Battle of Thái Nguyên
Battle between communist Việt Minh and Japanese during August Revolution
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Battle of Thái Nguyên, fought in Thái Nguyên province, was the small and only battle of the August Revolution, between the communist Viet Minh, with minimal assistance from the U.S. Office of Strategic Services, and the Empire of Japan. The battle lasted from 17 to 25 August 1945.
Japanese agreed to stay confined to their post[2]
- The Viet Minh established their government in Thái Nguyên on August 28
| Battle of Thái Nguyên | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the August Revolution, French Indochina in World War II, the South-East Asian theatre of World War II, the Pacific Theater of World War II, Civil conflicts in Vietnam and the Indochina wars | |||||||
Location of Thái Nguyên | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Empire of Japan |
 Viet Minh United States (supporting role) | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Unknown |
Võ Nguyên Giáp | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 6 killed[2] | 3 killed[2] | ||||||
| 5 civilians killed[2] | |||||||
Battle
On 16 August 1945, the Viet Minh forces led by Võ Nguyên Giáp entered Thái Nguyên.[3]
During the battle itself, only sporadic fighting broke out, as a small group of Japanese army was situated in an old French fort and the Americans were all, except for Major Thomas, away from the battle in an outside safehouse.[2] On 25 August the final battle at Thái Nguyên ended with the Japanese "surrendering" agreeing to stay confined to their post, the same day the Empire of Vietnam (Japan's puppet) collapsed when its emperor Bảo Đại abdicated. The government apparatus of the Empire of Vietnam in Thái Nguyên collapsed and its soldiers (lính bảo an) here automatically surrendered to the Viet Minh, and the Viet Minh established a government in this province on 28 August 1945.[4]
According to Thomas, the battle resulted in the deaths of six Japanese, three Viet Minh fighters and five civilians.[2] After the battle, the Viet Minh (de facto led by communists) completely seized Thái Nguyên when Giáp founded the People's Revolutionary Committee in the province.[5]
