Chapter 8: Viva Indépendance - Violent Decolonisation in Madagascar and Indochina (1940s)
Opening Moves: Viva Indépendance!
The repeated defeats of the major European colonial powers in the Second World War severely undermined the authority of those empires in the colonies. For instance, the occupation of French Indochina by the Japanese broke the myth of white invincibility, whilst the use of British soldiers to occupy Madagascar on behalf of the Gaullist Free French forces de-legitimised the authority of the French colonists in the eyes of the Malagasy populace.
The Vietnamese nationalist revolution began in 1945, in the aftermath of the Second World War. On August 19, the Viet Minh (a Communist/Nationalist militia group led by Ho Chi Minh) began a revolution to pre-emptively seize power in Vietnam. Under the terms of the Japanese surrender, occupying Japanese troops were supposed to maintain law and order. But unwilling to risk their safety for the sakes of their enemy, Japanese troops stood aside as Viet Minh forces occupied public buildings in most major Vietnamese towns and cities. Notably, French officials detained by the Japanese during the war were not released, suggesting implicit support for the anti-colonial struggle from the Japanese forces in Indochina. On August 25, the puppet emperor Bao Dai was forced to abdicate in favour of the Viet Minh in a ceremony at Hue. Despite the unilateral declaration of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) by Ho Chi Minh, on September 2, Nationalist Chinese forces moved South to occupy Vietnam north of the 16th parallel. The Viet Minh did not resist, despite their distrust of the Nationalist Chinese both from ethnic and ideological standpoints. South of the 16th parallel, the British briefly occupied Vietnam. The Viet Minh entered into negotiations with the French, willing to make political concessions. By early 1946, French troops had arrived in Indochina and the French withdrew from their promises of autonomy.
In response to French arrogance, the Viet Minh began a general uprising. Although the initial spark was caused by disputes over import duties at the port of Haiphong, the treatment of the Vietnamese by the French during the re-imposition of colonialism was the gunpowder. Typical of French actions was the bombardment of Haiphong by the French fleet on Nov 23, killing several thousand civilians. The Vietnamese counter-action was to bring 30,000 Viet Minh militia to the outskirts of Haiphong under the command of Vo Nyugen Giap. Despite overwhelming numbers, Viet Minh probing actions could not find any exploitable weaknesses in the French defenses, and withdrew to remote mountain areas to wage guerrilla war. They were joined by Ho Chi Minh after conflict with the French in the capital, Hanoi.
1947 saw large French offensive operations, including Operation Lea, which failed to behead the Viet Minh command structure. In late 1948, losing political will and unwilling to see the wholesale expulsion of French influence seen in Madagascar, the French began to develop an alternative government in Saigon, leading to the recognition of the "State of Vietnam" within the French Union in 1949. The new state was headed by consistent collaborationist Bao Dai. The French allowed the formation of the Vietnamese National Armee (ANV), the core of which was formed from the Cao Dai and Hoa Hao religious sects and the Binh Xuyen criminal gang (which funded itself through control of organised crime in Saigon, notably sex slavery and narcotics). Laos and Cambodia were also given independence within the Union. In 1950, the establishment of Communist control over Yunnan province allowed the overland supply of the Viet Minh by the Maoist PRC. Giap begins reorganising the guerrilla Viet Minh into a conventional army, and after a grinding war of attrition, expels the French by the end of 1955[19].
The French withdrew from Indochina, dividing the nation into the DRV in the North, and the Republic of Vietnam (ROV) in the South. It wouldn't be long before this region was again embroiled in war.
In Madagascar, the war against the French had been comparatively short. In 1946, nationalist Malagasy (primarily from the priviledged highland Merina people) formed the Democratic Movement for Malagasy Restoration (MDRM). Later that year, the 1946 French constitution declared full citizenship for all Malagasy, but this did little to stop French mistreatment of the Malagasy. The constitution also divided Madagascar administratively, and in local elections, the MDRM won the majority in all provinces except Mahajanga. On 29 March 1947, forces associated with the Malagasy nationalist secret societies (VVS and Jiny) attack French plantations on the East side of the island. New historical evidence suggests that the uprising may have been prompted by the British expatriate community on the island, although these theories have yet to be confirmed. What is known is that the reprisals by French colonial police led to large-scale uprisings, led by the MDRM and their rivals, PADESM (the Party for the Malagasy Dispossessed), which was largely composed of former slaves of the Merina and ethnic groups from the East Coast. The MDRM-affiliated rebels quickly took control of 80% of the country, aided by the co-operation of the Sakalava people of the West Coast and the Mahafaly of the South.
The French response was fairly lethargic, given preoccupation with the war in the more profitable Annamese and Tonkin colonies. This allowed the rebels to overwhelm many of the French reinforcements, although new evidence suggests they were supplied by British and/or South African interests, given the proliferation of Sten submachineguns in photographs of victorious MDRM rebels[20]. As the war raged, a civil war between PADESM and MDRM provided a concerning precedent for post-independence Africa. The entire Bezanozano people, who supported PADESM but were geographically close to Merina land, were enslaved en masse, whilst the Betsimisaraka and Antaifasy, also loyal to the Merina, were terrorised as the French withdrew in September 1948.
Upon French (begrudging) recognition of Malagasy independence, the Malagasy Republic was denied French Union membership, as well as the ability to trade with the states of the French Union. To avoid a complete economic collapse, Madagascar was forced to use South Africa as a trade intermediary with the Commonwealth, a relationship which was forced tighter as the apartheid regime in South Africa faced increasing pressure by Congolese-sponsored majority rule groups. The Merina elite maintained it's grip on power by selling the South Africans sapphires discovered at Ilakaka in the 1950s [21], which was then sold for a higher price on the international market. The arms-for-gems deal finally came to an end upon the collapse of apartheid, when the MDRM were overthrown by the resurgent PADESM, who ushered in a period of reconciliation.
[19] The longer Chinese Civil War means less supplies for the Viet Minh early on, slowing progress.
[20] There is some evidence for British instigation of the rebellion, but they didn't supply the rebels IOTL.
[21] IOTL, this mine wasn't discovered until the 1990s.
The repeated defeats of the major European colonial powers in the Second World War severely undermined the authority of those empires in the colonies. For instance, the occupation of French Indochina by the Japanese broke the myth of white invincibility, whilst the use of British soldiers to occupy Madagascar on behalf of the Gaullist Free French forces de-legitimised the authority of the French colonists in the eyes of the Malagasy populace.
The Vietnamese nationalist revolution began in 1945, in the aftermath of the Second World War. On August 19, the Viet Minh (a Communist/Nationalist militia group led by Ho Chi Minh) began a revolution to pre-emptively seize power in Vietnam. Under the terms of the Japanese surrender, occupying Japanese troops were supposed to maintain law and order. But unwilling to risk their safety for the sakes of their enemy, Japanese troops stood aside as Viet Minh forces occupied public buildings in most major Vietnamese towns and cities. Notably, French officials detained by the Japanese during the war were not released, suggesting implicit support for the anti-colonial struggle from the Japanese forces in Indochina. On August 25, the puppet emperor Bao Dai was forced to abdicate in favour of the Viet Minh in a ceremony at Hue. Despite the unilateral declaration of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) by Ho Chi Minh, on September 2, Nationalist Chinese forces moved South to occupy Vietnam north of the 16th parallel. The Viet Minh did not resist, despite their distrust of the Nationalist Chinese both from ethnic and ideological standpoints. South of the 16th parallel, the British briefly occupied Vietnam. The Viet Minh entered into negotiations with the French, willing to make political concessions. By early 1946, French troops had arrived in Indochina and the French withdrew from their promises of autonomy.
In response to French arrogance, the Viet Minh began a general uprising. Although the initial spark was caused by disputes over import duties at the port of Haiphong, the treatment of the Vietnamese by the French during the re-imposition of colonialism was the gunpowder. Typical of French actions was the bombardment of Haiphong by the French fleet on Nov 23, killing several thousand civilians. The Vietnamese counter-action was to bring 30,000 Viet Minh militia to the outskirts of Haiphong under the command of Vo Nyugen Giap. Despite overwhelming numbers, Viet Minh probing actions could not find any exploitable weaknesses in the French defenses, and withdrew to remote mountain areas to wage guerrilla war. They were joined by Ho Chi Minh after conflict with the French in the capital, Hanoi.
1947 saw large French offensive operations, including Operation Lea, which failed to behead the Viet Minh command structure. In late 1948, losing political will and unwilling to see the wholesale expulsion of French influence seen in Madagascar, the French began to develop an alternative government in Saigon, leading to the recognition of the "State of Vietnam" within the French Union in 1949. The new state was headed by consistent collaborationist Bao Dai. The French allowed the formation of the Vietnamese National Armee (ANV), the core of which was formed from the Cao Dai and Hoa Hao religious sects and the Binh Xuyen criminal gang (which funded itself through control of organised crime in Saigon, notably sex slavery and narcotics). Laos and Cambodia were also given independence within the Union. In 1950, the establishment of Communist control over Yunnan province allowed the overland supply of the Viet Minh by the Maoist PRC. Giap begins reorganising the guerrilla Viet Minh into a conventional army, and after a grinding war of attrition, expels the French by the end of 1955[19].
The French withdrew from Indochina, dividing the nation into the DRV in the North, and the Republic of Vietnam (ROV) in the South. It wouldn't be long before this region was again embroiled in war.
In Madagascar, the war against the French had been comparatively short. In 1946, nationalist Malagasy (primarily from the priviledged highland Merina people) formed the Democratic Movement for Malagasy Restoration (MDRM). Later that year, the 1946 French constitution declared full citizenship for all Malagasy, but this did little to stop French mistreatment of the Malagasy. The constitution also divided Madagascar administratively, and in local elections, the MDRM won the majority in all provinces except Mahajanga. On 29 March 1947, forces associated with the Malagasy nationalist secret societies (VVS and Jiny) attack French plantations on the East side of the island. New historical evidence suggests that the uprising may have been prompted by the British expatriate community on the island, although these theories have yet to be confirmed. What is known is that the reprisals by French colonial police led to large-scale uprisings, led by the MDRM and their rivals, PADESM (the Party for the Malagasy Dispossessed), which was largely composed of former slaves of the Merina and ethnic groups from the East Coast. The MDRM-affiliated rebels quickly took control of 80% of the country, aided by the co-operation of the Sakalava people of the West Coast and the Mahafaly of the South.
The French response was fairly lethargic, given preoccupation with the war in the more profitable Annamese and Tonkin colonies. This allowed the rebels to overwhelm many of the French reinforcements, although new evidence suggests they were supplied by British and/or South African interests, given the proliferation of Sten submachineguns in photographs of victorious MDRM rebels[20]. As the war raged, a civil war between PADESM and MDRM provided a concerning precedent for post-independence Africa. The entire Bezanozano people, who supported PADESM but were geographically close to Merina land, were enslaved en masse, whilst the Betsimisaraka and Antaifasy, also loyal to the Merina, were terrorised as the French withdrew in September 1948.
Upon French (begrudging) recognition of Malagasy independence, the Malagasy Republic was denied French Union membership, as well as the ability to trade with the states of the French Union. To avoid a complete economic collapse, Madagascar was forced to use South Africa as a trade intermediary with the Commonwealth, a relationship which was forced tighter as the apartheid regime in South Africa faced increasing pressure by Congolese-sponsored majority rule groups. The Merina elite maintained it's grip on power by selling the South Africans sapphires discovered at Ilakaka in the 1950s [21], which was then sold for a higher price on the international market. The arms-for-gems deal finally came to an end upon the collapse of apartheid, when the MDRM were overthrown by the resurgent PADESM, who ushered in a period of reconciliation.
[19] The longer Chinese Civil War means less supplies for the Viet Minh early on, slowing progress.
[20] There is some evidence for British instigation of the rebellion, but they didn't supply the rebels IOTL.
[21] IOTL, this mine wasn't discovered until the 1990s.