Editing Viet Minh (section)

== World War II ==
{{See also|French Indochina in World War II|Japanese coup d'état in French Indochina|August Revolution}}
[[File:Hanoi TNĐL 1945, 4.jpg|thumb|Viet Minh troops on 2 September 1945]]
During World War II, [[Empire of Japan|Japan]] occupied [[French Indochina]]. As well as fighting the French in the [[battles of Khai Phat and Na Ngan]], the Việt Minh started a [[Military campaign|campaign]] against the Japanese. For instance, a raid at Tam Dao internment camp in [[Tonkin (French protectorate)|Tonkin]] on 19 July 1945 saw 500 Viet Minh kill fifty Japanese soldiers and officials, freeing French civilian captives and escorting them to the Chinese border. The Viet Minh also fought the [[21st Division (Imperial Japanese Army)|Japanese 21st Division]] in Thái Nguyên, and regularly raided rice storehouses to alleviate the [[Vietnamese famine of 1945|ongoing famine]].<ref>Hanyok, Robert (1995). "Guerillas in the Mist: COMINT and the Formation and Evolution of the Viet Minh 1941–45". (p. 107)</ref>
[[File:1945 Aug Archimedes Patti, Vo Nguyen Giap.png|thumb|OSS officer [[Archimedes Patti]] standing with General [[Võ Nguyên Giáp]] at a parade held in honour of the American's contributions to the Viet Minh, 1945]]

As of the end of 1944, the Việt Minh claimed a membership of 500,000, of which 200,000 were in [[Tonkin (French protectorate)|Tonkin]], 150,000 in [[Annam (French protectorate)|Annam]], and 150,000 in [[French Cochinchina|Cochinchina]].<ref>''The [[Pentagon Papers]]'' (1971), Beacon Press, vol. 1, p. 45.</ref><ref name="United States. Department of Defense 1971 p.B4">{{cite book |author=United States. Department of Defense |title=United States-Vietnam Relations, 1945–1967: Study |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |issue=v. 10 |year=1971 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MHjOVH6k5BQC&pg=RA1-PA4 |access-date=2 January 2022 |page=B4 |archive-date=9 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240809184553/https://books.google.com/books?id=MHjOVH6k5BQC&pg=RA1-PA4#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> After the [[Japanese coup d'état in French Indochina]], the Viet Minh and [[Indochinese Communist Party|ICP]] prolifically expanded their activities.  They formed national salvation associations (cuu quoc hoi) that, in Quảng Ngãi province alone, enlisted 100,000 peasants by mid-1945. This was backed by the [[Vanguard Youth (Vietnam)|Vanguard Youth (Thanh Nien Tien Phong)]] in Cochinchina, which expanded to 200,000 by early summer. In the northern provinces of [[Việt Bắc]], their armed forces seized control, after which they distributed lands to the poor, abolished the [[corvée]], established [[Vietnamese alphabet|quốc ngữ]] classes, local village [[Militia|militias]], and declared [[universal suffrage]] and democratic freedoms.<ref>Cima, R.J (1987). Vietnam: A Country Study. Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. p. 49.</ref>

Due to their opposition to the Japanese, the Việt Minh received funding from the United States, the [[Soviet Union]] and the [[Republic of China]].<ref name="Schmermund 2017 p. 32">{{cite book |last=Schmermund |first=E. |title=Minority Soldiers Fighting in the Vietnam War |publisher=Cavendish Square Publishing |series=Fighting for Their Country: Minorities at War |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-5026-2666-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BHhmDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA32 |access-date=2 January 2022 |page=32 |archive-date=9 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240809184518/https://books.google.com/books?id=BHhmDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA32#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> After the [[August Revolution]]'s takeover of nationalist organizations and Emperor [[Bảo Đại]]'s abdication to the Việt Minh, [[Ho Chi Minh|Hồ Chí Minh]] [[Declaration of independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam|declared Vietnam's independence]] by proclaiming the establishment of the [[Democratic Republic of Vietnam]] on 2 September 1945.<ref name="Lawrence 2008 p. 26">{{cite book |last=Lawrence |first=Mark A. |title=The Vietnam War: A Concise International History |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-19-971812-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vvZoAgAAQBAJ |access-date=3 January 2022 |page=26 |archive-date=9 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240809184624/https://books.google.com/books?id=vvZoAgAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>{{ref label|VietMinh1|A}}