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The Graveyards of Gallipoli; A Digger History Associate Site |
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A Tribute to the Men of all the Nations that took part in the Gallipoli Campaign of 1915 |
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Uniforms worn by French & French/African forces at Gallipoli Page 1 |
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For French Medals see Medals available to the French troops at Gallipoli |
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| Images by George Scott in 1916 of the 2 variations of the French uniforms. |
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Initially
the strongest of all the Allied armies, France's metropolitan and
colonial units bore the greatest burden during the first two years of
the Great War, and made a great contribution to the final victory.
In common with most European countries, the pre-war French Army was based on a system of national military service providing conscripts who could be subject to recall as reservists for several years after. However, the advent of war, the crisis in manpower, and the development of new tactics and weapons brought radical changes.
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Coming from the cramped confines of Anzac, the New Zealanders marvelled to see French officers in blue and red riding up and down the road, and motor cyclists dashing about with signal messages. Poor Anzac could not boast of a road on which to run even a bicycle. As a relief from our inevitable khaki, the French Senegalese with their dark blue uniforms, the Zouaves with their red baggy trousers, and the French Territorials with their light blue, imparted quite a dash of colour to the scene". |
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Following
on the landings at Helles of April 25, the British held the left of the
line, with the French (withdrawn from Kum Kale) on the right.  |
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French WW1 Artillery Officer's kepi. |
WWI French officer's kepi, early war, Lt. Colonel. |
In WW1 the French Army dressed in blue. Shown above is an un-named French senior Army Officer Shown right and below is a tunic of a WW1 French General. |
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| Rank indicators on neck | Badges of Rank on lower sleeve. |
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| This is the famous ‘Horizon Bleu’ kepi of the French Poilu of the Great War. This pattern replaced the earlier red/blue Model 1884 kepi when it was found to be overly conspicuous on the modern battlefield. This did not offer any protective advantages over the previous soft kepi but it did maintain the French culture of the offensive as French soldiers would blend with the pale blue of the horizon as they assaulted the enemy trenches. |
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| As the French Army transitioned from the early M1884 red/blue kepi to the M1915 horizon bleu kepi, as an interim measure horizon bleu covers were issued to cover the highly visible early kepis. This is a 100% original light cotton kepi cover in horizon bleu. |
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| A
Senelalese soldier from one of the French "Mixte" (mixed)
Regiments.
The 2nd Brigade of 1st Division Expeditionary Corps was made with 2 Mixte Regiments; the 4th (Lieut. Colonel Vacher) and 6th (Lieut.Colonel Noguès ) each made up of 1 European battalion and 2 Senegalese battalions. French General Gourand at Gallipoli >>> |
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Senegalese soldiers serving in the French Colonial army.
Photo taken in springtime 1915 with the new uniform. This picture taken at Fréjus, in the south of France. Some French/African troops on Gallipoli served with such a uniform. Autochrome picture made by Gervais Courtellemont, 1915
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