World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseJean Decoux enrolled at the École Navale at Brest harbor, France in 1901 at the age of 16. He achieved the rank of ship-of-the-line ensign in 1906, ship-of-the-line lieutenant in 1923, and corvette captain in 1935. In 1938, he was named the commander of the Toulon district in southern France with the rank of vice admiral. In 1939, he was named the commander of naval forces in the Far East by President Albert Lebrun. In the following year, he was named the governor of French Indochina. In that role, he reluctantly signed the treaty that allowed the Japanese to enter Haiphong harbor. On the civilian front, Jean Decoux installed established a grand federal council containing twice as many Vietnamese as French administrators, gave the local population greater political power in general, and increased the pay of local politicians to that of French administrators; he upheld Vichy French policies against Jews, Freemasons, and others, however. In Mar 1945, the Japanese took direct control of French Indochina, establishing the nominally independent puppet state of Vietnam, thus pushing Decoux out of all leadership positions. After the war, he was arrested and tried for collaboration, but he was not convicted. In 1949, his ranks were restored. He passed away in in Paris, France in 1963.

Photographs

Jean Decoux Timeline