René Laverdure Lieutenant - Colonel René Philippe Laverdure ( 27 January 1862 - 13 November 1914 ) was a French army officer . He enlisted in the army as a private soldier in 1880 and saw active service with the 1st Marine Infantry Regiment and the Regiment de Tirailleurs Annamites in the Tonkin Campaign in modern Vietnam . He was promoted through the army ' s non - commissioned ranks and became an adjutant in 1884 . A display of bravery on the battlefield won him a commission later that year . Laverdure served as an officer with various Marine Infantry Regiments and the Senegalese Tirailleurs , including active duty in Madagascar , being promoted to captain , before returning to Tonkin in 1894 . Laverdure served in Tonkin with the marine infantry and the 3rd Regiment de Tirailleurs Tonkinois . He returned to Madagascar as a staff officer and later transferred to various Colonial Infantry and Garrison Infantry regiments on the island . Promoted to chef de bataillon in 1902 and subsequently to lieutenant - colonel Laverdure saw action in the Zaian War . He was placed in charge of a combined arms force based at Khénifra in the fight against Berber leader Mouha ou Hammou Zayani . Laverdure led an attack on Hammou ' s camp against the instructions of his superior , General Hubert Lyautey , and was decisively defeated at the Battle of El Herri . Laverdure lost his life in the battle and much of his command was wiped out . The situation in Morocco was momentarily perilous but the French eventually won the war in 1921 . Early life and career . Laverdure was born in Paris , France on 27 January 1862 . His father was Charles Louis Joseph Laverdure and his mother was Josephine Laverdure . Laverdure enlisted in the French Army on 19 April 1880 as a private soldier in the 1st Marine Infantry Regiment . He was promoted to corporal on 30 November 1880 and to sergeant on 1 September 1881 . The unit was then posted to French Cochinchina and Laverdure accompanied them there , arriving on 19 January 1882 . Laverdure transferred to the colonial Regiment de Tirailleurs Annamites ( central Vietnamese riflemen ) on 15 March 1882 and received promotion to quartermaster sergeant on 15 April and to sergeant - major on 15 May . During this time the unit was serving on campaign in the Tonkin region . He achieved the senior NCO rank of adjudant on 22 February 1884 and was commissioned from the ranks for bravery on 1 May 1884 , returning briefly to the 1st Marine Infantry as a sub - lieutenant before transferring to the 3rd Marine Infantry Regiment on 6 May 1884 . Commissioned career . Lavderdure left Tonkin on 6 September 1884 and was promoted to lieutenant on 11 May 1886 , he transferred in that rank to the Senegalese Tirailleurs eight days later . He served with the tirailleurs in Senegal from 5 August that year , joining the 2nd Marine Infantry Regiment on 20 March 1888 and leaving Senegal with them on 15 May . Laverdure was deployed to Madagascar on 12 September 1889 and joined the 4th Marine Infantry Regiment there on 1 January 1890 . In July he transferred to the 19th Marine Infantry Regiment of Diego Suarez before returning to the 1st Marine Infantry on 10 August 1891 , leaving Madagascar on 21 December . Laverdure was promoted to captain on 19 December 1892 , arrived in Tonkin again on 1 April 1894 and transferred to the 3rd Regiment de Tirailleurs Tonkinois on 3 May that year . He was appointed a chevalier of the Legion of Honour on 5 February 1896 . A transfer to the 8th Marine Infantry Regiment followed on 7 May 1897 and he left Tonkin on 2 August . Laverdure became a staff officer in Madagascar on 28 May 1898 . He was transferred to the 2nd Garrison Regiment on 25 April 1900 , left Madagascar on 21 August , and joined the 2nd Colonial Infantry Garrison Regiment on 1 January 1901 . He was transferred again to the 21st Colonial Infantry Regiment on 17 January , returned to Madagascar on 10 March and transferred to the 15th Colonial Infantry Regiment on 10 May . Laverdure was promoted to chef de bataillon ( approximately equal to major ) on 30 December 1902 , left Madagascar on 25 September 1903 and transferred to the 5th Colonial Infantry Regiment on 12 October that year . He was appointed an officer of the Legion of Honour on 31 May 1904 and transferred to the 25th Colonial Infantry Regiment on 11 May 1904 . Zaian War . During the Zaian War Laverdure , since promoted to lieutenant - colonel , was placed in command of a groupe mobile ( a combined arms force ) based at Khénifra , on the frontiers of the French protected zone in Morocco . During July 1914 Laverdure ' s force came increasingly under attack and the men under his command were reduced due to the requirements of reinforcements in France for the First World War . Laverdure saw an opportunity to attack the leader of the Berber forces , Mouha ou Hammou Zayani , when he set up camp at El Herri , a small village from Khénifra , for the winter . French commander Lyautey was hopeful of a negotiated end to the war and twice refused Laverdure permission to attack the Berber camp . However Laverdure decided to disobey his orders to remain in Khénifra and marched on El Herri with almost the entire garrison on 13 November . His troops successfully attacked the camp during the Battle of El Herri but were overwhelmed during their retreat resulting in the deaths of 623 French troops , including Laverdure . Lyautey was briefly of the opinion that the event would cause the loss of the whole of Morocco but stabilised the situation and eventually won the war in 1921 . René Laverdure had married Adile Blanche on 20 February 1901 and they kept a house at Touffreville , Upper Normandy . Laverdure held the Tonkin Expedition commemorative medal and was an officer of the Order of the Dragon of Annam .