On August 19, 1945, the August Revolution succeeded in the capital Hanoi.

On August 19, 1945, after a rally at the Opera House Square, the people of the capital occupied the Bac Bo Palace, the headquarters of the French puppet government in the North. (Source: VNA documents)

From early morning, Hanoi was red with the revolutionary flag. Tens of thousands of farmers and poor people, with primitive weapons from Lang and Moc, marched out to occupy the Hoan Long agency, declared the establishment of a revolutionary government in the Nga Tu So area, and started the uprising in the inner city.

Tens of thousands of people from the suburbs, from Thanh Tri, Thuong Tin, Phu Xuyen, Hoai Duc, Dan Phuong (Ha Dong), Gia Lam ( Bac Ninh ) districts, carrying Viet Minh flags, sticks, machetes, knives, sickles, and sickles, entered the inner city with the force of a waterfall. All gathered in front of the Opera House. The whole city of Hanoi seemed to shake with the shouts of slogans: "Support Viet Minh", "Revolutionary People's Government", "Long live the Revolution", "Establish a Revolutionary Militia Committee", "Vietnam is completely independent", "Down with invasions", "Down with all forces against the Vietnamese revolution", "Against invasion"...

At exactly 11 o'clock, in front of more than 200,000 people gathered in front of the Opera House, the Uprising Committee read the call for uprising. After that, the rally turned into an armed demonstration to seize power. The revolutionary masses led by self-defense armed units divided into two large groups to occupy important positions: the Imperial Commissioner's Palace, the Post Office , the Police Department...

The order for a general uprising to seize power was widely broadcast on August 19, 1945. (Photo: VNA documents)

Faced with the overwhelming power of the masses and the steadfast self-defense forces, most of the enemy government offices were quickly handed over to the people. Particularly at the Bao An military camp, the Japanese sent tanks to block the protesters, but faced with the seething spirit of the masses, and convinced by our comrades, who explained the Party and Viet Minh's policies, they had to retreat.

As soon as the Imperial Commissioner's Palace was captured, the Standing Committee member of the Northern Regional Party Committee who was present there called the Mayors and Governors of the provinces of Hai Phong, Hai Duong, Bac Ninh, Ha Nam, and Nam Dinh to report that the revolution had succeeded in Hanoi, and ordered them to quickly hand over power to the local Viet Minh. On the evening of August 19, the uprising to seize power in Hanoi ended in victory.

The victory of the uprising in Hanoi was of great significance.

For more than half a century, Hanoi was the capital of French Indochina. The victory of the Hanoi uprising symbolized the collapse of the colonial regime in our country.

The successful uprising in Hanoi was a fatal blow to the Japanese puppet regime throughout the country, pushing them to complete despair, disintegration and surrender to the revolution.

The rally to launch the uprising to seize power organized by the Viet Minh Front at the Hanoi Opera House on August 19, 1945. (Photo: VNA archive)

The successful uprising in Hanoi was like a resounding bomb that quickly spread everywhere, encouraging and motivating the people of the whole country to quickly rise up and seize power. Almost all the northern provinces to Thanh Hoa and Nghe An followed Hanoi in launching the uprising. When the army of the Republic of China government had just entered the provincial capital in the upper region, all the midlands and deltas were covered with revolutionary flags. Power was in the hands of the people.

The victory in Hanoi created conditions for the Party Central Committee and leader Ho Chi Minh to move their headquarters to Hanoi, from there directing the General Uprising throughout the country to complete victory, preparing conditions to welcome the Allied troops.

The victory of the uprising in Hanoi was also important in suggesting a method of uprising to "seize power without bloodshed in places where there were conflicts with the Japanese and the pro-Japanese puppet government, or in places where we had already gained power but the government was not yet stable."

Comrade Truong Chinh commented: “The victory of the uprising in the North, including Hanoi and Hue, was the decisive victory of the uprising. The victory of the North created conditions and encouraged the people in the South and the areas that had not been liberated to rise up and seize power without further delay”[1].

The victory of the uprising in the North, including Hanoi and Hue, was a decisive victory of the uprising. The victory of the North created conditions and encouraged the people in the South and the areas that had not been liberated to rise up and seize power without further delay.
Comrade Truong Chinh

In Thai Nguyen, on the morning of August 19, the Propaganda Team of Vo Nhai District (Thai Nguyen) mobilized the people and militia of Dong Bam Commune to enter the town. People from all the streets marched in a show of power. The Japanese troops stationed in the town were frightened and retreated to their barracks for defense.

In harmony with the uprising in Hanoi, the people of Thai Binh, Phuc Yen, and Khanh Hoa provinces, under the leadership of the Party and the Viet Minh Front, rose up and successfully seized power in the provincial capitals on the same day.

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[1] Comrade Truong Chinh's answer to the August Revolution, kept at the Institute of Party History.

Ngoc Toan - Nhandan.vn

Source: https://nhandan.vn/ngay-1981945-cach-mang-thang-tam-thanh-cong-tai-thu-do-ha-noi-post900562.html