Colonel Roger Trinquier

Biography

Roger Trinquier was born on March 20, 1908, in La Beaume, in the southern French Alps. He joined the French Army in 1929 and spent the pre-war years in colonial service in China and Indochina. During World War II he served in various capacities, eventually commanding paratroopers in Indochina during France's disastrous war against the Viet Minh (1946–1954). It was in Indochina that Trinquier developed his theories of counterinsurgency — and his willingness to use any means necessary, including torture, to win. In Algeria, Trinquier served under Massu in the 10th Parachute Division and was responsible for implementing the quadrillage system — dividing Algiers into sectors and subsectors, assigning every resident an identity card, and creating a network of informants that allowed the French to track every person's movements. He also oversaw the DPU (Dispositif de Protection Urbaine), the intelligence network that processed prisoners through a system of interrogation centers where torture was routine. His book 'La Guerre Moderne' (Modern Warfare), published in 1961, was a systematic intellectual justification for the tactics used in Algiers, arguing that in counterinsurgency warfare, torture of prisoners was not only acceptable but necessary and effective. Trinquier's book became hugely influential, both as a manual for counterinsurgency operations (it was studied by military schools around the world, including in the United States during the Vietnam War) and as a target for critics who saw it as an intellectual fig leaf for war crimes. He eventually fell out with the political leadership and left Algeria before independence, later serving as a mercenary in Katanga, Congo, during that territory's secession. He died in 1986. His theoretical legacy continues to generate controversy among military ethicists.

Key Battles