Tirailleurs Sénégalais as portrayed in a Russian magazine in 1914.
The Senegalese Tirailleurs (French: Tirailleurs Sénégalais) was a corps of the French Army recruited from French West Africa. The first unit was formed in 1857 and served France in a number of wars, including World War I and World War II. The term is not only use for the French soldiers who come from Senegal but for the French soldiers of all west Africa.
History
The Senegalese Tirailleurs was formed in 1857 by Louis Faidherbe, governor general of French West Africa, because he lacked manpower to control the territory. The formal decree for its formation was signed on 21 July1857 in Plombières-les-Bains by Napoleon III. The recruitment was later extended to other French colonies in Africa.
See also
Tirailleurs: history of the Pre-Colonial French and Colonial Tirailleur units (eg: Algerian, Senegalese).
Myron Echenberg, "Tragedy at Thiaroye: The Senegalese Soldiers' Uprising of 1944 ", in Peter Gutkind, Robin Cohen and Jean Copans (eds), African Labor History, Beverly Hills, 1978, p. 109-128
Myron Echenberg, Colonial Conscripts: The Tirailleurs Senegalais in French West Africa, 1857-1960. Heinemann (1990), ISBN 0435080520
Nancy Ellen Lawler. Soldiers of Misfortune: Ivoirien Tirailleurs of World War II. Ohio Univ Press (1992) ISBN 0821410121
Rafael Gutierrez and Dario Arce : Le Tata sénégalais de Chasselay : mémoires du 25° RTS" Documentary film, 52', 2007. Productions Chromatiques- TLM, France.
