Armament of Tirailleurs Senegalais in 1909/10 and question on Legion d'Honneur

[Einbauschrank]

Hello,

 

this board has several times helped me out of the lurch with special questions so I am trying my luck again.

I am looking on the armament of the Tirailleurs Senegalais in Cote d'Ivoire around 1908-1912. Did they have the Lebel 1886 or the Berthier 1907? Or even the old 1874 model Gras? And waht would the equipment of the Brigade Indigene or the police force? I am often reading of a lack of confidence concerning the rifle but I don't know exactly what rifle they mean as this is in the middle of a re-equipment.

 

Another question: I know that in 1910 a Lieutenant Boudet was recommended and accepted into the Legion D'Honneur for his actions in Cote d'Ivoire. I don't know his first name. Boudet is a common French surname and the fact that a Napoleonic general bore this name doesn't make the research easier

 

Any hints will be appreciated!

 

 

[francoismln]

Hello,

According to the Annuaire de l'armée française (1907 and 1911), there was only one lieutenant BOUDET in the tirailleurs sénégalais.

First names are Louis-Marcel-Alexandre

As a captain (since 1916) in the 5e régiment d'infanterie coloniale, Louis-Marie-Alexandre Boudet has been reported missing in action on 12 January 1920.

No more information for the moment.

Best regards.

François

Edited June 17, 2016 by francoismln

[Einbauschrank]

Thanks a lot! Unfortunately, he is not mentioned in the "Base Leonore" online. How could I find out more about him without a trip to France?

[francoismln]

Hello,

He is not on any data base (leonore, geneanet, memoire des hommes, etc).

He is not mentionned in the historique du 5e regiment d'infanterie coloniale.

I think the only way to get more information is to study his personnel file in the military archives (file GR 4 YE 2863 in Vincennes).

Best regards.

Francois

 

[Einbauschrank]

Thanks. This a real help as it is difficult for an "outsider" to get this kind of information without investing a lot of work!

[peter monahan]

My ignorance of the  Tirailleurs Senegalais  is almost complete, but my study of the British Indian Army and, to a lesser extent the British African forces such as the Hausa Regiment and the Gold Coast units suggest to me that these troops would have been carrying whatever was oldest in the French arsenals.

Colonial troops were, sadly, generally regarded as 'second line troops' at least by the maudit pekin in France and almost certainly got what was left on the shelf after the French units had been issued their arms.  They probably rated ahead of the cadets and town guards, or their French equivalents, but only slightly!  You can imagine the outcry in the National Assembly if a black colonial unti ad the most up to date rifles issued them and it then turned out that even one new recruit in France had something older!  There was also the rarely expressed but very common thought that 'We don't want to give them the best stuff in case they desert/mutiny/quit'.  

Feel free to treat these ramblings with all the attention they deserve!

Peter

[francoismln]

Hello Einbauschrank,

I have visited Louis-Marcel-Alexandre Boudet's personnel file in the military archives in Vincennes.

His bio and portrait are online on my website: http://www.ecole-superieure-de-guerre.fr/louis-marcel-alexandre-boudet.html

Boudet left the Army in 1910, soon after he was wounded during the Abbeys uprising, Then he became a colonial administrator in Ivory Coast . As a reserve officier, he was mobilized in the Senegalese troops in August 1914, and was further (1917) a staff officer in the "Armée française d'Orient".

Demobilized in 1919, he disappeared in the wreck of the liner Afrique, on 13 January 1912, as he was going back to Africa.

Sorry, the bio is in French language ; however, please, tell me if you have difficulties for reading.

Best regards.

François

[Chris Boonzaier]

Fantastic site indeed! Well done!