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The first Senegalese Tirailleurs were formed in 1857 and served France in a number of wars, including World War I (providing around 200,000 troops, more than 135,000 of whom fought in Europe and 30,000 of whom were killed [3]) and World War II (recruiting 179,000 troops, 40,000 deployed to Western Europe).
Apr 9, 2020 · During World War II the French recruited 179,000 Tirailleurs; some 40,000 were deployed to Western Europe. Many were sent to bolster the French Maginot Line along its border with Germany and Belgium during the German invasion in 1940—where many were killed or taken prisoner.
- World War II Magazine
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Jun 8, 2020 · Their story has largely been forgotten. Even before the Second World War France had recruited some five regiments of Tirailleurs Sénégalais from the North African and West African colonies, and...
In both the First and Second World Wars, France called on its empire. Elements of its colonial forces, among them Senegalese tirailleurs, took part in the Battle of France in 1940. The fighting of the tirailleurs. Senegalese tirailleurs from a mixed unit in action in Alsace, September-December 1939. © ECPAD.
In the Second World War, they took part in the Battle of France, in 1940, in all the fighting engaged in by Free France, in particular in Gabon (1940) and at Bir Hakeim (1942), and also in the Provence landings with the French 1st Army (1944). Prisoners, 1940. Source: German Federal Archive (Deutsches Bundesarchiv)
Nov 27, 2014 · Senegalese "Tirailleurs" were soldiers from France's West African colonies who served in the French army in both World Wars. In 1940, many were made prisoners by the Germans who held them in...
This was largely because French army commanders viewed West Africans as an elite fighting force among the 500,000 colonial subjects (from Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Madagascar, and Indochina) who fought for France during the war, and so deployed tirailleurs sénégalais most often as attacking “shock troops.”.
