ABSTRACT
The Military in Precolonial Vietnam Foreshadowing much of contemporary Vietnamese military his
tory is the record of the Nguyen Dynasty. Nguyen Anh, more popularly known as Emperor Gia Long, in 1802 defeated the last of several opponents and unified Vietnam for the first time within its modern boundaries. At the time of his victory, he commanded an army numbering 140,000 men and a fleet of 100 ships.1 Train ing and relatively modern equipment were provided by several foreign sources, including French military adventurers.
