PANO – After the success of the August Revolution in 1945, giving birth to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the Vietnamese people's earnest desire was to live in peace and build a life of prosperity, liberty, and happiness. Therefore, the Government and people of Vietnam made all necessary concessions to avoid a war with the French colonialists. However, "the more concessions we make, the more the French colonialists encroach upon our rights, for they are determined to re-conquer our country."
On September 23rd 1945, the French provoked Vietnamese forces in the South, waging the war of aggression for the second time. Then, they gradually invaded various parts of the South and the Central Vietnam, and sent troops to the North with the evil intention of failing the Vietnam-France Preliminary Agreement (signed on March 6th 1946) and the Vietnam-France Provisional Agreement (signed on September 14th 1946). They continuously provoked Vietnamese forces by attacking Hai Phong and Lang Son, frantically preparing forces in an attempt to swiftly invade the whole country. They intended to conduct surprise attacks over all Vietnamese offices in Hanoi and destroy Vietnamese regular army and self-defense forces in urban areas while capturing strategic areas in the North and the Central Vietnam. More seriously, on December 18th 1946, they sent an ultimatum to the Government of Vietnam requiring the disarmament of the self-defense forces and claiming control over Hanoi.
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| Hanoi streets turned into fortifications to prevent the French troops |
That brazen attitude of the French colonialists placed the Party, Government and President Ho Chi Minh in the most dangerous situation, requiring strategic decisions to be made. Accordingly, in just two days, December 18th and 19th 1946, the Standing Committee of the Central Party Committee held an expanded meeting in Van Phuc village (Ha Dong) and decided to launch the National Resistance War and to strike first to take the initiative.
The Vietnamese forces then opened major offensive operations against the French positions in Hanoi, Nam Dinh, Hai Duong, Bac Ninh, Bac Giang, Vinh, Hue, Da Nang, etc. This is the general offensive waged by the Party to fail the conspiracy of the French, wearing out and destroying part of the enemy’s forces while locking them up in place for Vietnamese central organs and forces to take advantage of time to launch the long-lasting war of resistance.
On the morning of December 19th 1946, the Standing Committee of the Central Party Committee predicted that "Just within 24 hours, the French colonialists will open fire" and instructed the army and people of the country to "all get ready to fight.” The same day, in the afternoon, the Minister of Defense – Commander-in-Chief Vo Nguyen Giap made the order for the armed forces to start strikes.
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| Determined to die for the fatherland |
To timely encourage the war of resistance, in the night of December 19th 1946, President Ho Chi Minh made an appeal to the whole nation: “All of us, regardless of men or women, young or old, whatever religions, ethnic origins, or political parties, must struggle against the French colonialists to save the homeland. Let those having guns use their guns, those having swords use their swords, and those having neither guns nor swords use hoes, pick-axes, and sticks. All must stand up and fight against the colonialists to defend our fatherland.”
In response to the appeal of President Ho Chi Minh and the orders of Minister of National Defense, Commander-in-Chief Vo Nguyen Giap, from the night of December 19th 1946 to March 1947, Vietnamese regular forces in coordination with the armed forces and people of Hanoi and urban areas from the 16th parallel northwards simultaneously opened fire at the enemy.
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| The self-defense force of Hanoi in combat. Hanoi December 19th 1946 |
In Hanoi, battalions 101, 77, 212, 145, 523 and other forces with the support of the people and regiments stationed in Son Tay, Ha Dong, and Thai Nguyen attacked the enemy, creating the battle where the enemy was attacked from both inside and outside.
In other cities and towns like Hai Duong, Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, Nam Dinh, Vinh, Hue, and Da Nang, regular army units, self-defense, and police forces coordinated with local people to simultaneously attack the enemy’s forces, wearing out both their troops and equipment. On completing the task, Vietnamese units and forces actively withdrew to suburban areas, setting the defense lines surrounding the French troops, preventing them from counter-attacking.
Earning victories, the battle initially failed the enemy’s plot to conduct surprise attacks against Vietnamese forces in Hanoi and disarm Vietnamese armed forces. The tactics to wear our the strength of enemy and pin them down for days in urban areas successfully provided favorable conditions for the Party, Government and people to shift to wartime operations.
The decision to proactively attack the enemy took the enemy by surprise, causing them to loose initiative right from the early days of the resistance war, not only failing their plot of “quick surprise attack”, but also causing them heavy losses and undermining their morale. For the Vietnamese side, the proactiveness to open strikes and launch the resistance war promptly created the national synergy, drawing the participation of various forces, with the regular army units playing the core role, contributing to limiting the advantages of modern weapons, equipment and maneuverability of the French forces.
Actively attacking and launching the national resistance war in the context that the Vietnamese forces were much weaker is a scientific and revolutionary decision and the right and bold guideline of the Party and President Ho Chi Minh. The French colonialists were totally taken by surprise. The Vietnamese army and people, thanks to the thorough preparation, maintained a long-lasting battle in urban areas, largely wearing out the enemy strength, forcing them to slow down their strategies. At the same time, the decision also helped Vietnamese units and organs to actively move offices, warehouses, machinery, materials, etc., dismantle houses for the resistance war and evacuate people to safe areas, contributing to setting the firm disposition for the long-term war of resistance.
Written by Le Van Phong , M.A. (Vietnam Military Institute)
Translated by Huu Duong