The Battle of Khai Phat-Na Ngan was the first battle ever fought by the

People's Army of Vietnam The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN; vi, Quân đội nhân dân Việt Nam, QĐNDVN), also recognized as the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) or the Vietnamese Army (), is the military force of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the armed wi ...

. Taking place in December 1944, it involved a series of raids by the

Viet Minh The Việt Minh (; abbreviated from , chữ Nôm and Hán tự: ; french: Ligue pour l'indépendance du Viêt Nam, ) was a national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1941. Also known as the Việt Minh Fro ...

Armed Propaganda Unit (Tran Hung Dao platoon) on

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

outposts at Khai Phat and Na Ngan. Personally led by Vo Nguyen Giap, the force consisted of 31 men and 3 women armed with two revolvers, seventeen rifles, one light machine gun, and fourteen breech-loading

flintlock Flintlock is a general term for any firearm that uses a flint-striking ignition mechanism, the first of which appeared in Western Europe in the early 16th century. The term may also apply to a particular form of the mechanism itself, also know ...

s dating from the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

. The first raid was on Khai Phat outpost, in which the commander was killed and its armoury seized, making the colonial troops surrender without a fight. The second took place the following day at Na Ngan where another officer was killed. These raids gave the Viet Minh its first victory, and defectors from the garrisons bolstered their ranks.

Background

In 1940, Japan had invaded French Indochina and occupied it. During the period of occupation, the

expanded their size, and in September 1944 the first Revolutionary Party Military Conference was held. During the conference, it was agreed that it was time to take the military struggle forward into a new phase. Subsequently, the formation of the Vietnam Liberation Army was proclaimed, with Giáp as its commander.

Ho Chi Minh (: ; born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), commonly known as (' Uncle Hồ'), also known as ('President Hồ'), (' Old father of the people') and by other aliases, was a Vietnamese revolutionary and statesman. He served as P ...

directed him to establish Armed Propaganda Brigades and the first one, consisting of thirty-one men and three women, was formed in December 1944 and named the Tran Hung Dao Platoon.

Battle

In late December, two outposts in Cao Bang province were selected. Using a 12 year old named Hoang as a spy, the Viet Minh discovered that they were mainly guarded by colonial soldiers. At 5 pm on December 25, Viet Minh troops dressed in French uniforms entered Khai Phat and seized its armoury, wounding the guard and killing the French commander in the process, making the unarmed garrison promptly surrender. This was repeated the following day at Na Ngan, with the commander also being killed and the garrison surrendering after a short fight.

Aftermath

The Viet Minh seized 40 rifles, 2 sidearms and 3000 piastres during these raids. They also captured 37 prisoners (including a French NCO),Sûreté, Rapport 10 Janvier 1945, Fonds conseiller politique 161, Centre des Archives D'Outre-Mer, Aix-en-Provence. most of whom either defected or were released to go home. The minor victory gave the Viet Minh its first experience in combat and was the first of many battles against the French.

References

{{Reflist 1944 in Vietnam 1944 in military history Viet Minh Võ Nguyên Giáp