Roger Trinquier

Roger Trinquier (1908-1986) graduated from the military academy at Saint-Maixent, and was posted in the Far East for much of his career, serving first in Indochina and then in China. Following World War II, he campaigned in Vietnam before returning to organize and train a colonial parachute battalion in France. He was later reassigned to Indochina as an expert on counterguerrilla warfare. Trinquier took an active role in the revolt of May 1958 by the French army in Algeria, and led a group of...See more

Roger Trinquier (1908-1986) graduated from the military academy at Saint-Maixent, and was posted in the Far East for much of his career, serving first in Indochina and then in China. Following World War II, he campaigned in Vietnam before returning to organize and train a colonial parachute battalion in France. He was later reassigned to Indochina as an expert on counterguerrilla warfare. Trinquier took an active role in the revolt of May 1958 by the French army in Algeria, and led a group of fellow officers who served as mercenaries in Katanga Province, Zaire, (with the approval of the Ministry of Defense) under the secessionist leader Moise Tshombe. Trinquier published La Guerre Moderne and a number of other books dealing with the Indochina war and the exploits of French airborne forces. His writings had an immense impact on the development of counterinsurgency theory. See less