Viet Minh
The Việt Minh (Vietnamese: [vîət mīŋ̟] ⓘ; abbreviated from Việt Nam Độc lập Đồng minh, chữ Hán: 越南獨立同盟; French: Ligue pour l'indépendance du Viêt Nam, lit. 'League for the Independence of Vietnam') was a national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1941. Also known as the Việt Minh Front, it was created by the Indochinese Communist Party (ICP) as a national united front to achieve the independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
The golden-star red flag of the Việt Minh, which has later become the flag of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam), prototype of the national flag of contemporary Vietnam | |
| Formation | 19 May 1941 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Indochinese Communist Party |
| Dissolved | March 1951 (merged into the Lien Viet at end of World War II, which was itself absorbed into the Lao Dong in 1951.) |
| Location | |
Chairman | Ho Chi Minh |
Military leader | Võ Nguyên Giáp |
| Publication | Cứu Quốc (National Salvation) |
The Việt Nam Độc lập Vận động Đồng minh Hội was previously formed by Hồ Học Lãm in Nanjing, China, at some point between August 1935 and early 1936, when Vietnamese nationalist parties formed an anti-imperialist united front. This organization soon lapsed into inactivity, only to be taken over by Hồ Chí Minh and the ICP in 1941. They presented the organization as inclusive of political groups, with a founding charter more nationalist than communist. It exhorted "soldiers, workers, peasants, intellectuals, civil servants, merchants, young men and women" to overthrow "French jackals" and "Japanese fascists", while the group’s first chairman was a non-communist. In all, the Việt Minh established itself as the only organized anti-French and anti-Japanese resistance group. The Việt Minh initially formed to seek independence for Vietnam from the French Empire. The United States supported France. When the Japanese occupation began, the Việt Minh opposed Japan with support from the United States and the Republic of China. After World War II, the Việt Minh opposed the re-occupation of Vietnam by France, resulting in the Indochina War, and later opposed South Vietnam and the United States in the Vietnam War.
The political leader of Việt Minh was Hồ Chí Minh. The military leadership was under the command of Võ Nguyên Giáp. Other founders were Lê Duẩn and Phạm Văn Đồng.
The Việt Nam Độc lập Đồng minh is not to be confused with the Việt Nam Cách mệnh Đồng minh Hội (League for the Vietnamese Revolution, abbreviated as Việt Cách) which was founded by Nguyễn Hải Thần. Việt Cách later joined the Vietnamese National Coalition in 1946.