Gustave Borgnis-Desbordes - Indochina (1884-1900)

Indochina (1884-1900)

In 1884 he was transferred to Tonkin (northern Vietnam) in what became French Indochina. Borgnis-Desbordes was a commander during the Sino-French War, serving under his mentor Louis Brière de l'Isle, now commander of forces in the Tonkin Expeditionary Corps. After the defeat at the March 1885 Battle of Bang Bo, and the removal of Brière de l'Isle, Borgnis-Desbordes remained in Indochina and was promoted to Général de brigade in 1886. On 1 January 1889 he was made Commander in Chief of Troops in Indochina, and in 1890, Général de division. An adamant colonialist to the end, he is famously quoted as saying the War in Indochina "was a case of seeing what you wanted and taking it." Retiring from this command, he died in Hanoi on 18 July 1900.