In March 1939 the unit was sent to Tarn-et-Garonne to handle the influx of refugees fleeing the nationalist victory in the Spanish Civil War.

[2] In June 1940 the Germans launched Fall Rot, an operation aimed at taking Paris, and crossed the Somme in force.

One soldier of the 4e DIC described “savage combat that lasted from 1 a.m. to 3:30 a.m… On 10 June the Germans set fire to the village, finishing off the wounding and massacring the Senegalese prisoners, leaving at least 150 dead on the field.”[1] The German 9th Infantry Division machine-gunned dozens of tirailleurs after surrender.

When a French officer, Lucien Carrat, protested the killing of black prisoners, he was told by a German officer that “an inferior race does not deserve to do battle with such a civilized race as the Germans.”[1] [3] Commandant Henri Bouquet of the 24e RTS attempted to regroup remaining elements of the 16e and 24e RTS and lead a breakout attempt, but this group was captured on 10 June.

Bouquet, Speckel, and six other white officers were executed along with 64 tirailleurs of the 16e and 24e RTS in the Bois d’Eraine Massacre.