A great turning point in national history

79 years ago, on August 19, 1945, the August Revolution succeeded. This was the first great victory of our people since the Party's leadership began, marking a significant turning point in the history of Vietnam. Since then, the country and the Vietnamese people have entered a new era, the era of national independence tied to socialism.

Art of seizing opportunities

During those historic August days, we visited Mai Thanh Chi (or called Mai Son Viet), a pre-revolutionary cadre, currently residing in Thu Dau Mot city’s Phu Cuong ward. Although 79 years passed, he still holds memories of the successful August Revolution. According to Mr. Chi, since its inception, our Party has focused on building revolutionary forces, making them strong enough to attract the participation of numerous people, thereby actively seizing opportunities to lead the revolution to success. Discussing the success of the August Revolution of 1945, it is impossible not to mention the lesson of seizing opportunities and making accurate and timely decisions by the Party and President Ho Chi Minh.

A rally for the general uprising at the Hanoi Opera House Square (Documentary photo)

Seizing opportunities was evident when the Party made predictions about the revolutionary situation, leading the Vietnamese nation to rise up and seize power. The open session of the Party Central Standing Committee decided to launch a revolutionary movement to pave the way for the General Uprising. On March 12, 1945, the Party Central Committee issued a directive on "Japan - France clash and our actions" which analyzed: "Although the political situation is deeply in crisis, conditions for an uprising in Indochina are not yet ripe" and predicted "three good opportunities" that will quickly ripen conditions for an uprising in Indochina and ignite a revolutionary movement: a political crisis (the enemy is too preoccupied to deal with the revolution); a severe famine (the masses detest the invading forces); the war reaching a critical stage (the Allies will land in Indochina to fight Japan)".

In this context, from March to August 1945, our Party proposed several policies to shift the direction of the revolutionary struggle and strengthen forces such as unifying the armed forces into the Vietnam Liberation Army in April 1945; issuing a directive to organize Liberation Committees at all levels and preparing to establish the Vietnam National Liberation Committee, which was the Provisional Revolutionary Government of Vietnam.

Notably, in early May 1945, Uncle Ho moved from Cao Bang to Tuyen Quang and chose Tan Trao as the base for directing the revolution nationwide. There, he issued a call for an uprising, the Order for the Uprising and announced the Uprising Order (Military Order No. 1 of the Uprising Committee)…The opportunity for an uprising to seize power, as predicted by our Party arrived. President Ho Chi Minh, with determination and a deep desire for national independence, declared: "At this time, the opportunity for victory has come, no matter how much sacrifice we have, even if we have to burn the entire Truong Son range, we must resolutely seize independence”. As soon as the news came that Japan officially surrendered unconditionally to the Allies in August 15, 1945, the National Party Congress held in Tan Trao in Tuyen Quang in August 1945 decided: "The best opportunity for us to gain independence has come" and launched a nationwide uprising to seize power from the Japanese fascists and their collaborators before the Allies entered Indochina.

Mr. Chi said: "It can be affirmed that the opportunity for the August Revolution existed only for a very short time - from after Japan surrendered to the Allies until before the Allies entered Indochina. In that situation, our Party acted extremely wisely and flexibly, pushing back risks to create a favorable opportunity. According to many experts, if the uprising happened earlier when Japan did not yet surrendered, we would faced fierce resistance, potentially suffering great losses and making it difficult to achieve victory, and the revolutionary government would not been established nationwide. If it was delayed until after the Allies entered Indochina, the situation would become “extremely dangerous”…

Convergence of independent and self-reliant will

Thanks to thorough preparation, creating momentum and strength, seizing the right opportunity, the general uprising broke out and achieved victories nationwide within just two weeks from August 14 to 28, 1945. Under the leadership of the Party and President Ho Chi Minh, 25 million of our compatriots, with the spirit of "using our strength to liberate ourselves" rose up in unison to seize power, culminating in the complete victory of the general uprising. With the success of the August Revolution, on September 2, 1945, at Ba Dinh Square in Hanoi, President Ho Chi Minh, on behalf of the provisional government, solemnly read the Declaration of Independence, proclaiming to the nation and the world: “Vietnam has the right to enjoy its freedom and independence, and it has, in fact, become a free and independent country. The entire people of Vietnam are determined to mobilize all their physical and mental strength, to sacrifice their lives and properties to safeguard the said freedom and independence!”.

The August Revolution of 1945 was the inevitable result of a long period of preparation, marked by three major revolutionary movements so that when the immediate situation appeared, under the wise leadership of the Party and leader Nguyen Ai Quoc - Ho Chi Minh, the entire Vietnamese people unanimously rose up in a revolution to overthrow the fascist rule and their collaborators, seizing power for the people. This was not only a brilliant milestone in the history of Vietnam, but also an event of epochal significance, inspiring colonized peoples and oppressed, exploited nations around the world to rise up and fight for independence, democracy and social progress.

The victory of the August Revolution of 1945 was the convergence of independent and self-reliance will of Vietnam under the Party's leadership; it was a great victory of Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh's thought, creatively applied by the Party to "assess the situation, choose the opportunity" and make correct and innovative decisions at a strategic level.

Reported by Thu Thao-Translated by Kim Tin