That victory also demonstrated the Party's mettle and intelligence - choosing the right revolutionary path with strategic vision, acumen, grasping and seizing the right opportunity to successfully launch the uprising.
The victory of the August Revolution in 1945 was one of the greatest feats of arms of our entire Party, army and people, and an immortal epic in the cause of national liberation.
The Party leads the People to prepare in all aspects.
After many years of wandering to find a way to save the country, leader Nguyen Ai Quoc turned to Marxism-Leninism, on that basis finding a way to save the nation.
In 1924, he returned to Guangzhou (China) from the Soviet Union, established the Vietnam Revolutionary Youth Association, gathered outstanding patriotic youth-intellectuals, and opened many training classes to train them into a class of talented cadres.
On February 3, 1930, leader Nguyen Ai Quoc chaired a conference to unify communist organizations to establish the only Communist Party in Vietnam. The first point in the “Five Great Points” he put forward in the first Platform was: “Abandon all old prejudices and conflicts, sincerely cooperate to unify the communist groups of Indochina.”
The birth of the Communist Party was an important turning point of the Vietnamese revolution, creating a nuclear factor that gathered the strength of national unity, closely combining national strength with the strength of the times.
This is the most important premise for the next steps of development and for all future victories of the nation, including the first brilliant milestone of successfully carrying out the August Revolution.
At the Party Founding Conference, the Party's Brief Platform defined the mission of the Vietnamese revolution as "Overthrowing French imperialism and feudalism, making Vietnam completely independent."
After that, the Party's strategic lines and tactics were constantly supplemented and developed to suit each revolutionary stage, clearly demonstrated through the Party Central Committee Conferences in November 1939 and November 1940, especially the 8th Central Committee Conference (May 1941).
No matter the stage, the Party always puts the task of national liberation first. The Central Conference in November 1939 clearly stated that "The path to survival of the Indochinese peoples has no other way than to overthrow French imperialism, fight against all foreign invaders, regardless of whether they are white or yellow, to gain independence and liberation."
The 8th Central Conference (May 1941) emphasized: "The task of national liberation and independence for the country is the first task of our Party."
Stating that the revolutionary method is armed uprising, "The Indochina revolution must end with an armed uprising," our Party advocates preparing our forces well, so that "with the available forces, we can lead a partial uprising in each locality and still achieve victory, paving the way for a great general uprising."
On March 9, 1945, Japanese fascists staged a coup to overthrow French colonialists to monopolize Indochina. Faced with this development, on March 12, 1945, the Party Central Committee promptly issued a historic directive: “Japan and France are fighting each other and our actions”. The directive clearly stated that the enemy of the revolution at this time was Japanese fascists. Therefore, our Party launched a strong anti-Japanese, national salvation movement to lay the foundation for the General Uprising. Specifically, all forms of propaganda, agitation, organization and struggle must be changed appropriately; ready to move to the General Uprising.
In fact, the building of revolutionary forces was carried out very early. Right from its inception, with a correct political platform, our Party gathered the forces and strength of the entire nation, creating a large-scale revolutionary movement throughout the country, mobilizing the masses to participate, with rich and diverse forms of struggle.
Under the leadership of the Party, the masses carried out the revolutionary movement of 1930-1931, the democratic movement of 1936-1939 and the national liberation movement of 1939-1945. During that time, our Party made great efforts to build and develop revolutionary forces to prepare conditions for the General Uprising.
By 1941, the 8th Central Conference (May 1941) advocated further strengthening the great national unity bloc, aiming to gather all classes, all strata, all parties, all ethnic groups, all individuals, all those with revolutionary spirit, patriotism, fighting against French imperialism, Japanese fascism and their lackeys.
During the pre-uprising period, the Party led our people to prepare in every way for the General Uprising. The Vietnamese people, especially the masses in the National Salvation organizations, had long been determined to fight and were ready to sacrifice to gain independence.
At the Conference, our Party established the Viet Minh Front, gathering all classes and strata to unite through associations: Farmers for National Salvation, Workers for National Salvation, Youth for National Salvation, Women for National Salvation, Children for National Salvation... to create a broad and solid bloc of great national solidarity.
The role and great strength of the Viet Minh Front were clearly demonstrated in practice, with strong appeal and appeal to the masses to rise up and fight for national liberation.
To meet the requirements of the revolution, on December 22, 1944, following the direction of President Ho Chi Minh, the Liberation Propaganda Team (the predecessor of the Vietnam People's Army) was established with the task of armed propaganda activities, combining politics with the military.
By mid-April 1945, to speed up preparations for the uprising, President Ho Chi Minh and the Party Central Committee convened a Northern Military Conference, agreeing to merge the Vietnam Propaganda Liberation Army and the National Salvation Army into the Vietnam Liberation Army. The political revolutionary force and the armed forces continuously matured and grew stronger.
From 1940 to 1945, the Party actively directed the construction and consolidation of revolutionary bases. In just a short time, we built a large Viet Bac base area, including most of the rural areas of six provinces: Cao Bang, Bac Kan, Lang Son, Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang, Thai Nguyen, along with many other war zones and armed bases, such as Bac Giang, Vinh Yen, Phuc Yen, Phu Tho, Yen Bai, Hai Duong, Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa, Quang Ngai, etc.
These are truly important places that direct the process of building and developing revolutionary forces, and are the nerve centers that lead the uprising forces nationwide.
Thus, in the pre-uprising period, the Party led our people to prepare in all aspects for the General Uprising. The Vietnamese people, especially the masses in the National Salvation organizations, had long been determined to fight and were ready to sacrifice to gain independence.
Seize the opportunity to revolt and win
Seizing the right opportunity to revolt is a matter of decisive significance to the victory of every revolution. Fully aware of the decisive nature and strategic significance of the opportunity to revolt, our Party and President Ho Chi Minh acted promptly and resolutely in the August 1945 General Uprising.
The opportunity for the August Revolution in 1945 appeared when the Japanese fascists surrendered to the Allies, the Japanese command in Indochina was extremely divided, the Japanese soldiers were disbanded, lost their morale, and the pro-Japanese Vietnamese were frightened. At the same time, this was also the time when all preparations of our Party in terms of forces, policies, and combat strategies were completed, and the national salvation movement of the entire people had reached its peak.
Partial uprisings broke out and were victorious in many areas. Liberated zones and bases were established throughout the country, revolutionary armies were formed, and all forces were ready for combat.
The revolutionary opportunity existed only from the time the Japanese fascists surrendered to the Allies until before the Allies entered Vietnam. That was when the old enemy had stood still, but the new enemy had not yet arrived, creating a situation of balance of power most favorable to the revolution.
Fully aware of the decisive nature and strategic significance of the uprising opportunity, our Party and President Ho Chi Minh acted promptly and resolutely in the August 1945 General Uprising.
Therefore, on August 12, 1945, the Provisional Command Committee of the Liberated Zone issued an uprising order. On August 13, 1945, the National Uprising Committee issued Military Order No. 1, ordering a general uprising.
On August 14 and 15, 1945, the Party's National Conference discussed plans to launch and lead the uprising. The conference pointed out: "The situation is extremely urgent. Everything must be aimed at three principles: a) Concentration - concentration of forces on key tasks; b) Unification - unification in all aspects of military, politics, action and command; c) Timeliness - timely action, not missing opportunities."
On August 16, 1945, the National Congress met and passed a resolution on seizing national power and implementing ten major policies of the Viet Minh; the National Liberation Committee was established with 15 members, with Ho Chi Minh as Chairman.
On August 18, 1945, President Ho Chi Minh sent a letter calling for a general uprising: “The decisive hour for the destiny of our nation has come. The whole nation, let us rise up and use our own strength to liberate ourselves… We cannot delay.”
Responding to President Ho Chi Minh's call, under the leadership of the Party, the entire Vietnamese people rose up together. The Vietnamese Revolution quickly moved from partial uprisings to a general uprising. Thanks to careful preparation of forces, and breaking out at the right time and right opportunity, the August Revolution quickly achieved victory.
On September 2, 1945, at Ba Dinh Square, President Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence, giving birth to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, opening a new era for the nation - the era of independence and freedom.
Open a new era for the nation
The victory of the August Revolution in 1945 was the convergence of the strength of great national unity, the tradition of ardent patriotism and the indomitable will of the entire Vietnamese people under the leadership of the Party.
This victory demonstrated the courage and intelligence of the Party, headed by President Ho Chi Minh, who chose the right revolutionary path with strategic vision, acumen, and the ability to grasp and seize the right opportunity.
The August Revolution opened a new era: the era of national liberation associated with the liberation of the working class and working people, the era of national independence associated with socialism. This was truly a leap forward in the history of the development of the Vietnamese nation.
The victory of the August Revolution proved that, even a small nation, if it has a tradition of ardent patriotism, a will of self-reliance, solidarity, and creativity under the leadership of a genuine revolutionary Party, can create great events of historic significance for the nation and the world.
Nearly eight decades have passed, and we are more deeply aware of the stature and great historical significance of the August Revolution of 1945.
The victory of the August Revolution broke the chains of slavery of French colonialism that lasted for more than 80 years, of Japanese fascism for nearly 5 years, and of the pain of losing the country that lasted for nearly a century; at the same time, it overthrew the feudal regime that had existed for thousands of years, bringing Vietnam from the position of a colony to an independent country under the democratic republic, bringing the Vietnamese people from the status of slaves to independent, free citizens, masters of their country.
The August Revolution opened a new era: the era of national liberation associated with the liberation of the working class and working people, the era of national independence associated with socialism. This was truly a leap forward in the history of the development of the Vietnamese nation.
Not only a brilliant milestone in the history of the Vietnamese nation, the August Revolution of 1945 was also an event of epochal stature and profound international significance.
For the first time in history, a small nation fought to liberate itself from the yoke of colonialism. This was a great source of encouragement and motivation for colonial nations and oppressed and exploited people around the world to fight for national independence, democracy and social progress.
The victory of the August Revolution left many lessons for Vietnam in later wars against invaders and in the current cause of national construction and development.
That is a lesson about the determination to adjust the revolutionary line when necessary, on the basis of correct revolutionary strategic direction and consistent revolutionary goals. In the process of leadership and direction, our Party has constantly supplemented, developed and concretized the line to suit the domestic and international situation.
It is a lesson about seizing opportunities and taking advantage of opportunities to gain victory. The art of seizing opportunities of President Ho Chi Minh in the August Revolution of 1945 is always a valuable lesson for both the present and the future, being inherited and promoted by our Party and people, contributing to creating great achievements of historical significance in the cause of national construction.
It is a lesson in gathering, uniting, and attracting all people to participate in the revolutionary cause and in the cause of national construction; raising the awareness of self-reliance, promoting all creative potential of the nation, and at the same time expanding international cooperation.
It is a lesson in building and consolidating national defense and people's security; maintaining political and social stability, maintaining a peaceful and stable environment, creating favorable conditions for national construction and development.
79 years have passed since the Vietnamese people officially took control of the country. Although the path has been bumpy and thorny, the spirit of uprising and the historical experience of the August Revolution have always been a source of strength for our entire Party and people to continue writing glorious pages of history./.
![[Photo] Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chairs Government Conference with localities on economic growth](https://vstatic.vietnam.vn/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2025/2/21/f34583484f2643a2a2b72168a0d64baa)
Comment (0)