What this lesson teaches
I can weigh up how the Japanese Occupation and World War II weakened colonial rule and strengthened nationalists.
Syllabus K330, Decolonisation and establishment of newly independent nations in Southeast Asia, Learning Outcomes. Assess the immediate impact of World War II on decolonisation in Southeast Asia.
I can weigh up how independence was won in Southeast Asia, through fighting, talks or cooperation.
Syllabus K330, Decolonisation and establishment of newly independent nations in Southeast Asia, Learning Outcomes. Assess how independence was achieved in Southeast Asia.
Make a guess
On 2 September 1945 Ho Chi Minh declared the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Do you think it controlled the whole country?
- No, because Japan still ruled Vietnam until 1946.
- Yes, the regions and rival groups accepted the new government straight away.
- No, foreign troops and rival groups still challenged it.
Show the answer
No, foreign troops and rival groups still challenged it.
Chinese Nationalist troops entered the north and British troops the south, France wanted to return, and other Vietnamese groups opposed the Viet Minh.
Ho Chi Minh declared the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on 2 September 1945, but it still had to win real control.
During the August Revolution, Viet Minh supporters held protests and took over government offices. On 2 September 1945, Ho Chi Minh declared the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) in Hanoi. The Viet Minh was the movement. The DRV was the state it created. It claimed sovereignty, the right to govern itself.
But the DRV did not control everything. Chinese Nationalist troops entered the north, and British troops the south, to accept Japan's surrender. These Chinese troops came from China's government at the time, not the communists who later helped the DRV. France wanted to return. Other Vietnamese groups challenged the Viet Minh. So the declaration started a new struggle over who would really govern.
- 2 September 1945
- Ho Chi Minh declares the DRV in Hanoi.
- Viet Minh vs DRV
- The movement versus the state it created.
- Challenges
- Foreign troops, France and Vietnamese rivals.
Worked example: A declaration is not control
The DRV declares independence while foreign troops and rivals remain.
- The declaration claims the right to govern.
- It cannot make rivals obey or other countries agree.
- 1954 changed the war, but the declaration was still made in 1945.
Watch out for this
Vietnam first declared independence in 1954.
The DRV declared independence on 2 September 1945. 1954 is when France's war ended.
Check your understanding
What was the difference between the Viet Minh and the DRV?
- The Viet Minh was the movement; the DRV was the state it declared.
- The DRV was the French-backed state in the south led by Bao Dai.
- They were rival nationalist groups that fought each other for control of Hanoi.
Show the answer
The Viet Minh was the movement; the DRV was the state it declared.
Yes. Keep the movement and the state separate.