President Ho Chi Minh and the victory of the August Revolution.

(Baonghean.vn) - The history of the past 72 years has affirmed that the August Revolution of 1945 and the birth of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam were the result of President Ho Chi Minh's 30-year journey to find a way to save the country, and the inevitable result of his immense contributions in preparing for the liberation revolution since his return to the country.

On June 5, 1911, the patriotic young man Nguyen Tat Thanh departed for the West with the determination to regain independence and freedom for his nation. This was a journey of the century, the origin of transformations not only in his own understanding but also the starting point for choosing a new path to national salvation and liberation for the Vietnamese people.

Uncle Ho worked as a kitchen assistant on the ship that took him on his journey to find a way to save the country in 1911. (Archival photo)

Traveling through many countries around the world, working and observing, studying the theories and experiences of typical bourgeois revolutions, such as the French bourgeois revolution and the American War of Independence, and participating in the activities of the French Socialist Party, he drew many valuable and useful lessons, which formed the basis for choosing his own revolutionary path.

In July 1920, after being exposed to and absorbing the fundamental ideas of V.I. Lenin in the First Draft of the Theses on the National and Colonial Questions, Uncle Ho found the only correct path to save the country and liberate our nation.

That means carrying out the national liberation revolution along the path of the proletarian revolution, linking national independence with socialism, and connecting the national liberation revolutionary movement in the country with the world revolutionary movement. He affirmed: "To save the country and liberate the nation, there is no other way than the path of the proletarian revolution."

Nguyen Ai Quoc at the French Socialist Party congress in Tours in 1920. He was one of the founders of the French Communist Party. (Archival photo)

After discovering the path to national liberation, Uncle Ho promoted and prepared the necessary conditions, guiding the Vietnamese people's struggle along the path of proletarian revolution, thereby steering the Vietnamese revolutionary ship through storms and rapids to the shores of victory.

On February 3, 1930, in Hong Kong, China, Nguyen Ai Quoc chaired the conference to unify three communist organizations and establish the Communist Party of Vietnam. Fifteen years later, the Party successfully led the August Revolution.

The August Revolution was the first revolution in the first stage of the Vietnamese revolutionary path following the proletarian revolutionary line, aiming to achieve the goal of liberating "the nation, the class, and the people" as defined by President Ho Chi Minh - that is, the stage of national liberation.

On January 28, 1941, after many years abroad searching for a way to save the country, Uncle Ho returned to Vietnam to directly lead the Vietnamese revolutionary movement. In May 1941, at Pac Bo, he chaired the 8th Central Committee Conference of the Indochinese Communist Party.

President Ho Chi Minh working in Pac Bo (Cao Bang) after a 30-year journey to find a way to save the country. (Archival photo)

The conference decided that the banner of national liberation needed to be raised even higher because, "At this time, the interests of any group or class must be subordinated to the life and death, the survival of the nation and the people. At this time, if we cannot solve the problem of national liberation, if we cannot demand independence and freedom for the entire nation, then not only will the entire nation continue to suffer the fate of being enslaved, but the interests of any group or class will never be reclaimed, even after thousands of years."

Thanks to the successful strategic shift in direction and the formulation of specific, appropriate policies to address the revolution's primary goal of national independence, the Party and President Ho Chi Minh were able to unite revolutionary forces, regardless of whether they were workers, peasants, rich farmers, landlords, or indigenous capitalists, into the Vietnam Independence League (Viet Minh), forming a broad and solid national unity bloc that decisively contributed to the victory of the August Revolution.

Vietnam Liberation Army Propaganda Teamthe predecessor of the Vietnam People's ArmyToday. Archival photo.

Along with building political forces, President Ho Chi Minh placed special emphasis on building revolutionary armed forces. In 1944, he instructed the establishment of the Vietnam Propaganda and Liberation Army - the predecessor of the Vietnam People's Army - with the guiding principle that "politics is more important than military affairs."

In late 1944 and early 1945, the international situation underwent rapid changes, and the revolutionary movement in the country developed widely. Seizing the opportunity, Uncle Ho called on the people of the whole country: "The decisive moment for the destiny of our nation has arrived. All compatriots throughout the country, rise up and use your own strength to liberate yourselves."

The Party's General Uprising Order and President Ho Chi Minh's call served as a national rallying cry, urging people to go to war. People throughout the country rose up simultaneously to seize power, uniting to create "an incredibly powerful and immense wave, sweeping away all dangers and difficulties, and overwhelming all traitors and invaders." And in just 15 days (from August 14th to 28th, 1945), the General Uprising achieved complete victory, ending the domination of French colonialism, Japanese fascism, and the feudal regime, and returning power to the people.

The General Uprising Order. Archival photo.

On September 2, 1945, in Ba Dinh Square, adorned with flags and flowers, President Ho Chi Minh, on behalf of the Provisional Government, solemnly read the Declaration of Independence, proclaiming to the world: “The Vietnamese nation has the right to enjoy freedom and independence, and in reality has become a free and independent nation. The entire Vietnamese people are determined to dedicate all their spirit and strength, lives and property, to safeguard that right to freedom and independence.”

The success of the August Revolution in 1945 was a victory for Ho Chi Minh's ideology and the correct revolutionary line of our Party: national independence linked with socialism, harnessing national strength in conjunction with the strength of the times. This victory also strongly encouraged the national liberation movements in countries oppressed by imperialist colonialism.

On the morning of September 2, 1945, at the historic Ba Dinh Square, President Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence, giving birth to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. (Archival photo)

This year, the entire Party, army, and people of Vietnam are commemorating the 72nd anniversary of the successful August Revolution and National Day on September 2nd; it is also the 48th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's passing. During these historic autumn days, millions of hearts across the country are turning towards the historic Ba Dinh Square, where our beloved President Ho Chi Minh rests in peace, with boundless gratitude for his immense contributions and a promise of unwavering unity, trust, and commitment to following the revolutionary path chosen by the Party and President Ho Chi Minh.

Peace

(Synthetic)