The First Two Destructions of Vinh (1940 to 1964)

Collaboration of the colonial government with the Japanese from 1940 on saw the stationing of up to 10,000 Japanese soldiers in Vinh’s vicinity (Chu Trọng Huyến, 1998: p.183). The French colonial and Vietnamese imperial administration as well as parts of the population collaborated with the Japanese who imposed corvée labour, land acquisitions, and new taxes (Nguyễn Quốc Hồng, Hoàng Kim Oanh, 2005: p.100-104; Chu Trọng Huyến, 1998:

p.179). The extraction of resources for the Japanese war efforts, especially of food to supply Japanese soldiers, put a large burden on Nghệ An’s economy and the population. In addition, bombing by Allied forces destroyed transport infrastructure and prompted the relocation of enterprises from Vinh to Hanoi (Nguyễn Quang Hồng, 2003: p.220). Chu Trọng Huyến claims that during the 1945 famine in Northern Vietnam 60,000 people starved to death in Nghệ An alone (Chu Trọng Huyến, 1998: p.185).²⁶ The French administration became increasingly powerless during collaboration with the Japanese, according to Del Testa “it seems the city was Vietnamese in terms of its political authority in everything but name” by the time the Japanese abolished French rule in Indochina and interned most French on 9 March 1945 (Del Testa, 2007: p.309).²⁷

While the Việt Minh, the League for the Independence of Vietnam, held control of Tonkin’s northern-most provinces since 1944, they started to establish themselves in Vinh in May 1945, only after the Japanese had taken the place of the French and established a nationalist government under Emperor Bảo Đại. Shortly after the announcement of Japanese surrender on 14 August 1945, popular uprisings, at times incited by the Việt Minh, seized power throughout North Vietnam (Duiker, 2000: pp.307-308). In Vinh, different groups aiming at overthrowing Japanese rule united under their banner (Chu Trọng Huyến, 1998: pp.186-193). After negotiating with the Japanese local commander who agreed to hand over weapons and ammunition, the Việt Minh mobilized large groups of peasant and workers to seize power in Vinh on 21 August 1945 (Nguyễn Quốc Hồng, Hoàng Kim Oanh, 2005:

pp.111-112; Chu Trọng Huyến, 1998: pp.193-197). On 2 February 1945, Hồ Chí Minh proclaimed the independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) in Hanoi (Duiker, 2002: pp.322-324).

During Japanese occupation, most of Vinh’s industries had been relocated or abandoned.

When the Việt Minh took power in Vinh in August 1945, only the railway atelier in Trường Thi and the depot by the train station were operational, all private factories had been closed. The Việt Minh aimed at establishing a new administration and a functioning state, responding to a chaotic and lawless situation in the city. While they had seized power from the Japanese,

26 As estimates of the total death toll in range up to 1 Mio this number seems realistic (Duiker, 2000: p.308).

27 In contrast, Vietnamese sources emphasise resistance of common Vietnamese against French/Japanese rule (Chu Trọng Huyến, 1998: p.178-185; Nguyễn Quốc Hồng, Hoàng Kim Oanh, 2005: p.104-106).

36 2.3 The History of Vinh: The First Two Destructions of Vinh (1940 to 1964)

they had to cooperate with nationalist Chinese troops that entered the city to disarm Japanese forces. Additionally, different political parties and factions sought to gain power in Vinh (Hoàng Ngọc Anh et al., 2003: pp.9-33). By mid-1946, the Communist Party had largely consolidated control over the city, with the Chinese forces having pulled out in April and the leadership of the Vietnamese Nationalist Party in Nghệ An arrested in June and July (Hoàng Ngọc Anh et al., 2003: pp.32-33).²⁸ Throughout 1946, tensions between the returning French and the newly established Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) mounted, and open hostilities broke out in the last month of that year (Duiker, 2000: pp.346-398). In Vinh, preparations for hostilities started in October 1946, when fighting escalated in Hanoi in December, the 34 French soldiers stationed in Vinh were disarmed and interned together with the Chinese population (Nguyễn Quang Vinh, Dương Thanh Bình, 2007: pp.56-57;

Hoàng Ngọc Anh et al., 2003: pp.39-48).

Hồ Chí Minh had called for a scorched earth policy²⁹ in case war with the French broke out; it was carried out in Vinh over a five-month period starting in early 1947. The city’s population and facilities were dispersed throughout the countryside. In total 20,000 tons of materials were dismantled; what could not be transported was destroyed, including the citadel, 1,335 houses (including 301 multistorey buildings), 300 train coaches, and twelve locomotives (Hoàng Ngọc Anh et al., 2003: pp.48-55; Bùi Thiết, 1984: p.52). Throughout the First Indochina War (until 1954) only a small population of villagers remained in the area.

Previously industrial areas became agricultural land again. Who actually controlled the area during the war remains unclear in light of sources available to me. While the Việt Minh were able to recruit fighters in the area, they and their policies also met with resistance from the remaining population (Nguyễn Quang Vinh, Dương Thanh Bình, 2007: p.61; Nguyễn Văn Chiến, 2007: p.80; Nguyễn Quốc Hồng, Hoàng Kim Oanh, 2005: p.138; Hoàng Ngọc Anh et al., 2003: pp.78-96). In addition to destruction carried out by the Việt Minh in 1947, the French bombarded and destroyed remaining infrastructure such as bridges during the war.

Thus, when the war ended and the Việt Minh returned to power in Vinh in 1954, the city had been nearly totally destroyed (Hoàng Ngọc Anh et al., 2003: p.103).

During the 1950s, DRV authorities focused on the re-organisation of the economy according to socialist principles. Popular resistance especially to a land reform prompted the DRV and the Vietnam Worker’s Party to abandon the most radical policies. In Nghệ An, protests against land reform erupted in violence in late 1956, villagers took DRV soldiers and Party officials prisoners (Schwab, 11.1.1957). During rectification of land reform excesses,

28 For a detailed account of the establishment of the DRV in North Vietnam see (Marr, 2013).

29 Phá hoại để kháng chiến (destroy to resist).

37 2.3 The History of Vinh: The First Two Destructions of Vinh (1940 to 1964)

between 6,229 and 11,700 families were compensated, 11,646 Party members had been falsely accused and were reinstated (Nguyễn Quốc Hồng, Hoàng Kim Oanh, 2005: p.154;

Hoàng Ngọc Anh et al., 2003: p.118).

While during the war, authorities considered moving the provincial centre away from Vinh, these considerations were abandoned and from 1954 on, people, institutions, and enterprises returned to Vinh (UBKCHC Nghệ An, n.d.). Urban development shows little marks of large scale development projects or the formulation of comprehensive policies for social reorganisation of the city through urban planning or design until the early 1960s. In general, policies focused on the transformation of the economy and the establishment of a functioning state. Collectivisation of agriculture in the countryside was mirrored by expropriation of entrepreneurs and the establishment of collective ownership and state management of their enterprises in the late 1950s. In Vinh, depending on their occupation, 83% to 99% of workers had been organized in collectives by 1961 (Hoàng Ngọc Anh et al., 2003: pp.120-122; Nguyễn Quốc Hồng, Hoàng Kim Oanh, 2005: p.159; UBHC Nghệ An, UBHC Vinh, 8.9.1961; UBHC Nghệ An, UBHC Vinh, 9.3.1961).³⁰ A multistorey state department store became the symbol of the new economic order (see Figure 3; Hoàng Ngọc Anh et al., 2003: p.127; see pictures in Thành ủy thành phố Vinh et al., 2003).

Following a Politburo decision, a public investment program focused on the creation of industries and relevant infrastructure. By 1960, 40 factories and enterprises had been established by central and local agencies in Vinh, the industrial workforce had grown to 10,000 workers (Hoàng Ngọc Anh et al., 2003: p.125; Nguyen Sy Thuy et al., 2011: pp.12-13; Nguyễn Quốc Hồng et al., 2004: p.127). The creation of an electricity network, including a new power plant, was assisted by the USSR with experts and 400,000 Roubles (Bùi Thiết, 1984: pp.152-157). In contrast to colonial times, plans envisaged electricity supplied to all of Vinh’s inhabitants (UBHC Nghệ An, 9.11.1954; UBKCHC Nghệ An, 27.9.1954).

The state also invested in the social infrastructure focusing on re-establishing Vinh as an educational centre, including a university and two colleges, as well as a primary school in each of the 5 urban areas (khu phố) and secondary schools. Additionally, hospitals (one with assistance of the People’s Republic of Poland), cinemas, a theatre, a library, and a museum commemorating the Nghệ Tĩnh Soviets were constructed (Nguyen Sy Thuy et al., 2011:

p.13; Hoàng Ngọc Anh et al., 2003: pp.129-133; UBHC Nghệ An, 28.11.1961; UBKH Nhà nước, 27.4.1962).

30 Further documents show that even in agriculture, some families continued to work individually outside cooperatives, see for example (UBHC Nghệ An, UBHC Vinh, 30.11.1962).

38 2.3 The History of Vinh: The First Two Destructions of Vinh (1940 to 1964)

During the 1950s, Vinh’s inhabitants largely constructed their own housing, using mainly wood and bamboo. Such buildings were repeatedly destroyed by fires, storms and floods (Hoàng Ngọc Anh et al., 2003: pp.105-109; UBHC Nghệ An, n.d.). After large scale destruction caused by a fire in August 1961, Vinh for the first time saw a public housing program (Hoàng Ngọc Anh et al., 2003: pp.110, 145). In 1961 and 1962, a small number of simple three-storey apartment buildings were constructed close to the city centre (Bộ Kiến trúc, Công ty Kiến trúc Vinh, 16.12.1961; UBHC Nghệ An, n.d.). Designs, plans, and funds were supplied by central agencies, while construction materials were sourced locally (Bộ Kiến trúc, Công ty Kiến trúc Vinh, 27.10.1961; UBKH Nhà nước, 20.9.1961). The construction of public housing was in line with plans for socialist urban development (Đảng Lao động Việt Nam, BCHTƯ 28.12.1961). The early 1960s saw the first important decisions for planning and development of Vinh in the DRV. In 1963, Vinh’s status was elevated from town to city, after it had been designated to become one of five industrial centres of the DRV in 1961 (Hoàng Ngọc Anh et al., 2003: pp.138, 144-146; Hội Đồng Chính phủ, 10.10.1963).

By 1964, Vinh’s population had grown to 72,000, the city covered an area of 26km² (Nguyễn Quốc Hồng, et al. 2004: p.147).

The Geneva Peace agreement provided for the temporary establishment of two separate states in Vietnam, the DRV in the north and the Republic of Vietnam in the south. Common elections and unification were to take place within two years. However, the Republic of Vietnam supported by the United States of America (US) refused to hold elections. The conflict turned into armed struggle in the South between the Republic of Vietnam government and the US on one side and the National Liberation Front and the DRV on the other. As the situation deteriorated the US turned to bombing the DRV after the Gulf of Tonkin Incident in August 1964 (SarDesai, 2005: pp.67-100; Duiker, 2000: pp.515-561). On 5 August 1964, the US bombed Vinh for the first time. In May and June 1965, most inhabitants as well as goods, machines and institutions were evacuated (Hoàng Ngọc Anh et al., 2003: pp.167-175). As Vinh and nearby harbours were important nodes in the transport of supplies and troops to the war in Southern Vietnam, US bombing especially targeted transport infrastructure (Nguyễn Văn Chiến, 2007: p.112; Bùi Thiết, 1984: p.143). While a number of workshops as well as the power plant remained in Vinh, intensified bombing in 1968 prompted the evacuation of nearly all remaining facilities and inhabitants (Hoàng Ngọc Anh et al., 2003: p.187). Bombing of the DRV by the US put a hold on urban development in Vinh and totally destroyed the city.

Plans for its reconstruction envisaged the creation of a Socialist City. As the next chapter will show, two attempts were made to implement this modern project.

39 2.3 The History of Vinh: The First Two Destructions of Vinh (1940 to 1964)

Figure 3

The state department store, once a symbol of socialist economic development was destroyed during US-bombing in the 1960s (National Archives Centre III Tài hiệu ảnh giải đoàn 1954-1985 (LIV) Quyển 1/764).

40