Interesting. About 2000 somalis fought in the tirailleur somalis french colonial regiment in WW1. Most of them were young volunteers from british Somaliland , Djibouti and to a lesser extent italian Somalia. The harsh conditions in northern somalia during the Sayyid's struggle forced many to leave the country. Many somalis joined the french army in Djiboutii and were sent to fight against germans at Verdun (France) and many other famous battles in WW1. Initially somalis worked as trench cleaners(killing enemy soldiers after conquering trenches) but Frenchs soon realized our worth and used somali soldiers in combat. Many of them were decorated and became highly appreciated after the war. In WW2 the somali battalion also participated in the liberation of France and fought against nazis.
The somali battalion also included arabs, comorians and soldiers from Madagascar.
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The somali battalion also included arabs, comorians and soldiers from Madagascar.
The First World War Seen from Djibouti: Controlling, Recruiting, Enlisting
For France, the Côte Française des Somalis represented a sea port of call on the way to the more prestigious colonies of the Indian Ocean or the Far East. Thanks to the railway from Djibouti to Addis Ababa, it also became a major route of the Ethiopian foreign trade. When the Great War broke...
books.openedition.org
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