On this day in 1930, 50 Vietnamese soldiers of the French colonial army mutinied, attempting to take control of the Yên Bái garrison and begin a war of independence against the French. The uprising failed and many of its leaders were executed.
The revolt was planned in advance by the Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng (VNQDD), a socialist party founded by Nguyễn Thái Học that sought independence from France. The VNQDD had previously attempted to engage in clandestine activities to undermine French rule, but increasing state scrutiny on their activities led to their leadership risking a large scale military attack in the Red River Delta in northern Vietnam.
Multiple uprisings were planned throughout the region, with VNQDD members taking command of forces with specific strategic missions. The uprisings were supposed to be simultaneous, but matters were complicated when a messenger carrying an order from Học to delay the uprising until the 15th was arrested.
Early in the morning of February 10th, 1930, ~50 Vietnamese soldiers stationed at Yên Bái attacked their 29 French officers, aided by 60 civilian members of the VNQDD. Although the French were caught off guard and several officers were killed, the majority of the soldiers present remained loyal to the colonial army and helped suppress the uprising. Three Vietnamese sergeants were awarded the Médaille militaire for their efforts.
Later than evening, another planned VNQDD revolt in the rural district of Sơn Dương was also suppressed. Although insurgents initially succeeded, raising the VNQDD flag over the town, at sunrise they were routed by the colonial army.
The French retaliation was swift and brutal. When VNQDD forces fled into the village of Co Am, the French bombed the entire settlement, killing 200 people, mostly civilians. This was the first time that military air power had been used in Indochina.
In France, the severity of the sentences led to a campaign of solidarity by the French Communist Party and various demonstrations by Vietnamese expatriates. On May 22nd, 1930, more than 1,000 demonstrated outside Élysée Palace against the French reaction to Yên Bái. The police arrested 47 people, deporting 17 back to Vietnam, where most of them engaged in communist anti-colonial activities.
In total, 547 individuals, both soldiers and civilians, were prosecuted for their role in the uprising. Thirty-nine of the surviving leaders of the VNQDD were sentenced to death, although some of these were later granted clemency. Học, along with twelve others, was guillotined on June 17th, 1930. The thirteen shouted "Vietnam!" in unison before being executed.
The subsequent French military and civilian crackdown saw military security increase and the VNQDĐ's ability to threaten French authority in Vietnam was extinguished. The vast majority of the leadership were killed or sentenced to death, and the remnants of the VNQDĐ fled to China, where several factions emerged under disparate leadership.
In the long run, Yên Bái allowed the Indochinese Communist Party of Ho Chi Minh to inherit the VNQDĐ's status as the leading anti-colonial revolutionary movement. After the Second World War, an opportunity to fight for Vietnamese independence arose, and this allowed the communists in the Viet Minh to dictate the platform of the independence movement. As a result, the communists were able to position themselves to become the dominant force in Vietnam post-independence.
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