Viet Minh
The
Việt Minh (abbreviated from
Việt Nam Ðộc Lập Ð"ng Minh Hội, "League for the Independence of Vietnam") was formed by
H" Chí Minh in
1941 to seek independence for
Vietnam from
France as well as to oppose the
Japanese occupation. Some people may confuse it with Việt Nam Cách Mạng Ð"ng Minh Hội
League for the Vietnamese Revolution (abbr. Việt Cách) which was founded by
Nguyễn Hai Than and
H" Ngoc Lam and which later joined the Vietnamese National Coalition in
1946.During
World War II,
Japan occupied French-held regions in Asia (commonly called and legally known as
French Indochina). As well as fighting the French, the Việt Minh started a campaign against the Japanese. Due to their opposition to the Japanese, the Việt Minh received funding from the
Americans and the
Chinese, though the Chinese would imprison H" Chí Minh for more than a year during the fight against the Japanese military dictatorship. When Japan surrendered in August
1945, the Japanese handed over control of some public buildings in Hanoi to the Việt Minh, now led by H" Chí Minh. H" proclaimed the
Democratic Republic of Vietnam on
September 2, 1945. However, within days the Chinese
Kuomintang Army arrived in Vietnam to supervise the repatriation of the Japanese army. The Democratic Republic of Vietnam therefore existed only in theory and effectively controlled no territory. A few months later, the Chinese, Vietnamese and French came to a three way understanding. The French gave up certain rights in China, the Viet Minh agreed to the return of the French in exchange for promises of independence within the French Union and the Chinese agreed to leave. Negotiations between the French and Viet Minh broke down quickly. What followed was nearly ten years of war against France. This was known as the
French Indochina War, or to the some Vietnamese, the French War.
French General
Jean-Etienne Valluy quickly pushed the Việt Minh out of Hanoi. His French infantry with armored units went through
Hanoi, fighting small battles against isolated Việt Minh groups. The French encircled the Việt Minh base, Việt Bắc in
1947. They almost captured H" Chí Minh, who slipped into a camouflaged hole.
The Việt Minh were unable to fight effectively against the French until 1949 when the Chinese communists reached Vietnam's northern border. China gave the Việt Minh both sheltered bases and heavy weapons to fight the French with. With the additional weapons the Việt Minh were able to take control over many rural areas of the country. But they failed in every attempt to attack the central areas of Vietnam.
Following their defeat
Battle of Điện Biên Phủ, the French began negotiations to leave Vietnam. As a result of peace accords worked out at the
Geneva Conference in
Geneva, Switzerland, Vietnam was divided into
North Vietnam and
South Vietnam at the 17
th Parallel as a temporary measure until unifying elections would take place in
1956. Transfer of civil administration of North Vietnam to the Việt Minh was given on
October 11, 1954. H" Chí Minh was appointed Prime Minister of North Vietnam, which would be run as a
socialist state.
Ngô Đình Diệm, who was previously appointed Prime Minister of South Vietnam by Emperor
Bảo Đại, eventually assumed control of South Vietnam. In the words of U.S. President
Eisenhower,
"It was generally conceded that had an election been held, H" Chí Minh would have been elected Premier. Unhappily, the situation was exacerbated by the almost total lack of leadership displayed by the Vietnamese Chief of State, Bảo Đại, who, while nominally the head of that nation, chose to spend the bulk of his time in the spas of Europe rather than in his own land leading his armies against those of Communism."South Vietnam and its chief supporter, the United States, were not signatories to the 1954 agreement but did agree to respect its conditions, though later South Vietnam, with the backing of the United States, refused to hold unifying elections, claiming that H" Chí Minh could not be trusted due to his affiliation with communism and his purge of thousands of political opponents in North Vietnam known as the anti-landlord campaign.
*
History of Vietnam*
August Revolution*
Communist Party of Vietnam*
Collection of Official Documents on Vietnam History*
Vietnamese Declaration of Independence
