Colonial troops in the French army

When did France start using colonised territories in their armies? Why?

As early as the wars of colonisation in the nineteenth century, the French Army recruited men from colonised territories to make up for a shortage of European troops: firstly, to complete acts of ‘conquest’; and secondly, to maintain order in overseas colonies.

Give example of colony army unit and an event when France used colonised ?

• the Algerian Tirailleurs units in 1842 and the Senegalese Tirailleurs corps in 1857

• when France colonised Madagascar in 1894, two regiments of Algerian riflemen fought as part of the expeditionary force

give examples of when colonised soldiers were employed by the French Army?

during the Crimean War (1853-56) and during the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71)

When was the recruitment of colonial troops institutionalised?

During WW1

Which colony provided the most colonial troops?

Algeria

In March 1940 (just before Germany invaded France), how many oversea troops were assigned to the French Army?

• an estimated 340,000 troops from overseas colonies were assigned to the French Army

• These troops included an estimated:

  • 70,000 troops from North Africa

  • 40-65,000 troops from sub-Saharan Africa

What did the allied landing in North Africa trigger amongst the colonial troops?

• The Allied landings in North Africa in November 1942 triggered a large-scale mobilisation of French colonial troops

• From this point onwards, French colonial troops fought in Tunisian (1943) and Italian (1943-44) campaigns, before helping to liberate France from the south-east upwards (this is the trajectory followed in Days of Glory)

• French colonial troops also took part in the invasion of Germany in 1945

What racial prejudices were their amongst the French Army?

• The French Army favoured colonial troops from North Africa, rather than sub-Saharan Africa, as they were considered better soldiers

• Colonial troops needed to be supervised by an experienced European officer (as seen in the film Days of Glory) and very few reached the rank of officer themselves

• This was because the French military hierarchy had a paternalistic approach to troop management based on racial prejudice

How was the liberation whitewashed?

• Two thirds of the Free French Forces were colonial troops

• However, at the Allies’ insistence, efforts were made to ensure that those who were seen to liberate Paris were white

• This at a time when the US army was segregated racially

• Black troops were removed from the unit that led the advance into the French capital

• When it became clear that there were simply not enough white soldiers in the Free French Forces, some from North Africa and the Middle East who were considered ‘pale enough’ were allowed to participate

• Georges Dukson, originally from Gabon, defied this order and can be seen in photographs of the victory parade led by de Gaulle

What were the events of the Thiaroye Massacre?

• A massacre of black African soldiers (members of the Senegalese Tirailleurs) serving in the French Army on 1 December 1944 near Dakar, Senegal

• The victims were veterans of the 1940 Battle of France who, in December 1944, had recently been liberated from prison camps in Europe (having been captured by the Germans in 1940)

• Upon arrival in Senegal, the Tirailleurs protested against poor conditions and unpaid wages at the Thiaroye military camp

• Between 35 and 300 people were killed (estimates vary greatly)

• The official French version claimed the killings occurred in response to a massive armed mutiny. However, declassified military documents suggest the massacre was considered in advance (even prior to arrival in Senegal) 

• Most, if not all, of the victims were unarmed

Who was the first French President to acknowledge the Thiaroye killings as a massacre?

Emmanuel Macron

How did France use colonial troops to supress independance movements after WW2. What affect did this have?

• Senegalese riflemen were sent to suppress independence movements in Syria (1945) and Madagascar (1947)

• During the Algerian War of Independence (1954-62), 100,000 North African troops served in the French Army and came to be viewed as traitors. After the achievement of Algerian independence in 1962, many of these colonial troops were forced into exile in France

When was the film Days of Glory released? Who directed it?

• Released in 2006

• Directed by Rachib Bouchareb

• Nominated for an Oscar in 2007, Best Foreign Language Film (lost out to the brilliant Lives of Others (German))

What was the political impacts of Days of Glory? (pensions)

• Successive French governments froze the war pensions of former colonial troops when their countries became independent, meaning they received less than French veterans

• After the release of Days of Glory, under the presidency of Jacques Chirac (and supposedly because he was so moved by the film), government policy was changed to bring foreign combatant pensions into line with what French veterans are paid

• The film is most probably not the sole reason for this change in policy – it is important to note that Chirac’s announcement came less than a year after riots and civil unrest (2005) involving French citizens of North African heritage