Historedia
Episode 1 of 2

Capture of Saigon

When
17 February 1859
Where
Saigon, Vietnam
Part of
French forces under Rigault de Genouilly capture Saigon, beginning the Siege of Saigon

French forces captured Saigon on 17 February 1859 after breaking river defences and destroying forts along the Saigon river.

Rigault de Genouilly led the operation, which was proposed in January 1859 due to Saigon's strategic significance as a food source. The capture involved breaking river defences and destroying stockades, marking the start of the siege.

Sources

  1. Cochinchina campaign Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-22
  2. Charles Rigault de Genouilly Wikipedia, revision of 2026-05-15
  3. Siege of Saigon Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-22

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.