34 Facts About Roger Trinquier

Roger Trinquier was a French Army officer during World War II, the First Indochina War and the Algerian War, serving mainly in airborne and special forces units.

Roger Trinquier was a counter-insurgency theorist, mainly with his book Modern Warfare.

Roger Trinquier was born on 20 March 1908 in La Beaume, a small village in the Hautes-Alpes department, to a peasant family.

Roger Trinquier studied at a one-room village school in his home village until 1920, when he entered the Ecole Normale of Aix-en-Provence.

Roger Trinquier graduated in 1928 at twenty and was called up for 2 years' compulsory military service, being sent to the French Army's reserve officers' school, where unlike most of his classmates he became interested in the military.

Roger Trinquier was first stationed at Kylua, near Lang Son, in Tonkin.

Roger Trinquier then took command of a French outpost at Chi Ma on the Chinese border.

Roger Trinquier returned to France in 1936 and was assigned to the 41st Colonial Infantry Machine-gun Regiment at Sarralbe, where he commanded a company until he was sent to China in early August 1938.

Roger Trinquier served in the French concessions in China, first in Tianjin, then Beijing and finally Shanghai in January 1940.

Roger Trinquier was under the authority of Vichy France in China for five years.

Roger Trinquier arrived at Saigon in early 1946 and was assigned to Commando Ponchardier, a combined army and navy commando unit named after its commander Captain Pierre Ponchardier.

Roger Trinquier became commander of B4, one of the sub-units of the commando, recruited from the colonial infantry.

Roger Trinquier returned to France in the summer of 1946, charged with the responsibility of recruiting and training volunteers for a colonial parachute battalion that was being formed for combat in Indochina against the Viet Minh.

Roger Trinquier returned to Indochina with the 2nd Colonial Commando Parachute Battalion, during November 1947.

Roger Trinquier took part, as second-in-command, in operations in Cambodia and on the Plain of Reeds in southern Vietnam.

Roger Trinquier took command of the battalion when its commander, Major Dupuis, was killed in action on 9 September 1948, and was promoted to Major on 1 October.

Roger Trinquier's troops occupied the terrain and laid ambushes against the Viet Minh at night instead of the normal policy of taking a few positions, where refuge could be taken at night and then reopening the roads in the morning.

Roger Trinquier's tactics proved effective, reassured people and pacified the Lai Thieu area.

Roger Trinquier took over the command of the GCMA in early 1953 and directed the fighting behind Viet Minh lines, creating a maquis in the Tonkinese upper region and in Laos, totaling around 30,000 men.

Roger Trinquier's maquis contributed to the successful evacuation of the fortified airhead at Na San, in August 1953, and the reoccupation of the Phong Saly and Sam Neua provinces.

Roger Trinquier returned to France in January 1955, being promoted to lieutenant colonel and assigned to the staff of General Gilles, commander of the airborne troops.

Roger Trinquier was posted to Algeria in August 1956 at the airborne base of French North Africa as the war against the FLN was becoming more intense.

Roger Trinquier then served as second-in-command to General Massu, commander of the 10th Parachute Division, during the Battle of Algiers, where he was one of the leading figures behind the creation of the DPU.

Roger Trinquier became a member of the committee for public safety formed by Generals Massu and Salan during the May 1958 crisis, which brought Charles de Gaulle back to power; Trinquier resigned from the committee on 11 June and returned to his regiment.

Roger Trinquier led it during the fighting in southern Algeria and in the Kabylie, where he captured Si Azzedine, a senior FLN leader.

Roger Trinquier had been the field superior and mentor of Capt.

Roger Trinquier was recalled to France in July 1960 and in December assigned to Nice and the staff of the general commanding that group of sub-divisions.

On 26 January 1961, Roger Trinquier asked for early retirement from the army into the reserve.

Roger Trinquier was then hired by Moise Tshombe, the leader of the State of Katanga rebellion in Congo, to train his forces.

Roger Trinquier only stayed a few weeks in Congo before being thrown out by the United Nations.

Roger Trinquier was its first president from 1963 to 1965, before stepping down for General Jean Gracieux.

Roger Trinquier was critical of the traditional army's inability to adapt to this new kind of warfare.

Roger Trinquier argued that it was immoral to treat terrorists as criminals, and to hold them criminally liable for their acts.

Roger Trinquier is forced to flee the Katangese capital after helping Secessionists win the first round of fighting against UNO troops.