Naval history of Vietnam
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Army and warfare made their first appearance in Vietnamese history during the 3rd millennium BC. Throughout thousands of years, wars played a great role in shaping the identity and culture of people inhabited the land which is modern day Vietnam.


Early period

From the beginning of the founding of the Vietnamese Nation in the 1st millennium BC, the Hùng Vương period spawned many legends of fighting against seaborne invasions of Quynh Chau (now China) from the north and Ho Ton (later to become Champa) from the south. During the era of the Kingdom of Âu Lạc, when the Cổ Loa Citadel was constructed, King
An Dương Vương An Dương Vương () was the king and the only ruler of the kingdom of Âu Lạc, a classical antiquity state centered in the Red River Delta. As the leader of the Âu Việt tribes, he defeated the last Hùng king of the state of Văn Lang an ...
relied on the Hoang Giang River as a natural fortification to protect the south flank of the citadel. In the 6th century, Emperor
Lý Nam Đế Lý Nam Đế (chữ Hán: 李南帝, 503 – 13 April 548), personal name Lý Bí or Lý Bôn (李賁), was the founder of the Early Lý dynasty of Vietnam, ruling from 544 to 548. Overview Lý Bôn (李賁, sometimes read as Lý Bí) was a loc ...
built naval forces to fend off the invasion of Liang dynasty's (China) forces in the
Tô Lịch River Tô Lịch River ( vi, Sông Tô Lịch, links=no) is a small river, flowing in the territory of the Hanoi capital. Mainstream Tô Lịch river flows through the districts Cầu Giấy, Thanh Xuân, Hoàng Mai and Thanh Trì. It is also known a ...
, Dien Triet lake; and then, King
Triệu Quang Phục Triệu is a Vietnamese surname, it is the equivalent of the Mandarin Chinese surname Zhao (surname), Zhao (趙). Trieu is the anglicized variation of the surname Triệu. Notable people with the surname Triệu *Triệu Thị Trinh or Lady Triệ ...
used guerrilla tactics against the Chinese military at Da Trach lagoon (
Khoái Châu Khoái Châu is a township () and capital of Khoái Châu District, Hưng Yên Province, Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the e ...
,
Hải Dương Hải Dương () is a city in Vietnam. It is the capital of Hải Dương, an industrialized province in the Hanoi Capital Region and the Red River Delta in Northern Vietnam. The city is at the midpoint between the capital Hanoi and major port H ...
). In the 10th century, the Imperial Vietnamese Navy became a regularised force. Naval forces of
Khúc Thừa Dụ Khúc Thừa Dụ () or Khúc Tiên Chủ () (830–907) was a ''jiedushi'' of Tĩnh Hải quân, nominally under the Chinese Tang dynasty, in the early 10th century. Khúc Thừa Dụ was the head of the Khúc family in Hải Dương and wa ...
in Hong Chau (now Ninh Giang District,
Hải Dương Hải Dương () is a city in Vietnam. It is the capital of Hải Dương, an industrialized province in the Hanoi Capital Region and the Red River Delta in Northern Vietnam. The city is at the midpoint between the capital Hanoi and major port H ...
),
Dương Đình Nghệ Dương Đình Nghệ (Chữ Hán: 楊廷藝; pinyin: ''Yáng Tíngyì''; 874 – March 937; some sources record Dương Diên Nghệ, Chữ Hán: 楊延藝) was the jiedushi of Tĩnh Hải quân in around 931 AD. He was a skillful, talented gen ...
in Ai Chau,
Thanh Hóa Thanh Hóa () is the capital of Thanh Hóa Province. The city is situated in the east of the province on the Ma River (Sông Mã), about 150 kilometers (93 miles) south of Hanoi and 1560 kilometers (969 miles) north of Ho Chi Minh City. Thanh ...
and of King Ngô Quyền himself were raised by enlisting and training the fishermen along rivers and seasides. Those elements became well-trained and experienced naval forces, ready to protect the country.


Dynastic period

In Trần dynasty era, the dynasties were occupied with raising naval forces and naval bases. Particularly, the Vân Đồn port had an important role in protecting the northeast territorial waters of Vietnam. In 1075 Lý Thường Kiệt mobilised a fleet to ferry 50,000 marines across the
Gulf of Tonkin The Gulf of Tonkin is a gulf at the northwestern portion of the South China Sea, located off the coasts of Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and South China. It has a total surface area of . It is defined in the west and northwest by the northern ...
to invade Qinzhou, China. The amphibious assault was well planned and executed with incredible speed that Qinzhou's garrison was totally taken by surprise. The fortress town was taken in one night. To retaliate, the Song dynasty of China mustered a huge invasion force, with a naval arm to provide support to land operations. They were already fearful of Vietnam's reputation at sea combat, thus a large enough force was organised so as to "not lose even if they can't score a win". Lý Kế Nguyên, a Vietnamese commander stationed in Vân Đồn, Quảng Ninh, however, had absolute confidence in his fleet that he went on the offensive and took on the Chinese invasion fleet on the high sea. Lý defeated the Chinese so badly that their admiral sent messengers to urge Chinese coastal guards to fortify their post in fear of a reverse-invasion. In 1077, the Imperial Vietnamese Navy fought the Battle of
Cầu River Cầu River ( vi, Sông Cầu) is a river of northern Vietnam. It flows through the provinces/cities of Bắc Kạn, Thái Nguyên, Bắc Giang, Hanoi, Bắc Ninh Bắc Ninh () is a city in the northern part of Vietnam and is the capital of B ...
against the Chinese Song dynasty forces. This was the final battle Song dynasty would fight on Vietnamese land or waters. The battle lasted for several months, and ended with the victory of the Vietnamese Navy and the loss of many Song sailors. This victory demonstrated the successful tactics of war and active defence of the famous Admiral Lý Thường Kiệt who faced a naval force numerically superior to his own. The Song dynasty lost a total of 8,000 soldiers/sailors and 5.19 million ounces of silver, including all costs of the war. The Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư records that in 1467 in An Bang province of Đại Việt (now Quảng Ninh Province) a Chinese ship blew off course onto the shore. The Chinese were detained and not allowed to return to China as ordered by Emperor
Lê Thánh Tông Lê Thánh Tông (黎聖宗; 25 August 1442 – 3 March 1497), personal name Lê Hạo, temple name Thánh Tông, courtesy name Tư Thành, was an emperor of Đại Việt, reigning from 1460 to 1497, the fifth and the longest-reigning empe ...
. This incident may be the same one where Wu Rui was captured.Cooke (2011), p. 109 One of the renowned victories in Vietnamese naval history was the Battle of Rạch Gầm-Xoài Mút in
Tây Sơn dynasty The Tây Sơn dynasty (, vi, Nhà Tây Sơn (Chữ Nôm: 茹西山); vi, Tây Sơn triều ( Hán tự: 西山朝) was a ruling dynasty of Vietnam, founded in the wake of a rebellion against both the Nguyễn lords and the Trịnh lords befor ...
, during which
Nguyễn Huệ Emperor Quang Trung ( vi-hantu, 光中, 1753 – 16 September 1792) or Nguyễn Huệ ( vi-hantu, 阮惠), also known as Nguyễn Quang Bình ( vi-hantu, 阮光平), was the second emperor of the Tây Sơn dynasty, reigning from 1788 until 17 ...
(Emperor Quang Trung) defeated the Siamese (
Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...
) naval force. The battle occurred in present-day Tiền Giang Province on 19 January 1785.
Nguyễn Huệ Emperor Quang Trung ( vi-hantu, 光中, 1753 – 16 September 1792) or Nguyễn Huệ ( vi-hantu, 阮惠), also known as Nguyễn Quang Bình ( vi-hantu, 阮光平), was the second emperor of the Tây Sơn dynasty, reigning from 1788 until 17 ...
's forces completely destroyed over 50,000 Siamese sailors and 300 warships. In the
Nguyễn dynasty The Nguyễn dynasty (chữ Nôm: 茹阮, vi, Nhà Nguyễn; chữ Hán: 阮朝, vi, Nguyễn triều) was the last Vietnamese dynasty, which ruled the unified Vietnamese state largely independently from 1802 to 1883. During its existence, ...
period, 19th century Nguyen 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 ...
used his new Chu Su Naval workshop to improve the Vietnamese Navy.
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 ...
had first attempted to acquire modern naval vessels in 1781, when on the advice of Bishop
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 ...
, he had chartered Portuguese vessels of European design, complete with crew and artillery. This initial experience proved to be disastrous. For reasons that remain unclear, two of the vessels fled in the midst of battle against the Tây Sơn, while angry Vietnamese soldiers killed the third crew. In 1789, Pigneau de Behaine returned to Vietnam from Pondicherry with two vessels, which stayed in the Nguyễn dynasty service long-term. Over time, Vietnamese sailors replaced the original French and Indian crew under the command of French officers. These vessels became the foundation for an expanded military and merchant Nguyễn dynasty naval force, with
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 ...
chartering and purchasing more European vessels to reinforce Vietnamese-built ships. However, traditional Vietnamese-style galleys and small sailing ships remained the majority of the fleet. In 1799, a British trader by the name of Berry reported that the Nguyễn dynasty's fleet had departed Saigon along the Saigon River with 100 galleys, 40 junks, 200 smaller boats and 800 carriers, accompanied by three European sloops. In 1801, one naval division was reported to have included nine European vessels armed with 60 guns, five vessels with 50 guns, 40 with 16 guns, 100 junks, 119 galleys and 365 smaller boats. In the middle of the 19th century, the Vietnamese Navy fought against the French in many battles. Due to disadvantages in technology, the Vietnamese Navy could not defeat the French Navy, but there were still several battles during which the Vietnamese Navy caused heavy damages to the French. The Vietnamese were especially successful in the Battle of Nhat Tao canal held by Nguyễn Trung Trực on 10 December 1861. Nguyễn Trung Trực's naval forces ambushed the French brig '' L'Esperance'' at the Vam Co River,
Mekong Delta The Mekong Delta ( vi, Đồng bằng Sông Cửu Long, lit=Nine Dragon River Delta or simply vi, Đồng Bằng Sông Mê Kông, lit=Mekong River Delta, label=none), also known as the Western Region ( vi, Miền Tây, links=no) or South-weste ...
. Truc's 150 men were grouped into three columns. The first group of 61 sailors under Hoang Khac Nhuong was to attack a nearby pro-French village to provoke an incident and lure the French forces into an ambush. Truc commanded the second group of 59 partisans along with Vo Van Quang, and was assigned to burn and sink the vessel. A third force of 30 sailors was commanded by Ho Quang and Nguyen Van Hoc. Due to the surprise attack, the French Navy suffered major damage: the brig L'Esperance was sunk, 17 French sailors and 20 pro-French Vietnamese naval auxiliaries were killed, only eight people escaped, including two French sailors and six sailors of Tagal (Filipino) background employed by the French.


Modern Period


References

{{reflist N Vietnam People's Navy Vietnam