Declaration of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam

Context

In mid-1945 the opportune moment that Vietnamese nationalists had been awaiting for so long seemed to finally arrive in the shape of a double power vacuum. First, on March 9, 1945, the Japanese troops garrisoned in French Indochina since 1940 destroyed the French-Indochinese military apparatus and brought down the administration of Jean Decoux, which was aligned with France's Vichy government (and so with Nazi Germany, since the Vichy government was the puppet regime that collaborated with the Nazis). Eighty or so years of French colonial domination were thus effectively ended within a day. Five months later, following the Soviet offensive in Manchuria and the devastation of the U.S. atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, on August 15 the Japanese imperial government surrendered—as such leaving a dangerous void of authority in French Indochina. While the Japanese troops remained in Indochina to be disarmed by the Allies and the French were yet held captive by the Japanese, the Japanese-backed government of the conservative scholar and politician Tran Trong Kim resigned. The international and domestic race for political control of Vietnam had begun in earnest.

After being ousted, the French government proved intent on reoccupying Indochina, though they were willing to grant more autonomy within the framework of the Indochina federation the French had formed in 1893 and that encompassed the regions of Vietnam, Cambodia, and later Laos; officials of the administration of U.S. president Harry Truman repeatedly signaled consent to this goal. In early June, French president Charles de Gaulle instructed General Philippe Leclerc to organize a French Far East Expeditionary Corps, which would arrive in October. Meanwhile, the close of World War II was orchestrated by the Potsdam Agreement of July 24 and Allied General Order No. 1 of September 2 (which established U.S. control of Japan following the Japanese surrender). In Vietnam, Chinese Nationalist troops (from the Republic of China, now known as Taiwan) were to disarm the Japanese north of latitude 16° north, and British forces were to do the same to the south. In late August, some two hundred thousand of General Lu Han's Chinese Nationalist troops were entering Tonkin, while the vanguard of General Douglas Gracey's twenty-six thousand British Indian troops arrived in Saigon on September 12, three days after Lu Han's first men marched into Hanoi.

Domestically, Vietnamese political groups of various orientations were harboring hopes of filling the power vacuum. Only the Indochinese Communist Party (ICP), however, was able to fully exploit the limited time frame of about three weeks between the Japanese surrender in mid-August and the arrival of the British and Chinese troops in early September. Drawing on the lessons of more than fifteen years of anticolonial mobilization, it had begun its preparations immediately after the Japanese coup of March 9. Indeed, the ICP was the most well-prepared and decisive of all Vietnamese political forces and the only one capable of operating countrywide. As early as May 1941, on Ho Chi Minh's advice, the party had set up a broad Communist-led front, the Viet Nam Doc Lap Dong Minh (Vietnam Independence League, or Vietminh). It was to be useful as a cover to project the image of a unity government and to integrate non-Communist groups and individuals, whereas its branch committees and mass organizations throughout Vietnam would mobilize the population and garner public support.

The ICP had also created the National Salvation Army and the Armed Propaganda Brigade, which merged in May 1945 into the Vietnamese Liberation Army. Although at this stage it was merely a fledgling guerrilla force of not more than several hundred men, it had cultivated contacts with the U.S. Office of Strategic Services (OSS; the forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency), the British, and to some extent the French. In particular, its friendly and openly visible relations with U.S. representatives were an invaluable asset in convincing the Vietnamese population and rival political organizations that the Vietminh had the blessing of the Truman administration.

As the opportune moment arrived with the impending Japanese surrender, Ho Chi Minh gave the final call for a general insurrection on August 13, 1945. The rapid mobilization of the Vietminh's military, paramilitary, and popular forces allowed it to take control of cities, towns, and villages throughout the country within twelve days. Among major cities, Hanoi was secured on August 19, Hue on August 23, and Saigon on August 25; cities in the south were taken over in coalition with other political forces. At last the Vietminh pressured Emperor Bao Dai to abdicate, which he did on August 30, thus irrevocably sealing the fate of the Vietnamese monarchy. Also in late August and into September, the Vietminh began to abduct thousands of people perceived as obstacles to the revolution or as traitors, many of whom were never to return. Tens of thousands more were neutralized by being placed under arrest.

It was in this rapidly evolving international and domestic context that preparations for the independence declaration were made. In the evening of August 25, Ho Chi Minh was secretly ushered into Hanoi. His presence and identity were kept secret to all but a trusted few, for reasons of safety, security, and surprise. On August 27, in consultation with cabinet members, he decided to command countrywide preparations for Independence Day, to be held on September 2. With the main event to be held in Hanoi, formal observance was to be organized in as many places as possible. Ho then apparently drafted the independence declaration. On August 30, he showed a typewritten draft with many handwritten corrections and numerous marginal notes to Major Archimedes Patti, the senior OSS representative in Hanoi. When it was translated, Patti was surprised to find that the opening passage quoted from the American Declaration of Independence.

With only five days to organize nationwide Independence Day celebrations, preparations were challenging. Hanoi's Ba Dinh Square, then known as the Place Puginier and located next to the palace of the governor-general of French Indochina, was chosen because it could easily accommodate the expected mass audience. A high wooden platform had to be erected and a public address system installed. Security measures were taken, and live audio transmissions to other parts of the country were set up, though they eventually failed because Japanese roadblocks obstructed the transmitter vehicle.

On Sunday, September 2, Vietnamese Liberation Army guards secured the platform by keeping the arriving crowds about twenty yards away, while self-defense units were positioned in strategic places. Many Buddhists and Catholics arrived in groups led by their head monks and priests, respectively, while schoolteachers performed the same function for their pupils. Entire villages from the Hanoi countryside were guided by their elders and Vietminh organizers, and ethnic minorities also descended from the hills. Several American OSS members under Major Patti were present, as was the French representative, Jean Sainteny. Wearing white rubber sandals and a high-collared khaki jacket, similar in style to the ones worn by the Communist leaders Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong, Ho briskly led his cabinet up the platform. The national anthem was played, followed by a flag-raising ceremony and Ho's introduction by General Vo Nguyen Giap. Waving his hands to the crowds for several minutes, Ho eventually raised his palms to command silence and then read out the declaration.