From Nghe Tinh Soviet to the historic August triumphal song
“Although the French imperialists suppressed the movement in a sea of blood, the Nghe Tinh Soviet demonstrated the heroic spirit and revolutionary capacity of the Vietnamese working people. Although the movement failed, it forged the forces for the later victorious August Revolution,” President Ho Chi Minh’s assessment highlighted the historical significance of the 1930-1931 high tide for the historic August Revolution. In Nghe An and Ha Tinh, this was most clearly demonstrated.
In the work "Lighting up the revolutionary spirit of the Nghe Tinh Soviet" by Colonel, Master Ngo Dinh Phiem affirmed,Nghe Tinh Sovietwas the first rehearsal of the Party and revolutionary masses in preparation for the August 1945 General Uprising with four great historical significances.
First, it was the affirmation that the revolutionary line set forth by our Party was correct, opening the revolutionary stage following the creative line based on the scientific theory of Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh thought. Next, it was the formation of the worker-peasant alliance and the promotion of the solidarity of the working class and peasants in the revolutionary struggle. Third, it was the first rehearsal for the August 1945 General Uprising later.
Besides, this movement was highly appreciated in the international communist and workers' movement. Therefore, the Communist International recognized: The Indochinese Communist Party was an independent branch under the Communist International. In particular, the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement left valuable lessons on ideological work, building the worker-peasant alliance, the national united front as well as organizing and leading the masses in the struggle.
According to the work "Nghe Tinh Soviet of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee", revolutionary soldiers in the period of 1930 - 1931 became the active nucleus of the climaxes of 1936 - 1939 and 1939 - 1945.
The Nghe Tinh Soviet alone had a large contingent of cadres and masses: 183 Party cells with 2,011 party members, 48,484 farmers' association members, 8,648 liberated women...
From February 1930, the entire Party had only 500 members. By October 1930, the number of party members increased to 1,600 and by May 1931, it reached 2,400. Of which, the number of party members of Nghe An Party Committee was 907, Ha Tinh was 376. (Thus, the number of party members of the two Party Committees of Nghe An and Ha Tinh accounted for 53.5% of the total number of party members nationwide).
From the experience of the Nghe Tinh Soviet, in the following historical stages, our Party paid great attention to establishing the National United Front, especially the Viet Minh Front, which highly promoted the national factor, creating a great driving force, leading to the success of the August Revolution in 1945.
The system of important Party documents still stored at the Nghe Tinh Soviet Museum has shown that,Nghe Tinh Sovietaffirmed in practice the leadership and leadership capacity of the working class and its vanguard party. At the same time, this was the first general rehearsal of the national democratic revolution in Vietnam. It is called a general rehearsal because through this movement, a series of basic issues on strategic lines and revolutionary methods were tested and brought useful experiences for the following revolutionary process, especially in the August Revolution of 1945.
From a revolutionary force that has been forged through hardships, challenges and valuable lessons, it is the basis for our Party to apply, supplement and develop the revolutionary line for national liberation set forth by the Party in 1930 and contribute to the victory of the August Revolution in 1945.
In the two provinces of Nghe An and Ha Tinh, seize the opportunity when“The Japanese government has surrendered unconditionally” (Japanese fascists surrendered unconditionally to the Allies on August 13, 1945. On August 15, 1945, the Allied radio stations officially announced the news.,The Nghe - Tinh Uprising Committee issued an uprising order and distributed leaflets throughout the region calling for:“All compatriots, unite under the red flag with yellow star of Viet Minh, take the lead in overthrowing the traitorous Vietnamese government, establish a revolutionary people's government, and prepare forces to deal with all reactionary forces…”(Document archived at Nghe An Provincial Party Committee Office).
The uprising order and leaflets of the Viet Minh Nghe Tinh breathed new life into the mass movement. The uprising atmosphere was boiling and surging. In all localities, the uprising committees and provisional revolutionary people's committees were quickly established. Leaflets and banners,Slogans appeared everywhere. Red flags with yellow stars fluttered brightly on the roofs of village temples and tall trees. Many rallies, speeches, demonstrations, marches, and demonstrations broke out one after another, creating a revolutionary offensive atmosphere.
According to the documents in the work "August Revolution in the Soviet homeland" posted on the electronic information portal of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee, due to the characteristics of the situation, the uprising to seize power in Nghe An formed 3 regions. Specifically, inVinh - Ben Thuy, where the puppet government apparatus and Japanese army were concentrated, so it could not be carried out earlier than in the countryside. After some localities had gained power, the Japanese and puppet troops were huddled in barracks and offices. On August 19, 1945, the Nghe Tinh Uprising Committee met to discuss the uprising plan in Vinh.
On the morning of August 21, 1945, tens of thousands of people in Vinh city and its suburbs from all walks of life, armed with sticks and spears, raised high the red flag with yellow star and marched along the streets to demonstrate their power. Faced with the mighty momentum of the revolution, the Japanese army had to accept all the demands of the people. At exactly 12 noon on August 21, 1945, the masses surrounded the Nghe An Governor's Palace, forcing Governor Dang Huong to declare his surrender to the revolution.
In the plain and midland districts, the uprising took place widely. After the people of Quynh Luu district successfully rose up on August 18, 1945, the people of other districts successively won the government: Dien Chau, August 21, 1945; Nghia Dan, August 22, 1945; Nam Dan, Thanh Chuong, Anh Son, August 23, 1945; Nghi Loc, Yen Thanh, August 25, 1945. The highlight of the uprisings in the plain and midland regions was that they took place very lively, not mechanically. In Dien Chau, the uprising took place successfully in most villages and communes before taking power in the district capital. In Quynh Luu, Hung Nguyen, and Nam Dan, after taking power in some villages, they took power in the district capital. On the contrary, in Thanh Chuong, Yen Thanh, Anh Son, and Nghi Loc districts, they seized power in the district capitals before moving to seize power in the villages.
In the highlands and mountainous areas of the prefectures and districts of Tuong Duong, Con Cuong, and Quy Chau, the form of the uprising was different from that of other regions. Because in those localities the masses had not yet been organized and mobilized, the old government apparatus still had power, in order to avoid resistance from the upper class and gain the sympathy of the ethnic people, the Viet Minh deployed the uprising with a more flexible method, focusing mainly on persuading the ranks of mandarins and the district and local chiefs. Only Mon Son commune (Con Cuong) - the revolutionary base of the 1930-1931 period - contacted Anh Son district, and the uprising to seize power was successful on August 23, 1945, earlier than the seizure of power in the district capital. In the districts of Vinh Hoa, Tuong Duong, and Con Cuong, the government reform was carried out in the form of a meeting between Viet Minh representatives and a number of mandarins and village chiefs on August 26, 1945.
The Viet Minh delegates stood up and declared the abolition of the old government and the establishment of a new government. The prefects and district chiefs who had submitted to the revolution were kept as advisors to the government, and the officials who were not trusted by the masses were replaced by a number of Viet Minh cadres. In Quy Chau Prefecture, we declared the formal transfer of the old government to the new government (change of name), while most of the villages and hamlets still kept the village apparatus intact, waiting for the establishment of a revolutionary mass base before organizing the new government.
The uprising to seize power in August 1945 in the vast Nghe An province won a resounding victory within 9 days.
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In Ha Tinh, according to documents from the Nghe Tinh Soviet Museum, after receiving the uprising order from the inter-provincial Viet Minh, preparations were carried out very urgently. District Uprising Committees were established and met to discuss plans to seize power in the district. Volunteer propaganda teams worked actively. Rallies and demonstrations attracted tens of thousands of participants. Villages and alleys were bustling with the sounds of trumpets, gongs and drums. On the morning of August 18, 1945, the uprising to seize power in Ha Tinh provincial capital was quickly victorious, and the provisional revolutionary government of Ha Tinh province was established to the great joy of the people. By August 21, 1945, the uprising to seize power in Huong Khe district was victorious, completely ending the uprising to seize power in the entire Ha Tinh province. Thus, the general uprising to seize power in August 1945 in the whole Ha Tinh province took place urgently, winning in just 5 days (from August 16 to 21, 1945), the entire government was in the hands of the people.
The above victories were the result of a long and arduous struggle, full of sacrifices and complexities by all classes of people, since the French colonialists set foot on Nghe Tinh land. It was also the inevitable result of the bloody rehearsals of the Party and people in the two provinces from the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement of 1930-1931.
At the same time, it was the result of the great solidarity of the entire people for the highest interests of the nation. When the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity came, the Nghe-Tinh inter-provincial Viet Minh, whose core was veteran communist party members, correctly applied the policy of the Viet Minh Front to local circumstances in a flexible and very creative manner. The inter-provincial Viet Minh organized and gathered all classes of people, divided the enemy ranks, prevented possible opposition from the Japanese army and their lackeys, and used appropriate forms and methods, depending on the circumstances of each locality.
The victory of the uprising to seize power in Nghe An and Ha Tinh contributed significantly to the overall victory of the whole country, breaking the chains of slavery of the fascist, colonialist and feudal regimes in our country; opening a new era for the history of the Vietnamese nation. And to achieve that brilliant victory, we can see even more the great significance of the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement to the General Uprising to seize power in the historic August of 1945.
