The Terrible Turcos—Native Algerians in the French Army
These are not negroes, but men of Berber origin with black beards and tanned faces. They are recruited in Algiers and are called "tirailleurs algieriens." Their headgear is the characteristic fez. The object resembling a football which they carry on the hip is a water bottle.
In the war of 1870 these troops became greatly feared and hated by the Germans, because of their trick of "playing possum" until the enemy passed and then springing up and striking from the rear. They are impetuous fighters, and the difficulty the French generals find in their employment is to hold them back at times when to charge the enemy is foolhardy.
THE TERRIBLE TURCOS-NATIVE ALGERIANS IN THE FRENCH ARMY
PHOTO © UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD, N.Y.
Sharp Shooters of France
There are thirty battalions of "chausseurs alpins," who spend half each year in the French Alps. Each carries an alpenstock and a pack. They are among the hardiest and best trained French infantry, skilled with the rifle and in mountain warfare. Among the Vosges Mountains they tied themselves in trees, so when wounded they would not drop and betray their position.
The mule is a useful creature in time of war—especially in the commissary department, to carry pots, pans and provisions. Like the burro of the American southwest, the Alpine mule is a sure-footed climber.