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- 1948–1955 State of Vietnam
- 1955–1975 Republic of Vietnam
- 1975–1976 Republic of South Vietnam
- 1976 forcibly united with the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam)
- own name: Nuóc Hòa Viêt Nam
• Flags
• Meaning/Origin of the Flag
• Coat of Arms
• Meaning/Origin of the Coat of Arms
• Aircraft Roundel
• Map
• Numbers and Facts
• History
• Origin of the Country's Name
1946–1948 — Autonomous Republic of Cochinchina
1946, Cochinchina,
Flag of the Autonomous Republic,
ratio = 2:3,
Source, by: Wikipedia (EN)
1946–1948, Cochinchina,
Flag of the Autonomous Republic,
ratio = 2:3,
Source, by: Nguyen Đình Sài
1948–1955 — State of Vietnam
1948–1955,
Flag of the State of Vietnam,
ratio = 2:3,
Source, by: Nguyen Đình Sài
1948–1955,
Flag of the President,
ratio = 2:3,
Source, by: Wikipedia (EN)
1955–1975 — Republic of Vietnam
1955–1975,
Flag of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam),
ratio = 2:3,
Source, by: Nguyen Đình Sài
1955–1963,
Flag of the President,
ratio = 2:3,
Source, by: Wikipedia (EN)
1964–1975,
Flag of the President,
ratio = 2:3,
Source, by: Wikipedia (EN)
1975–1976 — Republic of South Vietnam
1975–1976, Viet Cong,
Flag of the Republic of South Vietnam,
ratio = 2:3,
Source, by: Nguyen Đình Sài
The first flag in the modern sense was introduced in 1802 by Emperor Gia Long of the Nguyen Dynasty after he unified the country and took power over the whole country. The country was then called "Dai Viet Quoc" and was renamed "Viet Nam Quoc" in 1804. The flag was called "Long Tinh Ky" → "Flag of the Red Dragon". It was plain yellow with a red disc in the centre and was surrounded by a border of blue tongues. The colour yellow stands for the emperor and the Viet people, the red dot stands for the south and also represents the dragon. The blue border stands for the ocean and the dragon's scales. Emperor Dong Khanh introduced a new flag in 1885 because his predecessor had forbidden him from his exile to continue using the "Long Tinh Ky". The country had been called "Dai Nam" since 1839, so the flag was called "Dai Nam Ky". It was yellow and also showed the abbreviated Chinese characters for "Dai" and "Nam". From 1858 to 1862, France conquered the south of the country (Nam Bo, Nam Ky) and created the Colony of Cochinchina (capital Saigon), only the French flag was used here. The north of the country, Tonkin (Nam Bo), with the capital Thang Long (Hanoi), came under the influence of Chinese rebels. In 1884, the French conquered Central Vietnam (Annam, Trung Bo) and the capital Hue, followed by Tonkin in 1885. France forced China to relinquish sovereignty over the country. Central Vietnam (now a French protectorate) remained under the rule of the emperor as the Kingdom of Annam, while Tonkin became an own French protectorate. Emperor Thanh Thai ruled from 1889, defending the sovereignty and unity of the country, which the French had begun to divide up. He introduced a new national flag for Dai Nam in 1890. It was a plain yellow bunting (the colour of the emperor) with three continuous narrow red stripes in the middle. Red stood for the people and the three stripes for the three parts of the country: Tonkin (north), Annam (centre) and Cochinchina (south). It was called the "Yellow Flag". Thanh Thai and his successor Duy Tan were exiled to Africa by the French in 1907 and 1916 respectively, and in 1920 a puppet emperor, Emperor Khai Dinh, was installed, who immediately introduced a new flag. However, his sphere of power remained limited to Central Vietnam (Annam). The flag of Emperor Khai Dinh showed three horizontal stripes in yellow, red and yellow, in a ratio of 1:2:1. It was also called "Long Tinh Ky" because the old "Long Tinh Ky" was used as a model. In principle, the red disc became a stripe and the blue border was removed. The north (Tongkin) and centre (Annam) of the country were French protectorates, which had their own flag from 1920. It was also yellow, but showed the French tricolour in the upper corner. During the Second World War, the French of the Vichy-Government had to share power with the expansionist Japan from 1941 onwards. In March 1945, Japanese troops occupied whole Indochina, ending French colonial rule. Emperor Bao Dai changed his flag, which now had three horizontal stripes of equal width in yellow, red and yellow. On 12th of June in 1945, the Japanese created the "Empire of Vietnam" (De Quoc Viet Nam) and installed Bao Dai from the House of Nguyen as emperor. The flag of the empire was the "Yellow Flag", but the centre red stripe was interrupted so that the Que-Ly symbol (fire essence in the south) from the I-Ching could be recognised. Due to the Chinese symbolism, the flag was not particularly popular. The empire ended on 25th of August in 1945 following Japan's surrender in the Second World War and the communist Ho Chi Minh, the leader of the Viet Minh militia supported by the USA, proclaimed the "Democratic Republic of Vietnam" on 2nd of September in 1945, above which the flag of the Viet Minh militia was hoisted, a single-coloured red bunting with a five-pointed yellow star. On 23rd of September in 1945, France successfully asserted its claims to its colonial territory and after the landing of French troops in October 1945, Vietnam came back under de jure French rule, which could not assert itself in the north, so that the "Democratic Republic of Vietnam" (later North Vietnam) remained there, which led to armed conflicts from 1946 onwards. In the far south, France initially established the "Autonomous Republic of Cochinchina" in 1946. Its flag initially featured the design of the "Yellow Flag", but the coloured stripes were blue. In the same year, the spaces between the narrow blue stripes were filled with white. In 1948, France created the "State of Vietnam" in the entire south of the country, with a government loyal to France (from 1949 under Bao Dai as president). The flag of this state was the "yellow flag" with red stripes. After France was defeated in the war with the Viet Minh and had to give up Indochina, the country was divided along the 17th parallel at the Geneva Conference on 21st of July in 1954, with the "Democratic Republic of Vietnam" (supported by the Soviet Union and China) with the Viet Minh flag in the north and the "Republic of Vietnam" (supported by the USA) with the "Yellow Flag" with the red stripes in the south from 1955. The war continued as the "Vietnam War" between the two states. On 30th of April in 1975, South Vietnam surrendered and the Viet Cong took control of the country. The Viet Cong flag was used until the annexation of South Vietnam to North Vietnam on 2nd of July in 1976. The Viet Cong flag showed two horizontal stripes in red and blue and a golden five-pointed star in the centre. It is of course reminiscent of the single-coloured red flag of North Vietnam, but the blue stripe stands out. It symbolises the so-called "Montagnards", mountain tribes of Chinese, Thai or Polynesian descent. The colour of the Montagnards is blue, which is also reflected in their traditional clothing. They wore and still wear blue pyjamas, in contrast to the Vietnamese, who wear black pyjamas. The colour has to be described using auxiliary words. The Viet Cong wanted to use the blue-coloured flag to win over the Montagnards for the guerrilla war against Saigon, but this was hardly successful. Outside Vietnam, the yellow flag of the Republic of Vietnam is still regarded as the actual flag of Vietnam and enjoys a high reputation worldwide. The colours yellow and red are important colours in Buddhism. This applies to the flags of South Vietnam, but also North Vietnam, because Buddhism was also tolerated to some extent in the communist north, and so the communist flag was able to make friends among Buddhists. The Viet Cong and North Vietnam occupied the South and established the "Republic of South Vietnam" there, which was united with the North to form the "Socialist Republic of Vietnam" on 2nd of July in 1976.
Source: Jürgen Kaltschmitt, Peter Scholl-Latour in ARTE-TV, NLĐO, Wikipedia (EN), Nguyen Đình Sài
1946–1948,
Coat of arms of Cochinchina,
Source, by: Wikipedia (EN)
1948–1949,
Coat of arms of South Vietnam,
Source, by: Wikipedia (EN)
1954–1955,
Coat of arms of South Vietnam,
Source, by: Wikipedia (EN)
1955–1963,
Coat of arms of South Vietnam,
Source, by: Wikipedia (EN)
1963–1975,
Coat of arms of South Vietnam,
Source, by: Wikipedia (EN)
The coat of arms of South Vietnam was always inspired by the image of the "yellow flag", thus showing three narrow red stripes on a yellow background. From 1957, the symbolism of South Vietnam was supplemented by another image, the image of a bamboo bush, which was also used as a coat of arms image and was also depicted on South Vietnamese passports, for example. The flag of the President of South Vietnam also featured this image at times. Depictions of a dragon also sometimes played a role, especially in the French protectorate of Annam. However, the French colonial administration used a standardised French seal with an image of the goddess of freedom for the whole of Indochina. The dragon is perhaps an allusion to the royal house of Nguyen, whose symbol is the dragon, or to the great emperor and founder of modern Vietnam, Gia Long, whose name translates as "House of the Dragon".
Source: Die Welt der Flaggen, Flaggen Wappen Hymnen, Wikipedia (EN), Volker Preuß
1951–1956,
Aircraft Roundel,
Source, by: Wikipedia (EN)
1956–1975,
Aircraft Roundel,
Source, by: Wikipedia (EN)
Map of the country:
Source: wikipedia.org
Area: 67.108 square miles
Inhabitants: 19.370.000 (1973)
Density of Population: 289 inh./sq.mi.
Capital: Saigon, 1.700.000 inh. (1973)
official Language: Vietnamese
other Languages: Chinese, French, English
Currency: 1 Dong (SD) = 10 Hào = 100 Xu and 1 Piaster (VN$) = 100 Centimés
Time Zone: GMT + 8 h
Source: Wikipedia (D), Wikipedia (EN), Die Erde
257 B.C.–207 B.C. · Vietnamese Kingdom of Au Lac, emerged from the Kingdom of Van Lang
207 B.C.–196 B.C. · Kingdom of Nam Viet
196 B.C.–111 B.C. · Viet Nam is Chinese vassal
111 B.C.–938 A.D. · Vietnam is part of China
679 · China establishes the An Nam protectorate
939 · Vietnam secedes from China under Ngo Quyen, independence
1558–1787 · division of the country between two ruling dynasties, Trinh in Tongking, Nguyen in Annam and Cochinchina, the whole country becomes tributary to China
1802 · China establishes the Protectorate of "Dai Viet Quoc" in Annam and Tonkin
1804 · "Dai Viet Quoc" is renamed "Viet Nam Quoc"
1839 · "Viet Nam Quoc" is renamed "Dai Nam Quoc"
1858 · France occupies Da Nang
1859 · France occupies Saigon
1862 · France acquires the southern Annam
1867 · Cochinchina is ceded to France
1873/1874 · France occupies Haiphong and Hanoi
1874 · Tonkin becomes a French protectorate
1883 · Annam becomes a French protectorate
1884 · France acquires Tonkin
1885 · China renounces its rights in Tongking and Annam
17th of October 1887 · foundation of French Indochina (Cambodia, Cochinchina, Annam and Tonkin
1893 · Laos is annexed to French Indochina
September 1940 · Franco-Japanese military convention, Japanese troops occupy the country
1941 · Ho Chi Minh founds the communist Viet Minh fighting organization, fight against Japanese occupation troops
9th of March 1945 · Japan abolishes French colonial rule
11th of March 1945 · Vietnamese Emperor Bao-Dai declares the country's independence from France
15th of August 1945 · surrender of the Japanese troops
25th of August 1945 · Vietnamese Emperor Bao-Dai abdicates
2nd of September 1945 · Ho Chi Minh proclaimes the Democratic Republic of Vietnam
September 1945 · North Vietnam is occupied by Chinese troops, South Vietnam is occupied by British troops, aim: disarmament and repatriation of Japanese troops
September 1945 · North Vietnam is occupied by Chinese troops
January 1946 · the Chinese troops leave the country
March 1946 · the British troops leave the country
6th of March 1946 · France recognizes the independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, but only in the north of Vietnam, and only as an autonomous territory within French Indochina
8th of November 1946 · French troops occupy Hanoi, onset of the resistance of the Viet Minh
October 1949 · formation of a government headed by Bao-Dai in the French-controlled areas
1950 · the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam), becomes internationally partially recognized, in particular from the socialist camp
7th of May 1954 · Battle of Dien Bien Phu, defeat of the French troops
21st of July 1954 · Geneva Indochina Conference, France withdraws from Indochina, Vietnam is divided, the north is left to the communist Viet Minh, the south remains as an initially free and democratic Vietnam
5th of October 1954 · the last French troops leave the country
26th of Octobrer 1955 · Founding of the Republic of Vietnam in the South
20th of December 1960 · founding of the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (NFB, NLF or Viet Cong)
2nd and 4th of August 1964 · clashes between war-vessels of North Vietnam and the USA
1965–1968 · US-airstrikes in North Vietnam
December 1966 · the Viet Cong establish a permanent diplomatic representation in Hanoi
1st of November 1968 · cessation of all hostilities between North Vietnam and the USA
29th of January 1969 · Paris Talks, negotiations between the United States, North Vietnam, South Vietnam and the Viet Cong
6th of June 1969 · establishment of a provisional revolutionary government of the Viet Cong in South Vietnam
April 1972 · US-airstrikes in North Vietnam
January to March 1973 · Paris Conference for an ending the war, the US troops leave the country
5th of March 1975 · offensive by the Viet Cong
30th of April 1975 · Saigon is conquered by Viet Cong troops, capitulation of South Vietnam
2nd of May 1975 · South Vietnam is fully occupied by troops of the Viet Cong
2nd of July 1976 · after twenty years of war, South Vietnam is united with North Vietnam to form the "Socialist Republic of Vietnam", communist reorganisation of society in South Vietnam using harsh coercive measures
Source:
Meyers Konversationslexikon,
Discovery '97,
Wikipedia (DE),
Weltgeschichte,
World Statesmen,
Volker Preuß
The word "Viêt Nam" translates as "southern land". It is quite old, but the name referred to an area in the south of present-day China. Today's Vietnam seceded from China in the 10th century and consolidated itself in the 11th century under the name "Dai Viet" ("Great Viet"). In the 15th century, the country came under Chinese influence again and had to recognise China's suzerainty. In the second half of the 18th century, the country descended into chaos and civil war. With the help of France, the Nguyen merchant family was able to assert itself and establish Nguyen Anh as new monarch, who proclaimed himself Emperor Gia Long of Dai Viet with the capital Hue in 1802 and had his power confirmed by China. However, he asked China to agree to the country being renamed "Nam Viet" ("Southern Viet"), but this was only authorised in the form "Viet Nam". Gia Long's successor Minh Mang renamed the country "Dai Nam" ("Great South") in 1839. In principle, the country kept this name until 1945, when France, which became increasingly influential, had no interest in recognising the Vietnamese empire and established the name "Annam", the historical name of Central Vietnam (Trung Bo). From 1858 to 1862, France conquered the south of the country (Nam Ky, or Nam Bo) and created the colony of "Cochinchina" (capital Saigon). The north of the country, Tonkin (also known as Bac Bo), with the capital Thang Long (Hanoi), came under the influence of Chinese rebels. In 1884, the French conquered Central Vietnam and the capital Hue, and in 1885 also Tonkin. France forced China to relinquish its sovereignty over the country. Central Vietnam (now a French protectorate) remained under the rule of the Emperor as the Kingdom of Annam, while Tonkin became an own French protectorate. During the Second World War, the country remained under the rule of the French Vichy government from 1940, but came under the influence of an expanding Japan in 1941. In March 1945, Japanese troops occupied the whole of Indochina, ending French colonial rule. On 12th of June in 1945, the Japanese created the "Empire of Vietnam" (De Quoc Viet Nam) and installed Bao Dai from the House of Nguyen as emperor. The empire ended on 25th of August in 1945 in the wake of Japan's surrender in the Second World War and the communist Ho Chi Minh, the leader of the Viet Minh militia supported by the USA, proclaimed the "Democratic Republic of Vietnam" on 2nd of September in 1945. On 23rd of September in 1945, France successfully asserted its claims to its colonial territory and after the landing of French troops in October 1945, Vietnam came back under de jure French rule, which could not assert itself in the north, so that the "Democratic Republic of Vietnam" (later North Vietnam) remained there, which led to armed conflicts from 1946 onwards. In the far south, France first established the "Autonomous Republic of Cochinchina" in 1946, then in 1948 the "State of Vietnam" throughout the south, with a government loyal to France (from 1949 under Bao Dai as president). After France was defeated in the war with the Viet Minh and had to give up Indochina, the country was divided along the 17th parallel at the Geneva Conference on 21st of July in 1954, with the "Democratic Republic of Vietnam" (supported by the Soviet Union and China) in the north and the "Republic of Vietnam" (supported by the USA) in the south from 1955. The war continued as the "Vietnam War" between the two states, in which the North triumphed in 1975 and occupied the South, establishing the "Republic of South Vietnam" there, which was united with the North on 2nd of July in 1976 to form the "Socialist Republic of Vietnam". Today's Vietnam is the continuation of communist North Vietnam. South Vietnam, the historical Vietnam, the old cultural state, perished on 2nd of July in 1976 in the course of the forced unification with the communist North Vietnam.
Source:
Handbuch der geographischen Namen,
Wikipedia (EN),
Nguyen Đình Sài,
Volker Preuß
