General Jacques Charles René Achille Duchesne (3 March 1837 – 27 April 1918) was a 19th-century French military officer. He was born at Sens and entered Saint-Cyr in 1855, aged 18, and became a lieutenant in 1861.Duchesne fought in the Franco-Prussian War in 1870-1871. He became a lieutenant-colonel in 1881.In 1884-85, during the Sino-French War, Lieutenant-Colonel Duchesne distinguished himself both in Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and Formosa (now 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. Wikipedia