Hoang Hoa Tham, a National Hero in late the 19^th Century

Hoang Hoa Tham, who was called Truong Van Nghia in his childhood, was born in Di Che village, Tien Lu district, Hung Yen province. His father was Truong Van Thuan, and his mother was Luong Thi Minh.

In their lifetime, his parents were people of disposition to do good, both of whom took part in the insurrection led by Nguyen Van Nha (also known as Nung Van Van) in Son Tay.

At 16, Hoang Hoa Tham took part in the insurrection of Dai Tran (1870-1875). When the French captured Bac Ninh (March 1884) he joined the insurgent army of Tran Quang Loan, a military commander in Bac Ninh, and then the insurgent army of Hoang Dinh Kinh (1882-1888). Later, he stood under the insurrection banner of Luong Van Nghia (also known as De Nam) and became a talented general. In April 1892, De Nam was assassinated by one of his aides and Hoang Hoa Tham became the supreme chief of the Yen The movement.

In three years from 1893 to 1895, the French enemy concentrated their force to suppress the Yen The insurrection resorting to all tricks such as seduction, blockade and massacre, without success.

The French henchman Le Hoan and an army led by him tried to seduce Hoang Hoa Tham to capitulation while, at the same time, wiping out communes and hamlets where the insurgents were active.

Hoang Hoa Tham, with his excellent guerrilla tactics, repelled the spearhead of the enemy attack and inflicted on them heavy losses. The insurgents also exterminated the traitors, one of whom was De Sat. Unable to stamp out the movement, the French proposed a truce with him. Hoang Hoa Tham wanted to gain time for the strengthening of his army and he agreed to the proposal. Breaking the truce, the French mobilised their forces and launched a surprise attack on a large scale on Yen The some months later. They set a price of 30,000 French francs to anyone for capturing alive Hoang Hoa Tham. Again, they failed in their attack to suppress the movement and had to negotiate a second truce. For more than 10 years of truce (December 1897 - January 29, 1909), the Yen The insurgents achieved new developments: their area of activities was expanded from the semi-mountainous area to the lowlands, even in Hanoi. Hoang Hoa Tham organised the ‘Nghia Hung Party’ and the ‘Trung Chan Ung Nghia Army’ to serve as the core of the movement. Particularly, he commanded the revolt of the patriotic soldiers in Hanoi on June 27, 1908 (also known as the ‘Poisoning’ in Hanoi). The event made a big echo throughout the country.

In January 1909, the French governor of Tonkin mobilised 15,000 regular troops and militiamen, and 400 partisans, the biggest ever force led by colonel Batay and the henchman Le Hoan to launch another attack on the Yen The guerrilla base. The unequal combat with the enemy resulted in heavy losses to the insurgent army.

In late 1919, Hoang Hoa Tham only had two close and loyal aides besides him. However, they were committed their life and death to the river and mountain of Yen The.

Luong Tam Ky, a bandit who was seduced by the French, and a number of enemy informers of Chinese origin assassinated Hoang Hoa Tham on February 10, 1912. He was then 55.

Hoang Hoa Tham who was named the ‘Grey Tiger’ of Yen The caused such great fear that "turned grey the hairs" of the French resident superior of Tonkin and a number of governors of some mountainous provinces in the north. Phan Boi Chau, a revolutionary scholar, honoured him as a "true general."

Hoang Hoa Than deserves to be a national hero of late the 19^th and early the 20^th century.