Hanoi before the historic moment of 1946

In the winter of 70 years ago, President Ho Chi Minh wrote a call for national resistance and at exactly 8:03 p.m. on December 19, 1946, gunshots from Lang fortress signaled the beginning of the resistance war against the French.

Hang Dao and Cau Go Streets (Hanoi) in 1946. Photo: Vietnam Military History Museum.

Immediately after its establishment on September 2, 1945, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam faced a "life-threatening" situation. The economy was exhausted, the treasury had only 1.2 million Indochinese piastres left, still in the hands of French capitalists. Chiang Kai-shek's army brought "quan kim" and "quoc tien" to spend, causing market disorder. Floods occurred in many places, famine was rampant.

"There were many days when I woke up in the morning, opened the door and saw an oxcart full of corpses of people who died of starvation passing by," Colonel Nguyen Trong Ham (former Deputy Chief of Staff of the Capital Military Region) recalled.

Although Vietnam had gained independence, no country had recognized it. From the 16th parallel onwards, nearly 200,000 Chiang Kai-shek troops marched into the North and colluded with the reactionary Viet Quoc and Viet Cach parties to loot and kill the people. In the South, more than 100,000 British troops used the pretext of disarming the Japanese, but in reality, they paved the way for the French colonialists to return and invade Vietnam once again. Meanwhile, the armed forces of the fledgling state were still very small.

On September 23, 1945, supported by British troops, France opened fire on Saigon and several places in the South, officially invading Vietnam for the second time. About 600,000 Japanese troops were waiting for orders to disarm, but some had already cleared the way for the French to expand their occupation in the South.

At the end of November 1946, the French army attacked the North, occupying Hai Phong, Lang Son town and Da Nang. In Hanoi, on December 17, they destroyed the fortifications of the capital's army and people on Hang Bun - Yen Ninh streets, causing bloodshed in the Long Bien bridge area and Cua Dong. One day later, General Louis Morlière sent the Vietnamese government an ultimatum demanding the occupation of the Finance Department, the dissolution of the self-defense force, and the handover of security control in Hanoi.

If the above requests are not carried out, by the morning of December 20, 1946 at the latest, the French army will take action.

Colonel Nguyen Trong Ham.

Steps to prepare for a long-term resistance

Determining that "sooner or later the French would attack us and we would definitely have to attack the French", the Party Central Committee issued a directive for the entire people to resist, emphasizing that the resistance strategy was all-people, comprehensive, long-term and self-reliant. The whole country was divided into 12 war zones, of which Hanoi was war zone 11. The Regional Party Committee, the Protection Committee, and the Hanoi Front Command were established.

In early December 1946, warehouses, factories, and weapons production facilities in Hanoi were moved to the countryside and mountains to prevent the war from spreading. The Central Party, Government, National Assembly, Front, and General Command offices moved to the Viet Bac Safe Zone. Hanoi became a battlefield, with armed forces including 5 National Guard battalions, 4 artillery platoons, and Self-Defense Forces fighting in Hoang Dieu Citadel. The Self-Defense Forces dug trenches, broke through walls connecting houses to other houses, and built fighting mounds.

On December 18-19, 1946, in Van Phuc village (Ha Dong), the Central Party Standing Committee met and decided to launch a nationwide resistance war. On December 19, in the attic of the house in Van Phuc village, President Ho wrote the Call for National Resistance and one day later, the Voice of Vietnam radio broadcast it.

"My fellow countrymen? We want peace. We must make concessions. But the more we make concessions, the more the French colonialists encroach because they are determined to take over our country again! No! We would rather sacrifice everything than lose our country, than become slaves," President Ho wrote.

Calling on "any man or woman, regardless of religion, party, ethnicity, any old person, any young person, all Vietnamese people must stand up to fight the French colonialists to save the Fatherland", President Ho affirmed: "The time to save the country has come. We must sacrifice to the last drop of blood, to preserve the country. But with a resolute determination to sacrifice, no matter how hard the resistance war is, victory will definitely belong to our people!".

At exactly 8:03 p.m. on December 19, 1946, gunshots from Lang fortress signaled the beginning of the nationwide resistance war.

Having participated in the fighting team at Lang Fort on the night of December 19, Mr. Do Van Da recalled: “At around 8:00 p.m., the lights in the city suddenly went out, and the signal flares were fired. The platoon leader shouted: Fire. Six bullets from two cannons were fired into the inner city. At this time, the artillery positions from many directions and the soldiers and civilians in the city simultaneously opened fire. Standing from the artillery position, looking into the city, all you could see was a corner of the sky glowing red.”

Lang Fortress Battlefield, where the first shot was fired, opening the 60 days and nights of trapping the enemy in the heart of Hanoi.

The artillery shell opened the 60 days and nights of fighting by the army and people of Hanoi with the aim of pinning down the French army in the city, creating conditions for the Central Government to have enough time to withdraw to the safe war zone, helping the whole country proactively prepare to enter the 9-year long resistance war against the French.

According to VNE