December 19, 1946

Battle of Hanoi (1946)

The Battle of Hanoi opens full-scale Franco-Vietnamese war

At eight in the evening Hanoi's lights went out, and gunfire followed across the darkened city. The plan was never to hold the capital — only to pin the French there long enough for the government to escape.

The power cut at 8 p.m.

At about 8 p.m. on 19 December 1946, Vietnamese militia cut Hanoi's electricity. Fighting then erupted between forces of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and French troops, with DRV forces attacking French installations across the city.

Vo Nguyen Giap issued coordinated orders to Vietnamese commanders in the northern, central and southern parts of the country to begin resistance.

The attackers were not only the Viet Minh in the narrow sense: DRV regular forces, militia and self-defence units were all involved.

Delay, not defence

Vietnamese militia and the Capital Brigade, under Hanoi commander Vương Thừa Vũ, were instructed to hold French forces inside Hanoi long enough for the DRV government and military apparatus to withdraw to safer areas.

The French held important positions but did not immediately eliminate the defenders. The street battle ran for roughly two months, and French forces did not fully reoccupy Hanoi until late February 1947.

The government escaped to its safe zones.

Not the first fighting

Negotiations over sovereignty and the March 1946 agreements had broken down amid the Haiphong fighting and escalating clashes in Hanoi. On 18 December French authorities issued an ultimatum demanding the disarmament of Vietnamese militia and threatening to assume responsibility for order in the city.

War against restored French rule had already begun in southern Vietnam on 23 September 1945. What 19 December 1946 marks is the full-scale, nationwide outbreak.

Ho Chi Minh's appeal for national resistance is dated 19 December, though the U.S. Army history says it was broadcast on the 21st.

Sources

Researched 24 Aug 2026 8 sources not yet audited

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What the sources leave uncertain

The date and the Vietnamese opening attack are well supported, but the responsibility for creating the final crisis and the precise sequence of decisions remain contested in scholarship.
War against restored French rule had already begun in southern Vietnam on September 23, 1945. December 19, 1946 marks the full-scale or nationwide outbreak, not the first Franco-Vietnamese violence.
Ho Chi Minh’s resistance appeal is dated December 19, but the U.S. Army history says it was broadcast on December 21.