Việt Minh

The Việt Minh (, ) is the common and abbreviated name of the League for Independence of Vietnam ( or , ; ), which was a communist-led national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1941. Also known as the Việt Minh Front (), it was created by the Indochinese Communist Party (ICP) as a united front to achieve the independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

The was previously formed by Hồ Học Lãm in Nanjing, China, at some point between August 1935 and early 1936, when Vietnamese nationalist parties formed an anti-imperialist united front. This organization soon lapsed into inactivity, only to be taken over by Hồ Chí Minh and the ICP in 1941. They presented the organization as inclusive of political groups, with a founding charter more nationalist than communist. It exhorted "soldiers, workers, peasants, intellectuals, civil servants, merchants, young men and women" to overthrow "French jackals" and "Japanese fascists", while the group's first chairman was a non-communist. In all, the Việt Minh established itself as the only organized anti-French and anti-Japanese resistance group. The Việt Minh initially formed to seek independence for Vietnam from the French Empire. The United States supported France. When the Japanese occupation began, the Việt Minh opposed Japan with support from the United States and the Republic of China. After World War II, the Việt Minh established the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and opposed the re-occupation of Vietnam by France, resulting in the Indochina War, and later opposed South Vietnam and the United States in the Vietnam War. It was also opposed by anti-communist Vietnamese nationalists, such as the Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng, the reason for the establishment of the State of Vietnam in 1949.

The political leader of Việt Minh was Hồ Chí Minh. The military leadership was under the command of Võ Nguyên Giáp. Other founders were Lê Duẩn and Phạm Văn Đồng.

The ''Việt Nam Độc lập Đồng minh'' is not to be confused with the ''Việt Nam Cách mệnh Đồng minh Hội'' (League for the Vietnamese Revolution, abbreviated as ''Việt Cách'') which was founded by Nguyễn Hải Thần. Việt Cách later briefly joined the Vietnamese National Coalition in 1946.

Today, the Vietnam Fatherland Front – a socio-political coalition led by the Communist Party of Vietnam forming the Vietnamese government – is recognized as the modern incarnation of the Việt Minh front in current Vietnamese politics.

Foundation

The League for Independence of Vietnam (Viet Minh) was founded on 19 May 1941 in Pác Bó, Cao Bằng province (in northern Vietnam). Ho Chi Minh was the founder and his Indochinese Communist Party was the main leadership organization within Viet Minh.

Leadership

Ho Chi Minh was the highest leader. Nguyễn Lương Bằng was appointed as the Direct of the General Department (from 1941 to 1951). Hoàng Văn Thụ was appointed as the Secretary of the General Department (from 1941 to 1943 when he was captured by colonial French), and then took over the position (from 1943 to 1951).

Nguyen Luong Bang, Hoang Van Thu and Hoang Quoc Viet were members of the Communist Party.

Organization

At the national level, Viet Minh is governed by the General Department (''Tổng bộ''). Further down there were executive committees in provinces and cities; and executive commissions in communes.

However, due to political turmoil and civil unrest at the time, plus conflicts with Japanese and French forces, the Viet Minh's General Department was not completely elected. Hence the details about members of the General Department were very scarce and not fully understood.

Viet Minh established strongholds in northern and central Vietnam. But in southern Vietnam, Viet Minh faced many challengers such as Cao Đài, Hòa Hảo (religious sects) and Bình Xuyên (armed group).

Components

Main members

The founding and core members of Viet Minh were the communists. Other non-communists also joined the front.
* Indochinese Communist Party: the General Secretary was Trường Chinh
* Democratic Party of Vietnam: the Secretary-General was ; joined in 1944
* Socialist Party of Vietnam: the Secretary-General was ; joined in 1946
* Vanguard Youth: the chairman was ; joined in 1945. A small number of organization's leaders joined other political organizations.
* Bình Xuyên Force: the Commander was Dương Văn Dương; joined in 1945. A faction led by Lê Văn Viễn did not follow the Việt Minh and later supported the State of Vietnam and France
* National Salvation Army: the Commander was Chu Văn Tấn; merged with the Propaganda Unit of the Liberation Army into Vietnam Liberation Army on 1945

Other opposite parties

Even though many opposite parties fought against Viet Minh, many of their members joined Viet Minh and worked with the government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
* Revolutionary League of Vietnam (Viet Cach): Dinh Chuong Duong, , Ho Duc Thanh, ...
* Vietnamese Nationalist Party (Viet Quoc): Phan Khôi, , ...
* National Independent Party of Vietnam:
* Vietnamese Trotskyists (Fourth Internationals):
* League for National Restoration of Vietnam:

Religious organizations

The majority of Buddhists supported Viet Minh. The majority of Catholics, Cao Đài, and Hòa Hảo initially supported the Viet Minh but later split into pro–Viet Minh, pro–State of Vietnam, and neutral factions.
* Buddhist Association for National Salvation: Thích Tịnh Khiết, Thích Minh Nguyệt, , Thích Mật Thể, Thích Trí Quang, ...
* Cao Đài Association for National Salvation: , , Nguyễn Ngọc Tương...
* Catholic Association for National Salvation: , , , , ...
* Hòa Hảo Association for Resistance War: a few followers joined the front but not well documented, a known pro-communist Hòa Hảo follower was Huynh Thien Tu
* Protestant Church: Bui Hoanh Thu, Duong Tu Ap, Tran Van De...

Peripheral wings

Viet Minh established many youth wing, woman wing and military wing. They aimed to draw supports from people of different backgrounds, classes, races, genders and religions.
* National United League of Vietnam (Hoi Lien Viet): the Leader was Huỳnh Thúc Kháng
** National Salvation Youth Union: founded in 1931, today is the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union
** National Salvation Women's Union: founded in 1941, today is the Vietnam Women's Union
** National Salvation Children's Union: founded in 1941, today is the Ho Chi Minh Young Pioneer Organization
** National Salvation Workers' Union: founded in 1941, today is the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour
* Vietnam Liberation Army: founded in 1944; merged from the Propaganda Unit of the Liberation Army and National Salvation Army; the commander was Võ Nguyên Giáp; today is the People's Army of Vietnam
* Vietnam Public Security Service: founded in 1945; the commander was ; today is the Vietnam People's Public Security

World War II

During World War II, Japan occupied French Indochina. As well as fighting the French in the battles of Khai Phat and Na Ngan, the Việt Minh started a campaign against the Japanese. For instance, a raid at Tam Dao internment camp in Tonkin on 19 July 1945 saw 500 Viet Minh kill fifty Japanese soldiers and officials, freeing French civilian captives and escorting them to the Chinese border. The Viet Minh also fought the Japanese 21st Division in Thái Nguyên, and regularly raided rice storehouses to alleviate the ongoing famine.

As of the end of 1944, the Việt Minh claimed a membership of 500,000, of which 200,000 were in Tonkin, 150,000 in Annam, and 150,000 in Cochinchina. After the Japanese coup d'état in French Indochina, the Viet Minh and ICP prolifically expanded their activities. They formed national salvation associations (cuu quoc hoi) that, in Quảng Ngãi province alone, enlisted 100,000 peasants by mid-1945. This was backed by the Vanguard Youth (Thanh Nien Tien Phong) in Cochinchina, which expanded to 200,000 by early summer. In the northern provinces of Việt Bắc, their armed forces seized control, after which they distributed lands to the poor, abolished the corvée, established quốc ngữ classes, local village militias, and declared universal suffrage and democratic freedoms.

Due to their opposition to the Japanese, the Việt Minh received funding from the United States, the Soviet Union and the Republic of China. After the August Revolution's takeover of nationalist organizations and Emperor Bảo Đại's abdication to the Việt Minh, Hồ Chí Minh declared Vietnam's independence by proclaiming the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on 2 September 1945.

First Indochina War

Within days, the Chinese Kuomintang (Nationalist) Army arrived in Vietnam to supervise the repatriation of the Imperial 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 Việt 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 Việt Minh broke down quickly. What followed was nearly ten years of war against France. This was known as the First Indochina War or, to the Vietnamese; "the French War".

The Việt Minh, who were short on modern military knowledge, created a military school in Quảng Ngãi province in June 1946. More than 400 Vietnamese were trained by Japanese defectors in this school. These soldiers were considered to be students of the Japanese. Later, some of them fought as generals against the United States in the Vietnam War or, to the Vietnamese; "the American War". Young insurgents of the Việt Minh also received training in the use of modern firearms by some foreign volunteers, such as Stefan Kubiak.

French General Jean Étienne 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, but failed to defeat the Việt Minh forces, and had to retreat soon after. The campaign is now widely considered a Việt Minh victory over the well-equipped French force.

The Việt Minh continued fighting against the French until 1949, when the border of China and Vietnam was linked together as a result of the campaign called ''Chiến dịch Biên giới'' ("Borderland Campaign"). The newly communist People's Republic of China gave the Việt Minh both sheltered bases and heavy weapons with which to fight the French. With the additional weapons, the Việt Minh were able to take control over many rural areas of the country. Soon after that, they began to advance towards the French-occupied areas.

Victory and dissolution

On 7 March 1951, Viet Minh and National United League of Vietnam (''Hội Liên Việt'') merged to form the Vietnamese United Front (''Mặt trận Liên Việt''). Nonetheless, people continued to call the new front as Viet Minh.

Later the United Front changed into the current Vietnam Fatherland Front (''Mặt trận Tổ quốc Việt Nam'') on 10 September 1955.

Following their defeat at the 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 17th Parallel as a temporary measure until unifying elections could take place in 1956. Transfer of civil administration of North Vietnam to the Viet Minh was given on 11 October 1954. Ho Chi Minh was appointed Prime Minister of North Vietnam, which would be run as a socialist state. Ngo Dinh Diem, who was previously appointed Prime Minister of South Vietnam by Emperor Bảo Đại, eventually assumed control of South Vietnam.

The Geneva Accords promised elections in 1956 to determine a national government for a united Vietnam. Neither the United States government nor Ngô Đình Diệm's State of Vietnam signed anything at the 1954 Geneva Conference. With respect to the question of reunification, the non-communist Vietnamese delegation objected strenuously to any division of Vietnam, but lost out when the French accepted the proposal of Việt Minh delegate Phạm Văn Đồng, who proposed that Vietnam eventually be united by elections under the supervision of "local commissions". The United States countered with what became known as the "American Plan", with the support of South Vietnam and the United Kingdom.''The Pentagon Papers'' (1971), Beacon Press, vol. 3, p. 140. It provided for unification elections under the supervision of the United Nations, but was rejected by the Soviet delegation. From his home in France, Vietnamese Emperor Bảo Đại appointed Ngô Đình Diệm as Prime Minister of South Vietnam. With United States support in rigging the referendum of 1955 using secret Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) funding, Diệm removed the Emperor and declared himself the president of the Republic of Vietnam.

The United States believed Ho Chi Minh would win the nationwide election proposed at the Geneva Accords. In a secret memorandum, Director of CIA Allen Dulles acknowledged that "The evidence howsthat a majority of the people of Vietnam supported the Viet Minh rebels." Diem refused to hold the elections by citing that the South had not signed and were not bound to the Geneva Accords and that it was impossible to hold free elections in the communist North. Vietnam wide elections never happened and Việt Minh cadres in South Vietnam launched an insurgency against the government. North Vietnam also occupied portions of Laos to assist in supplying the insurgents known as the National Liberation Front (''Viet Cong'') in South Vietnam. The war gradually escalated into the Second Indochina War, more commonly known as the "Vietnam War" in the West and the "American War" in Vietnam.

Influences on neighbouring countries

Khmer Việt Minh

The Khmer Việt Minh were the 3,000 to 5,000 Cambodian communist cadres, left-wing members of the Khmer Issarak movement regrouped in the United Issarak Front after 1950, most of whom lived in exile in North Vietnam after the 1954 Geneva Conference. Khmer Issarak and United Issarak Front were under leadership of Son Ngoc Minh, Tou Samouth, Sieu Heng, etc. It was a derogatory term used by Norodom Sihanouk, dismissing the Cambodian leftists who had been organizing pro-independence agitations in alliance with the Vietnamese. Sihanouk's public criticism and mockery of the Khmer Issarak had the damaging effect of increasing the power of the hardline, anti-Vietnamese, but also anti-monarchist, members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), led by Pol Pot.Ben Kiernan. ''How Pol Pot came to power'', Yale University Press, 2004, p. 227

The Khmer Issarak and United Issarak Front were instrumental in the foundation of the Cambodian Salvation Front (FUNSK) in 1978. The FUNSK invaded Cambodia along with the Vietnamese Army and overthrew the Democratic Kampuchea Pol Pot state. Many of the Khmer Việt Minh had married Vietnamese women during their long exile in Vietnam.

Laotian Việt Minh

Lao Issara (''Free Laos'') was a political and military organization of Laotian communists, led by Phetsarath, Souphanouvong, Kaysone Phomvihane, Phoumi Vongvichit. Lao Issara received training and support from Việt Minh. Under French intervention, Lao Issara was split into non-communists and communists. Laotian non-communists under leadership of Pretsarath later established the Kingdom of Laos which was part of the French Union.

However Laotian communists rejected the French offer and fought side by side with Vietnamese communists during the First Indochina War. In 1950, Lao Issara was renamed to Pathet Lao (''Laos Nation'') under leadership of Souphanouvong, Kaysone Phomvihane, Phoumi Vongvichit, etc.

See also

* Viet Cong
* Pathet Lao
* Khmer Issarak
* History of Vietnam
* August Revolution
* Communist Party of Vietnam
* History of the Communist Party of Vietnam

Notes

:A.While the Viet Minh was absorbed into " Lien Viet" at the end of World War II, which itself was absorbed in the " Lao Dong (Communist Party of Vietnam)", many sources refer to the military movement of the Vietnamese Communist Party as the "Viet Minh" till the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam after the defeat of the French.

References

Further reading

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External links

Chương trình Việt Minh

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