Introduction

It is only very recently that recognition has been given to the massive and possibly decisive contribution made by troops from France's Empire to its ultimate victory in both World Wars. The ‘rediscovery’ of their role afforded them belated acknowledgement in the commemorations of the centenary of World War One. The original plans for the centenary barely acknowledged the role of colonial troops, an omission challenged by Rachid Bouchareb and Pascal Blanchard who successfully proposed the addition of the commemorative project ‘Frères d'armes’. This rediscovery invites reflection on what factors may have contributed to the long neglect of their participation in combat. This chapter explores the immediate historical context of the deployment of one segment of these colonial troops during World War One: the tirailleurs sénégalais, the soldiers recruited from French West and Equatorial Africa, and argues that the real and discursive boundaries placed around their presence in France were to consign these men to a long-forgotten corner of French social and military history. Once the decision had been made to use troops from France's African colonies, the civil and military authorities sought to define the ‘place’ of these soldiers – considered to belong to the lower end of the racial hierarchy accor–ding to the mindset of the time – within the metropole, the Empire and in the French imaginary. The representations of these soldiers had to reconcile several potentially conflicting ideas: the ‘devotion’ of the black soldiers demonstrated the loyalty of the colonies to the Empire, while the numbers that could be raised proved in turn the value of the colonies to France; brave and capable warriors they nevertheless needed the strong, paternal leadership of the white officers who commanded them; they were children to be guided towards civilisation through the benevolent governance of France; lastly, their presence in France was a potential threat to white womanhood and to the entire colonial structure.