Jacques Duchesne | |
|---|---|
 General Jacques Duchesne (1837–1918) | |
| Born | 3 March 1837 Sens, France |
| Died | 27 April 1918(1918-04-27) (aged 81) |
| Allegiance |  France |
| Service | French Army |
| Rank | General |
| Battles / wars | Siege of Tuyên Quang Sino-French War Second Franco-Hova War |
GeneralJacques Charles René Achille Duchesne (3 March 1837 – 27 April 1918) was a 19th-century French military officer. He was born atSens and enteredSaint-Cyr in 1855, aged 18, and became a lieutenant in 1861.
Duchesne fought in theFranco-Prussian War in 1870–1871.[1] He became alieutenant-colonel in 1881.
In 1884-85, during theSino-French War, Lieutenant-Colonel Duchesne distinguished himself both in Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and Formosa (nowTaiwan). On 12 March 1884, during theBắc Ninh Campaign, Duchesne was placed by GeneralFrançois de Négrier in command of the 2nd Brigade's attack on the forward defences of Bắc Ninh and led a successful charge into the Chinese-held village of Keroi.
In November 1884 Duchesne led a column of legionnaires, marine infantry and Tonkinese riflemen to relieve theSiege of Tuyên Quang, defeatingLiu Yongfu'sBlack Flag Army at theBattle of Yu Oc (on 19 November 1884).[2] In December 1884 he was appointed to the command of the Formosa expeditionary corps atKeelung in northern Taiwan. In January 1885 he assaulted the Chinese lines of investment around Keelung, capturing the advanced Chinese position of Fork Y.[3] In March 1885 he launched a full-scale offensive against the Chinese lines at Keelung, making a bold flank march to attack the Chinese defences on their exposed eastern flank. The French offensive was completely successful. Duchesne's men captured the key Chinese positions of La Table and Fort Bamboo on 5 March and 7 March, respectively, forcing the Chinese to retreat to new positions south of the Keelung River.[4]
In 1895, Duchesne led the French invasion ofMadagascar in the SecondFranco-Hova War, disembarking his 15,000 troops atMajunga,[5] and managing to captureTananarive after seven months.[6] Twenty French soldiers died fighting and 6,000 died ofmalaria and other diseases before the Second Franco-Hova War ended. The government signed a treaty that yielded significant powers to the French authorities but left the monarchy intact. Madagascar became a Frenchprotectorate.[citation needed]
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