As we remember from the article “Zuaves. New and unusual military units of France”, after the conquest of Algeria (1830), and then Tunisia and Morocco, the French decided to use the young men of these countries to control the newly acquired territories. Attempts to make the new military formations mixed (in which the Arabs and Berbers would serve alongside the French) were unsuccessful, and therefore already in 1841 the battalions of the Zouaves became completely French, their "native" colleagues were transferred to other infantry units.
Algerian Tyrallers
Now the former "native" Zouaves began to be called Algerian Riflemen, but they are better known as Tirailleur. This word has nothing to do with Tyrol: it originates from the French verb tirer - "to pull" (bowstring), that is, it originally meant "archer", then - "shooter".
At that time, in France, Tyraliers were called light infantry, which operated mainly in loose formation. And after the Crimean War (in which they also took part), the Tyrallers got the nickname "Turko" ("Turks") - because both the allies and the Russians often mistook them for the Turks. Then in the Crimea there were three battalions of tyrallers: from Algeria, Oran and Constantine, brought together into one temporary regiment, numbering 73 officers and 2025 lower ranks.
The combat path of the Maghreb tyrallers, in general, repeats the path of the Zouaves (unlike the shooters recruited in Indochina and in "black" Africa), so we will not repeat ourselves and waste time listing the military campaigns in which they took part.
The battalions of the Zouaves and Maghreb tyraliers were sometimes part of one large military unit, but their troops never mixed with each other. An example is the famous Moroccan division, which played a major role in the First Battle of the Marne (September 1914) and the Battle of Artois (May 1915): it consisted of battalions of the Foreign Legion, Moroccan tyrallers and Zouaves.
The uniforms of the tyraliers resembled the shape of the Zouaves, but were of a lighter color, had a yellow edging and a yellow ornament. The sash was red, like the fez (sheshia), the color of the tassel of which (white, red or yellow) depended on the battalion number.
During World War I, the tyrallers received a mustard-colored uniform.
It should be noted that the tyralier units were still not completely Arab-Berber: regardless of their success in the service, the "natives" could only hope for a non-commissioned officer's rank. All the officers, some of the sergeants, machine-gun crews, sappers, doctors, telegraph operators, clerks in these units were French. It is estimated that ethnic French in the tiraler's regiments could be from 20 to 30% of the total personnel.
The French Colonel Clement-Grancourt, in his book La tactique au Levant, wrote about the differences between Algerian and Tunisian tyraliers:
“A short observation is enough to distinguish Tunisian troops from Algerian ones. Among Tunisians, there is rarely a type of fit old soldier, with a long mustache or a square beard, neatly trimmed with scissors, a type that is also found among the shooters of the new generation, the heir of the old "Turkic". Tunisians are mostly young Arabs, tall and thin, with narrow breasts and protruding cheekbones, and on their faces an expression of passivity and resignation to fate. The Tunisian, the son of a peaceful people tied to the land, and not the son of nomadic tribes who only yesterday lived by their own sword, serves in the French army not as a volunteer and, not according to the laws of France, but on the orders of the bey (governor) of Tunisia. There is no army that is easier to rule in peacetime than the Tunisian army. But both in the campaign and in battle, they show less energy than the Algerians, and less than the Algerians, they are attached to their unit … Tunisian … a little more educated than Algerian … not as stubborn as the Kabil (mountain Berber tribe) … subject to the example of their commanders more than an Algerian."
Like the Zouaves, in normal times, the tyralier units were stationed outside France, and for the first time on the territory of the metropolis they appeared during the First World War.
In August 1914, 33,000 Algerians, 9,400 Moroccans, 7,000 Tunisians served in the French army. Later, in Morocco alone, 37 battalions of tyraliers were additionally formed (and the total number of all "colonial soldiers" - from the Maghreb and "black" Africa, during World War I amounted to 15% of the French army). But only 200 privates from among the Maghreb tyrallers then managed to rise to the officer or non-commissioned officer rank.
Tyrallers of North Africa showed themselves very well then during the hostilities in the Middle East. The aforementioned Clement-Grancourt reports:
“The burden of action in the Levant was placed mainly on the North African shooter. There is no doubt that his role in operations in Syria, Cilicia and around Aintab was decisive … The Middle East is a "cold country with a hot sun" like North Africa. An Arab from Algeria, accustomed to the inconvenience of living in Arab tents, and a mountain Kabil, accustomed to lying on bare ground, are both better able to withstand sudden changes in temperature, and perhaps they are superior in this to the locals themselves, who hide in winter huts. and gather around the "barbecue", their charcoal brazier. No soldier is as fit for the war in the Levant as the Algerian rifleman."
Maghreb Tyraliers during World War II
After the outbreak of World War II, 123 thousand riflemen were transported from Algeria to France. All in all, about 200 thousand people from Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco turned out to be at the front. For several months of the short-lived campaign of 1940 in France, 5400 North African tyraliers were killed, about 65 thousand of them were captured.
After the defeat of France, North Africa remained under the control of the Vichy government. From here Germany received phosphorites, iron ore, non-ferrous metals and food, which created economic difficulties in the country. In addition, it was from Algeria that Rommel's army was supplied, which fought the British in Libya (as a result, food prices in this country more than doubled from 1938 to 1942). However, in November 1942, Anglo-American troops occupied Morocco and Algeria, in May 1943 - Tunisia. The tyrallers who went over to their side took part in further operations of the allies in Africa and in Europe, for the courage shown by the soldiers of the 1st Algerian and 1st Moroccan regiments in 1948 were awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor.
North African tyrallers took part in the First Indochina War and suffered huge losses in the famous battle of Dien Bien Phu, from which France was never able to recover.
In 1958, the regiments of Algerian riflemen were renamed simply into rifle regiments, and in 1964, after the proclamation of independence of Algeria, they were completely disbanded.
Senegalese arrows
Since 1857, tyrallier units began to be recruited in other French colonies: first in Senegal (initiated by Governor Louis Federb), and then in other African countries - on the territory of modern Guinea, Mali, Chad, Central African Republic, Congo, Burkina Faso, Djibouti … All of them, regardless of where they were set, were called Senegalese tyraliers - Regiments d'Infanterie Coloniales Mixtes Senégalais.
It is interesting that the first "Senegalese" tyraliers were young slaves, ransomed from the former African masters, later they began to attract "contract soldiers" to these units. The confessional composition of these units was variegated - there were both Muslims and Christians among them.
These formations fought in Madagascar and Dahomey, in the territory of Chad, Congo and South Sudan. And in 1908, two Senegalese battalions even ended up in Morocco.
The increase in the number of Senegalese tyralier regiments was greatly facilitated by the activities of General Mangin, who served in French Sudan, who in 1910 published the book "Black Power": in it, it was argued that West and Equatorial Africa should become an "inexhaustible reservoir" of soldiers for the metropolis. It was he who divided the African tribes into the "warlike races" of West Africa (sedentary farmers of the Bambara, Wolof, Tukuler and some others) and the "weak" tribes of Equatorial Africa. With his "light hand", the African tribes Sarah (southern Chad), Bambara (West Africa), Mandinka (Mali, Senegal, Guinea and the Ivory Coast), Busanse, Gurunzi, began to be considered the most suitable for military service, in addition to the warlike Kabyles of Algeria, lobby (Upper Volta).
But what characteristics of representatives of different African tribes could be read in one of the French magazines:
“Bambara - solid and willful, mosi - arrogant, but hardy, bobo - rude, but restrained and diligent, senufo - shy but reliable, Fulbe neglected, like all nomads, strict discipline, but do not pump up under fire, and they get good commanders, malinke - sensitive and quick thinking when executing orders. All of them have different abilities due to their origin and temperament. And yet they all belong to the hardy and prolific Sudanese race … great to be soldiers."
As a result, on February 7, 1912, a decree was issued making military service compulsory for Africans from sub-Saharan regions.
On the eve of World War I, the French army included 24,000 natives of West Africa, 6,000 shooters from Equatorial Africa and 6,300 Malagasy (residents of Madagascar). All in all, 169 thousand men from West Africa, 20 thousand from Equatorial Africa and 46 thousand from Madagascar were called up to the front of World War I.
Forced mobilization led to riots in the African provinces, the largest of which was the uprising in West Volta, which broke out in November 1915 - it was suppressed only in July 1916. The number of local residents who died during the punitive operations was estimated in thousands. The situation on the ground was so acute that the governor of French West Africa, Van Vollenhoven, fearing a general revolt, in 1917 officially asked Paris to stop recruiting in the territory under his control. And the residents of four communes in Senegal (Saint-Louis, Gore, Dakar, Rufisc) were promised French citizenship, subject to the continuation of the supply of conscripts.
On April 25, 1915, the Allies launched an operation to seize the Dardanelles. The British attacked the European coast of the strait - the Gallipoli Peninsula. The French chose the Asian coast, where the Turkish forts of Kum-Kale and Orcani were located. The French troops in this operation were represented by three thousand Senegalese tyraliers, which were landed by the Russian cruiser Askold and the French Jeanne d'Arc. The Russian sailors who drove the landing boats suffered losses: four of them were killed, nine were injured.
The actions of the tyraliers were at first successful: they captured two villages on the move and even captured about 500 enemy soldiers, but with the approach of the Turkish reserves, they were thrown back to the coast, and then they were completely forced to evacuate. One of the Senegalese companies was captured.
If you are interested in how the Gallipoli operation of Great Britain and France was prepared, how it went and how it ended, read about it in my article “The Battle of the Straits. Allied Gallipoli operation."
At the same time, the inhabitants of the provinces of continental France experienced a cultural shock: they had never seen so many representatives of "exotic" peoples ". First of all, of course, the black "Senegalese" were striking (recall that this was the name given to all military personnel from "black" Africa). At first, the attitude towards them was hostile and wary, but later it became condescending and patronizing: the "Senegalese" were treated like big children, who spoke French badly, but won over with their cheerful disposition and spontaneity. And in 1915, Banania cocoa became extremely popular, on the label of which the image of a smiling Senegalese shooter flaunted.
But to the seemingly much more familiar and familiar natives of the Maghreb, the native French at that time, oddly enough, treated worse.
During the hostilities, the Senegalese tyralier units suffered heavy losses from diseases caused by the unusual climate, especially in the autumn-winter period. For example, the Cournot camp, created on the Atlantic coast in the vicinity of Arcachon to train arriving Africans, closed after about 1000 recruits were killed in it - and after all, conditions in it were much better than on the front lines.
Near Verdun, the Moroccan Infantry Regiment (which was awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor) and two regiments of African tyrallers: Senegalese and Somali, became famous. It was thanks to them that they managed to recapture Fort Duamon.
The "Senegalese tyrallers" suffered huge losses during the so-called "Nivelle offensive" (April-May 1917): out of 10 thousand Africans who participated in it, 6,300 were killed, and General Mangin, who headed them, even received the nickname "Black Butcher".
During the Second Battle of the Marne (June-August 1918), 9 battalions of Senegalese riflemen defended the "martyr city" (ville martyr) Reims and were able to hold Fort Pompel. This is how they wrote about these tragic events in Germany:
“It is true that the defense of Reims is not worth a drop of French blood. This is the blacks put to the slaughter. Intoxicated with wine and vodka, which are abundant in the city, all the negroes are armed with machetes, large battle daggers. Woe to those Germans who fall into their hands!"
(Communication from the "Wolf" agency dated June 5, 1918.)
And the French deputy Olivier de Lyons de Feshin said in December 1924:
“Colonial units have always been distinguished by their bold and daring combat actions. The 2nd Colonial Corps attack on 25 September 1915 north of Suen, and the 1st Colonial Corps attack on the Somme in July 1916, are some of the most brilliant combat operations of these two years of trench warfare. It was the colonial regiment from Morocco, the only French regiment with a double red aiguillette, that had the honor to recapture Fort Duumont. The defense of Reims by the 1st Colonial Corps is one of the most brilliant pages in the history of this cruel war."
On July 13, 1924, a monument to the heroes of the Black Army was unveiled in Reims.
The same monument was erected in the city of Bamako, the capital of French Sudan. On its pedestal was written: "En témoignage de la reconnaissance envers les enfants d'adoption de la France, morts au combat pour la liberté et la civilization").
The monument in Reims in September 1940 was destroyed by the Germans who occupied the city, but was restored and reopened on November 8, 2013:
Despite the heroism shown, only 4 "Senegalese shooters" during World War I were able to rise to the rank of lieutenant.
After the conclusion of the Armistice of Compiegne, the West African battalions of the Senegalese tyraliers entered the Rhine region as part of the 10th French army.
In November 2006, on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Verdun, the French parliament adopted a law on the revalorization (revaluation) of the pensions of former soldiers of the colonies during the First World War. But it soon became clear that the last of the Senegalese shooters, Abdule Ndié, had died 5 days before the publication of this “fateful act”. So nobody managed to take advantage of this belated generosity of the French parliamentarians.
As we remember from the previous article, the Senegalese arrows, along with the Zouaves, ended up in Odessa in December 1918 as invaders.
They took an active part in the Rif War in Morocco (which was briefly described in the article "Zouaves. New and unusual military units of France"). After its end, the "Senegalese tyrallers" were constantly not only at the place of their formation, but also in the French Maghreb, and even France.
Senegalese Tyraliers during World War II
Units of tyraliers of "black" Africa had a chance to take part in the short-term military campaign of 1940. By April 1, 179 thousand "Senegalese riflemen" had been mobilized into the French army.
In the Catholic magazine Côte d'Ivoire Chretienne, published in the Ivory Coast colony after the outbreak of World War II, the following proclamation appeared:
“In your khaki uniform, like the dusty savannah, you will become the defender of France. Promise me, my little black, my little Christian, that you will show yourself brave. France is counting on you. You are fighting for the most noble country in the world."
But "traditional" methods were also practiced.
Tyralier Sama Kone, a native of the same Ivory Coast, testifies:
“We went to war because we didn't want our relatives to have problems. If the recruits fled, their family ended up in prison. For example, my relative, Mori Bai, was sent to work in the south, he fled from there, and then his brothers were sent to work, and his father was imprisoned."
Theodore Ateba Ene in the book "Memoirs of a Colony Inhabitant" reports that in the capital of Cameroon, Yaounde, after one of the Sunday services in the cathedral, soldiers suddenly appeared and took the believers away in trucks to Camp Ge'nin, where they were divided into the following groups: men, fit for military service, men fit for work in the labor army, women and old people sent to auxiliary work in quarries, children who were forced to work at the toilets in the soldiers' barracks.
The same author reports on one of the raids on recruits:
"For those who were caught, the French put ropes around the body and then tied all the detainees in one chain."
French historian Nancy Lawler states:
“In all battles, soldiers from Africa were on the front line, they were sent under fire in the first place. At night, the French units were located behind the African ones to provide themselves with cover."
The loss of Senegalese riflemen during the 1940 campaign, according to various authors, ranged from 10 to 20 thousand people. As might be expected, the attitude of the Germans towards the captive French and Africans was diametrically opposite. Nancy Lawler, already quoted by us, for example, tells about this case:
“After the surrender of their weapons, the prisoners were quickly divided: white - in one direction, black - in the other … black tyraliers, including the wounded, they built on the edge of the road, and mowed them all down with machine-gun bursts. The survivors and those who escaped were targeted by precise aiming fire from carbines. One German officer ordered the wounded to be pulled out onto the road, took out a pistol and drove one bullet into the head one after the other. Then he turned to the captive French and shouted: "Tell about it in France!"
Gaspard Scandariato, an officer (according to other sources, corporal) of the French army recalled another shooting of the "Senegalese" that happened on June 20, 1940:
“The Germans surrounded us, in my unit there were 20 French officers and 180-200 Senegalese riflemen. The Germans ordered us to lay down our arms, raise our hands in the air and brought us to the POWs collection point, where there were already many of our soldiers. Then we were divided into two columns - in front were the Senegalese tyraliers, behind them we, the Europeans. When we left the village, we met German soldiers in armored vehicles. We were ordered to lie on the ground, then we heard machine gun fire and shouts … They fired at the tyraliers from a distance of no more than 10 meters, most of them were killed in the first rounds."
In the future, the captured French were often entrusted with the protection and supervision of the "natives" sent to forced labor from the French colonies.
Both Maghreb and Senegalese tyraliers in 1944 participated in Operation Dragoons - the landing of Allied troops between Toulon and Cannes on August 15, 1944. This day is still a public holiday in Senegal.
Among the Senegalese tyraliers of those years was Leopold Cedar Senghor, who served in the French army since 1939. This is an African poet, supporter of the "negritude" theory (proclaiming the uniqueness and self-sufficiency of African "black" culture) and the future president of Senegal.
Three prime ministers of Upper Volta (Burkina Faso) also served in the units of the Senegalese shooters: Sangule Lamizana, Saye Zerbo, Joseph Issoufu Konombo, as well as the dictator Togo Gnassingbe Eyadema.
Another famous "black tyralier" - "emperor" of Central Africa Jean Bedel Bokassa, who was a participant in Operation Dragoons and battles on the Rhine, and then, after graduating from the Senegalese officers' school of Saint-Louis, took part in the war in Indochina, earning the Lorraine Cross and Legion of Honor.
After the end of World War II, the French army had 9 regiments of Senegalese tyraliers, which were stationed in West Africa. They also took part in hostilities in Algeria, Madagascar and Indochina.
Annamian and Tonkin tyraliers
Since 1879, units of tyrallers appeared in Indochina: the first of them were recruited in the south of Vietnam - in Cochin and Annam (Annam arrows).
In 1884, regiments were recruited from the natives of North Vietnam - Tonkin (Tonkin). In total, 4 regiments of 3 thousand people in each were created. Later, the number of regiments was increased to 6. It is interesting that before the start of World War I they did not have military uniforms - they used national clothes of a single cut.
Only in 1916 were they dressed in the uniform of the French colonial units. And the traditional Vietnamese bamboo hat was replaced with a cork helmet only in 1931.
In 1885, during the Franco-Chinese war, the detachment of General de Negrie, which included two battalions of the line, a battalion of the marines, a battalion of Algerian tyraliers and two companies of Tonkin riflemen (about 2 thousand people) in the battle of Nui Bop defeated 12 - a thousandth enemy army. One of the Tonkin battalions fought at Verdun. But much more often the natives of Indochina were then used in auxiliary work, because their combat reputation was then low. Then the Tonkin arrows were in service in Syria and participated in the Rif War in Morocco.
During the years of World War II, 50,000 Indochinese natives were drafted into the French army. Indian trading posts (of which there were 5) and the Pacific colonies each set up a battalion. Soldiers from Indochina were, for example, part of the troops defending the Maginot Line. In 1940-1941. they also fought on the border with Thailand, which in the first phase of the war acted as an ally of Japan.
In 1945, all units of the Tonkin and Annam riflemen were disbanded, their soldiers and sergeants continued to serve in ordinary French regiments.
As you probably guessed, both the "Senegalese" tyrallers and the Indochina rifle divisions were disbanded after independence by the countries where they were formed.
