Truong Dinh - Continued Guerrilla Campaign

Continued Guerrilla Campaign

However, the overall Vietnamese military performance was not as successful as Định’s guerrilla activities. On June 5, 1862, Định broke with the Nguyen army after the court’s plenipotentiary Phan Thanh Gian and another official, Lam Duy Hiep, signed the Treaty of Saigon. This agreement ceded the three southern provinces of Gia Dinh, Dinh Tuong and Bien Hoa to France; they became the colony of Cochinchina. The treaty was accompanied by financial payments to France, religious concessions to missionaries and commercial opportunities for European merchants. Militarily, the withdrawal of the Nguyen army deprived the resistance of the logistical support that could be provided by a regular force. It also permitted the French to concentrate their efforts against a single antagonist. Politically, the treaty provided, for those Vietnamese who needed one, a legal basis to collaborate with the French on Cochinchinese soil. As a result, the colonial forces found it easier to recruit militia and administrative personnel among Vietnamese who had been too afraid or too embarrassed to serve the French openly before the 1862 treaty. Định then allied himself with Vo Duy Duong to form the Movement of Popular Self Defense (Phong Trao Nhan Dan Tu Ve), creating an operations base in Dong Thap.

The Huế court ordered Định to disband his forces and to accept a high position in An Giang Province. Fearing that they faced extermination at the hands of the French, Định’s followers and lieutenants pressed him to remain. Claiming that his followers would not allow him to leave, Định refused his appointment to An Giang, instead adopting the title of Bình Tây Sát Tà Đại Tướng (Western Pacifying Antiheresy General). He continued his guerrilla attacks against French patrols and their Vietnamese collaborators. The slogan “Phan-Lâm mái quốc; Triều đình khi dân” (Phan and Lam sell out the country; the court doesn’t care for the people) was circulated through the region. From his stronghold at Go Cong, Định exhorted all southern Vietnamese to rise against the occupying regime, an appeal that was well received. In the words of French naval artillery officer Henri de Poyen, by December 1862, “the insurrection had broken out and was rapidly spreading throughout the colony”. French commanders were convinced that Định remained in secret contact with Huế and was privately supported by Tu Duc against the terms of the treaty. The French charged that Định possessed a seal of office from Huế. However, there were reports that Tu Duc had twice ordered the arrest of Định and Duong to ensure their compliance with the treaty.

In contrast with many of his scholar-gentry colleagues who lacked a military training, Định was regarded as having a good understanding of the capabilities and limitations of his armed resistance. Định hoped to wear down the French over an extended period by exploiting the constant outbreak of malaria among the Europeans. During the initial phase of the invasion in 1858, the French had suffered heavily from tropical disease. Định calculated that such illnesses would partly compensate for the inferior weaponry of his forces. He attempted to maintain an administration parallel to the one imposed on the districts by the French admirals. These objectives required a high degree of regional coordination, something that was impossible without the support of the imperial bureaucracy. Định’s appeal among the peasantry was attributed to their gratitude for his administration of the đồn điền. Under such a system, he was responsible for assisting them in matters such as clearing land, educating the community, providing health care and mediating disputes. Joining the resistance army was seen as a means of showing trust and gratitude. Hịch Trương Định (The proclamation of Truong Dinh), which was believed to have been written in 1862 or 1863, emphasised such themes. It read:

To all those who can see and hear!
Look at the animals,
The water buffaloes and the horses are deaf and dumb,
But they are grateful to their masters;
The chickens and the dogs only know how to crow and bark,
But they are kind to their masters.
And we who have our feet on the ground, our head under the sky should we harm our people and country!