The Centurions

The Centurions traces the epic struggle of a band of French paratroopers from the 1954 French debacle at Dien Bien Phu through their internment as POWs of the Vietminh, then their repatriation back to France, and finally, as the core elements of a patched together unit, the 10th Colonial Parachute Regiment, sent to Algeria to put down the guerrillas fighting for independence. The novel has a large cast of characters (resulting in unsettling jumping from one point of view to another that may bother some readers) representing the different political, ethnic and class distinctions of the men who fought France's wars in the mid 20th century. What they all shared were the bitter experiences of WWII, defeat at Dien Bien Phu, and imprisonment by the Vietminh communists who first exposed them to the methods and doctrines of guerrilla warfare and the geo-political realities of globalism. The main characters are Raspeguy, the Basque colonel who insists his Indo-China comrades accompany him to Algeria; Glatigny, the pious nobleman from a military family, adjusting to war without honor; Esclavier, the book's most compelling character, from a family of leftists who don't understand his passion for war; Dia, the African colonial doctor and unit confessor; Boisfeuras, the cagey intelligence agent, a Frenchman born in Vietnam, raised in China, with no desire to live in France; Mahmoudi, the Muslim Algerian patriot with divided loyalties; Pinieres, the giant lieutenant who represents the new breed of elite professional soldier epitomized by the paratroopers; and Marindelle, the love-sick genius who masters communist propaganda so well that his own government regards him with suspicion. There are more including several female characters who complicate loyalties and stir passions among these jaded men. There are also two cynical, opportunistic journalists who represent another facet of the new reality -- journalism tainted by political agendas and global audiences. Brilliant prose, a moving story line and fine character development distinguish The Centurions as a literary novel that rises above genre.The Centurions was the second by Jean Larteguy (a French Marine Paratrooper combat veteran before becoming a journalist and novelist) in a trilogy of novels he wrote on the political, ethical, and strategic challenges of modern warfare using Indo-China (Vietnam) and Algeria as backdrops. Originally published in French in 1960, The Centurions is the best of the three and still sells well. This review is for the 2007 Penguin version which includes a forward by Robert D. Kaplan and a cover blurb from General Stanley McChrystal. The other two books in the trilogy, The Mercenaries and The Praetorians are out of print and very difficult to find unless you are willing to pay for a collector's copy. Like most French novelists of the mid-20th Century, Larteguy was a bit of an existentialist. And as his characters discover, the new paradigm of war in Indo-China and Algeria poses an enormous existential problem for the modern soldier. Based on real characters and set in real history, The Centurions has been widely read and praised by American military leaders. It illustrates perfectly the challenges faced today by military professionals in a 21st century world where all the rules are against them. Military service professionals: read this book. Students of history, politics and conflict: read this book. Readers who want to become engrossed in a profound, mind-blowing war novel that will make you think: read The Centurions. Highly, highly recommended.

Having previously read Alistair Horne's excellent account of the French Algerian Conflict, A Savage War of Peace, as well as being interested in modern counterinsurgency strategies, this acclaimmed work of fiction about French officers in the French Algerian War seemed like a logical next step. This book has become highly recommended for those wishing to understand the complexities and moral issues surrounding insurgencies and their relevance in modern day conflicts that have increasingly become asymmetrical struggles. This book follows the fictional experiences of a group of French officers from their defeat and imprisonment at Dien Bien Phu in Indochina to their eventual transition to the mountains and cities of Algeria, fighting a brutal war against the nationalist FLN movement seeking independence from France. The book boldly announces that the age of conventional warfare, fancy parades, and a sense of honor, is over, replaced by the the brutal efficiency of a modern military machine able to do what is necessary to win the dirty wars of the new post colonial age. The greatest merit of the book is its ability to describe and illuminate the thoughts and actions of the various characters who themselves represent parts of French and Algerian society involved in the conflict. The rich 'Pied Noirs' who vow to fight to keep Algerie Francais, are contrasted with the Algerian intellectual and former French soldiers fighting for a free Algeria. Represented above all is the elite French Paratrooper officer class, who have become increasingly alienated from the society they are trying to protect. The book is itself a representation of post World War II French society struggling with the realization that France has lost its empire and its status as a world power. The ethical issues of torture and how to fight an insurgency are examined in depth, although the violence, torture, and rape are mostly implied.My own minor criticisms are that the book was written for a 1960s French audience and therefore many of the references and events require an extensive knowledge of French history, particularly the French Algerian War and the war in Indochina. The book is also hard to follow at certain points and there are many characters with long illustrious french names to keep straight. The book can certainly be read at a relatively fast and leisurely pace, however there is certainly plenty of depth in this novel for those who wish to explore what the novel implies about French society and its relationship with the military elite who protect it. As to whether this book is the masterpiece that generals such as Stanley McChrystal suggest that it is, I cannot say. That is for other readers to decide for themselves. If you are interested in the French Colonial experience and modern war, read the book and decide for yourself!

This is a ‘fiction based upon facts’ story of various French soldiers fighting the Vietminh at Dien Bien Phu. The author contrasts the professional, career, and one-tour soldiers on both sides of the battle as well as the statesmen, politicians, and civilians at home and abroad. The soldiers suffer politicians’ gamesmanship while they are in a war.Since the author was ‘there’ and saw the consequences, his story has poignant observations that the US ignored.The story was translated directly from the original French so some idiomatic expressions and dialogue are lost in translation.Spoiler: the French lost the battle. See Bernard Fall’s “Hell in a Very Small Place”.

Great book. I first read this book in 1962 and thought it was one of the best books I had read at that time. My paperback copy finally fell apart and the book was out of print. The book was made into a so-so movie called the Lost Command. I found a used paperback copy of The Centurions under that title. I have been checking periodically to see if it would be reprinted and was happy to finally find it available in Kindle books.An excellent history of the time in both Vietnam and Algeria. I can understand why so many military personnel have read it. Reading the excellent book Valley of Death by Ted Morgan will help with the historical background of Dien Bien Phu. You will recognize several characters from the Centurions in Valley of Death. Reading the Centurions will also help if you watch the classic film Battle of Algiers. I have always felt that this book and James Jones' From Here to Eternity and The Thin Red Line were the best novels ever written about the military experience.

This is a book of its time and is now very dated.I first read this as a 17 year year old boy just before joining the British Army in 1972.At the time I thought the book was brilliant and I idolized the characters, french paratroopers who had fought in Indo China and Algeria.However I have now grown up. Although it is still a good read and gives a good idea of how the French Paratroopers from those conflicts thought and behaved in fighting counterinsurgency in Indo China and Algeria, it is a very right wing and rather fascist approach to the topics of Vietnam and Algeria. It gives a very narrow and superficial portrait of the Viet Minh and the FLN in Algeria and the motivations behind their fight and desire for Independance and freedom from French Colonial rule. It also justifies the use of terrible torture and murder in Algeria and presents the French Paratroopers in a very sympathetic light. It is also obsessed with the threat of Communism in South East Asia and what appeared to be the threat from Communism China in the early 1960"s. I think it says a lot about the American involvement and disaster in Vietnam and subsequently Iraq and Afghanistan that this book has been considered a bible by American Special Forces Officers for the last 50 years on how to deal with low intensity warfare and counter insurgency.No wonder the Americans have not learned any lessons from the French involvement or their own involvement in Vietnam if they are using this novel as a bible! It is a good read as a novel and I have enjoyed reading again after more then forty years but should be taken with a liberal dose of cynical sceptism. It is just a novel not a guide for counter insurgency.After all the French Lost in Vietnam and Algeria as did the Americans in Vietnam. If you want to read better novels and books on Vietnam read "Matterhorn" and on Algeria Alistair Hornes book "Savage War" and particularly Jerome Ferrari 'Where I left my Soul". They present a more realistic picture of the savage torture methods used by the Paratroopers in Algeria. This presents a picture that is the complete opposite to the romantic view of the Paratroppoers portrayed in the Centurions.

Obstensively, The Centurions deals with the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in1954 and the Battle of Algiers in 1957, chiefly seen from the perspective of the French paratroopers engaged in both actions. However, this novel is much more than a series of war stories. The Centurions also examines French, Vietnamese and Algerian societies during the mid-1950s. A fanstastic book. Jean Larteguy`s The Centurions does for the mid-1950s French empire what Count Leo Tolstoy does for the 1812 Russian Empire with War and Peace. The Centurions is a hard read at times due to the violent subject matter, but it is a brilliant novel.

According to Wikipedia, The Centurions was one of the most popular novels in France in the 1960s, and it‘s author "partly responsible for a revival of novel reading in France“.This is a book about soldiers, but not so much about war.It is an excellent read which gives a good understanding of the French military mindset during the Vietnam conflict.The story follows a group of French paratroopers through the hell of the Indochina war. Captured at Dien Bien Phu, the men are held captive for months enduring excruciating hardships at the hands of their Vietminh captors.There is much to think about in this novel; the problem is that most of it is extremely unsettling.

This is a very good book about the defeat of French paratroopers at Dien Bien Phu and their subsequent actions and behaviour in French Algeria during the Algerian War. It shows how they saw what was going on at the time, though I feel it does occasionally slip into attempts at justifying their actions (such as massacring villages and torturing prisoners). It occasionally suffers from descending into a philosophical tract about "the new kind of war", but other than that I would definitely recommend it to anybody trying to understand the French Army's perspective on the war against the FLN.

I read this and The Praetorians first whilst the Vietnam War was still in progress and the events described were recent history. 50 years and a military career later I still think that they have much to teach us. I have been looking for copies for a long time and was happy to find them with Wordery, who delivered very promptly.