Turkos

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French infantry (1897): Turkos soldier (right), Turkos officer (back), Zuave (left)

Turkos or Turcos is the nickname of the Algerian and Tunisian rifle regiments of the French army , which existed from 1842 to 1964 and were officially called Tirailleurs algériens or Tirailleurs tunisiens (from 1958 only Tirailleurs ). They were formed from locals after the conquest of North Africa .

Each company had two French officers , four non-commissioned officers and eight corporals . The crews consisted of locals, the other officers and most of the NCOs were French . The costume was Arabic: a light blue jacket and waistcoat , turban , burnous and gaiters .

Originally the Turkos established in 1842 were only intended for use in Algeria - similar to the Foreign Legion - but they fought in the Sardinian War in 1859 , in the Franco-Prussian War in 1870/71 and in Tonking in 1884 and since then they have fought in all wars in France up to second half of the 20th century distinguished by bravery and perseverance. They were also used during the occupation of the Rhineland by France and were victims of racist campaigns . Their story ended with the dissolution of the Armée d'Afrique in the early 1960s.

Among their German opponents, the Turkos - sometimes together with certain European troops - were stylized propagandistically as the epitome of an ethnically emphasized enemy image. The German press used various derogatory, racist and animal-like terms to describe them.

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  Illustration of the 3rd Rgt Algerian Tirailleurs in Wörth , August 6, 1870

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  wounded "Turcos" in 1870

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  Albert Jean Bourdeu, highly decorated veteran of the China expedition, 1909

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  Embarkation of Algerian tirailleurs in Algiers, 1914

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  Moroccan tirailleurs, 1914

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  wounded "Turcos" in Paris 1914

literature

• Gerhard Höpp: Muslims in the Mark: as prisoners of war and internees in Wünsdorf and Zossen, 1914-1924 , Das Arabische Buch, Berlin 1997.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Christian Koller : " Massacred by savages of all races". The discussion about the use of colonial troops in Europe between racism, colonial and military policy (1914–1930) (contributions to colonial and overseas history; vol. 82), Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag 2001, 476 pp., ISBN 978-3- 515-07765-1 , page 48 f.
2. ↑ Marc von Lüpke-Schwarz: "Huns" against "Wilde". In: Deutsche Welle. August 1, 2014, accessed August 2, 2014 .