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Elections were held in Vietnam in areas controlled by the Democratic Republic of Vietnam with the nationalist but communist dominated Viet Minh Party, led by Ho Chi Minh, winning 230 of the 300 seats in the National Assembly. The ballot was not secret and ballot papers were filled out in the presence of aides who were "to help comrades who had difficulty in making out their ballots."
It was not a free and fair election, but its interesting that those who will engage in antidemocratic activities still crave the legitimacy of elections.
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As Emperor, he had participated in an anti French rebellion while only 16 years old, an event which lead to the French removing him from his throne. He thereafter went into exile on Réunion Island, where he retained pro independence views. During World War Two he held anti Vichy views and entered the Free French Navy, and then Army, when the island was liberated from Vichy. DeGaulle, realizing how desperate the situation in French Indochina was, was having him returned to Vietnam where he would have been re-installed as Emperor, which would have amounted to deposing Boa Dai, who had sided with Vichy. His untimely death left the Communist dominated Viet Minh as the only real functioning anti colonial force in the region.
Still highly regarded in Vietnam, most Vietnamese cities have streets named after him. His remains were reinterred in Vietnam in 1987.
The Red Chinese won the Gaoyou–Shaobo Campaign in which the Nationalist troops were principally made up of units that had formerly collaborated with the Japanese.
Admiral of the Fleet Roger John Brownlow Keyes, 1st Baron Keyes, who in spite of his age saw some service in World War Two, died at age 73.
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George Washington: “[I}t is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliance with any portion of the foreign world.”
Lyndon Johnson: "But we are not about to send American boys 9 or 10,000 miles away from home to do what Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves."
Donald Trump: "Tonight, I'm pleased to announce that we're taking our military cooperation to even greater heights by formally designating Saudi Arabia as a major non-NATO ally."
What was that, MAGA, about forever wars?
And why on earth would we want to designate a monarchy that will have a regime changing revolution within the next fifteen years as an formal "ally".
Friend of convenience, that's in the ICU, yes. Ally?
Due to a failure on the part of the legislature to address the enabling act, Wyoming Attorney General Frank Mendicino opined that the 55 mph speed limit remained in effect.
Mendicino was only five years out of the UW's law school at the time.
Oops.
The Chicago Tribune abandoned its standard practice of phonetic spelling of certain common words.
Kissinger sent a memo to President Ford.
September 29, 1975
MEMORANDUM FOR: THE PRESIDENT
FROM: HENRY A. KISSINGER
SUBJECT: Information Items
CIA Summary: Vietnam After the Fall: Nearly five months after the fall of Saigon, South Vietnam remains under a form of martial law in which North Vietnamese military personalities make all day-to-day political, administrative, and economic directives. The primary authority, however, appears to be Pham Hung, fourth-ranking member of the North Vietnamese Politburo, who is in charge of party and military affairs in the South. The South Vietnamese Provisional Revolutionary Government, which ostensibly serves as a national government, has no meaningful authority over either Pham Hung or the military management committee. Immediately after the take-over, the communists moved to offset the lack of capable and trustworthy administrators by importing large numbers of officials from the North. Many of these appear to have been former southerners who had come north at the time of the 1954 Geneva accords.
Communist policies to date have been aimed primarily at restoring order and the economy. The communists early adopted a relatively conciliatory approach in order to mobilize support. But given the long and bitter nature of the conflict and the abundance of firearms in the country, they are now admitting to opposition from a variety of sources, including former government soldiers, religious sects, and ethnic minorities in the highlands. The continued presence of 18 of the 20 North Vietnamese divisions in the south attests to the fact that security remains a problem. The economy is probably far more worrisome. The communists admit that it is still in bad shape. Low production and high unemployment have reduced the level of living throughout the country. Considerable help from Hanoi’s foreign allies will be required to get the economy on its feet. So far the communists have not attempted to make fundamental or sweeping changes in the South’s economic structure and they are depending heavily on private enterprises to revive the economy.
Vietnamese officials, both North and South, proclaim formal reunification as their foremost objective. At the same time, they make it clear that the process will be gradual, following progress in developing an acceptable communist administrative structure and in restoring order and economic stability. Although the communists are maintaining the fiction of an independent South Vietnamese state, there is no question that Vietnam is now one country with one policy.
Casey Stengel died at age 85.
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The Viet Minh's Resistance Committee of the Saigon-Cholon Region was set up and issued an order calling for non-collaboration with the French. It was effectively a call to arms.
The Egyptian government demanded that British forces withdraw from the Sudan, prior to its incorporation with Egypt.
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In what would prove to be a last straw for Gen. Eisenhower, Gen. Patton expressed skepticism over denazification, comparing the Nazis to Republicans and Democrats.
Patton was growing increasingly frustrated now that peace had arrived. If Eisenhower could have read the comments in his journal, he would have been relieved by this time.
The Huaiyin–Huai'an Campaign ended in communist victory in China.
Former French pows went on a rampage in Saigon and killed members of the Viet Minh and innocent civilians, including children. French civilians joined in.
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Kim Il Sung arrived at Port Wonsan and began to organize the Communist Party of Korea.
Kim was born into a Presbyterian family. He fled to Manchuria in 1920 after being involved in anti Japanese activities. He was in his mid teens at the time and then attended military schools. It was while he was in China that he became interested in Communism. He was a figure in the Chinese Communist Army during the pre World War Two Chinese Civil War and then again during World War Two, crossing into the Soviet Union in 1940. He then joined the Red Army. The Soviets chose Kim in order to have a Communist figure to introduce into Korea even though he was poorly educated and by 1940 his Korean was very poor. His early life is not very well known.
British and French troops complete the suppression of the Việt Minh in Saigon.
New Zealand ratified the UN Charter.
William Joyce was sentenced to death.
The British announced that Indian would shortly be granted home rule.
Shirley temple married Sgt. John Agar, a fellow actor. She was 17 years old. Agar was 25.
The marriage wouldn't last.
Agar had a real drinking problem, although he amazingly lived to age 81. Apparently he's associated with B science fiction movies, but I always associate him with John Ford westerns. He also appeared in The Sands of Iwo Jima. He met Shirley Temple in 1943 when he escorted her to a Hollywood party. She would only have been 15 years old at the time.
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The 1945–1946 War in Southern Vietnam began with the arrival of Major General Douglas Gracey in command if Indian troops. He arrived to take the Japanese surrendered but immediately apprised the situation as being nearly out of control.
One of his first acts was to arm liberated French POWs. His Indian Forces and the rearmed French soon evicted the Việt Minh from Saigon.
One of the really astounding elements of this is that the British not only won the Malayan Emergency, but arguably won their own portion of the Vietnam War.
The Japanese surrendered at Rangoon, save for their commander who would not surrender until October. The Japanese 18th Army surrendered in New Guinea.
The Chinese Communist prevailed in the Battle of Dazhongji while the Wudi Campaign (无棣战役) began.
British military authorities publish a Gestapo "death list" of 2300 British and Allied notables, including Churchill and the leaders of the French, Polish and Czechoslovak governments in exile.
Spain abolished the Falangist salute.
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Hideki Tojo attempted suicide when American troops arrived at his home to arrest him as a war criminal. The self inflicted gunshot wound was not fatal.
He's entered the Japanese Army as an officer in 1905, right after the Russo Japanese War. He became Prime Minister in October, 1941, and advocated for war against the United States, and occupied that position until July 1944, at which time he was replaced as it was realized that the United States would not negotiate with him, and indeed he was tried as a war criminal and executed in 1948.
The U.S. House voted for a Congressional investigation of Pearl Harbor. The measure had already passed the Senate.
The Chinese Nationalist Army occupied Hanoi under agreement with the Allied Powers, pending resumption of French control of Indochina.
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The Democratic Republic of Vietnam was proclaimed by Ho Chi Minh.
The British government ended wartime censorship.
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America and British troops landed in the Tokyo region. The US 11th Airborne Division flew into Atsugi airfield. The 4th and 6th Marine Regiments landed in the naval base at Yokosuka. General MacArthur flew from Manila to organize the US occupation and set up his temporary headquarters at Yokohama.
The USS San Juan started to evacuate Allied prisoners of war detained in the Japanese home islands.
The Royal Navy reoccupied Hong Kong.
Japanese surrenders in Burma continued..
The Allied Control Council took formal control of Germany.
A B-29 Superfortress on a supply flight crashed in bad weather in the neighbourhood of Mount Oyaji (親父岳, Oyaji-take) on Mount Sobo (祖母山). All twelve crewmen were killed.
Hồ Chí Minh invited several people to contribute their ideas toward his Declaration of Independence, including a number of American OSS officers. While there were notable exceptions, like John Burch, the OSS was heavily left leaning and indeed included a number of Communists within its ranks, something that was not really very much frowned on at the time.
Mexico recognized the Spanish Republican government in exile as the government of Spain. The Spanish Republican government in exile was located in Mexico City, having relocated there after the fall of France in World War Two. It'd return to Paris in 1946. The body would recognize the restored Spanish constitutional monarch as the legitimate government in 1977.
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