Duchesne fought in the
Franco-Prussian War in 1870–1871. He became a
lieutenant-colonel in 1881.
Tonkin and Formosa In 1884–85, during the
Sino-French War, Lieutenant-Colonel Duchesne participated in campaigns in Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and Formosa (
Taiwan). On 12 March 1884, during the
Bắc Ninh Campaign, Duchesne was placed by General
François de Négrier in command of the 2nd Brigade's attack on the forward defences of Bắc Ninh and led a successful charge into the Chinese-held village of Keroi. In November 1884 Duchesne led a column of legionnaires, marine infantry and Tonkinese riflemen to relieve the
Siege of Tuyên Quang, defeating
Liu Yongfu's
Black Flag Army at the
Battle of Yu Oc (on 19 November 1884). In December 1884 he was appointed to the command of the Formosa expeditionary corps at
Keelung in northern Taiwan. In January 1885 he assaulted the Chinese lines of investment around Keelung, capturing the advanced Chinese position of Fork Y. In March 1885 he launched a full-scale offensive against the Chinese lines at Keelung, making a flank march to attack the Chinese defences on their exposed eastern flank. The French offensive was completely successful. Duchesne's men captured the key Chinese positions of La Table and Fort Bamboo on 5 March and 7 March, respectively, forcing the Chinese to retreat to new positions south of the Keelung River.
Franco-Hova war , between 5 May and 24 May 1895. In 1895, Duchesne led the French invasion of
Madagascar in the Second
Franco-Hova War, disembarking his 15,000 troops at
Majunga, and managing to capture
Tananarive after seven months. Twenty French soldiers died fighting and 6,000 died of
malaria and other diseases before the Second Franco-
Hova War ended. The government signed a treaty that yielded significant powers to the French authorities but left the monarchy intact. Madagascar became a
French protectorate. ==Notes==