Việt Bắc (literally translated as North Vietnam) is a region of Vietnam north of Hà Nội that served as the Việt Minh’s base of support during the First Indochina War (1946–1954). Việt Bắc is also called the capital of northernmost Vietnam because this area was the location of the headquarters of the Communist Party of Vietnam at the period before the rising against French domination in 1945. The self-governing Việt Bắc region was established on 1 July 1956, which included the provinces Cao Bằng, Bắc Cạn, Lạng Sơn, Tuyên Quang, Thái Nguyên – Hà Giang Province added later. This was replaced by the Việt Bắc Military Zone in June 1957, which along with the formation of the Tây Bắc Autonomous Region gave ethnic minority groups control of their own development.
