The general who led the General Uprising to seize power in Hanoi when he was only 23 years old

At the age of 23, he was Secretary of the City Party Committee, leading the people of Hanoi to rise up and carry out a general uprising to seize power, making an important contribution to the success of the August Revolution.

He is General Nguyen Quyet (1922-2024).

General Nguyen Quyet (real name Nguyen Tien Van), was born in Hung Yen. In 1937, when he was only 15 years old, he left his hometown for Hanoi , worked as a secretary and publisher for the Torch of Wisdom Newspaper - the newspaper of the Northern Buddhist Center and quickly participated in the activities of the democratic movement launched by the Indochinese Communist Party.

With his active participation in mass mobilization work and through a process of testing, at the age of 18 he was admitted to the Indochinese Communist Party.

General Nguyen Quyet (third from left in the front row) during a meeting with cadres who participated in the August Revolution in 1945. (Photo: Document)

In November 1944, he was appointed by the Party and Uncle Ho as Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee. Becoming the head of the Hanoi Party Committee's leadership, he and his comrades in the Party Committee both directed and directly organized, built, trained and sourced weapons and military equipment for the worker-peasant armed self-defense teams.

Notably, just a few months after taking office, on the night of August 17, 1945, under the chairmanship of Secretary Nguyen Quyet, the Hanoi Party Committee held an urgent meeting and made a historic decision: Hanoi launched an uprising on August 19, 1945, overthrowing the puppet government and establishing a revolutionary government; an uprising with local forces.

On the morning of August 19, 1945, the whole of Hanoi was red with revolutionary flags. According to the plan, tens of thousands of farmers and poor people were gathered into teams in Lang and Moc, marched to Nga Tu So, and advanced to occupy Dai Ly Hoan Long before entering the inner city. After that, the huge rally of nearly 200,000 people turned into a demonstration of the masses, with self-defense and propaganda units leading the charge, divided into two large blocks occupying positions according to the planned plan.

A mass group occupied the Imperial Commissioner's office and won a quick victory. Another group occupied the security camp, and the self-defense force quickly occupied important positions in the camp. Under pressure from the masses, by 5:00 p.m. on August 19, the Japanese army was forced to withdraw from Hanoi.

Assessing the August 1945 General Uprising in Hanoi, General Secretary Truong Chinh once commented: "The Hanoi Party Committee firmly grasped the Party's and Uncle Ho's guidelines and policies, and knew how to creatively apply the specific situation at that time to seize power."

Regarding General Nguyen Quyet, comrade Truong Chinh emphasized: “In that unique historical opportunity, there appeared intelligent people who were trained in the revolutionary environment, whose hearts and minds not only relied on ardent patriotism but also had excellent qualities, sharp judgments about the possibility of victory of the revolution with a special sensitivity to the times. The leadership of Hanoi at that time was all young people, under 30, headed by Secretary of the City Party Committee Nguyen Quyet, who was only 23 years old and had gone through 6 years of training in the revolutionary struggle. It was truly wonderful”.

After the August Revolution, General Nguyen Quyet was assigned many important positions: Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Vice Chairman of the State Council, Director of the General Political Department of the Vietnam People's Army... He was considered a talented, resourceful general, good at military affairs, steadfast, sharp, and politically astute. At the same time, he was a virtuous cadre, always devoted to the people and the country, loved his comrades and teammates very much, and always set a shining example of a military general.

With his outstanding achievements and contributions, he was awarded many noble prizes by the Party and State: Gold Star Order; Ho Chi Minh Order; First and Third Class Military Exploit Orders; First Class Exploit Order; First Class Victory Order; two First Class Resistance Medals against France and America; and Victory Flag Medal.

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Source: https://vtcnews.vn/vi-tuong-lanh-dao-tong-khoi-nghia-gianh-quyen-o-ha-noi-khi-moi-23-tuoi-ar960311.html