Quỳnh Lưu uprising

Quỳnh Lưu uprising
Part of the Cold War
DateNovember 2–22, 1956
Location
Quỳnh Lưu, Nghệ An, North Vietnam
Result Uprising defeated
Belligerents
 Christian farmers
Commanders and leaders
North Vietnam Hồ Chí Minh
Phạm Văn Đồng
Trần Quốc Hoàn
Võ Nguyên Giáp		 Local communities
Strength
2,000-3,000 soldiers +20,000 rebels[1]
Casualties and losses
Unknown Estimated 1,000-6,000 killed, wounded or captured[1]

The Quỳnh Lưu uprising (Vietnamese: Khởi-nghĩa Quỳnh-lưu 1956) was a rebellion against the government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) in the rural Quỳnh Lưu district of Nghệ An province, from 2 to 22 November 1956, driven by dissatisfaction with both the land reform campaign and the failure of its subsequent correction process.

History

Land reform

The DRV instituted their land reform program from 1953 to 1956, with the government's stated aims being to placate the peasant's hunger for land and break the power of the traditional village elite and gentry. However, the land reform was accompanied by large-scale repression and 'excesses'[2][3][4] which led to popular resentment. In the Quỳnh Lưu area, locals had been discriminated against by local officials because of their opposition to the land reform and other reforms carried out by the government.[5]

Communist prevention of emigration

According to the 1954 Geneva Accords, of which the DRV was signatory to, Vietnam was partitioned into two halves, with a Viet Minh-controlled Democratic Republic of Vietnam, and an anti-communist State of Vietnam (which would become South Vietnam) with Bao Dai as head of state. There would be a 300-day interim period prescribed by the accords, ending May 18, 1955, where people could relocate freely to 1 of the 2 Vietnams of their choosing before the border at the 17th parallel was sealed.[6] However, in late 1954 and early 1955, along with counter-propaganda, the Viet Minh sought to prevent would-be refugees from leaving. As the American and French military personnel were only present in the major cities and at air bases and on the waterfront, the North tried to stop people from trying to leave through a military presence in the inland ruralside to interdict the flow of would-be refugees.[7][8]

Uprising

On 2 November 1956, Catholic farmers approached the International Control Commission to express grievances and seek permission to migrate south. They then clashed with security forces and took officials hostage. By 5 November, protesters had occupied the headquarters of Quỳnh Yên commune, and the unrest spread across Quỳnh Lưu district.[9]: 363–364 

On 13 November, tens of thousands of peasants, armed with farming tools and knives, surrounded Quỳnh Lưu town while displaying anti-government banners. The Hanoi authority deployed the 325th Division of the People's Army of Vietnam to suppress the uprising. The fighting caused about 1,000 casualties, and thousands of arrests. Government control was fully restored by 22 November 1956. The investigation found no evidence of external intervention.[9]: 364 

See also

Notes and references

  1. 1 2 Cheng Yinghong (2007). "毛主义和中国模式在东欧和北越的影响 ―对"双百方针"和"反右"运动的再考察". Modern China Studies (3). Archived from the original on 2020-02-27. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
  2. ↑ Tongas, Gérard. J'ai vécu dans l'enfer communiste au Nord Viet-Nam. Paris, Nouvelles Éditions Debresse, (1960).
  3. ↑ Boudarel, Georges. Cent fleurs écloses dans la nuit du Vietnam: communisme et dissidence, 1954-1956. Paris: J. Bertoin, (1991).
  4. ↑ Gittinger, J. Price, "Communist Land Policy in Viet Nam", Far Eastern Survey, Vol. 29, No. 8, 1957, p. 118.
  5. ↑ Frankum Jr., Ronald B. (2011). Historical Dictionary of the War in Vietnam. Scarecrow Press. p. 381. ISBN 978-0810879560.
  6. ↑ Tucker, Spencer C. (2011). The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social, and Military History. ABC-CLIO. pp. 1243–1244. ISBN 978-1851099610.
  7. ↑ Frankum, Ronald (2007). Operation Passage to Freedom: The United States Navy in Vietnam, 1954–55. Lubbock, Texas: Texas Tech University Press. ISBN 978-0-89672-608-6.
  8. ↑ Frankum, p. 159.
  9. 1 2 Nguyễn Quang Hưng (2026). "Christians and the State in North Vietnam, 1954–1975". In Tran, Anh Q.; Hoang, Tuan (eds.). A History of Vietnamese Christianity: Encounters and Emerging Horizons. Brill. doi:10.1163/9789004762589-016. ISBN 9789004762589.

Further reading

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