Communist Web Saturday 13th May 2000 9.30pm gmt Vietnamese Revolution and Victory of the Soviet Red Army There are certain events which have an interesting coincidence: on April 30, 1945, the Soviet Red Army planted their victory flag on the top of the German Reichstag, putting an end to the most merciless war in mankind's history. Thirty years later, on April 30, 1975, the victory flag of the Vietnam People's Army was flying on the top of the Independence Palace, putting an end to the longest aggressive, fiercest and cruellest war since the second world war. Time will go by, but these two great victories of the two armies, two nations by defeating the most savage forces of the time will remain forever the most glorious exploits of the 20th century, making a profound impact on the process of development of humanity. Scholars taking the capitalist viewpoint often explain victories of revolutions led by the Communist Party with accidental, objective reasons or with a particular mistake of the initiator or of a commanding general. Even the victory of the 1945 August Revolution was at times judged as a "lucky" victory thanks to the victory of the Soviet Red Army and of the Allied forces that ended the second world war. The truth was not completely like that. While reaffirming that the Vietnamese revolution was a part and parcel of the world's revolution, showing its mutual impact between the Vietnamese revolution and the common revolution of the of whole of mankind, the national strength and the strength of the time, to wage the August revolution, President Ho Chi Minh called on the entire people nationwide "to try their utmost to liberate themselves." This call manifested the strong conviction of Uncle Ho, of the Party in the workers' and farmers' strength, the strength of the patriotic great unity of the entire people. This call was made immediately after a big effort had been made in working out a correct line and policy, building an armed force equal to the task of mobilising the people in rising up. Without self-support and self-reliance, without careful preparations, it would have been impossible to have a successful and swift August Revolution. The preparation for the revolution was made in a situation of siege and isolation. At that time the Chinese revolution was yet to be successful, while the Soviet people had to make their greatest possible efforts to fight against fascism. The countries around Vietnam were in a no better situation. So it could be said here that the August Revolution of Vietnam was not the result of the end of the Second World War, not the tail of the victory of the Soviet Red Army. The victory of the August Revolution ushered in a new era for the development of the Vietnamese revolution. How did the preparation of forces and the Communist Party's holding of the opportunities to give creative and talented leadership happen? Originally, the departure of Vietnam by Uncle Ho for foreign countries in search of the national salvation path and the bringing of Marxism-Leninism to Vietnam, should be taken into account. Yet the landmark for the August revolution was the coming into being of the Communist Party of Vietnam. From the political programme, stratagem, summarised rules of Nguyen Ai Quoc in the first days of the Party's establishment to the political thesis in 1930, which was amended and developed to become the revolutionary line, the kernel and greatest creativeness was the harmonious combination between the national liberation struggle and the social liberation struggle, between the patriotic movement and the workers' movement, between national independence and... http://www.billkath.demon.co.uk/cw/vietnameserevolution/vietnameserevolution.html
