Hivernage
The Vichy French government unsuccessfully attempted to persuade the German authorities to implement hivernage for tirailleur prisoners of war, some of whom were held in Eastern Europe.
The disarmed tirailleurs were housed in camps in France, Britain and Africa but were badly treated and there were several disturbances, including the Thiaroye massacre, before the end of the war.
[3]: 13 In 1910, then colonel Charles Mangin advocated the quick and massive use of colonial troops in the event of a war in Europe in his book "La Force Noire" (The Black Strength).
[6] The name was adopted from the French term then in use for the Sahel rainy season (which ran from June to September), but the hivernage on the Western Front lasted from late Autumn to Early Spring.
[7]: 415 During hivernage Senegalese tirailleurs would be posted to the warmer climates of Southern France or Northern Africa (in Oran, Biskra, Tolga and Gabès).
Colonial contingents had to wait for weeks sometimes before a ship was available to bring them back to Europe, making it difficult to maintain their rotation between the front and North Africa.
Camps were established there to house the men and tourist hotels were converted to hospitals (as well as at Saint-Raphaël, at Menton in Alpes-Maritimes and Courneau [fr] in Gironde[9][10]).
Efforts were made to maintain a Senegalese feel to the facilities with the hospitals decorated with scenes of African village life and the nurses, who were all male, encouraged to speak Bambara.
[7]: 415 The introduction of a formal policy had been instigated by Blaise Diagne, a black deputy for the Four Communes in French West Africa; the army had initially opposed the idea.
[18][19] The Undersecretary of State for War in charge of the armed forces medical service Justin Godart was immediately informed of the situation in Courneau.
Faced with this alarming mortality, he was left with two options: to evacuate the camp or to allow the experimentation of a vaccine against pneumococcal disease with the help of the Pasteur Institute.
[23][24] The Senate opposed any improvement work on cost grounds and instead asked for the withdrawal of the troops to the camps of the Var or those of Oran in July 1917.
In 1965, it was decided to erect a suitable memorial monument, to fence off and clean up what was in fact a vast mass grave covering an area of 1 hectare (2.5 acres).
[26][27] A stele was erected with a marble plaque mentioning the "940 Senegalese and 12 Russians who died for France", in reality the deaths were more numerous and of various national origins.
One example was General Charles Mangin who brought tirailleurs back to the field ahead of the failed April 1917 Nivelle offensive, leading to much suffering in cold and rainy conditions.
[31] The successful use of tirailleurs in Europe led to their use being expanded, particularly with regards the Madagascan troops who were integrated into heavy artillery units in 1917 in which role they were able to remain deployed throughout the year.
Though formally called hivernage it has been described as the blanchiment de l’armée (the laundering of the army), removing black soldiers to create an all-white force.
[33]: 6 [35]: 374 The tirailleurs were discontented at this turn of events, having fought for France while it was occupied they felt humiliated at being told their services were no longer required, when the Allies were on the point of complete victory.
