Jules Gaucher

Jules Gaucher
Nickname(s)	The Old Man
Born	(1905-09-13)13 September 1905 Bourges, France
Died	13 March 1954(1954-03-13) (aged 48) Điện Biên Phủ, Democratic Republic of Vietnam
Allegiance	France
Service/branch	French Army
Years of service	1929–1954
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel
Commands held	13th Foreign Legion Demi-Brigade Groupe Mobile 9
Battles/wars	Franco-Thai War World War II First Indochina War *Battle of Hòa Bình *Battle of Dien Bien Phu †

Jules Gaucher (13 September 1905 – 13 March 1954) was a French Army officer noted for his command of Foreign Legion troops in Indochina. Described as a "burly, hard-drinking veteran of years of jungle fighting, with a nose like an axe-blade and a mouth like its cut", Gaucher was a popular commander among the Legion, known as 'the Old Man' to his troops.^[1] He was killed at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954.