In 1942, Ho Chi Minh distanced himself from the Cach Menh Dong Minh Hoi (Vietnam Alliance for Revolution) known as Viet Cach and founded the Viet Nam Doc Lap Dong Minh Hoi (Vietnam Alliance for Independence) abbreviated as Viet Minh. Thereafter, this Communist-led organization succeeded in laying the foundations for two guerrilla bases, one in Dinh Ca, Thai Nguyen Province and the other in Bac Son, Lang Son Province. Two platoons of guerrillas were formed; one was led by Phung Chi Kien, a graduate from Whampoo Military Academy, China, and the other, by Vo Nguyen Giap, a history teacher at Thang Long High School, Hanoi. Phung Chi Kien got killed in a confrontation with the Japanese troops, and the platoon under his command was disbanded. Faced with a possible disastrous incident, Vo Nguyen Giap and his group found their way to `Bao Luc to seek refuge in China.
After several months of active redress, Vo Nguyen Giap’s troops returned to Vietnam. They were then quickly developed from a platoon into a company, and a battalion. This small army comprised mostly armed squads of propaganda They were the only military force the Viet Minh had acquired at hand by the time the August uprisings were about to take place. It was relatively a small unit of armed men as compared to the greater and more powerful armed militia of the Dai Viet Quoc Dan Dang (Greater Vietnam National Party) and the Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang Vietnam National Party).
While the Viet Minh military force was in its infancy, DVQDD and VNQDD had founded bases for clandestine activities and military training. Ever since 1942, the DVQDD had succeeded in forming groups of militiamen that operated in various areas in the midlands of North Vietnam. The guerrilla groups at Kep base, Bac Giang Province, conducted secret military activities under the command of Vu Dinh Huyen. After the coup d’etat of March 9, 1945, the DVQDD guerrillas operated openly all along the vast area, from Bac Giang, and Bac Ninh to Lang Son on the Vietnamo - Chinese border. On March 15, 1945, the Military School of Lac Trieu was established with the task to train officers and noncommissioned officers for the party troops, particularly for the militia operating in the mining and coastal areas of Dong Trieu and Quang Yen. In Yen Bay Province, where DVQDD seized the control, Tran Quoc Tuan iMfantry Academy was founded. It received and trained as many as 500 cadets, most of whom were students and college graduates. The DVQDD militia grew rapidly with the coming into Vietnam of the Chinese Koumintang troops under the command of Lu Han and Tsiao Yan in September 1945. The militiamen under the command of Vu Kim Thanh that returned from China joined the DVQDD troops, raising the number of militiamen to ten thousand. The White Star Division was formed. This joint national forces controlled the vast coastal areas of Tien Yen, Mong Cay, Cam Pha, Hon Gay, Dong Trieu, and Pha Lai.
Although under violent oppression of the French colonialists, VNQDD survived with tenacity. After the bloody repression in the white terror, the revolt of Phuc Quoc Quan led by Tran Trung Lap in Lang Son in 1940, the uprisings in Nghe An and Do Luong in 1941, and continual unrest in Saigon, Can Tho Rach Gia, Bac Lieu, and Dong Thap Muoi in 1940-1942, veteran revolutionary figures among whom were the partisans of VNQDD were hunted down. A number of them had to evade the country and sought asylum overseas. Most of them. however, stayed in the country and fought in hiding. All activities of the party at the base in the provinces in the Center and the North, went underground.
The struggle for national independence rose as in a tide after the Japanese coup d’etat of March 9, 1945. Party mem,bers of VNQDD engaged in open activities in Quang Nam, Nam Dinh, Son Tay, Vinh Yen, Phu Tho, Viet Tri, Lang Son, Hanoi, Haiphong, Dong Trieu, Mong Cay, and Lang Son. They soon turned the fight for independence into an anti-Viet Minh struggle when the Viet Minh to all intents monopolized the power and used violence to eliminate the national parties and groups from the political scene. Trom Quang Ngai to Lang Son guerrilla zones were quickly formed with anew task, to fight, this time, against both the Viet Minh and the French, who had returned to Vietnam with intent to reoccupy the country.
The Viet Minh became a myth in the struggle for independence against the French colonialists and Japanese Fascists as soon as they successfully made contacts with the Americans at the close of World War II. In November 1944, Ho Chi Minh received arms and ammunitions from the British Army and a group of American businessmen in Indochina in addition to the meager amount of weapons he had acquired from the OSS in China. He had provided the American team with intelligence information, for instance, the traces of some pilots of the planes shot down in Indochina by the Japanese. Within a short period of time, they stood out among other resistance organizations in the country as a pivotal force that had had connections with the Allies and gained their recognition. Enjoying this prestige, the Viet Minh attracted to their side large groups of people from all walks of life who at the moment were thirsty for national independence.
The Viet Minh easily gained warmest popular support. They equally gained ground on other national political parties and groups in their justifications as a prestigious organization that fought for national cause. Above all, ,they ouywitted their opponents in operating propaganda activities. Their clandestine press, the journals Quan Du Kich (The Sniper), Co Giai Phong (The Liberators), and Cuu Quoc (National Salvation) enjoyed immense readership. They were equally acclaimed among the intellectuals of Hanoi, particularly, the democrats, Vu Dinh Hoe, Duong Duc Hien, and Phan Anh, and the socialists, Nguyen Xien and his group. These two groups became later the backbone elements that served the Viet Minh in the propagation of the ideals of the revolution. Quite a few of opportunists and hooligans joined in the Viet Minh movement and formed the largest obedient contingent in the Viet Minh Front onwards.
The victory of the Allies in Europe gave genuine impetus to the struggle for independence of the Vietnamese people. The thirst for it was so great. Hope and jubilation permeated the hearts and minds of the whole population, fascinating the old and the young and binding everyone to a cause. The people wished for change, getting off the life of bondage. They would follow whoever that could lead them to victory, to gain national independence. The fight against the French colonialists and Japanese Fascists by the militia of various revolutionary parties and groups sparked here and there in the mountainous regions in North Vietnam Soon after the surrender of Japan to the Allies in the Pacific Ocean on August 15, uprisings motivated by political parties and groups spread in the North and the South of the country.
In the North
In Hanoi, on August 17, the Lien Doan Cong Chuc (League of Civil Servants), out of the ins inspiration of the Dai Viet Dan Chinh (Greater Vietnam Civil Servants and Citizens Party) of Nguyen Tuong Tam and the Doan Thanh Nien Quoc Gia Xa Hoi (National Association of Youths for Social Services) of Nguyen Xuan Chu, organized a meeting in front of the Municipal Theater to demonstrate the wish for independence of the people and support the Tran Trong Kim government. The just cause attracted tens of thousand people. Worming themselves through the crowds, Viet Minh agit-props of the armed squads of propaganda spread news of a true demonstration under the direction of the Viet Minh, to make a revolution. The day was August 19, and the place was, again, the Municipal Theater. Revolution was to everyone something new and intriguing, evoking a change for a new life, a bondage-free life! People whispered the news in one another’ s ears. The masses were fascinated by it. People had one day to prepare for it. Just with flags and banners.
On August 19, a colossal meeting took place at Hanoi Municipal Theater. In the early morning, hundreds of thousand people coming from all directions had already gathered in front of the theater. The Viet Minh, within a moment, took the commanding role. and their cadres maneuvered with ease the event. There were chants of slogans and shouts of acclaim At eight o’clock, some cadres appeared in front of a microphone stand and read some sort of declarations, which were heard in tiny voice through the loudspeakers. A thunder of cheers rose on manipulation of the agit-props. People went wild as Viet Minh red-and-yellow-star flags suddenly floated around. And, with the Viet Minh vanguards’ maneuver, the meeting instantly turned into a march demonstration.
The demonstrators in waves marched to the Viceroy’s Palace. They marched while chanting slogans. At the palace, the Viet Minh delegates met with Dr. Nguyen Xuan Chu, the head administrator of the Royal Court of Hue in North Vietnam. The Viet Minh insisted on a transfer of power. The administrator refused with firm determination. The dialog between the two parties came to a dead end. Exchange of harsh words went on. The loyal administrator refused to give in although under threat. Nevertheless, the highest royal official, who was helpless and had no one around but himself to deal with the situation. He was finally subdued not by violence but out of clemency. He resigned to let the Viet Minh representatives did what they wished. He did not have the heart to order the national guards within his authority to fire at his innocent fellow citizens. The reception was over. The Viet Minh declared they had seized the administration.
Taking advantage of their victory, under the direction of the General Uprisings Committee, the demonstrators marched towards the military barracks on Dong Khanh Street where the Japanese troops stationed to seize the military power. There, they met with the firm stance of the Japanese soldiers on guard. The gate was tightly shut. Machine-guns were ready to fire. The demonstrators closed in and tightened their circle in front of the barracks, creating road blocks from Cho Hom Market to Dong Khanh Street. Someone threw bricks at the Japanese on watch at Cho Hom - Ham Long crossroads. They instantly retaliated with gunshots. Two people got wounded. Shouts of "fight! fight!" surfaced from the masses. At the gate of the barracks, a young student, in a show of bravery, rushed to the wall, tried to jump over it, and got shot. Within minutes, Japanese tanks were sent in, blocking the main entrances to the barracks to form a barrage in front of it to control public order. From then on, no one was allowed to get in or out.
The crowds became perplexed. Many people intended to leave but didn’t know how to get out of the place. Outside the barrage, mothers were hurriedly looking for their children. The crowds hustled all around for a withdrawal. Chaos was about to happen when the national flag in the barracks was lowered, and a Viet Minh flag was hoisted in its place. A thunder of cheers rose as the Japanese tanks prepared to retreat. The Viet Minh had seized the military power from the Japanese! Within hours, the Viet Minh cadres declared they had taken the power by force.
The plain truth is that a pro-Japanese Vietnamese had successfully got inside the barracks and negotiated for a solution with Kawada, the Japanese officer in command. His solution was simple: to restore public order with an symbolical act, to replace the national flag with a Viet Minh flag This would relieve tension and thus make the crowds disband. The proposal was accepted by the Japanese central command in the city. No Viet Minh representatives were present at the event. They had disappeared.
At the front doors of the Municipal Theater, a memorial service honoring the death of the brave youth who died for national cause was conducted and attended by a huge crowd. His betrothed lover was introduced at the ceremony. The lady was Ph. Th. Th. She was years afterwards the very famous singer Th. H.
In the Center
On March 9, 1945, the Japanese Army in Indochina staged a coup d’etat, overthrowing its servile administration with French Admiral Decoux at the head. Vietnam was nominally given back independence. French-instituted Emperor Bao Dai was still entrusted the authority to rule the country. On March 11, the emperor declared Vietnam was an independent country and annulled the unequal treaties it had signed with France on June 6, 1882 and August 15, 1884. The Tran Trong Kim Cabinet was created on April 17 and resigned from office on August 7 for the failures in the incapacity to rule.
The Tran Trong Kim Cabinet, in truth, had faced with all kinds of difficulties in external and internal affairs. The Japanese Army still held the power to rule and exercised control on it in every aspect. The short-lived cabinet, on the one hand, had to fight beside the Japanese authorities for a competent administration. It made every effort, on the other hand, to redress an ailing economy devastated by the war and the unprecedented hunger that had killed two million people, to reform a frail military defense. and to flatten out a seriously corrupt officialdom. Chaos reigned over the country. The Premier also faced with a political situation that entangled the country in a dilemma. He made contacts with personalities and groups of prestige for solution, including the Communist-led Viet Minh with whom he thought he could find compromise. The letter organization, through its representative, refused to cooperate with the government and vowed to fight against it for its ideology, instead.
The Royal Court o Hue reached an impasse with the Viet Minh’s refusal to compromise. The Honorable Ngo Dinh Khoi, in his letter to the Royal Court, proposed the emperor to seek support from the Japanese, asking them for a transfer of their arms and ammunitions with which the government could confront the Viet Minh. He nevertheless refused the invitation of the emperor to form a royal cabinet in replacement of the Tran Trong Kim government. His brother, the former Royal Minister for the Interior Ngo Dinh Diem was mentioned to be the right personality in this position, instead. It was not an easy task, nonetheless.
On August 19, Emperor Bao Dai urged on the people to support him to defend national independence and the interests of the country. The following day, he sent a wire to General De Gaulle of France demanding the latter political figure to give up the intention to return to Indochina and reoccupy Vietnam. He also wired to President Truman of the United States of America, requesting the latter personality to intervene in De Gaulle’s intention to return to Vietnam. His efforts came to no avail, nevertheless.
The Viet Minh mounted pressure on the Royal Court of Hue. They fomented popular uprisings in the provinces of the Center. Protests resounded almost everywhere. In Hue, tens of thousand demonstrators incited by veteran Communists, Ton Quang Phiet and To Huu among others, demanded Emperor Bao Dai to abdicate and cede power to the Viet Minh. The emperor, through the mediation of his chief of office Pham Khac Hoe, a Viet Minh follower, agreed in the last resort to invite the Viet Minh to form a government. Nevertheless, from Hanoi the Viet Minh-led Privy Government demanded the emperor to abdicate.
On August 24, at the suggestion of Pham Khac Hoe, Emperor Bao Dai decided to abdicate. He admitted that the Viet Minh were a new competent political force. On August 30, Tran Huy Lieu who represented the Viet Minh government accepted the transfer of power from the emperor himself..
In the South
In Saigon, the situation was much more complex. After the coup d’etat of March 9, 1945, the Japanese authorities still maintained the French colonial administrative machinery, regardless of Japan’s official recognizance of Vietnam as an independent country. The Japanese Ambassador Yokohama replaced Admiral Jean Decoux as Governor General of Indochina. Tasukamoto headed the administration in North Vietnam as Residential Governor. in the South, Minoda replaced Pages, acting as the Governor of Cochinchina. Iido replaced Ducoroy and seized the control of the Tong Doan Thanh Nien The Thao (Youth General Associations for Sports), an active organization that played a role in the social life. South Vietnam, apart, remained a colony. Minoda specifically declared that no indigenous political parties or groups could participate in the new administration. All government agencies and services remained to be in existence, and all the actual laws remained to be in effect. Faced with the new arising difficulties, Vietnamese political personalities and leaders of parties and organizations who had received some sort of protection from the Japanese authorities reacted passionately. They made every attempt to influence the Japanese authorities to gain back the country’s suzerainty.
The days following the coup d’etat created favorable conditions for the struggle for national independence. Such personalities as Tran Trong Kim, Tran Van An, and Duong Van Giao who had lived in exile overseas, returned to the country. Political figures and spiritual leaders of the Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang, the Fourth International, the Cao Dai, and the Hoa Hao met and discussed plans of action. The Mat Tran Quoc Gia Thong Nhat (National United Front) came into existence. At the beginning of June, at the Vuon Ong Thuong (Saigon City Park) the organization succeeded in organizing a masses demonstration that attracted tens of thousand supporters. A ceremony in commemoration of the death of the veteran revolutionary Duong Ba Trac, who had died while on political refuge in Singapore, was proceeded. Speeches activating patriotism and the struggle for national suzerainty were delivered and warmly acclaimed.
On August 14 and 15, two atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. On August 16, Japan surrendered to the Allies. On August 16, the national parties and groups of Mat Tran Quoc Gia Thong Nhat comprising the five major political organizations in the South--Phuc Quoc Dong Minh Hoi (League for National Restoration), Dai Viet Quoc Dan Dang (Greater Vietnam National Party), Cao Dai, Hoa Hao, and Binh Xuyen officially declared the will to serve the national cause. Four divisions of people from all walks of life were enlisted to serve the country. With a good sweep over Saigon, these forces took all the offices and military positions previously held by the Japanese army. On August 19, the Viceroy Nguyen Van Sam, came to Saigon. In his capacity as the head of the administration of the South, he immediately initiated negotiations with the Japanese to take the arms and ammunitions in their possession to secure public order and national defense.
The situation became complicated after the abdication of Emperor of Bao Dai and his transfer of power to the Viet Minh in Hue. The leaders of the National United Front was cornered at the dead end. In addition, the Youth General Associations for Sports suddenly deviated from its course of actions. From an apolitical organization, it turned into a political force. The new orientation was "to serve the country and sacrifice for national independence." The command was placed in the hands of the Communist-orientated medical doctor Pham Ngoc Thach. The latter doctor replaced Iido to direct the organization on the recommendation to the Japanese authorities of Ho Van Nga, the leader of the Viet Nam Doc Lap Dang (Vietnam Independence Party) on August 15. Nevertheless, Pham Ngoc Thach did not assume his role and placed it unconditionally under the leadership of the Viet Minh, instead. The organization was quickly transformed into a political instrument with the expense of the national parties and groups. It became a backbone of the obsolete Viet Minh military force thereafter.
By that time, Tran Van Giau, the Viet Minh politics commissioner in the South, proposed to the National United Front leadership to join the Viet Minh Front to serve national cause, to struggle for the support of the Allies and to cope with the new situation, as the French colonialists prepared to return to Vietnam. On August 23, to show its good wiill and spirit of national concord, leaders of the National United Front agreed in a meeting to disband its military forces and transferred the military command to the Viet Minh. All of a sudden, on August 25, there appeared on a large wood-board in the center of Saigon on which was posted a list of a 9-member Privy Council of Administration of South Vietnam. Eight members in it were Communist and procommunist, and one member was independent. This supercilious attitude of the Viet Minh was an act of impudence to the leaders of the National United Front. The Viet Minh had flatly negated the role of the nationalists. to monopolize power to the detriment of the national parties and groups. Such personalities as Vu Tam Anh, Le Kim Ty (Cao Dai), Pham Huu Duc (Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang), Ho Van Nga (Viet Nam Quoc Gia Doc Lap Dang), Nguyen Van Huong (Dai Viet), Huynh Phu So (Hoa Hao), Ho Vinh Ky, Lam Ngoc Duong, Huynh Van Phuong, and Duong Van Biao met and discussed measures to deal with the Communists.
In his briefing to the audience on August 23, Duong Van Giao presented with evidences relating to acts of treason of Tran Van Giau. In early 1944, when Tran Van Giau was jailed by the French at Ba Ra he met a fellow comrade, Duong Bach Mai. The latter inmate was transferred while under detention from the sea-island Poulo Condore. Duong disclosed to Tran that he was brought back to the inland jail on predisposition by the French security police for an anti-Japan scheme. Right at that night, Duong Bach Mai and Tran Van Giau were brought to Saigon to carry out the secret plan. The Nationalists demanded in a meeting the Privy Administration to clarify the situation. A joint session of negotiation was held at the School of Arts at Gia Dinh to settle the dispute. The Communists took a step backwards. Tran Van Giau resigned from his position as chairman of the Privy Council of Administration and held the second position in it. Pham Van Bach of the Viet Nam Quoc Gia Doc Lap Dang became the chairman.
On September 2, a march demonstration to mark the Day of Independence took place on Catinat Street Saigon. The Catholic priest Tricoire was killed by a gunshot from the French Club across the street while standing in the City Cathedral of the Dame. Seizing the opportunity, the security police under the direction of Duong Bach Mai arrested some 200 Europeans and French nationals. Taking advantage of the chaotic situation, a number of hooligans rushed in and pillaged the French and Chinese stores. Disorder spread, and the Viet Minh failed to control the situation.
Elsewhere in the cities, from the North to the South, officials and officers of the royal administration at public offices and services and military commands, abiding by the order of the emperor, voluntarily and readily ceded the authority to the Viet Minh. Some clashes between the Viet Minh and the royal authorities happened here and there, but no serious confrontation took place. Few Viet Minh cadres but a large number of opportunists and hooligans played a role and assumed the responsibility to rule. In the countryside, the seizure of the power took place in chaos. No one knew who the Viet Minh really were, and virtually no resistance to Viet Mnh occupation of public offices and services occurred. The Viet Minh themselves did not even know what they were supposed to do with the administration at hand. Local cadres fumbled their way in the provinces, and so did the central administration in Hanoi. Abductions and killings of opponents activated by either side of the struggle for power occurred almost daily until the resistance war broke out.
