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The businesslike Reds moved right into Hanoi's government offices as if they always had occupied them. Slight, youthful-looking General Giap prepared to take over at the Citadelle, where French generals had given orders since the days of Gambetta and MacMahon and where, nine years ago, they had gallantly held out against the Japanese.
Missing from the scene of triumph was Ho Chi Minh, who has scarcely been seen by Western eyes since 1947. "He is working on an important task elsewhere," explained a newspaper, and from "elsewhere" a decree was issued over the 63-year-old Red leader's name proclaiming Hanoi the capital of Communist Indo-China. President Ho, the Communists indicated, will make his entry next week in time to receive India's Prime Minister Nehru when he stops off on his way to see Communist China's rulers in Peking.