Editing Zouave (section)

==Zouave units in French service==
[[Image:Zouave1888.jpg|thumb|upright|A French zouave from 1888 wearing white summer ''[[serouel]]'' trousers instead of the usual red]]

===Recruitment===
[[File:Prise de la Zaatcha (1849).png|thumb|left|Zouaves at the [[Battle of Zaatcha]] during the [[French conquest of Algeria|Conquest of Algeria]]]]

The zouaves of the [[French Army]] were first raised in [[French rule in Algeria|Algeria in 1831]] with one and later two battalions, initially recruited primarily from the [[Zouaoua]] (or Zwāwa),<ref name="Mollo 166">{{cite book|first=John|last=Mollo|page=166|title=Military Fashion|year=1972|publisher=Barrie and Jenkins |isbn=0-214-65349-8}}</ref> a tribe of [[Berbers]] located in the mountains of the [[Jurjura Range]] (see [[Kabyle people|Kabyles]]).<ref>page 1044, volume 28 Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition</ref> The Zouaoua had formerly provided soldiers for the [[dey]]s of [[Algiers]] and in August 1830 the commander of the French expeditionary force which had occupied the city recommended their continued employment in this role.{{sfn|Larcade|2000|p=15}} The existence of the new corps was formally recognised by a Royal decree dated 21 March 1831.{{sfn|Huré|1977|p=462}}

[[File:RaczynskiAleksander.ZuawiWWalce.1858.jpg|thumb|upright|French zouaves during the [[Crimean War]]; painting by [[Aleksander Raczyński]] (1858)]]
From their beginning the zouave units included a French European element, initially drawn from the demobilized ''Garde royal'' of [[Charles X of France|Charles X]] and other Parisian volunteers. From March 1833 each zouave battalion was organised into ten companies, of which eight were Muslim Berbers and Arabs and two French.{{sfn|Larcade|2000|p=15}} In 1838 a third battalion was raised, and the regiment thus formed was commanded by Major de [[Lamoriciere]]. Shortly afterwards the formation of the ''[[Tirailleur|Tirailleurs algériens]]'', the ''Turcos'', as the infantry corps for Muslim troops, changed the basis for enlistment of the zouave battalions.<ref>{{cite book|first=Laurent|last=Mirouze|page=184|title=The French Army in the First World War - to Battle 1914. Uniforms - Equipment - Armament (Volume 1)|ISBN=3-902526-09-2}}</ref> For most of their remaining history the zouaves became an essentially French body,<ref>{{cite book|first=Pablo|last=Gallardo|page=6|title=Soldats d'Algerie|date=2020 |publisher=Sophia Histoire & collections |isbn=978-2-35250-524-2}}</ref> until in 1956 a new policy of partial racial mixing was introduced amongst units of the Army of Africa.<ref>{{cite book|first=Martin|last=Windrow|page=20|title=The Algerian War 1954-62|year=1997|publisher=Bloomsbury USA |isbn=978-1855326583}}</ref>

===Zouave regiments===
Initially constituted as battalion sized units, the zouaves were reorganized as separate regiments in 1852:<ref>{{cite book|first=Pierre|last=Montagnon|page=19|title=L'Armee d'Afrique|date=2012 |publisher=Pygmalion |isbn=978-2-7564-0574-2}}</ref>

*The 1st Zouaves were linked to [[Algiers]] and central [[Algeria]]. The 1st Zouaves had a continuous existence from 1852 to 1949. After disbandment the regiment was recreated between 1956 and 1960
*The 2nd Zouaves were linked to [[Oran]] and western [[Algeria]], 1852–1962
*The 3rd Zouaves were linked to [[Constantine, Algeria|Constantine]] and eastern [[Algeria]], 1852–1962
*The 4th Zouaves were linked to [[Tunis]] and [[Tunisia]]. They were first formed as the Zouaves of the [[Imperial Guard (Napoleon III)|Imperial Guard]] in 1854, and became the 4th Zouves on the establishment of the [[French Third Republic|Third Republic]] in 1870. They remained in existence under this title until 1962.<ref>{{cite book|first=Pierre|last=Montagnon|page=426|title=L'Armee d'Afrique|date=2012 |publisher=Pygmalion |isbn=978-2-7564-0574-2}}</ref>

[[File:Zouaves de la Garde pendant la campagne d'Italie.jpg|thumb|left|Guard Zouaves (''Zouaves de la Garde'') during the [[Second Italian War of Independence]] in 1859.]]

At the end of the Algerian War six zouave regiments were in existence, of which the ''1er'' was disbanded in 1960 and the remainder in 1962.{{sfn|Huré|1977|p=462}}

Other provisional regiments of zouaves were raised in 1914 and 1939 for the First and Second World Wars respectively. During World War I nine ''regiments de marche'' of zouaves were created; comprising active, reserve, and new battalions seconded from other regiments.{{sfn|Sumner|1995|p=8}} In World War II the number reached fourteen.<ref>{{cite book|first=Ian|last=Sumner|page=11|title=The French Army 1939-45 (1)|date=15 April 1998|publisher=Bloomsbury USA |isbn=1-85532-666-3}}</ref>

The zouave regiments raised in 1914 for the First World War were the 8th and 9th. The 13th Zouaves were raised in 1919 and dissolved in 1940. The zouave regiments raised in 1939 for the Second World War were the 11th, 12th, 14th, and 21st, all of which were dissolved after the [[fall of France]] in 1940. Other regiments raised later in the Second World War were the 9th ('reactivated'), 22nd, 23rd, and 29th.{{sfn|Huré|1977|page=324}}
[[File:Attaque du mamelon vert et des ouvrages blancs, 7 juin 1855.jpg|thumb|Zouaves attack Russian positions in the [[Battle of Malakoff]] during the Crimean War, 1855]]
[[File:Battle of Solferino, 1859.jpg|thumb|Zouaves with [[French Foreign Legion]] at [[Battle of Solferino|Solferino]], 1859]]
In addition, four mixed zouave and ''tirailleur'' regiments (''régiments mixtes de zouaves et tirailleurs'') were raised for the First World War, all of which were redesignated Algerian ''tirailleur'' regiments in 1918 or 1920.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

The 9th Zouaves were the last French zouave unit. The first 9th Zouave regiment existed from 1914 until the fall of France in 1940, a second 9th Zouaves was raised in the Second World War and disbanded after the Algerian War (1954–1962), and a third 9th Zouaves existed as a nominal unit from 1982 to 2006 (representing a commando training school). There was no zouave regiment in existence between 1962–1982 and none now survive in the French Army.<ref>{{cite book|first=Paul|last=Gallic|page=88|title=Officers et Soldats de L'Armee Francaise 1943-1956, d'apres le TTA 148|year=2012|publisher=Histoire & Collections |isbn=9-782352-50195-4}}</ref>

===Early history===
The zouaves saw extensive service during the French conquest of Algeria, initially at the Mouzaia Pass action (March 1836), then at Mitidja (September 1836) and the siege of [[Constantine, Algeria|Constantine]] (1837). From 1843-44 either one or two battalions played prominent roles in each of the [[Kabylia]] campaigns.<ref>{{cite book|first=Victor|last=Demars|page=20|title=Les Zouaves Histoire|date=13 April 2023|publisher=CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform |isbn=9781976219313}}</ref>
[[File:Premiere messe en kabylie horace vernet.jpg|thumb|190px|Zouaves in the Kabylia region during the French conquest of Algeria]]

Recruited through direct voluntary enlistment or by transfer from other regiments of men with at least two years service, the zouaves quickly achieved the status of an elite amongst the French [[Army of Africa (France)|Army of Africa]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Stephen|last=Shann|page=13|title=French Army 1870-71. Franco-Prussian War 1 Imperial Troops|date=25 April 1991|publisher=Bloomsbury USA |isbn=1-85532-121-1}}</ref>

[[File:The Crimean War, 1854 - 1856 Q71609.jpg|thumb|A group of four zouaves of the French Army pose for the camera during the [[Crimean War]], 1854–1856.]]

===The Second Empire===
By 1853, the French Army included three regiments of zouaves. Each of the three line regiments of zouaves was allocated to a different province of Algeria, where their depots and peace-time garrisons were located.<ref>{{cite book|first=Andre|last=Jouineau|page=79|title=L'Armee de Napoleon III dans la Guerre 1870|date=14 February 2019|publisher=Editions Heimdal |isbn=978-2-84048-511-7}}</ref> The [[Crimean War]] was the first service which the regiments saw outside Algeria. Armed with the powerful [[Carabine à tige|''fusil rayé'']] (rifled gun)<ref>{{cite book|first=Victor|last=Demars|page=28|title=Les Zouaves Histoire|date=13 April 2023|publisher=CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform |isbn=9781976219313}}</ref> they subsequently served as effective [[light infantry]]<ref>{{cite book|first=Richard|last=Brooks|page=12|title=Soferino 1859|date=21 April 2009|publisher=Bloomsbury USA |isbn=978-1-84603-385-8}}</ref> in the [[Second Italian War of Independence|Franco-Austrian War]] of 1859, the [[Second French intervention in Mexico|Mexican Intervention]] (1864–1866) and the [[Franco-Prussian War]] (1870). In 1860 1,500 zouaves were landed in [[Beirut]] to assist in the restoration of order in the [[Levant]], following extensive inter-communal disturbances.<ref>page 8 New York Times, September 17 1860</ref>

The distinctive dress and dash of the zouaves made them well known outside France and they were frequently portrayed in the illustrated publications of the period. The 2nd Zouaves (popularly known as "the Jackals of Oran") had their mutilated eagle decorated with the ''Legion d' Honneur'' following the [[Battle of Magenta]] in 1859.{{sfn|Huré|1977|pp=114-115}}

On 23 December 1854 a fourth regiment was created, the Zouaves of the Imperial Guard. The actual formation of this unit was delayed until 15 March 1855 when detachments from the zouave regiments already serving in the Crimea were brought together before [[Sebastopol]] for this purpose. Having earned the unusual distinction of being created on the field of battle,<ref>{{cite book|first=Andre|last=Jouineau|page=33|title=L'Armee de Napoleon III dans la Guerre 1870|date=14 February 2019|publisher=Editions Heimdal |isbn=978-2-84048-511-7}}</ref> the Zouaves of the Imperial Guard served through the remainder of the Crimean War and subsequently in all the campaigns of the Second Empire. Their peace-time garrisons were initially at [[Saint-Cloud]] and then Versailles from 1857. This regiment wore the classic zouave uniform but with yellow braiding and piping substituted for the red of the line regiments.<ref>pages 35–38 "La Gazette des Uniformes", September 2005"</ref>

In the opening stages of the [[Franco-Prussian War]] the bulk of the serving zouave units were amongst the Imperial field army defeated at [[Battle of Sedan|Sedan]] in September 1870. Drawing on remnants of the Imperial forces, depot troops from Algeria and volunteers it was possible to reconstitute all four regiments as part of the [[Army of the Loire]] and the Republican defenders of Paris.<ref>{{cite book|first=Stephen|last=Shann|page=8|title=French Army 1870-71 Franco-Prussian War 2. Republican Troops|date=25 July 1991|publisher=Bloomsbury USA |isbn=1-85532-135-1}}</ref>

[[Image:Tonkin Zouave officer.png|thumb|left|upright|French zouave officer in [[Tonkin]], Spring 1885]]

===The Third Republic===
After 1871 the zouaves lost their status as an élite corps solely made up of long-service volunteers; they became a force mainly composed of conscripts from the French settlers in Algeria and Tunisia, undertaking their compulsory military service. Shortfalls in numbers were made up by detachments from the Paris, Lyon and some northern ''régions militaires'' of mainland France (''Métropole'').<ref>{{cite book|first=Laurent|last=Mirouze|pages=184|title=The French Army in the First World War - to Battle 1914. Uniforms - Equipment - Armament (Volume 1)|ISBN=3-902526-09-2}}</ref>  The zouave regiments did however retain significant numbers of long-service volunteers (''engages volontiers et réengages'') who contributed to the high morale and steadiness of these units.{{sfn|Larcade|2000|p=188}}

Two zouave battalions (under ''chefs de bataillon'' Simon and Mignot) served in Tonkin during the closing weeks of the [[Sino-French War]] (August 1884 to April 1885). One of these battalions was roughly handled on 23 March 1885 in the [[Battle of Phu Lam Tao]]. A third zouave battalion (''chef de bataillon'' Metzinger) joined the [[Tonkin Expeditionary Corps]] shortly after the end of the war, and took part in operations against Vietnamese insurgents.{{sfn|Huré|1977|p=188}}

In 1899 a law created for each regiment of zouaves a 5th Battalion, "to be stationed in France" in ''groupes des 5e bataillons de Zouaves''. The 5th battalions of the 1st and 4th Zouaves were stationed as part of the ''Gouvernement militaire de Paris''.  The 5th battalions of the 2nd and 3rd Zouaves were stationed in the ''région militaire de Lyon''.  Upon mobilization for war in France, these battalions would form the nucleus of ''Régiments de Marche de Zouaves'', each of 3 battalions. This permanent presence in the two key garrisons of metropolitan France facilitated subsequent arrival and participation by other elements of the [[19th Army Corps (France)|19th Military Region]] as reinforcements, in the event of an attack on mainland France.{{sfn|Larcade|2000|p=188}}

Zouave battalions subsequently saw active service in China during the [[Boxer Rising]] (1900–1901) and in Morocco (1908–1914).{{sfn|Larcade|2000|p=19}} From the very beginning of World War I zouave regiments and detached battalions saw extensive service on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]]. Others served in the Dardanelles, [[Macedonian front|Macedonia]] (within [[156th Infantry Division (France)|the 156th Division]]), Tonkin, Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco. Twelve zouave battalions were recruited for exclusively North African service from French-speaking prisoners-of-war and deserters from German [[Alsace-Lorraine]], who had volunteered to join the French Army.{{sfn|Larcade|2001|p=444}}
[[File:Zouaves in ww1 tournassoud.jpg|thumb|Early colour photograph of French 3rd Zouaves 1912]]
[[Image:French Colonial Forces.jpg|thumb|French Zouaves in the First World War]]

The four zouave regiments of the French Army wore their traditional colorful dress during the early months of the First World War.{{sfn|Jouineau|2009a|pages=46-47}} The development of the machine gun, rapid-fire artillery, and improved small-arms obliged them to adopt a plain khaki uniform from 1915 onwards, in common with other units of the ''[[Army of Africa (France)|Armée d'Afrique]]''.{{sfn|Jouineau|2009a|pages=52-53}}<ref name="Uniformes09dec1914">{{cite web  | title = Notice descriptive des nouveaux uniformes. (Décision ministérielle du 9 décembre 1914 mise à jour avec le modificatif du 28 janvier 1915) |publication-place= Paris |institution=Ministère de la Guerre |via= Bibliothèque Nationale de France |year=1915 |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k8588418 | language = fr | access-date =2021-07-30 }}</ref> From 1927 to 1939 the "oriental dress" of red [[Fez (clothing)|fez]] ("chéchia"), blue sash, braided blue jackets with waistcoats and voluminous red trousers was reintroduced as off-duty dress for re-enlisted NCOs and other long-service regulars in the zouave regiments.<ref>{{cite book|first=Andre|last=Jouineau|page=52|title=Officers and Soldiers of the French Army 1940|date=15 January 2011|publisher=Amber Books Limited |isbn=978-2-35250-179-4}}</ref>
It was also worn by colour guards and other detachments on ceremonial occasions. White trousers of the same style had earlier been worn as an item of hot-weather dress. The four regiments were distinguished by the colours (red, blue, white and yellow) of the "tombeaus" or false pockets on the front of their open-fronted jackets.<ref>{{cite book|first=JLiliane et Fred|last=Funcken|page=44|title=L'Uuniformen et les Armes des Soldats du XIX Siecle 2|year=1981|publisher=Casterman |isbn=2-203-14325-8}}</ref>

The zouaves played a major role in the 1914–1918 War with their numbers being expanded to nine ''regiments de marche''. These units retained much of their traditional panache, especially in attack.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Furlong |first=Charles Wellington |author-link=Charles W. Furlong |year=1914 |title=Turcos And The Legion: The Spahis, The Zouaves, The Tirailleurs, And The Foreign Legion |journal=The World's Work, Second War Manual: The Conduct of the War |pages=35–37 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gdZLAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA35 }}</ref> They became however less conspicuous in [[World War II]], seeing service mainly during the opening stages of the war in the [[Battle of France]] (1940){{sfn|Huré|1977|pages=324-330}} and in the course of the liberation of France (1944).{{sfn|Huré|1977|pages=402-418}}

===Post-1945===
As predominantly conscript units the zouaves did not serve in Indochina between 1945 and 1954. They were, however, employed extensively as sector troops during the [[Algerian War]]. Their history as a corps of high-profile elite infantry, closely identified with French Algeria, made for higher morale and effectiveness than that of most conscript units from metropolitan France assigned to Algeria.<ref>{{cite book|first=Martin|last=Windrow|pages=20 & 44|title=The Algerian War 1954–62|date=17 July 1995|publisher=Bloomsbury USA |isbn=1-85532-516-0}}</ref> The 9th Zouaves based in the Casbah,<ref>Gallardo, Pablo. Soldats d'Algerie. p. 6. ISBN 978-2-35250-524-2.</ref> played a major role in the 1957 [[Battle of Algiers (1957)|Battle of Algiers]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Ted|last=Morgan|pages=116, 120, 148, 185, 187, 224, 230 |title=My Battle of Algiers|date=31 January 2006|publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=978-0-06-085224-5}}</ref>

At the end of the Algerian War, the remaining zouave and tirailleur units were incorporated in a short-lived ''Force locale de l'ordre Algérienne'': created under the [[Évian Accords]] of March 1962 and intended to provide a transitional peace-keeping force acceptable to both Muslim and European communities.{{sfn|Huré|1977|p=463}} The remaining zouave regiments (2nd, 3rd, 4th, 8th and 9th) were finally disbanded in 1962 immediately following [[Algerian independence]].<ref name="Montagnon 2012 426">{{cite book|first=Pierre|last=Montagnon|page=426|title=L'Armee d' Afrique|date=2012|publisher=Pygmalion |isbn=978-2-7564-0574-2}}</ref> This was inevitable<ref name="Montagnon 2012 426"/> since their recruitment base was the European population of Algeria, which dispersed with the ending of French rule.{{sfn|Huré|1977|pp=461-462}}<ref name="Montagnon 2012 426"/>

The traditions of the zouave regiments were maintained until 2006 by the French Army's Commando Training School of [[Givet]] (''Centre d'entrainment commando''),<ref>page 54 Militaria No 462, Mars 2024</ref> which occasionally paraded colour parties and other detachments in zouave dress. With the closure of the CEC school that year and the putting into store of the flag of the 9th Zouaves in 2010, any direct link between the former zouaves and active units of the modern French Army ceased. While other branches of the old French [[Army of Africa (France)|Army of Africa]] have either survived or been reestablished as representative units in recent years (notably the [[French Foreign Legion|Foreign Legion]], [[Chasseurs d'Afrique]], [[Tirailleur]]s, and [[Spahi]]s), France has not recreated one of its most distinctive and best known military corps.<ref name="Montagnon 2012 426"/>