Colored Troops in the French Army / A Report from the Department of State Relating to the Colored Troops in the French Army and the Number of French Colonial Troops in the Occupied Territory

by United States. Department of State

Appendix VI.

Coblenz, August 19, 1920.

Secretary of State,
Washington, D. C.:

In a communication from the French high commissioner to the general commanding the French Army of occupation the former requests that instructions be given all members of that Army concerning their relations with and attitude toward German civilians. The French general has adopted the suggestion, and by means of conferences, orders, and schools in the units of his command, is instructing all officers and men that the occupying forces are not in Germany to provoke the Germans but as a guaranty that the terms of the treaty shall be carried out and that all members of the Army must be dignified, courteous, and just, thus setting the example to the German population of tolerance in order that good will and mutual respect may be established and promoted and ill will and hatred overcome. This is most encouraging and hopeful and should be productive of great good. This has been the governing principle of the American occupation, and since coming to the commission I have urged the application of this principle throughout the entire occupied region. Millerand has heartily approved the action of the French high commissioners and of the commanding general. Recently French relations have been more antagonistic than at any other period since the signing of the peace treaty.

Allen.

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