LES TROUPES COLONIALES FRANÇAISES DANS LA GRANDE GUERRE
76 THE FRENCH COLONIAL TROOPS DURING THE GREAT WAR

Summary/Abstract: The French colonial troops, commonly called La Coloniale, are hardly known, although they played a very important part in the construction of the French colonial Empire from the XVIth century to the 1960s. These troops are recruited from France or from the population of the French colonial empire and play an important role in the defense of the French territories all around the world. The present paper presents the short history of these troops and their participation in the World War I. The French Africa Army (Armée de l'Afrique) and the Marine (Marine ou Coloniale Blanche) contain the best parts of the French military forces, able to fight and be victorious on every battlefield in Africa, Asia and even Europe. Due to this good reputation, the French military High Command uses these units in all fronts of the war with success. They participated in the conquest of German territories in Africa, in the defense of France on the Western Front, and they fought in Turkey, in the Balkan and in Russia, too. But this success has a high price: a great number of killed, wounded and missing soldiers. At the same time, their sacrifice has some reason because France is victorious in this conflict.

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