Nguyễn Văn Hinh (20 September 1915 – 26 June 2004) was the

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

of the Vietnamese National Army and the first Vietnamese officer in the

French Armed Forces The French Armed Forces (french: Forces armées françaises) encompass the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force and the Gendarmerie of the French Republic. The President of France heads the armed forces as Chief of the Armed Forces. Franc ...

to be promoted to the rank of general. Educated in the French style, he served in the '' Armée de l'air'' and '' Troupes coloniales'' before accepting a role in the army of the new

State of Vietnam The State of Vietnam ( vi, Quốc gia Việt Nam; Chữ Nôm: 國家越南; french: État du Viêt-Nam) was a governmental entity in Southeast Asia that existed from 1949 until 1955, first as a member of the French Union and later as a country ...

within the French Union. Hinh is somewhat of an oddity in the 20th century military history of Vietnam as he attained the rank of lieutenant general in two separate countries, not unlike his North Vietnamese counterpart

Nguyễn Sơn Nguyễn Sơn (1 October 1908 – 21 October 1956), also known by his Chinese name Hong Shui (), was a Vietnamese military leader who participated in the Chinese Communist Revolution and the First Indochina War against the French. Sơn spent much ...

who served as a major general in both the

People's Army of Vietnam The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN; vi, Quân đội nhân dân Việt Nam, QĐNDVN), also recognized as the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) or the Vietnamese Army (), is the military force of the Vietnam, Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the ...

and the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Biography

Nguyễn Văn Hinh was born on 20 September 1915 in Vũng Tàu,

Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu province Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu ) is a province of Vietnam. It is located on the coast of the country's Southeast region. It also includes the Côn Đảo islands, located some distance off Vietnam's southeastern coast. From 1954 to 1975, under South ...

as the son of Nguyễn Văn Tâm, a schoolteacher and aspiring functionary in French Cochinchina. Their family name was originally

Trương Trương, or Truong without diacritics, is a Vietnamese surname formerly written as in the Han script. It is derived from the Chinese surname Zhang (), one of the most common surnames in China and Taiwan. According to the 2010 United States C ...

before becoming Nguyễn. After his primary education and at his father's insistence, Hinh moved to France in 1932 to advance his studies, attending the prestigious '' Lycée Louis-le-Grand'' in Paris.

Early career

In 1936, he enlisted in the French Air Force and was sent to the '' École de l'Air'' in

Salon-de-Provence Salon-de-Provence (, ; oc, label= Provençal Occitan, Selon de Provença/Seloun de Provènço, ), commonly known as Salon, is a commune located about northwest of Marseille in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d' ...

for training. Hinh graduated as pilot and flight engineer in 1937 and was assigned to a bomber squadron in Toulouse, achieving the rank of second lieutenant. With the outbreak of World War II and the invasion of France in 1940, he participated in operations against invading Germans in the northeastern part of the country and Italians in the Alps. Though the French government eventually capitulated, Hinh was awarded the ''

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

'' for his contribution to the war effort. Following the establishment of a collaborationist regime under Philippe Pétain in Vichy, Hinh was transferred to West Africa, serving in French Sudan and Senegal. Upon the conclusion of

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8 November 1942 – Run for Tunis, 16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of secu ...

in November 1942, he joined

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

's Free French Forces as a first lieutenant. Hinh worked as an air force instructor in

Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...

until April 1944, when he was reassigned to the European theater in charge of a bomber squadron. At the end of the war, he was admitted to the Legion of Honour and awarded the American Air Medal for his service. For a year after the war, Hinh remained in occupied Germany. Promoted to the rank of major in 1948, he was sent to lead a transport wing in Algeria, where he would meet his future wife; the daughter of a local '' Pied-noir''.

Vietnamese National Army

Nguyễn Văn Hinh was appointed the Vietnamese National Army Chief of Staff by Emperor Bảo Đại.

Opposition to Ngô Đình Diệm and exile

Hinh was replaced by General

Lê Văn Tỵ Army General Lê Văn Tỵ (17 May 1904 – 20 October 1964) was the first chief of staff of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. He replaced Nguyễn Văn Hinh as joint general chief of staff.Nguyễn Công Luận ''Nationalist in the Viet N ...

as appointed joint general chief of staff.Nguyễn Công Luận Nationalist in the Viet Nam Wars 2012 "General Lê Văn Tỵ was appointed joint general chief of staff, replacing General Nguyễn Văn Hinh. The remnants of the French supporters lost their foothold in the nationalist army. "

Later life

Hinh returned to France in November 1954, re-entering the air force with his former rank of lieutenant colonel. For his service in Vietnam, he was admitted to the National Order of Vietnam and awarded the

Vietnam Gallantry Cross The Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross also known as the Vietnamese Gallantry Cross or Vietnam Cross of Gallantry ( vi, Anh-Dũng Bội-Tinh) is a military decoration of the former Government of South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam). The medal wa ...

. As a senior colonel, Hinh was appointed to the flight test centre in

Brétigny-sur-Orge Brétigny-sur-Orge (, literally ''Brétigny on Orge'') is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France, from the city center. Origin of the city name The name of the settlement is attested as ''Britiniacum'' in 1146, as ''Bretigniacum'' ...

in 1956, followed by an assignment to the missile test centre in Biscarrosse. In 1960, he received command of the airbase at Colomb-Béchar in support of the

Algerian War The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...

effort. Having avoided involvement in the 1961 Generals' putsch, Hinh was promoted to the rank of brigadier general the following year and appointed deputy

chief of defence The chief of defence (or head of defence) is the highest ranked commissioned officer of a nation's armed forces. The acronym CHOD is in common use within NATO and the European Union as a generic term for the highest national military position withi ...

. In 1965, he was promoted to divisional general and assigned to the Central Directorate of Matériel of the Air Force, overseeing the introduction of new nuclear strike capabilities. As is customary for French military personnel reaching the age of 55, Hinh was scrapped from the flight roster in 1970 and entered the reserves upon his retirement in 1975. After the

1975 Spring Offensive The 1975 spring offensive ( vi, chiến dịch mùa Xuân 1975), officially known as the general offensive and uprising of spring 1975 ( vi, Tổng tiến công và nổi dậy mùa Xuân 1975) was the final North Vietnamese campaign in the Vie ...

and the fall of South Vietnam, he devoted the following years to helping his former VNA subordinates escape the country and find refuge in France. Hinh died on 26 June 2004, aged 88, a few years after his admission to the

National Order of Merit An order of merit is conferred by a state, government or royal family on an individual in recognition of military or civil merit. Order of merit may also refer to: * FIFA Order of Merit, for significant contribution to association football * PDC O ...

References