MEN AT WAR 1914-1945 FRENCH COLONIAL AND AFRICAN TROOPS Sergeant, 1° Régiment de Marche de Zouaves, France, 1914THE LEAD SOLDIER COLLECTION uaa Maines Edtsn chi Ranan dxada "eagle Ln Suen Thugoad Pal chicas — ‘lias; Rosai ‘ena asta Rolinds Dis “ose Publsan ine nd roduc bye FL Pini Tes tmudena Forth ein (© el Pade Publsberscines dl rd, 2000 (ea Barnes, 39-5 28003 Maid Spit) © 1996 oseyFubishing Lined {erat om: Freeh Coll nd Alcan Tops Patria ret Ais Bil Youghusbnd Proto cis nperia Wr Museum Fist pblshed by Oey Pblhing Eis Cout, Chapel Way Boley, Onfrd 0X2 AP san: ee-a725169 a saa. at he pci be aod td i sel pm, te fom ye an, ‘al coin mn eee. i it es Pepin se isha mca rma tm Sau amos ep ecestn t et Seiten ope al bes ie So aap on pa scan pe rt te en ‘AME OF TE COLECICN ‘We exo SOLDER COLECTON aces rate 8 of 75 ek ss cao cog eens One tau ofthe ast epson tle om te ‘eat cose ware ty ah rues ume, apne dln The pat that aes ach Soe sows te easmey an lara sures ht hve Mn ied teh ges Ech poet cote Br oy. eco ae pe Tobe ue of gating acs a itr nea opr Ua wth out ean eat aon The abcpon wb the compton, aig tom tes yuu Eternia ign bk ‘ie WoUDGHE 35 His “Teepe nan 0670 7297950 eter OMAG Menai ng ‘Thee ofeach 59 (uth exact BSbardNe298) Theis wb iced £85 nh aga bon (Conbon Ano concn umn Stops RN GET MARKETING Fes pai i800 Th end Ser alco bce Peau lo Hn ale W158 Tegner 0) 98990222 fee 2979 707 ‘hee at be rte tr yu rene wt te lead sol Cole, Gdn ad Gat ed PO Bx 20, orweYior 3125 Pe ec oe i ps AS 3 papa ews Dette: _SnON Ao cones a aTED Skscten: Foner wuss est 146s ‘hen Solr olecion Stns ary aca 004 ‘phone nae) 373758 Farum (29897107 et ine tise ‘otoow ang Gora oi unreD PO Bo 20013, ho ak A Nand The desl be peda NZS1595 pls Nz53.00ptpe sharing Osrenon ia Sobor ck ees bes: ‘ACHE EERE Five a, 2 mur tos Teese nero 265 08 Faerun 011304 86 Subsets eral aes Satisectlnaaze MEN AT WAR 1914-1945 FRENCH COLONIAL AND AFRICAN TROOPS Sergeant, 1° Régiment de Marche de Zouaves, France, 1914 Osprey apa eeFRENCH COLONIAL AND ArricaN Troops ‘Reesor NCO. ofthe Colonial (Orde Service in fal des bere the Fra Weld Wat His uniform ‘uc be wih ge baton beer tank tinetons i kei Bar» sea phe Intropuction erable empire, including teritories as far spread as the West nies, West and Northern Africa, Eastern Africa, Madagascar, india, Indochina and Polynesia, To maintain order in these far-flung possessions, it raised a considerable number of troops of many dife Fent kinds ‘These troops can be divided into two main groups ~ those serving In North Africa, and the rest. The reason behind this split is purely administrative; Algeria, and the two protectorate states of Tunisia and ‘Morocco, were governed through the Ministry of the Intrir, but the remainder were run through the Ministry forthe Colonies. Te troops in North Africa, popularly known asthe Armée Afrique = the "Army of Africa’ — were recruited from a mixture of white and ‘ative peoples. The whites were almost all volunteers, since under nor- mal cicumstances French lav precluded sending conscripted troops ‘outside metropolitan France. The only exception was provided by those men who had been in prison when their call-up came; they ‘were obliged to serve their prison term, but on release were sent 10 serve in the African Light Infantry. The white regiments included the Zouaves, the Foreign Legion, the African Light Infantry, and the light, ‘cavalry regiments of the Chasseurs d'Atrique. The regiments raised from native peoples included the Algerian and Tunisian tvaileurs (as ‘well as regiments of Moroccan taillurs afte the Fist World War), and cavalry provided by regiments of spahis. Artllery, engineers, and other support units were generally mixed, about 40 percent oftheir person- rel coming from local peoples, whilst the remainder, including the officers, were whites. A numberof inegular units such asthe goums and the camel mounted Saharan Companies were also created; again, these were raised among local peoples but commanded by Frenchmen, Since the other French colonies came under a separate administra tion, a separate force had grown up to defend them. Even after the "10095 ha been transferred tothe control of the War Ministry in 1800, they remained laraely a separate organisation, with litle peacetime contact with the rest of the Army. Colonial infantry and Colonial Artery regiments were recruted almost exclusively from volunteers (Gome conscripts were allowed in time of necessity), drawn from French citizens both in the colonies (particularly the West Indes) and {at home. These were supported by regiments of trailleus sénégalais (aised tcoughout West and Equatorial Africa, not just in Senegal), ‘maigaches (rm Madagascar) and tonkinois (fom Indochina, wich were all infantry units raise from subject peoples. B= end of the nineteenth century, France had acquired a consi- There was always a good deal of rivalry between the metropolitan army and the troops in Africa and the colonies. The former prepared to defend the soil of France, particularly against attack from Germany, and considered colonial warfare to be no more than a distraction from this main purpose In their tur, the colonial troops regarded their metropolitan brothers-in-arms as hidebound by cegua- tion and theory, with no real idea of what warfare was like, The experience of handling troops in active service conditions gave officers a self-confidence they may never have acquited in a gartson town. Many senior officers in 1914, including Joffre himself, had seen service in the colonies, During the First World War, both African and Colonial regiments fought in defence of their country. Two divisions of Zouaves and. Algerian traileurs were sent to France immediately, and regiments of Coloral Infantry formed their own Army Corps (a second Colonial Corps was created in 1915). Experience of colonial warfare gave ‘these regiments an edge in combat, and they were frequently used as assault oops, and allotted the hardest of tasks, Such a policy was initially successful, but in the long term, the gaps amongst the ‘experienced men caused by the unprecedentedly heavy casualties of trench warfare reduced many regiments to a mece shadow of thei former selves. One of the most famous regiments was the Ragiment dinfanterie Coloniale du Maroc, formed n 1314 trom battalions taken from a number of different regiments serving in Morocco at the ‘outbreak of war (one white, two Senegalese). The RICM maintained its lite status unt the Armistice in 1918, gaining the greatest num- ber of unit awards of any regiment in the Aimy. The second most decorated unit was an African unit, the Rgiment de Marche de la Légion Etrangere. Both regiments wore a double aiguilette on their uniforms, in the colours of the Légion dhonneur and the Médaille dlimounted scion, on the Balin cont in 114 wet ht pectin elem flight a jacket, red tosses ted fe.‘a the owas ding the 19208 The main the ceate wes sf of bhai wook bate other ro wear the wm wether ane of 8 Mid Iiltaire, a degree of achievement in combat unmatched by any other unt. ‘Altogether, some 63 battalions of Algerian and Tunisian troops served on the Western Front. One of the reasons behind this large ‘commitment was that the French were reluctant to use these regiments against the Turks because oftheir shared religous faith. Other Colo rial and Aftican troops saw action in theatres besides the Western Front. Their main contribution came in Salonika, where three Colonial divisions participated in the campaign, atthe Dardanelles were four ‘mixed regiments, each composed of one white and two Senegalese bat- talions, sav action), and in Africa, against the German colonies of Togo and Kamerun, as well as against the Senusi revolt of 1916-17, \whicn spread from Libya to Algeria, Chad and Niger. Small contingents ‘alo served in the operations against the Bo'shevis, in Siberia and in, northern Russia. ‘There was ite rest after the signing of the Armistice. Almost immediately revolts broke out at both ends of the Mediteranean. in Morocco, 2 revolt against French and Spansh occupation, led by Abd al Krim, was ony finally extinguished in 1934, after a series of hard ‘campaigns, involving detachments from almost every AVrican anc Senegalese regiment, as wel as large numberof localy raised gous ‘and partisans, At the same time, the new teritores in Lebanon and Sia, granted to France by the League of Nations after the ene of the Fist World War, rose in revolt against their new master. Disturbances, particularly amongst the Djebe! Druze people, lasted until 1927. In ad tition, both African and Colonial troops contributed tothe occupation forces in Getmany and the Saarland, A small number of armoured unis ‘was formed, both in Africa and the Colones, but they were equipped ‘withthe obsolete Renault 17, and were thus of litle value during the Second World War ‘During the First World War, and throughout the 1920s end 1930s, the African and Colonial regiments were seen increasingly as a way to offset the e'fect of falling bith rates on the size of the Metropolitan, Army, These regiments were garrisoned more frequently on the French mainland, rather than abroad. When war broke out in 1939, 12 African divisions, plu thee brigades of horsed cavalry were based in France, as well as eight Colonial divisions and two half-arigades of machine gun tops, allthis out ofa grard total of 101 divisions. In the campaign that followed, the troops fought wellin conventional terms, but were overwhelmed by the new style of warfare. The Senegalese ated particularly badly. As a reprsal for the stem resistance they had shown, 200 men, captured at Momtuzin on Sth June, were rmachine-gunned out of hand, and another 250 were massacred in the CCote d'Or between the 16th and 25th of te same month. Altogether some 24,000 Senegalese, serving in seven regiments, were declared missing, of whom perhaps 17,500 were Kile, either on the battleield cor in captivity ‘As was the case during the Fist World War, many senior comman- dors in 1930-20 had seen active service in the colonies. paticulaiy in Morocco during the 1920s and 1930s, Butthe nature of modern war- fare had changed so much that ther expetience proved of litle value Fatally, one of these men was General Co'ap, the commander of the ‘ath Army, which stood diretiy in the path of the German advance Corap had captured Abd al Krim and hac become a national hero ~ but he did not know how to order an airstrike. General Huntzinger, ‘the commander of the 2nd Army, did net realise that unsupported artillery could not destroy tanks. Following the Armistice, the numbers ofall French troops were significantly reduced. Initially atleast, most solders and theitcom- anders supported Vichy, preferring that small measure of indepen- ‘dence to outright German accupation those who supported de Gaulle includ only two weak Foreign Legion battalions and a Colonial bat- talion, Their numbers slowly increased as a number of African colonies declared for de Gaulle, and the campaign in Syria, which saw French- ‘man fighting Frenchman, produced some more recruits (though many elected to be repatriated to France). It was only after the Aled cam ‘aign in Algeria following the Operation Torch landings thatthe great inerease in Free French forces occurred. Germany accupied Vichy France, so the French authorities in Nort» Africa felt justified in re- ‘entering the war against the Ax Equipped and armed with a mixture oftheir old uniforms and Ame rican materiel, the French were able to pu: an Army Corps, composed of a mixture of Algerian, Moroccan and Colonial troops, into the line in Tunisia, A eorgansation followed in 1943, resuting inthe creation lof a number of extra diisions. One of these, the 2nd Armoured Divi sion, was transferred to Britain for the Normandy landings. This was the division that became famous as the formation that captured Paris, and was formed from a mixture of Frenchmen, Colonial troops, ‘Moroccans and Lebanese, Albo formed atthe same time forthe forth- eming Italian campaign was the Corps Expédtionnaire Francais (CEF), Which conssted almost exclusively of Algerian and Maraccan troops ‘The fighting qualities of the French were mistrusted by the other ‘lied commanders, who clearly had the -arpaign of 1940 in mind, but inthe taan mountains, the African troops proved skied fighters, ‘and their ability and professionalism turned the Monte Cassino position where other formations and nationalities had failed A Snel patol, yi 1982, Those tment ren thi ool kt wih {El cones: The need for vey pal ‘olan ob elt o he mach man that every ma wae burdened with exe poche and nerd,‘X mounted section of sou in Tay 1913. Each ou a companysind ni) incaded x mounted ston, 8 2 say pon. ‘Transferred to the south of France for Operation Anvil, the CEF was med the 1st French Army, and divided into tw army corps. Once ‘again, the skils of the Algerian tiaileurs ané the Moroccan goums ‘came to the fore, as the fighting moved through the foothills of the ‘Alps and into the Vosges. As winter approached, many ofthe orginal ‘Arian personnel were repatriated, and the ranks filed with men who had been in the Resistance. Paty this was to avoid subjecting ican ‘10005 unused to such conditions to the effects of @ mountain winter, but it was also designed to bring the Resistance under some kind of proper control, both military and poltical In the French colonies in the Fr East, events had taken a very dif ferent turn. The Colony's garrison, consisting of a Foreign Legion regiment, five Colonial infanty and two Colonial artillery regiments, ‘ware drawn into border clashes firstly with the Japanese in 1940-41, and then with Thailand. The local governor allowed the Japanese to install bases and airfields in Indochina, and ensured that the Tcolour ‘would keep fying, The garrison was mostly proVichy in sentiment, or ‘at best neutral, but @ number of pro-Gaulist offices stil connived in acts of sabotage. By 1945, relations between the two powers had soured so badly, a Japanese coup gave them control of the county, ‘and they either massacred or imprisoned most of the French garson, French control was only re-established once the War was over, when it immediately became embroiled in a nationast revolt led by Ho Chi Minh, If colonial warfare had contributed tothe stultfication of French mi itary thought before the Second World War, it was nevertheless the effort and sacrifices of the African and Colonial troops during the lat ter stages ofthe conflict wich laid the foundations of France's mili- tary self-respect, and enabled it to take its place amongst the councils of the victorious Allied powers, COLOUR PLATES a ce. 9 fom tat had changed Ue fom the ime f the men armani the {os Rake tan send whale ‘ment Fane seed bates ee Combined ats poison regiment ce teache ~ in tt ce te iy Sih and Teh Bator of the 1 Zan Ti serene iv ame whan 1883 Lee ote Tans, Fs, 114 “rales wore uniform dw cat he Zones, btn igh Ble ith that office «eld the of ther men. T ind ‘te hei nice nd lee wore Tage gold brat Rosin kot on thes. ‘The ter Régime de ce ws cual oe fom thee bain he Ia 2d and Se of he > Ter alpine te Pace, 20 Racer heuer he bos tomers and cap ae vitaly the only emer dinguth ci ber of Caan Iney fom a ol sary Line nin, Bu sbous actor is Gusts bons Morvan 1914, Froch prot- tort, and cnuibuted 4 rgade of seid tht own aka mu che exalt of poral They mare dis Tigh Kal dl nor unl he ping 17915 hen wa eae by as Bas Paws, 4 Reser enue Gomi res 115, The die Be wifrm war low ue, but by 1916, Hk! urs al ‘ie ad en i Zo Te on ings ye csr he pt om ht thm ‘rt al ai wl replace by oni borne le Born ‘Be ping of 1915, smn athe, Combine wth cons ind Me or (dry The mane lding a rom seal wom under te kp as i oy prose ‘on tin apo 3 Tree, 8 Renan oe Creu “The her ity ofthe prov pece- tine uns pec thos of can troop ve be cone in he 1914 Inkl thy were ple by gen in boon be, bat in spring 1915, these mee replat thee by ‘etc in beers orn Be for mecopotan and white Colonial regent Asa rmpec hi ran were sal wpa of diiave bral om bie ‘alae The fit Sp i rach Pate ssl wore ser dk ae patie i farm Ths am chaged fat boson he em toa ail ome ben apt Hs much heresy pv for ws in te Fr of West ‘Ae, pve very wf for ech wa fae on de Wenn Front, Thi ma acd with 1907 Rei sill, ype ‘xii don Calo oops, tut fe proved oo be wt much Beer in tcton han the Lebel cad by the toplian reper a ied 0 the whole Army. (2: Pore? Re ara Cao. Serving the guna hie man ha doped the ligt ble carer nif, somaly swoon ara weg drain br Tevendl Fae ply wih met and oshing and som baame at ite The hae worn by Colonial Anlery ‘pesoplin repens 5: Prm, Ree ooo Gxt In 918 the don wa made co cote all Cole wegen Ia a, eer hum simply the ae iment How ct, this came too I fr fronting tp and they tril wer borne 86 ae uni fe the ond of the war, Tht sani caryng te squad man gu, ‘hem Chacha o 1915. Ely an ‘fr om meta ramping iia ‘erable wapon. Hix personal won Sim asm pl Du Sac, Recs Taanarons ‘Ainiss, Acts, 1919 “The undrar headgear for Zoe and slew unitwart ei fon chdchin remnined in ure Soughoue the wa slough when near he tiny at fron ender Kak coe. Move 1952 De Bournael war one of the most fama Peck efi of the inet tevnd, Comminoned in the pain be Teokcomand of uke o Moroccan ous ing om the on, deed his conspicuous ved ulorm. He was Lille in 1933, in operations ia the Djebe Samohi deh sil ere rated at the Atay’ Stuur exeley Di Pee 10 Boao cra Be Me Scns 127 ‘Teo provid faalont wee aed fiom Indochine cops 10 potet ech ier the nero Cy of Shngha, afer asin duran ‘hee Thema i wasn the Hal del ‘frm epi ined o Indochine swoops He eed with 21902116 ie gr version of the Beni. pel Alt fr Indctinee oop Lethe Saran Campi of Alp, dle peoples to nti oer an pres riding, bur were stoned in Maui Niger and Cd This French fcr wes he snp uniform ae ‘ay eens pein om se sun 2 Shope doa the sles and wih he Sve rod pir af Leal agey tau ory, a aire ler ‘Koper ofa Cal Company Ply, Sri 1D The Fc ml de ach compan erent wa Hinman prnalqipmet ae recut ie ud bn xeon, hls His weapons ate an 1892 caval bine and pl, probably aSar ora aby in heer donated wih the Cole nck Sr 90 wing he ction of he Deel Davin Sinan Lebanon inet cr ecru om hse rol Hise pha lp oe ds, he bran we uns Got Gu That es Opts tons aml fr operon ood Frac snd he Woon Med 3 Lares 9 Richa ae Zou, an 930 “Thor wei the Kd if ore in cs congue ok is pt is obscura in dell ener bic hat eton ete ove it Tana gmt During the 192 ad 19304 a inceing uber of rime vet adopting regimental badger ta of ‘he 9" Zou eel the fg 9 ad ‘gen and i wor ht inte on the tiie, He i aed ith Spi Sm Ase pil, Cur Cus Toe SF Ria tina Cui Mare Ss ser, 0 Nie wa aie of Gaon, and ad een cmon inthe 1930 lowing ttn erie nthe Me En, He ined the Army onthe ou Teak of wa and saving in ance wat shor by he Geman captor when he ‘ie fia oft Spina ay 19 They a wing ha rs ‘nih rch in cr acho sre Tas de Fond evar mon pe et ith ada ads of nk aed Nowe inn pe Be pone ‘nic on being re an ffi, He ‘eaming 1921 Raby asco patl 1% Ca Cte ae, 2° Be oe ran cs Pes, 140 During she Phongy Wir pend, most Froneline regimen formed es fc sks to pasal NoMans Land. The ren of shee small nite wore wide varie of hing withthe empha on Tgheas and comfor ‘This paar slice hat acid of the gen ‘anv enioem nnd for motor trope tic he has added ome regional coll paces Anwar Ree 2 ange, Wi ‘This taalion wat asd jn French Paley and sere in the Weer Dene tnd in Bence during. the Liteton Thisenor NICO, ting Bia bate, but mich French dg ts Kner, 7 Ree oF Cues Am, 188 Many of bene of hit epimene were lw rom hoe who ha seed i he se Jeunes fing ses pond much af the resimeatl unio ina ing che oe ea beret and ie, and ‘hebrow he ice. hs Pars, 31 Ric of Taare usm, 194 Wik che cxepan of dhe mc, hit roan Is sost completly ated and sspped with Aten matéi However the helmet remion Penh ner a lth cme dee Peck eles sere epee progronely by US. MI Trl darng she ghing x Alace tnd in Geman ding the at mothe of the war, He is cnyng 2 1903 Speigid ile 5 xa, a4 ‘his Moron hl eeaman wets is sean lah cut wah» 1917 iran balms ond = 3909 Spring ‘ile and US. eulpmane. The Americas sree lectus to supply upd fauipment to Frch Colonial and ‘Alicia nie fo pla esas. Mapas Gams 1945, Thar wang whaly Arran thing, However he aad French ade wo te side of is lmet. He has. soy empl wpe a Anica Mi cutine ue 196 “Ths corr bon was ni ding the Lieraon of Fnce and sera om the Anes. The Serene wea Jing Bes wifrm, but he bat Pench 1985 pateen lather equipment, ted caer 2 prewar MASIG ie. Many Dian ngiment eontinaed to wear seifornt fom Dekh aod Cadi tocks well inthe 1950, Single ba flags wee nic ence wo 4 mgmt Color and 0 cated sal ion, he the one shown ere 3: Sous-Luvrexan, Corrs Less wresey Ecc, 1945 1ops and wed ia oda in 1983, wih the imation tha they should pute Jno Tndechion eo ovganise resistance ‘guns the Japanese Nose id gone no ‘tio, howe, Before the end of the swe He wating» Bish jangle een form, and ited wih Les Eel ng Cin, 7| tSeapeny 1 Regimen de Nance de | 1 Maou, Brigade des Chaar | zene Fans 1915 Inds, France, 1915 » Rgimen de Mache de 2 Prat Rginen Tare ‘Tiles, Franc, 1914 Colo, Fine, 1915 Pet, 21° Rime dafere $5 Trumpet Rigiment de Chaos (Colonie, France, 1914 Ata Sli, 19151s Sergeant, Régiment de Tales Singlai Fane 1916 2 Prat, 2 Regiment Arlee Colonie, Frc, 1917 SPs Régime nfineie Colo da Marc, rnc, 1918 wees 1 Sugean 5° Régnent de Tle Algns, Alges 1919 2: Capua Hen de Bourard, 35° Gour Moroen, 1952 ‘3: Prvat, 103: Bale Indochine— — a tenant Goape Nomad | Mea, 1933 2: Soaletenant,Covalre de Lean, Sin 1930 2 Litman, 9 Rgimene Zones Agia, 1930 wet1s Leena, 7 Régie de Chases die, fa 1903 2 Prat, 3° Rime, de Trlr Ages, aby 1944 3: Gouin, aly, 1944 1 Liesenat 4 Rgineat Tallon Marcin, Germany, 1945, 24 Sergeant Pert Fsion, Balen Por de “ells Now Asian Free, 1944 Se SousLiwenant, (Cocps Léger Tlereation, Inching, 1955.