Another Old French Fort
Re-discovered on Vung Tau Island
Re-discovered on Vung Tau Island
by Paul Rowe
Yesterday I discovered an old French colonial fort in an extremely remote part of Vung Tau island.
The fort was completely hidden under jungle. It was an accidental discovery.
The fort was completely hidden under jungle. It was an accidental discovery.
9th of July 2016:
Big Mountain, Vung Tau island, Vietnam.
Big Mountain, Vung Tau island, Vietnam.
Sen and I set out to walk, photograph and record an old abandoned French military road. Many years ago while snooping around with Google Earth, I thought I could make out a trail or road which branched off of Hem 444 on Big Mountain. Yesterday was a perfect day to go for a walk, so we did. We decided to check out the possibility of finding and recording an abandoned old French military road.
This article is NOT about the old road. (It turned out to be exactly what I thought it was on Google Earth, an old abandoned French military road!) This article is about what we discovered hidden at the end of this remote road.
I have explored and recorded many of the old French guns and forts in Vung Tau, Vietnam, but this is the first totally abandoned French fort that I have seen in such good condition.
Maybe it is still in such good condition because of its remoteness. Maybe it is in such good condition because it was cleverly built into the boulders of the mountain, and it is so difficult to see. My wife and I sat right on top of the fort taking in the scenery for a good 15 minutes before we even realized the fort was there.
Maybe it is still in such good condition because of its remoteness. Maybe it is in such good condition because it was cleverly built into the boulders of the mountain, and it is so difficult to see. My wife and I sat right on top of the fort taking in the scenery for a good 15 minutes before we even realized the fort was there.
And just when we thought we had discovered everything, we find more structures. Bigger structures. The initial guess of this being a solitary lookout post is quickly dismissed. . |
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Photographs of what we saw INSIDE the bunkers:
Old French army fort on Big Mountain, Vung Tau, Vietnam.
Old French army fort on Big Mountain, Vung Tau, Vietnam.
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VIDEO FOOTAGE of what we discovered:
Old French army fort on Big Mountain, Vung Tau, Vietnam.
NOT NOW since ##!!## youtube closed my channel!!!!
Old French army fort on Big Mountain, Vung Tau, Vietnam.
NOT NOW since ##!!## youtube closed my channel!!!!
What did I discover?
While it is great fun discovering old things buried in the jungles of exotic tropical islands, it is only meaningful if this can be placed in a bigger picture. It becomes more useful if it is placed in some sort of historical and geographical perspective.
According to the above map (undated, un-sourced) found in Guns and Forts of Vung Tau, compiled by Ern Marshall, initially I would place this fort as part of 100mm Ganh Ray Battery (in the upper left corner of the map). To the south east of the bunkers I could see the large old French Catholic church and nunnery complex which is clearly seen on the old map. They are at Strawberry Beach.
However, I strongly suspect that these bunkers are NOT in the same part of the complex that JJ Moulins photographed in 2008.
At this stage, before more researching, I am guessing that the main part of 100mm Ganh Ray Battery is closer to the coast road and further down the mountain. Maybe that is what Moulins photographed. He might have come in through the lower front gate and then could not progress up the vertical boulder slope to get to these guns. Maybe he wasn't told of the upper section of the battery. Sen and I, on the other hand, accessed the bunkers from the top. We then could not navigate down the vertical slope. This is only conjecture at this time. I really need to access Ganh Ray Battery from Tran Phu Street (the coastal road) to do further research on this place.
But to summarize, I am fairly confident that Sen and I discovered the upper section to 100mm Ganh Ray Battery. No one has recently recorded this part of the fort.
However, I strongly suspect that these bunkers are NOT in the same part of the complex that JJ Moulins photographed in 2008.
At this stage, before more researching, I am guessing that the main part of 100mm Ganh Ray Battery is closer to the coast road and further down the mountain. Maybe that is what Moulins photographed. He might have come in through the lower front gate and then could not progress up the vertical boulder slope to get to these guns. Maybe he wasn't told of the upper section of the battery. Sen and I, on the other hand, accessed the bunkers from the top. We then could not navigate down the vertical slope. This is only conjecture at this time. I really need to access Ganh Ray Battery from Tran Phu Street (the coastal road) to do further research on this place.
But to summarize, I am fairly confident that Sen and I discovered the upper section to 100mm Ganh Ray Battery. No one has recently recorded this part of the fort.
But wait! There's more!
On the walk back along the abandoned French military road (just above the bunkers) we could now make some sense of two old wooden buildings and a reservoir. They were probably a cook house and a shower hut for the upper part of the fort.
The importance of Time and Space in history.
All history happens in 'time' and 'space'. Therefore, if you are recording history (for example re-discovering an old French Fort on Vung Tau island) you need to uncover 'when' and 'where' for the discovery to be of any real use. Otherwise, the discovery (as in this case) is just relegated to be another old fort on Vung Tau island, an island already littered with old forts.
In the above writings I made an on-the-fly guesstimation of a possible fort name, resulting in a possible position. At this point it is still definitely just that, and nothing more. There is still a lot more research needed before a position and therefore a fort name can be allocated.
Just because you are standing on the top of a fort in the jungle, it doesn't mean you know where that fort is. And such is the case in question.
"But, but!" I hear you say, "your article shows a map with forts. You guessed the fort was in the proximity of 100mm Ganh Ray Battery."
Yes, exactly... I guessed.
I have not yet provided any proof. And the map will probably provide more questions than answers. It is part of the problem.
The map gives a false sense of providing 'where' this history took place. The map is undated. This is highly problematic. It can not place the old fort accurately in 'time'. And because of this, we can not definitively provide an accurate position (place) or name for this fort. A map that can not provide 'time' and 'space' details is of little use.
For example, if this map was drawn in the 1930s, the French still had twenty years to build additional guns and forts. If this map was drawn in the 1950s, it probably showed all French forts and guns on Vung Tau island.
Summary of the problem:
History happens in 'time' and 'space'. The map in question does not show 'time' or 'space'. At this time I do not know where this fort is, or its name.
Possible solutions:
1. Go back to the site and get accurate GPS co-ordinates. Match this to Google Map, Google Earth or a NATO quality map, then cross reference the finding to a known fort name.
2. Wait for the dry season and look for the site from Tran Phu Street (the coast road).
Because GPS apps can not be downloaded in Vietnam (for some reason) this option is not available to me until after I do my next trip to England (where I will install an app on my not-so-smart phone). Late August 2016.
However, I like to be low-tech so I will probably just wait for the next dry season. In other articles on this website I have emphasized the advantages of exploring during the dry season.
The most recent French military map of Cap Saint Jacques needs to be sourced.
In the above writings I made an on-the-fly guesstimation of a possible fort name, resulting in a possible position. At this point it is still definitely just that, and nothing more. There is still a lot more research needed before a position and therefore a fort name can be allocated.
Just because you are standing on the top of a fort in the jungle, it doesn't mean you know where that fort is. And such is the case in question.
"But, but!" I hear you say, "your article shows a map with forts. You guessed the fort was in the proximity of 100mm Ganh Ray Battery."
Yes, exactly... I guessed.
I have not yet provided any proof. And the map will probably provide more questions than answers. It is part of the problem.
The map gives a false sense of providing 'where' this history took place. The map is undated. This is highly problematic. It can not place the old fort accurately in 'time'. And because of this, we can not definitively provide an accurate position (place) or name for this fort. A map that can not provide 'time' and 'space' details is of little use.
For example, if this map was drawn in the 1930s, the French still had twenty years to build additional guns and forts. If this map was drawn in the 1950s, it probably showed all French forts and guns on Vung Tau island.
Summary of the problem:
History happens in 'time' and 'space'. The map in question does not show 'time' or 'space'. At this time I do not know where this fort is, or its name.
Possible solutions:
1. Go back to the site and get accurate GPS co-ordinates. Match this to Google Map, Google Earth or a NATO quality map, then cross reference the finding to a known fort name.
2. Wait for the dry season and look for the site from Tran Phu Street (the coast road).
Because GPS apps can not be downloaded in Vietnam (for some reason) this option is not available to me until after I do my next trip to England (where I will install an app on my not-so-smart phone). Late August 2016.
However, I like to be low-tech so I will probably just wait for the next dry season. In other articles on this website I have emphasized the advantages of exploring during the dry season.
The most recent French military map of Cap Saint Jacques needs to be sourced.
I will add to this article as more research is done.
If you have information about this fort feel free to email me. Thank you.
If you have information about this fort feel free to email me. Thank you.
Vietnam History and Culture
and other good stuff
Posted by Paul Rowe 10/07/2016 Vung Tau Island, Vietnam.
and other good stuff
Posted by Paul Rowe 10/07/2016 Vung Tau Island, Vietnam.