THE VIET MINH IN POWER

In Retrospect

Revolutionary Parties’ Activities in China

The repression of the colonial rule against revolutionary parties following the revolt in Yen Bay in 1930 was brutal. Thousands of members of Viet Quoc were brought to stand trials, jailed, or executed. Most revolutionaries who survived the repression evaded to China. Misfortunes came again, nevertheless. In 1940, military detachments of the Japanese Expeditionary Corps from t Kwangtsi, China, invaded Lang Son and dismantled the local French troops stationing in the border province. Believing that the Japanese would create for them an opportunity to gain back national independence, Tran Trung Lap, and Doan Kiem Diem of the Phuc Quoc Quan that followed the Japanese into Vietnam in coordination with members of other revolutionary parties rose in arms to seize the local administration. Nevertheless, the Japanese Fascists and the French colonial rule in Indochina, within a day, reached a compromise. The French colonialists were allowed to stay and continued to rule the colony under Japanese supervision. The revolt was crushed brutally. Tran Trung Lap and Doan Kiem Diem were killed. Other leaders and the remnant of the militia escaped massacre and evaded to and took refuge in China.

In Liao Chou, where most Nationalist revolutionaries and patriots congregated, party leaders had for decades founded political front or alliance to lay the foundations for the struggle for national independence. As early as 1934, Nguyen Hai Than, a veteran member of the Dong Du Movement and partisans of the Vier Quoc, Vu Hong Khan, Nghiem \Ke To, Chu Ba Phuong, and Le Khang actuated plans of actions for national revolution. Chu Ba Phuong came back to the country to reactivate the party organization links. In 1942, in a concerted effort, the leaders of Dong Minh Hoi and Viet Quoc founded the Viet Cach, with Truong Boi Cong, a veteran revolutionary figure, at the head. The organization assembled members of various revolutionary party and groups living in exile in China in a united front. In 1943, the chairmanship was passed to Nguyen Hai Than. Two members of the Communist Party of Indochina, Nguyen Ai Quoc, later known as Ho Chi Minh and Le Cong Son, were admitted to the membership. Ho Chi Minh was sent back on mission to Vietnam to organize the resistance. Upon his coming back to the country, He founded the Viet Minh to serve the Communist cause, instead. Many Viet Cach cadres simply disappeared because of his hidden scheme.

As a consequence of the French white terror prior to World War II, many patriots of a younger generation evaded to and sought refuge in China. In Canton, leaders of Viet Quoc, Dai Viet Dan Chinh, and Duy Dan formed an alliance to serve national cause and struggle for national independence. The purposes were to unify the national parties in a single organization, serve a common ideology, unite behind a single leadership, and deal with external affairs with a multifaceted approach. The ideology, in particular, was based on the principle "For the People;" as formulated by the revolutionary patriot Phan Boi Chau. All national parties were allies, and the Viet Minh, the opponents. The documents with guidelines were sent in secret to national parties operating inside the country. Emphases were placed on the laying out specific plans of actions, to invigorate party organizations, promote political education, establish military training centers for party cadres, and implement political propaganda programs. The methods of actions should vary with time, situation, and circumstance. For the first time, a national revolutionary united front practically laid out its doctrinal and political foundations for the country’s national salvation. The alliance became later a counter force and the dangerous enemy to the Communist-led Viet Minh. The Overseas Executive Committee included Nguyen Tuong Tam (Dai Viet Dan Chinh), Nghiem Ke To (Viet Quoc), Vu Hong Khanh (Viet Quoc), and Ly Dong A (Duy Dan)

The Political Situation inside the country

The French terror plagued throughout the country following the revolt at Yen Bay (1930) and the So Viet Nghe Tinh uprisings (1931). Almost all revolutionary activities were crippled. It was not until 1936 when the victory of the Popular Front that brought Leon Blum and the socialists to power in France (1936) that fresh wind was felt in French Indochina. The colonial rule appeared to loosen its grip on the natives giving political activists some ease in several domains of the political life. Like a spark of fire in a rush fire in the dry season, a movement for rights kindled and spread.

In Cochinchina where the natives enjoyed limited freedoms of assembly and of the press, many activists and revolutionaries adamantly entered into the fight for rights. The Communist Party of Indochina, for its part, called for an Indochina Conference with various demands on reforms for the workers’ human condition. The ardent patriot Nguyen An Ninh published the journal La Lutte, held high the banner of the fight for the rights to self-administration and civil rights for the natives. The Trotskyite group with Ta Thu Thau at the head actively engaged in public political activities and debates, fighting for the natives’ civil rights. Some of them ran for elections and won seats in the Saigon local representative council.

In the protectorate Tonkin where the natives were not entitled to rights as were the natives in the colony, demands for rights and reforms were strictly forbidden. Nevertheless, the protectorate rule showed ease in some areas of expression. The local press was allowed to express requests for reforms, better treatments to the natives, improvement on the workers’ working conditions. and enforcement of punitive measures on abuses of power and cases of social injustice.

Those favors of the colonial rule did not last long. however, Fascism expanded rapidly in Germany and Italy under the flag of Nazism of Hitler and Mussolini. In 1937, Japan invaded China and threatened the whole Southeast Asia including the Western colonies, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Indochina. However, fleeting euphoria of a better change for the country was felt among the pro-Japanese circles. Many leaders even thought that they could lean on the Japanese to fight the French colonists out of the country. Their dream proved to be futile. The Japanese wooed in appearance some figures to their side. They tended to protect some but ignored the others. Tran Trong Kim, Duong Ba Trac, and Tran Van An were helped to evade the country to escape from the arrest of the French. Members of Viet Quoc remained helpless, nevertheless. French control on revolutionary parties was ever rigid. Party activities throughout the country went underground. It was not until 1938 when Japan’s invasion into China was in full swing to the submission of the Koumintang government and its Western allies that a number of new parties began to appear. An Asian power such as could defy Western countries, and, like wise, a colony like Vietnam in stand face in face against the ailing France. Revolutionary activities thus resumed. Groups of intellectuals and university students burned with the patriotic fervor of the Lang Son Revolt engaged themselves in anti-French activities, regardless of whether they were motivated by Communist or Nationalist organizations

Nguyen Tuong Tam and key members of the Tu Luc Literary Group founded the Dai Viet Dan Chinh. The aims were to struggle for national independence, freedom, and democracy. The party enjoyed great influence among civil servants circles and the intellectuals of city middle class. Truong Tu Anh founded the Dai Viet. Best known among the leaders were Dang Vu Lac, Dang Van Sung, Nguyen Tien Hy, Nguyen Ton Hoan, and Bui Diem. The party honored the practices of its ideological lines of national existentialism. Party membership developed particularly among university student circles of Hanoi. Nguyen Huu Thanh alias Ly Dong A, developed the principles of struggle "for the people" by the revolutionary patriot Phan Boi Chau, formulating fundamental tenets for the Chu thuyet Duy Dan --Doctrine of Humanocracy. He was the coordinator of the study group Dai Hoc Hoang Mai --University of Hoang Mai-- an assembly that consisted largely of Hanoi university graduates and students. The group congregated in session in the vicinity of Kham Thien, Hanoi, for political debates and discussions. Among them were Thai Lang Nghiem Pham Van Tam, Le Quang Luat, Nghiem Xuan Hong, Dao Van Duong, Tran Van Tu, Nguyen Xuan Chieu, and Tran Thanh Dinh. Ly Dong A was later elected First Secretary of the Duy Dan Party (The National Party For the People). Last but not least, Chu Ba Phuong and Le Khang, who had returned from China, restarted revolutionary activities of various local Viet Quoc party branches and cells in the provinces of North Vietnam. Clandestine activities resumed, and the links between the party overseas organizations and party branches and cells and branches inside the country were then connected

As World War II rolled on in Europe, groups of resistance of Free France in Indochina, most of whom were servicemen in the French Army, operated clandestine anti-Japanese activities in the colony and protectorates. Vietnamese patriots, religious and spiritual figures, revolutionary party leaders, and intellectuals of the younger generation and, particularly, university students all actively engaged in the revolution. They met, discussed, and planned organized activities to struggle for national independence. The French colonial rule sought to extinguish the fire of revolution. The Japanese tried to save the situation, to calm down the natives’ wrath that ever rose. They gave, in appearance, protection to several personalities, Huynh Phu So, Ngo Dinh Diem, Tran Trong Kim, Tran Van An, and Duong Ba Trac, and lent support to nationalist groups, the Cao Dai and Hoa Hao, in exchange for compassion.

These types of Japanese support, in truth, only served the Japanese’s immediate political purpose, to create a counter force against the Free French Forces that operated in Indochina and to nurture a group of collaborators to serve the Japanese long-term political objectives. Facing the French repression and entrapped in unfavorable conditions created by the situation, virtually all Vietnamese revolutionary forces during World War II shrank in strength and diminished in growth. By the end of the war, the Viet Minh had only two platoons of militiamen; the Dai Viet had few military training centers in the low lands, and the Viet Quoc, which suffered tragic losses after the Yen Bay Revolt and the White Terror, could only operate underground. In the South, the two forces of Cao Dai and Hoa Hao and the militia under the command of Nguyen Hoa Hiep were thin and only equipped with coarse weapons. The struggle for national independence staggered with serious difficulties. The Nationalist-Communist fight for power that took place during the later years of the 1940’s were practically dependent on the initiatives of the leaders of either side.

The Viet Minh in Power

      Weaknesses vs. Strengths

All through the fight for power prior to and after the August uprisings, the Nationalists had dutifully served their ultimate goal, to drive the foreign enemies out of the country and achieve Vietnam’s national integrity and independence. They had united in a front or an alliance to fight for a common cause while preserving their own entities. They adopted the principle of political pluralism. In the words of Nguyen An Ninh, a patriot of prestige, "like a player in a soccer team, "one observes the common rules and can display one’s talents." A number of weaknesses were apparent in the Nationalists’ camp, however. The goals of struggle were not well defined. They were more revolutionary than political. The objectives basic to the struggle were not clearly formulated. The purposes and perspectives that were fundamental to the establishment of a prospective political regime were overlooked. Popular political propaganda was poorly activated. There was a great lack of mass mobilization, and thus the absence of participation of the peasantry and workers. Still, the lines of leadership were incoherent. The cadres were compassionate, truthful, and compromising, but volatile. Although they adhered to a common cause and stood in line in a front, each party often carried out its programs of actions independently. Without consensus, they failed to unite in a solid bloc to fight against the Viet Minh.

The Viet Minh tightened their ranks behind a single line of leadership to serve their cause. Viet Minh leaders were all Communist. Their ultimate goal was to transform Vietnam into a Communist country. Ever means was possible to an end to achieve this end. Patriotism was instrumental to the Communist cause, and national independence was only a signboard. They consistently and persistently followed this line of strategy all through the fight for power. Viet Minh cadres observed discipline with absolute obedience. The Viet Minh were more or less flexible and realistic in action. They were nevertheless aggressive, uncompromising, vile, and cunning.

The Viet Minh laid out and achieved step by step their goal, objectives, and programs of actions. Their goal was clear: to revolutionize the country. to make it a country of independence, freedom, and happiness. Their immediate objectives were to fight the French colonialists and the Japanese Fascists out of Vietnam to win back national independence, establish a republic democratic nation. Their programs of actions were political and revolutionary and varied in scope and with time and in accordance with situation and circumstance. With power on hand, they had all the advantages over the Nationalists to win the people’s hearts and minds. Their call to struggle for the liberation of the country from foreign slavery truly responded to the aspirations of the people of the time who for generations had been thirsty for a better life.

The Viet Minh’s Achievements

Within more than a year in power (September 1945-December 1946), the Viet Minh administration had performed remarkable achievements in various areas of the economy, finance, education, and national defense. On September 12, 1945, Vo Nguyen Giap, the Minister for the Interior, signed into law the decision to dissolve the mandarin system of administration of the colonial times. Cadres of the new regime replaced officials of the old regime. The ailing economy following the disastrous hunger that had killed more than two million people of the North gradually recovered. The administration redressed step by step the country’s financial stability, canceling the free circulation of the Chinese bank-notes and stopped the currency traffic that had plagued the North of Vietnam all through the time the Chinese Koumintang troops stayed in the country to disarm the defeated Japanese Army. On September 15, 1945, by an administrative decree, it reformed the taxes policy, banning all forms of head money and additional taxes on agricultural products and business transactions. It encouraged land exploitation and production and the establishment of agricultural cooperatives. Reforms in national education were greatly appreciative. Vietnamese became the language of instruction from the elementary to university levels. The Hoang Xuan Han secondary education curricula which heightened national identity were immediately applied in the school-year of 1945-1946. As regards national defense, it built an organized army, although with little expertise. In addition to the regular troops Ve Quoc Doan (Natioal Defense Troops), the paramilitary Tu Ve (Self-defense Guards), and Dan Quan (Militia) were formed to help take care of public security. Young men, women, and teenagers were also grouped in associations and trained. Every effort was made in preparation for the resistance war against the French invaders.

Keen attention nevertheless focused on eliminating the inside enemy. Party members of national parties and opposing groups were arrested, imprisoned, or abducted to Khu (secret territory). Village notables, officials of the French colonial regime, and Confucian scholars and mandarins of the old Royal Court of Hue were closely watched. Anyone who resisted to or disagreed with Viet Minh’s politicization of the country were attributed to as traitors and reactionary elements and faced repression and even death. Materialism was introduced in the school curricula. The Viet Minh government drummed up the policy of national union and solidarity between people of all walks of life, the believers and non-believers, and the Catholics and non-Catholics In reality, believers of all faiths were targeted with isolation and discrimination. They were even encouraged not to go to church or pagoda. Buddhist monks were repudiated and sent home. Catholic priests were attributed to as the henchmen of the French imperialists, and thus the traitors to the country. In short, individuals, organizations, or institutions that were religious and that were viable to break away from the control of the Viet Minh were all prone to repression and elimination.

On October 28, 1946, fifty deputy in the Nationalist camp did not show at the regular session of the National assembly. At the same time, the cabinet ministers representing the Viet Cach and Viet Quoc, Nguyen Hai Than, Nguyen Tuong Tam, Vu Hong Khan, and Truong Dinh Tri withdrew from the government. On November 13, a new coalition government was formed. The Viet Minh held all key positions. In addition, a power inner circle consisting mainly of veteran Comumnists, Ha Ba Cang alias Hoang Quoc Viet, Nguyen Luong Bang, Dang Xuan Khu alias Truong Chinh, was formed to help implement government policies and shape state decisions.

Hanoi at War

Beginning in the early days of November 1946. the Tu Ve and French troops on guard at Haiphong wharves had sporadically exchanged gunfire to vie each other to seize control on the city waterways. On November 8, the self-defense units of Tu Ve in Haiphong were placed on alert. The French military arrested without cause two fighters of the Tu Ve of VII Quarters on Tam Gian Quarters, Belgique Street. Four French military vehicles were burned down. Using the incident as a pretext, the French Expeditionary troops in Haiphong prepared an all-out operation to occupy the city. Hoang Huu Nam, Vice-minister for Defense, was sent to Haiphong for negotiation. The French insisted on the delivery of all Tu Ve of VII Quarters. The negotiations came to no result. Exchanges of gunfire ensued. On November 20, Hoang Huu Nam of the Viet Minh and Colonel Herckel of the French Expeditionary Corps met but failed to reach an agreement for a cease-fire. On November 21, Haiphong was in flames. Colonel Debes, Commander of the French Army of the Coastal Region, issued an ultimatum. The war broke out.

On November 23, Haiphong was in chaos. French artillery on the battleship Suffren shelled in the streets in the business center of the city. The Viet Minh regular troopers under the command of Colonel Hoang Minh Thao shelled in Cat Bi Airfield and the military positions in the city held by the French troops. French tanks and armored vehicles advanced from Sau Kho (Haiphong Seaport Hangars) into the center of the city. Trees were felled. Furniture were thrown out in the streets. Viet Minh regular troops withdrew to Cau Niem (Niem Bridge) then to Kien An Province to preserve their forces. Groups of the paramilitary Tu Ve resisted with whatever they had in hand. Tu Ve and the militia at VII Quarters fought in despair in face of the invasion forces that were far superior in strength and expertise. Thousands of city-dwellers rushed in flock out of the city in panic.

In Hanoi, French soldiers caused disturbance in the city. At Hang Bun Street, they even caught women for pleasure in broad daylight, shoving the victims into their vehicles and driving away. The local Tu Ve came to their rescue. Exchange of gunfire happened. A French trooper got killed. To retaliate, a thousand French troopers laid siege on the street, destroyed the houses, and killed people. The city was in a mess. On December 16, General Moliere sent a letter to Defense Minister Vo Nguyen Giap accusing the Viet Minh troops of failing to keep order in the city. It even dictated that from 8 o’clock of December 20, the French Army itself would take charge of the security in the city.

The Viet Minh central government prepared the war. Plans to evacuate cabinet members and the personnel of central agencies to the safety zone in Ha Dong were at hand. The regular troops with arms and ammunitions withdrew from the city in preparation for a counter offensive. On December 19, Hanoi was at war. General Moliere, the commander-in-chief of French Troops, decided to take Hanoi by force. The Viet Minh General Headquarters revoked the order to counter attack to preserve the main forces. The militia voluntarily carried out the task, instead.

At 8:00 p. m. the city power plant was set to explode. The city was shrouded in the dark. The Tu Ve rushed in and destroyed the premises in French residential quarters. French nationals risked their lives to defend themselves. French tanks and armored vehicles under the command of Colonel Herkel attacked the central government palace Bac Bo Phu. They met with resilient resistance of the Tu Ve who held their positions until the last minute of their lives.

Bloody fights took place everywhere. Pockets of resistance were formed to make a defense line from the streets in the center of the city, Hang Bong, Hang Ngang, Hang Dao, Pho Moi, ... to the Kham Thien quarters in the south of the city. The defenders of the Capital were all plain-clothed militiamen largely composed of city-dwellers of all walks of society, young men, and high school and university students who formed themselves the Trung Doan Thu Do (Regiment of the Capital). For nearly two months, from December 20, 1946 to February 17, 1947, the people of Hanoi, and not the Viet Minh troops, heroically fought with coarse weapons against the invaders. An uncounted number of patriots sacrificed themselves for national cause. The French Expeditionary Corps suffered great losses. One thousand three hundred French troopers were killed, and two thousand five hundred others were wounded.