Siege of Saigon

The Siege of Saigon, a two-year siege of the city by the Vietnamese after its capture on 17 February 1859 by a Franco-Spanish flotilla under the command of the French admiral Charles Rigault de Genouilly, was an important event during the Cochinchina campaign (1858–62). The area of Saigon had strategic importance in that it the key food-producing area of Vietnam, ["Wars and Peace Treaties" - Page 95 by Erik Goldstein [http://books.google.com/books?id=nLWc0S1fw80C&pg=PA95&dq=Saigon+1859&lr=&sig=ACfU3U2Whv4Z6E-EGV-Yt9gs7bR6kGGdwg] ] and was the doorstep to Cochinchina.

Background

In 1858, Admiral Charles Rigault de Genouilly attacked Vietnam under the orders of Napoleon III following the failed mission of diplomat Charles de Montigny. His stated mission was to stop the persecution of Catholic missionaries in the country and assure the unimpended propagation of the faith. [Tucker, p.29 [http://books.google.com/books?id=WZry2NaH2_sC&pg=PA29&dq=Rigault+de+Genouilly&sig=PNppxGCOiZVC7pNh0hGLRbged9w#PPA29,M1] ] Rigault de Genouilly, with 14 French gunships, 3,000 men and 300 Filipino troops provided by the Spanish, ["A History of Vietnam", Oscar Chapuis p.195 [http://books.google.com/books?id=Jskyi00bspcC&pg=PA195&dq=%22Charles+de+Montigny%22&lr=&as_brr=3&hl=ja&sig=ACfU3U2i5WHjGBaz0qWcziBhUuEpNlIc5A#PPA195,M1] ] attacked the port of Danang in 1858, causing significant damages, and occupying the city. The landing force was soon placed under siege by the Vietnamese and, unable to advance inland beyond the protection of the squadron's guns, was effectively immobilised at Da Nang. [Tucker, p.29] ["The Last Emperors of Vietnam" by Oscar Chapuis, p.48 [http://books.google.com/books?id=9RorGHF0fGIC&pg=PA48&dq=Saigon+1859+Chapuis&lr=&sig=ACfU3U1auXqHUjf1q3-T2TUIW4a00rHJCQ] ]

Capture of Saigon, 17 February 1859

Realising that the French garrison at Da Nang could achieve nothing useful, Rigault de Genouilly decided to strike elsewhere against the Vietnamese. He considered and rejected the possibility of an expedition to Tonkin, and in January 1859 proposed to the navy ministry an expedition against Saigon in Cochinchina, a city of considerable strategic significance as a source of food for the Vietnamese army. The expedition was approved, and on 2 February, leaving "capitaine de vaisseau" Thoyon at Danang with a small French garrison and two gunboats, Rigault de Genouilly sailed south for Saigon. His naval force consisted of the corvettes "Phlégéton" and "Primauguet", the gunboats "Alarme", "Avalanche" and "Dragonne", the Spanish despatch vessel "El Cano" and the transports "Saône", "Durance" and "Meurthe". [Thomazi, "La conquête de l'Indochine", 33]

Rigault de Genouilly halted for five days in Cam Ranh Bay for four supply ships to join him with food for the expedition. On 9 February he again got underway. On 10 February the allied flotilla bombarded the forts that defended the interior harbour of Cap Saint-Jacques and soon reduced their cannon to silence. The landing companies, a mixed force of French and Spanish soldiers under the command of "capitaine de vaisseau" Reynaud, then went ashore and stormed the forts.

On 11 February the five-day voyage upriver began. The transports and the baggage were left at Cap Saint-Jacques. The gunboat "Dragonne" scouted ahead, followed by the two other gunboats, the two corvettes and the Spanish despatch vessel. Three companies of marine infantry and two Spanish companies, 2,000 men in all, were distributed among the vessels which towed the launches of the naval forcee. The allied flotilla advanced cautiously as the currents were unknown, and anchored each night in the river. During their passage the French and Spanish vessels halted to reduced six riverside forts, and squads of engineers under the command of "capitaine de génie" Gallimard were put ashore to burn the wooden stockades that linked the forts. The Vietnamese defended themselves vigorously: "Dragonne" was hit with three cannonballs, and "Avalanche" by seven. The invaders took care to ensure that the river could not be closed behind them. After each fort was taken its cannon were either spiked or taken aboard the ships.

On the evening of 15 February the naval division (which had been joined in the river by the despatch vessel "Prégent") arrived in view of the the two forts built by Gia Long's French engineers, which defended Saigon from the south. During the night two armed launches were sent forward to destroy a barrage made of boats lashed together and filled with explosives. At dawn on 16 February "Phlégéton", "Primauguet", "Alarme" and "Avalanche" anchored 800 metres from the forts. The channel was so narrow that Admiral Charner, on "Phlégéton"’s bridge, was able to shout his orders to the captains of the other vessels. "Prégent", "Dragonne" and "El Cano" were a little further back.

The allied flotilla opened fire on the Vietnamese forts and soon found the range. Marine infantry snipers, firing from the mastheads of the French ships, picked off the Vietnamese gunners. The Vietnamese responded vigorously, but their aim was uncertain, and the French and Spanish soon beat down their fire. The landing companies were sent ashore to assault the forts, and by 8 a.m. both forts were in French hands.

Later the same day "capitaine de frégate" Bernard Jauréguiberry, the future French admiral and navy minister, scouted the Citadel of Saigon aboard "Avalanche". On the morning of 17 February the French and Spanish went ashore and assaulted the citadel. Sergeant des Pallières of the marine infantry was the first to enter the citadel, and once the allies were inside the Vietnamese garrison retreated. A force of around 1,000 Vietnamese soldiers attempted to counterattack. Admiral Charner, who was personally directing the action, threw back their attack with Colonel Lanzarote’s Filipino troops. At 10 a.m. the French and Spanish flags flew above the citadel. [Thomazi, "La conquête de l'Indochine", 33–6]

Siege of Saigon, March 1859 to February 1861

The citadel of Saigon was enormous, and the allies did not have enough men to hold it securely. Rigault de Genouilly therefore decided to blow it up. Thirty-two mines were prepared, and on 8 March 1860 the citadel was wrecked. The rice magazines were also set alight, and burned for several months. [Thomazi, "La conquête de l'Indochine", 36]

Like the earlier capture of Da Nang, the capture of Saigon also proved to be a hollow victory for the French and Spanish. As at Da Nang, the invaders were soon placed under siege, this time by a Vietnamese army of about 10,000 men. Meanwhile, the French government was distracted from its Far Eastern ambitions by the outbreak of the Austro-Sardinian War, which tied down large numbers of French troops in Italy. In November 1859 Rigault de Genouilly, whose actions in Cochinchina had come under severe criticism in France, was replaced by Admiral François Page, who was instructed to obtain a treaty protecting the Catholic faith in Vietnam but not to seek any territorial gains. [Tucker, p.29]

The Vietnamese, aware of France's distraction in Italy, refused to negotiate. Meanwhile, the French were unable to reinforce the garrisons of Da Nang and Saigon. Although the Austro-Sardinian War soon ended, by early 1860 the French were again at war with China, and Page had to divert most of his forces to support Admiral Léonard Charner's China expedition. In April 1860 Page left Cochinchina to join Charner at Canton, and the defence of Saigon was entrusted to "capitaine de vaisseau" d'Ariès. The Franco-Spanish force in Saigon, only 1,000 men strong, had to support a siege by greatly superior numbers from March 1860 to February 1861. [Thomazi, "La conquête de l'Indochine", 37–43]

The Vietnamese also besieged Captain Thoyon's small French garrison in Da Nang. The Siege of Đà Nẵng (September 1858 to March 1860) drained French strength, and in March 1860 the French evacuated the town.

Battle of Ky Hoa, February 1861

Finally, following the French victory in China at the Battle of Palikao, reinforcements of 70 ships under Admiral Charner and 3,500 soldiers under General de Vassoigne were dispatched to Saigon. Charner's squadron, the most powerful French naval force seen in Vietnamese waters before the creation of the French Far East Squadron on the eve of the Sino-French War (August 1884–April 1885), included the steam frigates "Impératrice Eugénie" and "Renommée" (Charner and Page's respective flagships), the corvettes "Primauguet", "Laplace" and "Duchayla", eleven screw-driven despatch vessels, five first-class gunboats, seventeen transports and a hospital ship. The squadron was accompanied by half a dozen armed lorchas purchased in Macao. [Thomazi, "La conquête de l'Indochine", 45]

After the arrival of these massive reinforcements, the French were able to defeat the besieging Vietnamese at the battle of Chin Hoa (Ky Hoa) on 25 February 1861. [Wars and Peace Treaties By Erik Goldstein, p.95 [http://books.google.com/books?id=nLWc0S1fw80C&pg=PA95&dq=Saigon+1859&lr=&sig=ACfU3U2Whv4Z6E-EGV-Yt9gs7bR6kGGdwg] ]

Aftermath

It is from this base that France was able to expand its occupation in the Cochinchina area, leading to the formal establishment of the Colony of Cochinchina.

In July 1861, after the battle of Chin Hoa, France declared the annexation of Cochinchina to France. [Wars and Peace Treaties By Erik Goldstein, p.95 [http://books.google.com/books?id=nLWc0S1fw80C&pg=PA95&dq=Saigon+1859&lr=&sig=ACfU3U2Whv4Z6E-EGV-Yt9gs7bR6kGGdwg] ]

On 13 April 1862 Emperor Tu Duc sued for peace, and was forced to formally cede the territories of Biên Hòa, Gia Định and Dinh Tuong to France in the Treaty of Saigon. In 1864 all the French territories in southern Vietnam were declared to be the new French colony of Cochinchina. In 1867 the provinces of Châu Đốc, Ha Tien and Vĩnh Long were added to French controlled territory by admiral La Grandière. The Emperor formally recognized French dominion over Cochinchina in 1874, in the 1874 Treaty of Saigon, ["A Study of Crisis" by Michael Brecher, Jonathan Wilkenfeld, p.179 [http://books.google.com/books?id=GjY7aV_6FPwC&pg=PA179&dq=Cochinchina+France+1874&lr=&sig=ACfU3U14_Eouc1qspwZcwlVQEECHyozOsg] ] negociated by Paul-Louis-Félix Philastre.

ee also

*Colonization of Cochinchina
*France-Vietnam relations

Notes

References

* Encyclopedia Britannica Online [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9063673/Charles-Rigault-de-Genouilly]
* Thomazi, A., "La conquête de l'Indochine" (Paris, 1934)
* Thomazi, A., "Histoire militaire de l'Indochine français" (Hanoi, 1931)
* Tucker, Spencer C (1999) "Vietnam" University Press of Kentucky ISBN 0813109663