(VOVWORLD) - 79 years ago when the Japanese overthrew the French in Indochina, people in Bac Kan province seized the opportunity to rise up and seize power. On March 30, 1945, the provisional People’s Committee of Cho Ra district was established. This was the first district-level revolutionary government in the uprising against Japan in 1945. The revolutionary movement spread throughout Bac Kan province, contributing to the victory of the general uprising in August the same year.
 98-year-old Nong Viet Toai says he still remembers the atmosphere of the August Revolution 1945 in his hometown. |
98-year-old revolutionary veteran Nong Viet Toai said he always feels honored and proud to have been present at the historic moment in August 1945 when he, a member of the propaganda team of Luong Ngoc Quyen district (now Ngan Son district), hung banners and planted victory flags. Everyone was beaming with happiness because they knew their homeland had won power and their life had turned a page.
“Ngan Son was in the liberated zone. The liberation army from Cao Bang passed by, creating great excitement,” Toai recalled.
93-year-old veteran Nguyen Quan and 94-year-old veteran Nguyen Duy Binh of Bac Kan city proudly spoke of the 1945 August Revolution and the liberation of Bac Kan.
At the time, Mr. Quan was a member of the main army unit stationed in Bac Kan, while Mr. Binh was a member of the Ba Be Guerrilla Team.
“I still remember that moment. On August 21, the Propaganda Unit of the Liberation Army coordinated with the Viet Minh Front of Bac Kan province to attack the Japanese troops stationed at the town. On August 22, the Japanese withdrew from Bac Kan. One day later, a victory rally was held and a government was established at the center of Bac Kan town,” Quan told VOV.
According to Binh, at that time, everyone was marching in step, shouting 1-2-1-2. It was very crowded and joyful.
“Whoever had a gun brought it and whoever didn't brought a stick. An officer stood up and said ‘We have taken power!’ I was very happy because, from now on, we would no longer be slaves,” said Binh.
 93-year-old veteran Nguyen Quan, a member of the 72nd Regiment in Bac Kan province. |
After the August Revolution, Bac Kan continued to serve as a base and evacuation site for the Party Central Committee, President Ho Chi Minh, and many State agencies.
In October 1947, the French army parachuted into Bac Kan, occupied the provincial administrative center, and set up many outposts along National Highway 3. But local people and the regular troops resisted fiercely. They wore down the enemy's strength with an ambush in Giàng Pass in December 1947 and attacks on the Phu Thong outpost in 1947 and 1948. On August 9, 1949, the French army was forced to withdraw from Bac Kan to Cao Bang.
Veteran Nguyen Quan said, “The most important thing is that my homeland was liberated after 2 years of fighting. I had been in the army since French paratroopers occupied Bac Kan. When my fellow citizens in the occupied areas met the liberation army, all of them were very happy. We hugged each other and cried.”
 94-year-old veteran Nguyen Duy Binh, a member of the Ba Be Guerrilla Team
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On August 24, 1949, at a rally held at the Bac Kan town airport to celebrate the liberation of Bac Kan province, General Vo Nguyen Giap praised the Bac Kan army and people and read President Ho Chi Minh’s letter of commendation.
The letter said: “…On behalf of the Government, I would like to send my warmest compliments to the soldiers, militia and guerrillas, and the people of Bac Kan. I would like to extend my warmest comfort to the people of Bac Kan town who have returned to the Fatherland’s loving arms. In our protracted resistance war, it was the first time an important town has been liberated. This victory will pave the way for other greater and more glorious victories.”