Tabor was the designation given to an irregular unit of indigenous infantry and cavalry recruited in Morocco during the period of French and Spanish intervention and occupation (1908-56). A tabor was a formation of three or four ''

goum The Moroccan Goumiers (french: Les Goumiers Marocains) were indigenous Moroccan soldiers who served in auxiliary units attached to the French Army of Africa, between 1908 and 1956. While nominally in the service of the Sultan of Morocco, they ...

''s. A ''goum'' in this case was the Moroccan equivalent to a

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

and a tabor would thereby be equivalent to a

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

. Larger ''groups of tabors'', equivalent to regiments or brigades, were also employed.

French Morocco

While the use of ''goum''s as tribal

irregulars Irregular military is any non-standard military component that is distinct from a country's national armed forces. Being defined by exclusion, there is significant variance in what comes under the term. It can refer to the type of military orga ...

goes back to the beginning of the 20th century, additional tabors were created by the French during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

as a display of power because the

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

, after having overrun France, limited the size of their military forces. One way of getting around these restrictions was the creation of auxiliary colonial forces (i.e. ''tabors'') nominally for internal security duties. These Moroccan units would later go on to fight in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

once

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8 November 1942 – Run for Tunis, 16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of secu ...

began and in the fight for

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

(

Operation Husky Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

) and Mainland

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, notably at the Fourth Battle of Monte Cassino. The 4th Tabor of Goums were used in the Fight for Troina in central Sicily.

Spanish Morocco

The ''

Regulares The Fuerzas Regulares Indígenas ("Indigenous Regular Forces"), known simply as the Regulares (Regulars), are volunteer infantry units of the Spanish Army, largely recruited in the cities of Ceuta and Melilla. Consisting of indigenous infantry an ...

'' of the

Spanish Army The Spanish Army ( es, Ejército de Tierra, lit=Land Army) is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies — dating back to the late 15th century. The ...

were organized into infantry tabors (battalions) and cavalry tabors ( squadrons).Jose Bueno, ''Los Regulares'', The

Tiradores de Ifni The Tiradores de Ifni ("Ifni Rifles" or "Ifni Shooters") were volunteer indigenous infantry units of the Spanish Army, largely recruited in the enclave of Ifni The tiradores were originally recruited from the Spanish Morocco, forming part of t ...

was also organized in tabors but the also mobilized a ''

bandera Bandera - from a Spanish word meaning a ''flag'' - may refer to: Places * Bandera County, Texas ** Bandera, Texas, its county seat ** Bandera Creek, a river in Texas, with its source near Bandera Pass ** Bandera Pass, a mountain pass in Bandera C ...

''.

References

{{reflist Military history of Morocco Military history of France Military history of Spain Military units and formations of France Military units and formations of Spain French Morocco

French Morocco

Spanish Morocco

See also

References