branch commands death_place death_date birth_place allegiance awards battles birth_date nickname rank article_title name
french army forces terrestres du nord viêtnam mediterranean 11 september 1968 saint-valery-en-caux , normandy , france france croix de guerre world war ii first indochina war 25 april 1904 le coco the siren ' general vitesse -lrb- general hurry-up -rrb- , ` général de division rené cogny
 rené cogny
rené cogny

rené cogny -lrb- 25 april 1904 , saint-valery-en-caux -- 11 september 1968 -rrb- was a french général de division , world war ii and french resistance veteran and survivor of buchenwald and mauthausen-gusen concentration camps .
he was a commander of the french forces in tonkin -lrb- northern vietnam -rrb- during the first indochina war , and notably during the battle of dien bien phu .
his post-war private and legal conflict with superior general henri navarre became a public controversy .
known to his men as `` le general vitesse '' -lrb- general hurry-up -rrb- , and reputable for his military pomp , physical presence and skill with the press , cogny was killed when air france flight 1611 crashed in the mediterranean near nice .
