Editing Zouave (section)

===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}}