Victor Olivier de Puymanel (1768 in

Carpentras Carpentras (, formerly ; Provençal Occitan: ''Carpentràs'' in classical norm or ''Carpentras'' in Mistralian norm; la, Carpentoracte) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. ...

- 1799 in

Malacca Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site si ...

), Nguyễn Văn Tín (

阮 Ruan (, ) is a Chinese surname. The Taiwanese Hokkien version or is transcribed Oán and Ńg in Pe̍h-ōe-jī. The Cantonese language, Cantonese version is romanized Jyun2 in the Jyutping system or Yún in the Yale romanization of Cantonese, Y ...

文信) or Ông Tín in Vietnamese, was a French construction officer and a

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

volunteer and adventurer who had an important role in Vietnam in the 18th and 19th century. He played a key role in the modernization of the army of Nguyễn Phúc Ánh (the future Emperor

Gia Long Gia Long ( (''North''), ('' South''); 8 February 1762 – 3 February 1820), born Nguyễn Phúc Ánh (阮福暎) or Nguyễn Ánh, was the founding emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty, the last dynasty of Vietnam. His dynasty would rule the unif ...

).Mantienne, p.153 Olivier de Puymanel was second-class volunteer on board the French warship ''Dryade''. In 1788 he deserted his ship while in

Pulo Condor Pulo may refer to: Places * Pulo, Cabuyao, a village in the Philippines * Pulo do Lobo, a waterfall in Portugal * Pulo Gadung, a subdistrict in Jakarta, Indonesia * Pulo Jehat, an island in Malaysia * Duri Pulo, Gambir, a village in Indonesia * I ...

. He soon entered into the service of the Vietnamese prince

Nguyễn Phúc Ánh Gia Long ( (''North''), (''South''); 8 February 1762 – 3 February 1820), born Nguyễn Phúc Ánh (阮福暎) or Nguyễn Ánh, was the founding emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty, the last dynasty of Vietnam. His dynasty would rule the unifie ...

at the instigation of

Pigneau de Behaine Pierre Joseph Georges Pigneau (2 November 1741 in Origny-en-Thiérache – 9 October 1799, in Qui Nhơn), commonly known as Pigneau de Béhaine (), also Pierre Pigneaux, Bá Đa Lộc ("Pedro" 百多祿), Bách Đa Lộc ( 伯多祿) and ...

, who was setting up a force of French volunteers to help the latter regain the throne.''The Vietnamese Response to French Intervention'', 1862-1874 by Mark W. McLeod, p.1

/ref> Olivier de Puymanel supervised the construction of the

Citadel of Saigon The Citadel of Saigon ( vi, Thành Sài Gòn ) also known as the Citadel of Gia Định ( vi, Thành Gia Định ) was a late 18th-century fortress that stood in Saigon (also known in the 19th century as Gia Định, now Ho Chi Minh City), Vietna ...

, according to the design of the French engineer in Vietnam Théodore Lebrun. Vietnamese Tirrailleurs of Nguyen

He also trained Vietnamese troops in the modern use of artillery, and implemented European infantry methods in the Vietnamese army of Nguyễn Phúc Ánh. In 1792, Olivier de Puymanel was commanding an army of 600 men who had been trained with European techniques. Puymanel built a fortress in Duyên Khanh, near

Nha Trang Nha Trang ( or ; ) is a coastal city and capital of Khánh Hòa Province, on the South Central Coast of Vietnam. It is bounded on the north by Ninh Hòa District, Ninh Hoà town, on the south by Cam Ranh city and on the west by Diên Khánh Distri ...

, where he defended the city against Tây Sơn forces, together with Pigneau de Behaine and

Prince Cảnh A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

. In 1795, Puymanel engineered the campaign to take

. Puymanel is said to have trained the 50,000 men of Nguyen's army, while Dayot was in charge of the Navy. The results of these French efforts at the modernization of Vietnamese forces were attested by

John Crawfurd John Crawfurd (13 August 1783 – 11 May 1868) was a Scottish physician, colonial administrator, diplomat, and author who served as the second and last Resident of Singapore. Early life He was born on Islay, in Argyll, Scotland, the son of S ...

, who visited

Huế Huế () is the capital of Thừa Thiên Huế province in central Vietnam and was the capital of Đàng Trong from 1738 to 1775 and of Vietnam during the Nguyễn dynasty from 1802 to 1945. The city served as the old Imperial City and admi ...

in 1822: Olivier de Puymanel also worked on the cartography of the Vietnamese coast, together with

Jean-Marie Dayot Jean Baptiste Marie Dayot (Vietnamese name: Nguyễn Văn Trí / 阮文智, 1759–1809) was a French Navy officer and an adventurer who went into the service of Nguyễn Ánh, the future emperor Gia Long of Vietnam. Originally from a Brittany ...

, another French officer in the service of Nguyễn Phúc Ánh. Pigneau de Behaine and Puymanel seem to have disliked each other, and Pigneau was rather unimpressed with Puymanel's drinking habits and reliance on Saigon prostitutes.''Viet Nam: Borderless Histories'' - Page 204-205 by Nhung Tuyet Tran, Anthony Rei

/ref>

Notes

References

* Mantienne, Frédéric 1999 ''Monseigneur Pigneau de Béhaine'', Editions Eglises d'Asie, 128 Rue du Bac, Paris, {{DEFAULTSORT:Puymanel, Olivier De Military history of Vietnam Generals of the Nguyễn lords Mandarins of the Nguyễn lords 1768 births 1799 deaths People from Carpentras French Navy officers

See also

Notes

References