During the revolution, the Vietnamese communists led the masses to launch a general uprising nationwide to seize power from the then Japanese rulers, who had briefly overthrown the French colonialists.
The revolutionary opportunity came when the Soviet Union had defeated German fascism and began attacking Japanese fascists.
The Communist Party of Vietnam held its national congress on August 14-15, when Japanese fascists formally surrendered. The Party and the Viet Minh, a national liberation front, then set up a National Uprising Committee to seize power before the British and French allied troops entered Vietnam on the pretext of ‘disarming’ Japanese fascists.
At 23.00 on the night of August 13, the Committee issued Military Order No1 to launch the general uprising, calling on millions of Vietnamese people to struggle for the independence and freedom of the homeland.
In response to the order, people in many localities rose up to topple the fascist and feudalist regime. The people’s administration was established first in the northern provinces of Bac Giang and Hai Duong and the central province of Quang Nam.
On the morning of August 19, tens of thousands of Hanoians marched to the Square at Hanoi’s Municipal Theatre to attend a meeting demanding the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam government and a complete independence for Vietnam.
The meeting quickly turned into an armed demonstration. The protesters advanced to take over the public buildings of the puppet government of Tran Trong Kim.
From Hanoi, the revolutionary wave spread across the country. Within about two weeks, the revolution succeeded in most cities and provinces across the S-shaped country. The provisional government was set up in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh city) on August 25. Bao Dai, the final emperor of Vietnam, abdicated on August 30, bringing an end to the 143-year reign of the Nguyen dynasty.
The August Revolution opened a new era - one of independence, freedom and socialism for the Vietnamese people, with the Communist Party of Vietnam becoming a ruling party.