval from the French. They had quickly folded following the arrival of the Japanese, but with the war over, they wanted their former colony back. Thirty years of war ensued.
The heavily laden bicycle is a celebrated military support apparatus in Vietnam's military annals. It was crucial both at Dien Bien Phu and along the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
This French helmet suggests an unhappy ending.
The BB2 wreck with a large print of a famous image featuring a young Vietnamese girl dragging the tail of a downed American aircraft along a beach.
A cat relaxes amidst the B52 wreckage.
Tank 843 - this is the tank that crashed through the gates of Saigon's Presidential Palace marking the end of the Vietnam War on April 30 1975. We are reliably informed that this is the genuine article. There is another in the grounds of the former Palace in Saigon.
Young backpackers inspect American aircraft in the museum grounds.
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