Japan's defeat by the World War II Allies created a power vacuum for Vietnamese nationalists of all parties to seize power in August 1945, forcing Emperor Bảo Đại to abdicate and ending the Nguyễn dynasty. On September 2, 1945, Hồ Chí Minh read the Proclamation of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in Ba Đình flower garden, now known as Ba Đình square, officially creating the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Their success in staging uprisings and in seizing control of most of the country by September 1945 was partially undone, however, by the return of the French a few months later.