Vietminh

Vietminh, shortened form of Vietnam Doc Lap Dong Minh Hoi (League for the Independence of Vietnam), revolutionary organization formed in Nanjing, China, in 1936 and later taken over by Ho Chi Minh in May 1941 as an instrument to channel nationalism in Vietnam under Communist leadership. The Vietminh operated as a national front organization open to people of all political persuasions. Starting in 1943, Vietminh forces infiltrated Vietnam from China and established several liberated areas in the mountainous regions of the north. These areas expanded considerably when the Japanese overthrew the French Empire authorities in March 1945. After Japan surrendered to the Allies, Vietminh forces seized control of Hanoi on August 19, 1945, and Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the independent Democratic Republic of Vietnam on September 2, 1945. Later, the French returned to Indochina, but negotiations between France and the Vietminh on the status of Vietnam broke down, and war broke out in December 1946. The Vietminh had popular support and was able to dominate the countryside, while French strength lay in urban areas. This war ended in 1954 when, with the help of the Chinese Communists, the Vietminh was able to defeat the French army at the Battle of Điên Biên Phu, following which the Geneva agreement divided Vietnam in two. During the war, the term “Vietminh” was used to designate all the forces fighting under Ho Chi Minh's leadership against the French, even though the Vietminh itself formally ceased to exist in 1951, when it was merged into the Lien Viet. Also in 1951, the majority of the Vietminh leadership surfaced as the leaders of the Lao Dong or the Vietnamese Workers' Party (changed back to the name Vietnamese Communist Party in 1976), which has remained the dominant political force in Vietnam.