August Revolution

The August Revolution (Vietnamese: Cách-mạng tháng Tám [kǎk mâˀŋ t̺ʰǎŋ tǎːm]), also known as the August General Uprising (Vietnamese: Tổng khởi-nghĩa giành chính-quyền tháng Tám, lit. 'the Total uprising to seize power in August' [tôŋ͡m xɤ̂j ŋɥiə̌ˀ ʑàjŋ cǐjŋ kwiə̀n t̺ʰǎŋ tǎːm]), was a revolution led by the Việt Minh against the Empire of Vietnam from 13 to 28 August 1945. The Empire of Vietnam was led by the Nguyễn dynasty and was backed by Japan as a member of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. The Việt Minh, a political league de facto led by the Communist Party, was created in 1941 and designed to appeal to a wider population than the communists could command. The revolution had the participation of factions that did not follow the Việt Minh.

The Japanese army in Vietnam generally did nothing to prevent the revolution as they de facto surrendered to the Allies in World War II. There was a sporadic clash in Thái Nguyên with inconclusiveness. Facing a strong movement of the Viet Minh, the Empire of Vietnam refused Japan's request for help because its prime minister and emperor did not want foreign army to suppress the Việt Minh when they supported national unity and did not discover communist nature of this organization, leading to the revolution happening peacefully.

The Nguyễn dynasty with its pro-Japanese government of Trần Trọng Kim collapsed when its emperor Bảo Đại abdicated on 25 August 1945. He was later accepted as an advisor to the government of the Việt Minh and was "elected" a member of its National Assembly, but was later abandoned in China by the communists. The August Revolution sought to create a unified and independent state for Vietnam under the Việt Minh's rule. Việt Minh leader Ho Chi Minh declared the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) on 2 September 1945 and the foundation of the DRV was the first time Vietnam became a republic, however initially no country recognized the DRV while French sovereignty over Indochina was recognized by the Allies. The Việt Minh used its non-communist cover to successfully attract many non-communist nationalists, but there were many other non-communist nationalists who did not accept communist rule. The Viet Minh did not hold power in the entire country and the Viet Minh's power in Cochinchina was weakest. The return of France and communist monopoly led to the purges of dissidents and the formation of a rival state led by ex-emperor Bảo Đại in 1949, a pro-French and anti-communist regime as part of decolonization.