A fervent atmosphere in the heart of Southern Vietnam.

The South, the "impregnable fortress of the Fatherland," was ablaze with revolutionary fervor from a very early age. Even before the nationwide uprising erupted in the 1930s, the seeds of revolutionary culture had already begun to sprout quietly within the urban centers of Saigon-Chợ Lớn-Gia Định. Through musical gatherings, historical seminars, speeches, and strikes, generations of intellectual youth in schools like Pétrus Ký, Gia Long, and Chasseloup-Laubat embraced progressive ideas, nurtured patriotic ideals, and ignited the flame of resistance. Students like Lưu Hữu Phước, Huỳnh Văn Tiểng, and Mai Văn Bộ initiated this spiritual revolution with "The Call of Youth," a song that resonated throughout Saigon and then spread across Indochina, becoming the anthem of the Indochina Student Union.

Among those fervent movements, one cannot fail to mention Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, a woman with the fiery heart of a warrior and the intellect of an outstanding political leader. Born in Nghe An, Saigon was the place she chose to dedicate herself completely to her ideals. In 1939, amidst the height of French colonial repression, she served as the Secretary of the Saigon-Chợ Lớn City Party Committee, traversing impoverished alleyways, entering factories and classrooms to rebuild the Party's base and ignite the struggle of workers, students, and intellectuals. Arrested during the Southern Uprising, she remained steadfast, refusing to confess or surrender. During her imprisonment at the Catinat police station, once considered a "crushing furnace" by the French colonialists, she inscribed a poem on the wall that continues to move generations to this day:

On the night of November 22nd and the early morning of November 23rd, 1940, Southern Vietnam was shaken. Twenty out of the 21 provinces in the region rose up simultaneously, with prominent localities such as My Tho, Gia Dinh, Tra Vinh , and Long Xuyen maintaining widespread revolutionary movements among the masses. In My Tho alone, the people took control of 54 out of 56 communes, demonstrating a fierce uprising and a spirit of selfless dedication and sacrifice. Although the uprising was suppressed, the movement left its mark through the blood and unwavering loyalty of thousands of outstanding individuals who were executed or imprisoned, including steadfast leaders such as Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Phan Dang Luu, and Ha Huy Tap, who embodied the revolutionary ideal and ignited the flame for succeeding generations.

People in Saigon responded to the call for a general uprising issued by the Central Committee of the Party and President Ho Chi Minh. (Archival photo)

Along with guns and red flags, strikes by workers in Saigon-Chợ Lớn, student movements demanding the release of patriotic fighters, and the vocal voices of the revolutionary press began to erupt. Significantly, in the transitional and precarious context of the struggle for influence between the French and Japanese powers, it was the spirit of solidarity among farmers, workers, and intellectuals in Southern Vietnam that wove a broad, flexible, and proactive revolutionary front.

In mid-August 1945, when Japan declared its unconditional surrender to the Allies, the colonial order throughout Indochina fractured into fragments. In that historic moment, the sudden late-summer rains were unable to extinguish the revolutionary fire burning in the hearts of the people of the South. The power vacuum left by the Japanese army became a precious opportunity for the revolutionary forces, under the leadership of the Southern Regional Party Committee, to mobilize the entire population to rise up and seize power swiftly, decisively, and without bloodshed.

The revolutionary fervor spread like wildfire across the entire Southern region. In My Tho, under the leadership of the Southern Regional Party Committee and the My Tho Provincial Party Committee, the people rose up on August 18th and successfully seized power that same day. Following this, power was successively transferred to the people in Go Cong on August 22nd, Can Tho on August 26th, and then spread to Long Xuyen, Tra Vinh, Bac Lieu, Vinh Long, and many other provinces. Within just half a month, from cities to rural areas, from guerrilla groups in the mangrove forests to literacy classes held at night, from workers to intellectuals, the revolutionary spirit was present everywhere. The revolutionary bases formed from the people's hearts, the silent, persistent, yet courageous activities, created a truly resilient and silent "revolutionary foundation" in the South, making a significant contribution to the victory of the August Revolution nationwide.

On the night of August 24th and the early morning of August 25th, tens of thousands of people from Saigon-Chợ Lớn-Gia Định and neighboring provinces such as Thủ Dầu Một, Biên Hòa, Mỹ Tho... flocked to the city center. In the fervent revolutionary atmosphere, the masses, in coordination with revolutionary organizations, simultaneously seized key institutions: the Governor's Palace of Cochinchina, the City Hall, the radio station, the treasury, Chí Hòa prison, Bàn Cờ outposts, Ông Lãnh bridge...

At the Saigon Opera House, once a symbol of colonial urban culture, the Provisional Administrative Committee of Southern Vietnam was launched amidst the jubilant excitement of a sea of ​​people. Red flags with yellow stars covered the streets and fluttered atop the Governor's Palace (now the Ho Chi Minh City Museum), signaling the complete victory of the General Uprising in the heartland of Southern Vietnam.

The echoes of August still linger...

In his memoirs, Tran Van Giau, Secretary of the Southern Regional Party Committee, summarized three core principles that contributed to the success of the General Uprising in the South. Firstly, the revolution in the South had to be closely linked to the nationwide movement, inseparable from the resistance in the North and Central regions; therefore, the primary task was to establish contact with the Central Committee for unified leadership. Secondly, the Saigon-Chợ Lớn-Gia Định area had to be the key target, because only by controlling the enemy's nerve center could the revolution achieve comprehensive victory. And thirdly, the General Uprising could not be the isolated act of a small group, but had to be a widespread uprising with the participation of a large number of people.

The swift and relatively low-loss victory of the August General Uprising in the South stemmed from the people's intense patriotism, their tradition of tenacious struggle, the proactive and flexible preparation of the revolutionary forces, and the participation of a wide range of social classes, creating a combined strength at the decisive moment.

The August Revolution in the South left behind valuable lessons about self-reliance, national unity, and creative organization. Even in Saigon—the political and economic center of the South—mass movements knew how to seize every opportunity, uniting workers, farmers, intellectuals, and students into a solid bloc. This lesson reminds us to develop our internal strengths, connect communities, and preserve national ideals so that, regardless of the circumstances, we can still rise up with the resilience to do so.

That spirit is still being inherited and renewed by the younger generation today through many creative approaches. In Ho Chi Minh City, FPT University students launched the "Head Star" campaign to connect modern students with the flow of national history. With the cooperation of the Saigon-Gia Dinh Commando Museum, the Veterans Association, and the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union, the group restored over 200 historical documentary photos using digital technology, vividly recreating moments of glorious struggle, especially in the urban battlefields of Southern Vietnam during the 1945-1975 period.

To Viet Phuoc Khoi, representative of the "Star Head Hat" project management team, shared: "For us, August 19th is a special historical milestone, a symbol of the spirit of dedication, initiative, and the courage to change the nation's destiny. Especially in the South, a place seemingly far from the central command, the strength of the people's will was profoundly demonstrated; everyone rose up unexpectedly. It was a revolution nurtured by courage and wisdom. When recreating history, we want to convey that very spirit so that history does not stand still in museums, but lives vividly in the hearts of young people."

Eighty years have passed, and the roads that once echoed with the shouts of the revolution have transformed into modern highways, metro lines xuyên the city center, dynamic industrial zones, and smart cities. Ho Chi Minh City in particular, and the Southern region in general, continue to uphold the spirit of "unity, innovation, pioneering spirit, and compassion," along with the characteristic qualities of "daring to think, daring to act, and daring to take responsibility" in the journey of building the homeland. The spiritual legacy from the August Revolution continues to be revived and preserved as a sustainable driving force for the country's development today.

KIEU OANH

    Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/80-nam-cach-mang-thang-tam-va-quoc-khanh-2-9/khuc-trang-ca-thang-tam-phia-troi-nam-843146