 After directing the disembarkation of the troops at Peïo he directed his gunboats to attack the forts that defended the entrance to the river.He was then appointed commander in chief of the land and sea forces in Cochinchina.As soon as the war ended, Charner left for Vietnam in January 1861 with his naval squadron and a force of 3,000 troops to support French troops under Captain Joseph Hyacinthe Louis Jules d'Ariès encircled in Saigon.