Bien Hoa offensive and defensive war

REBELLIONS ATTACK AND CAPTURE BIEN HOA

In Bien Hoa, Commander Tran Van Khanh and Captain Nguyen Van Khien (from Minh Linh district, Quang Tri province ) led troops and elephants to Binh Phu village, where they met Deputy Commander Phan Yen, Gia Tien Chiem. Upon inquiry, they learned that the rebel forces were very strong. Seeing the situation worsening, Acting Governor Vu Huu Quynh and Judge Le Van Le decided not to send Tran Van Khanh to Phan Yen province anymore, but instead organized a defense at the ferry crossing in Dong village, Binh Dong commune. They also dispatched Deputy Commander Ngo Van Hoa from Bien Hung district with warships and about 60 soldiers to the Nha Be river junction to block the rebel route.

On the other hand, two messengers reported to Binh Thuan and Dinh Tuong provinces to send troops to the rescue. The governor of Thuan-Khanh, Hoang Quoc Dieu, received news that the provincial capital of Phan Yen had fallen at midnight [23 to 1 am] on the night of May 23, the 14th year of Minh Mang (1833). Hoang Quoc Dieu dispatched Commander Le Van Nghia (from Le Thuy district, Quang Binh province) with 300 troops to Bien Hoa to provide assistance.

Before reinforcements arrived, Nguyen Huu Khoi ordered the Central Army Deputy Commander Le Dac Luc and the Navy Chief Commander Luu Hang Tin to attack Bien Hoa. On the 24th, an estimated 300 rebels advanced by both land and sea routes to attack Binh Dong ferry crossing. Commander Tran Van Khanh, with over 150 troops, along with Deputy Commander Phan Yen and Gia Tien Chiem, also dispatched Elephant Commander Nguyen Van Khien with 5 elephants. Unexpectedly, Nguyen Van Khien betrayed the government and used the elephants to attack the imperial army. The Bien Hoa army was thrown into disarray. The forces at Nha Be intersection had disappeared. The rebels overran the provincial capital, Bien Hoa. Upon hearing of Khien's betrayal, Acting Governor Vu Huu Quynh had Khien's second son, also an elephant soldier, executed. The commanders of the 2nd and 3rd Elephant Battalions in Bien Hoa were also imprisoned. The troops defending Bien Hoa were few in number, and the elephant soldiers lacked the will to fight. That night, the governor of Bien Hoa, Vu Huu Quynh, and the judge Le Van Le abandoned the provincial capital, taking 17 elephants and retreating to Thuan Bien station to await reinforcements from Binh Thuan province.

On the 25th, the rebels completely took control of the provincial capital, Bien Hoa. Le Dac Luc declared himself Governor, and Nguyen Huu Du became Deputy Governor. The capture of Bien Hoa gave the rebels an opportunity to reinforce their forces. The supply depot in Bien Hoa also surrendered.

Water and land routes from Phan Yen to Bien Hoa

PHOTO: AUTHOR'S ARCHIVE

THE INSTITUTE OF PACIFIC THUAN PARTICIPATED IN THE WAR

At the Hour of the Goat [1-3 pm] on the 27th, the Bình Thuận provincial reinforcement force under Commander Lê Văn Nghĩa and 145 soldiers arrived at Thuận Biên station. Another 155 soldiers, commanded by Deputy Commander Nguyễn Văn Lý, followed behind (in reality, some deserted, leaving only over 290 arriving). When the Imperial Commissioners from the capital, Phạm Duy Trinh and Nguyễn Đức Tiệm, arrived at Thuận Biên station, they found officials from Biên Hòa and Phan Yên provinces gathered there. Among them were Governor Vũ Hữu Quýnh, Judge Lê Văn Lễ, Commander Hồ Kim Truyền, Judge Nguyễn Chương Đạt, Commander Nguyễn Quế… The Bình Thuận provincial reinforcement force under Commander Lê Văn Nghĩa and Deputy Commander Nguyễn Văn Lý, with over 300 soldiers and 17 elephants, was also stationed there.

On the 28th, the Governor of Bien Hoa, Vu Huu Quynh, and the Commander of Binh Thuan, Le Van Nghia, led troops and elephants to encamp at Bien Long station, the district capital of Phuoc An district, Bien Hoa province. A public rice storehouse was also located there. By June 3rd, further reinforcements from Binh Thuan province, commanded by Ton That Gia, arrived, increasing the number of Binh Thuan troops to 542. The acting Governor of Bien Hoa, Vu Huu Quynh, also recruited a number of local soldiers, stationed them in various locations, and sent men to the villages to appease the people. The people of Phuoc An district were finally at peace.

On the night of the 7th, Vu Huu Quynh, along with 40 soldiers under his command, and the Binh Thuan commander Le Van Nghia and Ton That Gia, with 500 troops, left the Bien Long outpost. At dawn on the 9th, the Binh Thuan-Bien Hoa forces advanced to Phuoc Loc commune, the district capital of Long Thanh district. At that time, the rebel army's commander Tran Minh Thien had established two defensive outposts in Long Thanh. The Binh Thuan-Bien Hoa forces routed the rebels, killing Tran Minh Thien and many other commanders and soldiers of the Bien Hung unit who had followed the rebels. They captured 54 men – mostly former Bien Hung soldiers – and seized a boat and many weapons. The Binh Thuan-Bien Hoa forces, emboldened by their victory, advanced towards the provincial capital.

The rebel forces in Bien Hoa numbered approximately 200 men, 6 elephants, and 2 warships docked at the provincial capital's riverbank (some others remained on the shore). At the Hour of the Goat [1-3 pm] on the 10th, the Binh Thuan-Bien Hoa army advanced into the provincial capital. The rebel commander, Le Dac Luc, and the deputy governor, Nguyen Huu Du, had already fled. Bien Hoa province returned to the control of the imperial court. (to be continued)

(Excerpt from the book "Phan Yen Thanh Rebellion Chronicle – An Overview of Le Van Khoi's Uprising ," published by Ho Chi Minh City General Publishing House)