On March 11, in a letter sent to our fellow-countrymen in Nam Bo, Uncle Ho told them about the recognition by the French government of our country as a free and sovereign State. He wrote: “This is thanks to the heroic struggle of the people all over the country, especially our compatriots in Nam Bo and southern Trung Bo and of all our fighters during the last six months.” He pointed out that the negotiations “will create political conditions which we should know how to exploit in order to achieve our goal — a completely independent Viet Nam.”
Later, at the Second Congress of the Party in 1951, in his political report, he referred to the March 6 Agreement and remarked that our compatriots and Party members in Nam Bo had considered that that policy had been correct.
Indeed, for our compatriots in Nam Bo and southern Trung Bo the Agreement brought them new faith. Those who were fighting against the aggressors saw clearly that they had won a great victory when the French government was forced to recognize Viet Nam as a free State. Our compatriots were still more delighted at the fact that the Chiang Kai-shek troops would have to pull out. Some people said: “By a mere signature Uncle Ho has managed to drive nearly 200,000 Chiang Kai-shek troops out of our country.” The Agreement created a new opportunity for our compatriots in their long struggle.
It was the enemy who was puzzled, bewildered, in face of the newly-signed Agreement. The former administrators and their puppets were at a loss. They were angry at every word, every sentence in the Agreement. They put many questions: Why do they call the Hanoi authorities the “Vietnamese government”? Why does the French government officially recognize the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam as a free State? Why is the French government pledging to accept the result of a referendum about the unification of the three Ky? — For them Nam Bo was simply a French colony.
In a session of the Consultative Council on March 12, Cédile, the French Commissioner in Cochinchina explained: “The March 6 Agreement is only a local agreement between the Hanoi authorities and the French Commissioner in Bac Bo. If a Vietnamese government is referred to, it is by mere courtesy, and does not imply recognition of a single government for the three Annamese countries. Before long Cochinchina will have its separate government, parliament, army and finances... all the rights enjoyed by the other countries in the Federation.”
Those words of Cédile reflected d’Argenlieu’s attitude and scheme. On March 8, when Valluy came, in the name of General Leclerc, to inform him of the newly signed March 6 Agreement, d’Argenlieu said at once: “I am amazed, really amazed, General. France has such a fine expeditionary corps yet its commanders would rather negotiate than fight.”
Thus the opposition of the reactionary elements in Saigon to the spirit and letter of the Agreement was advocated and encouraged by the highest representative of France in Indochina.
Instead of implementing the Agreement by ceasing all hostilities and holding a referendum as was laid down in the clauses which had been signed, d’Argenlieu speeded up the formation of an “autonomous government” of Cochinchina, in order to carry out his policy of splitting Nam Bo from Viet Nam.
After the signing of the Agreement in some places such as Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan, the French feigned a desire to establish contact with our military units with the view of arranging a ceasefire. In reality these were only ambushes. Through lack of vigilance, one of our units was caught and suffered some losses.
The High Command of the French Expeditionary Corps imposed many arrogant conditions on our armed forces. They demanded that our “March South” units should withdraw to the North, and our troops in Nam Bo should come together and hand over their weapons to the French before returning to their native localities.
The enemy in South Viet Nam had laid bare his true colours: he had betrayed the Agreement. Our compatriots and fighters remembered clearly President Ho’s words: “Hold firm to your fighting positions.” And so all the enemy’s treacherous acts were immediately beaten off.
With the Ninth Colonial Infantry Division and the Armoured Division moving to the north, the French had only one division left in the south, the third Colonial Infantry. The French forces were not only smaller in numbers they were also more scattered. The recently set up puppet machinery was still very weak.
Like a river bursting its banks, our people from the plains to the mountain regions rose up as one man, swept away the local puppet machinery plank by plank and restored the revolutionary power. With any weapon they could lay hands on, the people arose and fought side by side with the army. A series of enemy posts were wiped out, encircled or abandoned by their defenders. Many important roads and water communication lines were cut. Together with the local cadres our troops had organized many armed propaganda units. Fast-moving units of our armed forces penetrated into temporarily occupied areas. Each time our troops attacked a village, the people at once sounded the gongs, beat the drums and, making their way to the puppets’ offices, forced them to admit their crimes and return all they had plundered. Within a short period of time, vast areas in Nam Bo and southern Trung Bo were freed from enemy control. There was a new fighting spirit all over South Viet Nam.
Guerilla warfare was widespread. Everywhere there were rallies and demonstrations.
As they were equipped only with rudimentary weapons, our army and people in Nam Bo had to depend mainly on stratagems to defeat the enemy. The Kinh Sang post in Cai Be district was on the bank of a canal... The enemy soldiers stationed there exerted a strict control over the passing boats. One day, in broad daylight, one small unit of ours went past the post by boat, disguised as traders. The soldiers ordered the boat to come near the bank so that they could check it. Our men invited them to board the boat and then killed them with scimitars and daggers. After that they landed and wiped out the other soldiers in the post.
In Cao Lanh district, Sa Dec province, a platoon of puppet troops was stationed near a market place. On market days, the soldiers would come looting in the market-place. One morning, no sooner had they left the post than our troops assaulted it. Those who had stayed behind surrendered. Hearing the shots, all the people in the market-place fled, leaving their belongings behind. When the shooting ended they returned to find that everything they had left remained untouched. As our troops went past, parading their prisoners and carrying trophies, they were acclaimed by the people who stood along the road.
Women in many places took part in the fighting to wipe out the enemy and capture weapons. Some used bamboo flails to kill the enemy right in the market-places. Others would use a wicker fish trap to catch an enemy soldier by his head and capture his rifle.
The puppet troops and administration were facing a new situation: the revolutionary force was continuously growing. The March 6 Agreement bound the French to accept the abolition of the colonial regime. What would become of the puppets, after the referendum? Their immediate cause for fear was that the French troops’ bayonets had become powerless and could no longer be used to shield them. The best way for them was to rally to the people. Many puppet agents and officials came to our cadres to hand over their seals and files, ready to accept any punishment meted out to them. Groups of puppet soldiers surrendered with their weapons. Some offered to help wipe out enemy posts from within.
In Saigon and other cities a movement of political struggle surged up. Rallies, demonstrations and strikes were held in protest against the French violations. The press denounced the farce of French stage-managed “autonomy” and condemned the collusion between the traitors and the aggressors in their scheme of dividing the country.
Armed activities were even conducted inside Saigon city. On April 8, one task force crossed the Saigon river and blew up a big ammunition depot. A platoon of French troops guarding the depot was wiped out and four thousand tons of ammunition destroyed. The explosions shook the whole city, heavily damaging the premises of the head-quarters of the French Expeditionary Corps General Staff including Leclerc’s own office.
On the same day the French delegation to the Dalat preparatory conference arrived in Saigon. In the evening Leclerc gave a dinner in honour of the delegation. Max André, the head of the delegation was displeased with the explosion at the depot. He said to Leclerc: “I suppose that those responsible will be punished for their negligence.” Leclerc angrily replied: “I am the only one responsible here.”
Was it because the four-star general realized that his statement a month before — “Cochinchina has been pacified” — was erroneous? For him everything would have to begin again from the beginning.